Don’t run a mediocre forum

I know. I love forums. I think they have a more real sense of community than blogs anyday.

And in terms of marketing, offer far better potential.

But…the same principles of marketing apply to forums.

Creating Passionate Users runs an article called Don’t Give in To Feature Demands.

Although it’s aimed generically in terms of products/services, read the article with forums in mind and recognise some of the characters listed there.

And especially take note of the great diagram at the end, that I’ll repost here:

One of my forums is great, but suffers a lot from mediocrity - when everyone feels comfortable and the only posts members feel worth making are “We all agree” then you’re in trouble.

You’re lacking the sort of spice that can both increase activity and create increased user attachment to your site.

Of course, always be aware of the interests of the silent majority - but do be aware that you don’t end up over-regulating the regular members, simply to keep the peace.

After all, if it’s all peaceful, what is there to be passionate about?

And if your users are not passionate about anything on your forum, then you’ve succeeded in creating mediocrity.

I’ve managed to help sustain mediocrity on one of my forums. Time to ask the mods there to put the gloves on for a while…