Talking FORUMs/Boards

[NightShiftPodCast]

We have a show forum; small, but very active users ... I tend to put show notes there and Things of that nature.

I find the forum has more to offer than not. Does anyone have any ideas on ways to get more people into the forums? > Is it worth the time investment? Should show notes be with-in, or use the site for that? Is it better to have the Forum open (anyone can view) or Closed (log-in to View) OR anyone can view and or comment/post - what segment of listeners actually get that involved? 5% is my shot in the dark guess? >?

Basically I would just like to talk to other Podcasters about forums here. So ideas what, has and hasn’t worked ... let me know im (doing really well) but only 2 and a half months old so ... id like the personal 411

[WyethDigital]

We've just started ours and are having some similar problems. We've been getting a lot of fan mail, and have been encouraging folks to post questions in the forum when they email us. Hopefully that will help.

Eric

PS -- Funny show BTW!

[NightShiftPodCast]

We actually asked like a couple distant friends to tell us what they thought Via the forum to get things going. That worked fairly well. For a time we were replying often to the first few people and now, they keep themselves busy which is the desired result. Some of the first few actually; almost moderate the forum, PM’ing new guests and that.

I do think that the forum should be closed to guests so they have to sign-up to see … its kinda like having sex with a woman and then her asking you to date. Where as if they say yes or sign-up first, they are already involved and go back and post. Just my thoughts

[WyethDigital]

I think they should have to register to post, but I think they should be able to read our board to find out if it's something they're interested in. Of course every board is different, and yours will probably do well with your strategy.

We're also adding incentives to reach new ranks. Right now for instance, the next rank after you join (you have to reach 40 posts) lets you have access to free Desktops (or Wallpapers, as the Windows crowd knows them). We're also going to add some special videos that you can't get anywhere else. We think we have the stuff to make the board "sticky," we just need to get 'em in the door!

Eric

[kinkysex]

I bribed them. I give away prizes. To win, join the forums. Some months it's "best post wins" other months "most posts wins".

I also send little messages to my top posters and 'secret prizes' as well.

[WyethDigital]

I bribed them. I give away prizes. To win, join the forums. Some months it's "best post wins" other months "most posts wins".

I also send little messages to my top posters and 'secret prizes' as well.
Great ideas, Prof. We're planning on that, too. We'll probably give a few DVDs away when they're done and ready to sell.

Eric

[EclecticMix]

I wrote message board software a few years ago at http://DRiPInvesting.org, a community for people interesting in dividend reinvestment plans (equity investing with little risk or cost). The reason why it has been popular (over 50,000 messages at this point) is that the people are passionate about the subject.

If you feel that your listeners will be equally passionate about whatever your podcast is about then this is a good idea. A couple of ideas that have been very helpful would be to allow everyone in the world to read, but only registered people can post - that only makes sense.

Also, get moderators (mine has a moderator for each section). That way you can have them deal with the inevitable spam, as well as inform you about something you may not have caught.

The only real negative is that the standard message board software is known enough that script kiddies will continually post spam, and a system with spam dies quickly. I've been able to write code to keep this out, but having alert moderators with the ability to remove it quickly will be a real key in this constant fight.

Cheers -

george

[WyethDigital]

The only real negative is that the standard message board software is known enough that script kiddies will continually post spam, and a system with spam dies quickly. I've been able to write code to keep this out, but having alert moderators with the ability to remove it quickly will be a real key in this constant fight.
Excellent point about the mods. Right now we're really tiny, so we haven't asked anyone as yet if they would like to mod, but we'd definitely consider that for someone who has stepped up!

Wish I could write my own code for this stuff, but I'm not a programmer!

Eric