6 Forum Management Essentials

If you are tasked with managing a forum, congratulations to you. If you find yourself weighed down by mundane management tasks, you are not alone. Let's examine some essentials to help you run an effective and vibrant message board community without the hassles of micromanagement.

1. Find a forum you like and stick with it. Yes, not everyone will be using vBulletin or one of the other wonderful PHP or ASP message board sites. If you like EZBoard or if you like making your own site up with PHP open source, then do it and stick with it. By now you know the pitfalls of the particular sites; can you really afford to regularly change to the latest and greatest technologies? Probably not, unless your site is already generating plenty of income through Google AdSense or similar types of PPC advertising. I am not saying to never update your site, rather weigh the costs of whether your site has to have a certain site or feel to be successful. Even ugly sites can prosper, witness Craig's List!

2. Find moderators who want to moderate. Not everyone who volunteers to moderate a particular forum on your message board is fit for the task. Some will sign up and then not moderate; better to go without a moderator then to have a "name in place." Keep your standards high and only the best will volunteer.

3. Envision long term. Unless you plan on rapidly growing your forum and then "flipping" it in a quick sale, you are better off looking at keeping your site for many years. Yes, in the land of the internet, everything changes so rapidly; still there are forums that can and do thrive the longer they are online, with proper management of course!

4. Reward your core constituency. Chances are your site is dominated by a small group of people who post regularly and are generally most helpful overall. Consider having a private forum viewable only to them on your site. Out of this group will likely come your moderators; run contests for this group only. Find advertisers to fund the prizes.

5. Ignore the squeeky, vocal minority. Yes, there will be the small amount of people -- usually less than 10% of your members -- whose demands on your time far exceed what is normal. They are the ones who want extensive hand holding and technical assistance...if they would only read previous threads or pay attention to announcements, your problems with them would be resolved. As much as it cuts against the grain for some administrators [heck, you are all about helping people, right?], you must cut them loose. You need not do it directly, but by not promptly answering their questions they will either figure things out themselves or move on.

6. Be well funded. Have a treasure chest or Paypal donation box on your site to welcome contributions. Run banner ads and join a successful PPC program. Find an advertising plan that works well for you. Seek grant money if your site is geared toward helping raise awareness about a particular health or social issue. You want to reap some monies from your site and you should pay yourself for your hard work.

Not all forums are meant to succeed on the internet, nor should they. The successful sites are well managed and positively impact members and guests far beyond the internet. If you have one of these sites, congratulations and good management to you!

Matt runs two successful forums which can be viewed at http://aviationemploymentboard.net/forum and http://corporateflyer.net/forum

In The News:

Community forums scheduled for three district merger
Herkimer Evening Telegram
Speaking during Wednesday night's board of education meeting, interim Herkimer Superintendent of Schools Gary Tutty said community forums will take place on June 6 at Jarvis High School in Mohawk, July 25 at Herkimer High School, Aug.
State approves three-school merger study in Herkimer CountyWKTV

all 6 news articles »

Cobb candidate forums kick off campaign season
Atlanta Journal Constitution
By Janel Davis The Cobb County NAACP and the East Cobb Civic Association will host candidate forums next week for county candidates running for office in July. The NAACP forum begins at 7 pm on Tuesday at the county government building, 100 Cherokee ...

and more »

Assembly candidate impersonator ruffles feathers at Marin forum
San Jose Mercury News
By Jessica Bernstein-Wax, Marin Independent Journal Activist Jonathan Frieman ruffled some feathers last week when he participated in a forum for the Assembly, congressional and Marin supervisors' races, proclaiming himself to be a write-in candidate ...

and more »

Fifth Astana Economic Forum opens in Kazakhstan
Gazeta.KZ
"The range of discussions of the Astana forum has expanded, since Kazakhstan has become a retransmitter of wide Eurasian look. This became especially important with the creation of a customs union," the president said. This year the Astana Economic ...

and more »

Forums Set for Keokuk Supt. Search
Tri States Public Radio
By Jason Parrott Keokuk residents have several opportunities to weigh in on the search for a new school superintendent. The school board has hired Ray & Associates to help the district find a replacement for Doctor Lora Wolff.


WFMY News 2
Greensboro Holds GPAC Forums
WFMY News 2
Seventy-five people showed up at two forums on Thursday to hear the pitch in person, a third took place later in the day. The performing arts center or "GPAC" would have 2500 to 2,8000 seats, and is being proposed for downtown Greensboro.

and more »

WTSP 10 News
Education public forum tonight in Tampa
WTSP 10 News
Tampa, Florida -- Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson will be in Tampa tonight to meet face to face with parents and teachers as part of a series of public forums regarding the state of public education and the higher standards set for ...
Education officials unveil website, blogs for parents in wake of low FCAT scoresThe Florida Current

all 140 news articles »

Diablo 3 Forum $65 Weekly Contest | Win to Buy the Diablo3 Game
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
The weekly contest involves people posting on the forums and whoever posts the most quality and numerous posts wins $65 to buy the Diablo 3 game. Northridge, CA (PRWEB) May 22, 2012 Diablo 3 is a great game but some people can't afford to play it.

and more »

Forum confirms school tax proposal is not supported
Examiner.com
Over three hundred people showed up on Monday night for an early forum of School Superintendent candidates at First Methodist-Ocala. Attendees learned that not one candidate dares to seriously support the proposed tax measure.

and more »

HNN Huntingtonnews.net
Coal Forum kicks off statewide events
Daily Mail - Charleston
The West Virginia Coal Forum held the first of three statewide events billed as "Stop the EPA's War on Coal" in Charleston Tuesday to encourage more public action and support for the industry. "We all need to elevate our game," said Chris Hamilton, ...
Charleston hosts one of several Coal Forum meetingsWOWK

all 30 news articles »
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