Is your forum stuck at growing?
It's okay. This happens to a lot of forum owners, including me. It's especially the case nowadays as forums get harder and harder to grow.
But never fear, forums are still here and they're still being used.
And I'll share with you what has worked for me and others in growing a forum because it could work for you, as well.
1 - Not targeting a specific niche
If you don't know who your specific target audience is, then you're a needle in a haystack promoting to a sea of sharks that are way bigger and more positioned than you.
You need a target audience. This way you know exactly who you're promoting to. You'll then know how to promote to them and what to promote.
Forum promotion gets way easier after this.
2 - Bad onboarding
Onboarding should be your main internal promotion technique.
This is the experience you provide to new members. They should feel a part of the community from the start. Give them stuff to do rather than let them evolve into lurking.
Every new member should be onboarded.
3 - Bad forum design
Some forum owners get way too carried away with their design.
This causes the forum to be designed well but not as user friendly. No one wants to navigate a website that's hard to navigate. If the design is cluttered or outdated, you can expect less interest in your forum.
Create a simple, unique, but user-friendly design.
4 - No content marketing
Just because a forum is made up of user-generated content doesn't mean you shouldn't do content marketing.
Sure, forum users aren't going to be SEO friendly, and they shouldn't be forced to. But you can still ensure that your content (articles, threads, pages, categories, descriptions) is infused with copywriting tactics, SEO techniques, and content marketing. The forum owner is the one who should make the most content anyways so you should use content marketing with that.
Content marketing sill works in 2025 and especially on forums.
5 - No community
A forum is just a platform where people can post messages.
A community is a group of people who share common interests and relations with one another evolving around a specific topic or interest. You can have a forum and no community. You want a community because members feel like they belong and will become loyal forum members.
Work on relationship and friendship building from the start of your forum.
These 5 common mistakes and fixes have helped me grow my forums over the years. I really feel like they can help your forum grow, too.
It's okay. This happens to a lot of forum owners, including me. It's especially the case nowadays as forums get harder and harder to grow.
But never fear, forums are still here and they're still being used.
And I'll share with you what has worked for me and others in growing a forum because it could work for you, as well.
1 - Not targeting a specific niche
If you don't know who your specific target audience is, then you're a needle in a haystack promoting to a sea of sharks that are way bigger and more positioned than you.
You need a target audience. This way you know exactly who you're promoting to. You'll then know how to promote to them and what to promote.
Forum promotion gets way easier after this.
2 - Bad onboarding
Onboarding should be your main internal promotion technique.
This is the experience you provide to new members. They should feel a part of the community from the start. Give them stuff to do rather than let them evolve into lurking.
Every new member should be onboarded.
3 - Bad forum design
Some forum owners get way too carried away with their design.
This causes the forum to be designed well but not as user friendly. No one wants to navigate a website that's hard to navigate. If the design is cluttered or outdated, you can expect less interest in your forum.
Create a simple, unique, but user-friendly design.
4 - No content marketing
Just because a forum is made up of user-generated content doesn't mean you shouldn't do content marketing.
Sure, forum users aren't going to be SEO friendly, and they shouldn't be forced to. But you can still ensure that your content (articles, threads, pages, categories, descriptions) is infused with copywriting tactics, SEO techniques, and content marketing. The forum owner is the one who should make the most content anyways so you should use content marketing with that.
Content marketing sill works in 2025 and especially on forums.
5 - No community
A forum is just a platform where people can post messages.
A community is a group of people who share common interests and relations with one another evolving around a specific topic or interest. You can have a forum and no community. You want a community because members feel like they belong and will become loyal forum members.
Work on relationship and friendship building from the start of your forum.
These 5 common mistakes and fixes have helped me grow my forums over the years. I really feel like they can help your forum grow, too.