Only organic growth

[Shawn Gossman]

Can a new forum make it on organic growth only?

Meaning, no social media marketing. No intentional SEO. No paid acquisition, No marketing tactics being used at all.

Just a forum being launches and people finding the forum organically or through word-of-mouth...

Is this possible anymore? Why or why not?

 

[Uncrowned Guard]

Organic growth is a beautiful ideal—and in some rare cases, it can still work. But for most new forums today, relying solely on word-of-mouth and passive discovery is a steep uphill climb.

The landscape has changed. Forums aren’t the default gathering places they once were, and attention is fragmented across countless platforms. Without some form of outreach—whether it’s SEO, ads, social media, or strategic partnerships—your forum risks becoming invisible, no matter how good the content or community is.

 

[ruscoe]

I'd say maybe. If you had a niche that really resonated with people and you hit that threshold of enough people posting to make others want to join. Difficult though, and I don't know what that threshold would be.

I do think it would have been easier 20 years ago, before the convenience of Facebook groups (already have an account, one click to join.) I feel like people used to be more willing to sign up for forums back when there were fewer options.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

It makes me wonder if setting your expectations to just doing word-of-mouth and relying on organic growth will help you enjoy forums more rather than putting a lot of work into marketing and getting very little results.

Imagine getting that first member and you and them starting to community back and forth waiting for the second person to join, and then the third, etc.

Just getting on the forum to see updates from that 1 or few members and letting it naturally grow from there.

I can see where it would be a challenge, but you'd have to fully adjust your mindset on the whole thing.