Here are the ways to create a forum like nairaland
How To Create A forum Like nairaland.com forum
let’s look at forums and specifically nairaland.com forum forums ,everything about it,ranging from creating and how to make money with a forum.
How To set up an online forum have been a
problem to some Newbie so i decided to explain the
procedures on how to start an online forum like
nairaland.com forum.
– What Is A forum?
An online forum is a website that basically brings
people with similar interest together online in other
to converse and connect with each other. People
have to usually register before they can join in the
conversation.
Conversations are usually called threads. A topic of
discussion or question can be asked by anyone who
is a member of the forum. Replies are made.
problem to some Newbie so i decided to explain the
procedures on how to start an online forum like
nairaland.com forum.
– What Is A forum?
An online forum is a website that basically brings
people with similar interest together online in other
to converse and connect with each other. People
have to usually register before they can join in the
conversation.
Conversations are usually called threads. A topic of
discussion or question can be asked by anyone who
is a member of the forum. Replies are made.
– How To Choose A Topic For Your forum
There are no specific rules in selecting a topic for
your forum but there are general principles that
will help you push your forum to success. You can
start a niche on anything you want but there are
things that can guide you in picking a winning topic.
– Here are a few of them:
There are no specific rules in selecting a topic for
your forum but there are general principles that
will help you push your forum to success. You can
start a niche on anything you want but there are
things that can guide you in picking a winning topic.
– Here are a few of them:
1. Avoid Heavily Contested Niches
I see a lot of nigerians who start forums that seem
to look exactly like nairaland.com forum.com, in terms of the
content and topics of discussion. There is nothing
really wrong with this, only that it is usually better
to look for less competitive topics or niches to start
a forum than just copying others. If you start a
forum that competes directly with
www.nairaland.com forum , I really doubt you will make
it.
If you have the money to promote and do many
other things, maybe you can compete and beat
nairaland.com forum.But I know many people will rather
stick with Nairaland than fraternize on your forum,
unless you have something very different to offer
them.
I see a lot of nigerians who start forums that seem
to look exactly like nairaland.com forum.com, in terms of the
content and topics of discussion. There is nothing
really wrong with this, only that it is usually better
to look for less competitive topics or niches to start
a forum than just copying others. If you start a
forum that competes directly with
www.nairaland.com forum , I really doubt you will make
it.
If you have the money to promote and do many
other things, maybe you can compete and beat
nairaland.com forum.But I know many people will rather
stick with Nairaland than fraternize on your forum,
unless you have something very different to offer
them.
2.Pick A Niche Or Topic You Can Easily Get
Information On
It is good advice to stick to what you are passionate
and interested in because in the first few months of
the life of your forum, you will have to be updating
and posting lots of information about the topic by
yourself. It is only after a critical mass of
information is reached that people will naturally
join in the discussion. This is perfectly normal.So pick a forumtopic about
stuff you can easily get information about,
preferably, what you are passionate about(something you love).
That is All For that,Now Lets go into our main Aim
Now To The Main Aim Of This Post Which Is How To
Set Up Your forum
I will be discussing the technical part of setting up a
forum here. Here are what you need in setting up
forum.
Information On
It is good advice to stick to what you are passionate
and interested in because in the first few months of
the life of your forum, you will have to be updating
and posting lots of information about the topic by
yourself. It is only after a critical mass of
information is reached that people will naturally
join in the discussion. This is perfectly normal.So pick a forumtopic about
stuff you can easily get information about,
preferably, what you are passionate about(something you love).
That is All For that,Now Lets go into our main Aim
Now To The Main Aim Of This Post Which Is How To
Set Up Your forum
I will be discussing the technical part of setting up a
forum here. Here are what you need in setting up
forum.
a. A Domain Name – A domain name is same with
website name.A domain name is the identity and
location of your forum on the internet. It is what
people will type into the browser in order to visit
you forum. You need to put in money in buying a
good domain name You should remember branding
and keywords when picking a domain.
If you are mot financially stable, you can buy a
domain name at http://www.syskay.com . They provide a
reseller service for a bigger hosting company in the
US. You can pay them in Naira..But the issue with
their service is has limited hosting space and
bandwidth. So it is better to buy with
hostgator.com . (It is affordable, reliable and you
can pay with nigerian issued debit cards) It will cost
you about $10 for one domain name for a year. This
is about N1500 to N2000 (depending on the
exchange rate) for a year. You should renew it the
next year to continue using the domain name.
website name.A domain name is the identity and
location of your forum on the internet. It is what
people will type into the browser in order to visit
you forum. You need to put in money in buying a
good domain name You should remember branding
and keywords when picking a domain.
If you are mot financially stable, you can buy a
domain name at http://www.syskay.com . They provide a
reseller service for a bigger hosting company in the
US. You can pay them in Naira..But the issue with
their service is has limited hosting space and
bandwidth. So it is better to buy with
hostgator.com . (It is affordable, reliable and you
can pay with nigerian issued debit cards) It will cost
you about $10 for one domain name for a year. This
is about N1500 to N2000 (depending on the
exchange rate) for a year. You should renew it the
next year to continue using the domain name.
b. Hosting – Hosting refers to the space you will
need online to house (Host) your forum. Syskay also
provides hosting.You can also use hostgator to host
your websites and blogs. I recommend them
because they are very reliable and have no
problems with hosting nigerian websites or blogs.
Hostgator provides 3 different hosting packages at
different prices. I will advice you buy the baby
hosting because of the unlimited domain names you
can host on it. You can order for hosting for a year
or up to 3 years. For confirmation, all they will need
are scanned copies of an identity card and the debit
card used for the order. Click this link to find out
more.
Note- You will need a master card to make the
payment..I advice Gtb Master card..
need online to house (Host) your forum. Syskay also
provides hosting.You can also use hostgator to host
your websites and blogs. I recommend them
because they are very reliable and have no
problems with hosting nigerian websites or blogs.
Hostgator provides 3 different hosting packages at
different prices. I will advice you buy the baby
hosting because of the unlimited domain names you
can host on it. You can order for hosting for a year
or up to 3 years. For confirmation, all they will need
are scanned copies of an identity card and the debit
card used for the order. Click this link to find out
more.
Note- You will need a master card to make the
payment..I advice Gtb Master card..
c.forum Software– After getting your domain
name and hosting, the next thing to do is install a
forum software. There are so many free forum
softwares and other paid versions too.
www.nairaland.com forum is powered with free and
popular forum software called simple machines.
You can see the software here at
http://www.simplemachines.org.
Many forums owned by nigerians use this
software but there are many other free forum
softwares. You can get a complete list of free and
paid forum softwares at http://
mashable.com/2007/08/19/online-forums/ One
reason I recommend hostgator and FatCow is
because you can install your forum by just clicking
your mouse a few times. You don’t need to know
anything about coding and web design. This is done
by the use of something called scripts. Scripts are
ready made programs or softwares that some
hosting company provides on their servers so that
you can easily add to your hosting space. The simple
machine software and other softwares can be
installed on the hosting space with a single click of
the mouse.
name and hosting, the next thing to do is install a
forum software. There are so many free forum
softwares and other paid versions too.
www.nairaland.com forum is powered with free and
popular forum software called simple machines.
You can see the software here at
http://www.simplemachines.org.
Many forums owned by nigerians use this
software but there are many other free forum
softwares. You can get a complete list of free and
paid forum softwares at http://
mashable.com/2007/08/19/online-forums/ One
reason I recommend hostgator and FatCow is
because you can install your forum by just clicking
your mouse a few times. You don’t need to know
anything about coding and web design. This is done
by the use of something called scripts. Scripts are
ready made programs or softwares that some
hosting company provides on their servers so that
you can easily add to your hosting space. The simple
machine software and other softwares can be
installed on the hosting space with a single click of
the mouse.
How To Promote And Manage Your [b]forum[/b]
How To Manage Your forum Is the next thing to
come into your mind after creating your forum.if
you missed my post on how to create a forum simply
click here
After setting up your forum, the next thing is to set
up the different categories and boards you want to
have on the forum.
For example, if your forum is about “Social talks
like Nairaland” you can have categories like
– Entertainment
– Jokes, TV/Movies, Music/Radio, Celebrities,
Fashion, Events, Sports, Gaming, [b]forum Games,
Literature/Writing
– Politics, Romance, Business, Investment, Jobs/
Vacancies, Career, NYSC, Education, Autos, Car
Talk, Properties, Health, Travel, Family, Culture,
Religion, Food, Diaries,e.t.c [/b]
This same idea can be used when categorizing other
topics.
How To Manage Your forum Is the next thing to
come into your mind after creating your forum.if
you missed my post on how to create a forum simply
click here
After setting up your forum, the next thing is to set
up the different categories and boards you want to
have on the forum.
For example, if your forum is about “Social talks
like Nairaland” you can have categories like
– Entertainment
– Jokes, TV/Movies, Music/Radio, Celebrities,
Fashion, Events, Sports, Gaming, [b]forum Games,
Literature/Writing
– Politics, Romance, Business, Investment, Jobs/
Vacancies, Career, NYSC, Education, Autos, Car
Talk, Properties, Health, Travel, Family, Culture,
Religion, Food, Diaries,e.t.c [/b]
This same idea can be used when categorizing other
topics.
Now Over To How To Promote Your [b]forum and make people know that it exists [/b]
Setting up a forum does not guarantee success. It
does not even guarantee that people will know
about the forum. In other words, you need to
promote your forum in order for it to boom.
By promotion I mean, advertising and getting
people to know about the forum and visit it.This
means you need to drive traffic to your forum .
There are hundreds of ways of promoting your
forum online and offline.
Here is a list of ways of promoting your forum.
Online
1. Add it to the signature of your email messages-
[That is after sending mails to your subscribers put a
link to your forum at then of the mail]
2. Add to the url of your forum to the signature or
related forum you join- [write the names of your
forum in any forum you join]
3. Share links to it on Facebook
4. Start a page for it on facebook and ask friends to
join-[click here to create a facbook Page]
5. Tweet some posts made on the forum on facebook
6. Post links to it on book marking websites like
http://www.digg.com , http://www.stumbleUpon.com ,
http://www.reddit.com. You can automate this process by
visiting http://www.socialposter.com
7. Submit to forum directories
8. Make comments with your url on blogs of related
topics
9. Write guest articles in other blogs in your niche
Thats All For How To Promote Your forum
Online
does not even guarantee that people will know
about the forum. In other words, you need to
promote your forum in order for it to boom.
By promotion I mean, advertising and getting
people to know about the forum and visit it.This
means you need to drive traffic to your forum .
There are hundreds of ways of promoting your
forum online and offline.
Here is a list of ways of promoting your forum.
Online
1. Add it to the signature of your email messages-
[That is after sending mails to your subscribers put a
link to your forum at then of the mail]
2. Add to the url of your forum to the signature or
related forum you join- [write the names of your
forum in any forum you join]
3. Share links to it on Facebook
4. Start a page for it on facebook and ask friends to
join-[click here to create a facbook Page]
5. Tweet some posts made on the forum on facebook
6. Post links to it on book marking websites like
http://www.digg.com , http://www.stumbleUpon.com ,
http://www.reddit.com. You can automate this process by
visiting http://www.socialposter.com
7. Submit to forum directories
8. Make comments with your url on blogs of related
topics
9. Write guest articles in other blogs in your niche
Thats All For How To Promote Your forum
Online
How To Promote Your forum
Offline
Offline
1. Advertise on offline newspapers and magazines
2. Advertise on flyers and posters
3. Advertise on TV and radio programs
4. Sponsor related events and get your name out
there How To Promote Your forum Using Paid
Means Online This is the fastest way to send traffic
to your forum or any kind of website.
11. Advertise on facebook
12. Advertise on Google Adwords
13. Advertise on other forums or blogs like
joingurus.blogspot.com
14. Advertise directly on websites owned by others
talking about your topic How To Get People Talking
In Your forum
After setting up your forum, the next thing to do is
get people to join in and start talking. It is easier for
people to join a forum but a bit difficult for them to
start talking. There are many different people who
visit a forum. There are active people asking
questions and answering questions and there are
other group of people who just visit, read the
threads and leave.
I hope This Helps……….Feel free to post Your
Comments
2. Advertise on flyers and posters
3. Advertise on TV and radio programs
4. Sponsor related events and get your name out
there How To Promote Your forum Using Paid
Means Online This is the fastest way to send traffic
to your forum or any kind of website.
11. Advertise on facebook
12. Advertise on Google Adwords
13. Advertise on other forums or blogs like
joingurus.blogspot.com
14. Advertise directly on websites owned by others
talking about your topic How To Get People Talking
In Your forum
After setting up your forum, the next thing to do is
get people to join in and start talking. It is easier for
people to join a forum but a bit difficult for them to
start talking. There are many different people who
visit a forum. There are active people asking
questions and answering questions and there are
other group of people who just visit, read the
threads and leave.
I hope This Helps……….Feel free to post Your
Comments
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