Do you make new members feel welcome?

[Shawn Gossman]

One of the biggest reasons that forums have declined over the years I suspect is when people join a forum and they don't get what thought they would get out of it.

I think that we should look to each new member as someone who can help make our forum better.

So, we should do all we can to give them a great first impression by inviting them to be a "part of the family" from the start and make them feel at home.

Is this something you agree with as a forum owner?

Is this something you try to do? If so, in what ways are you trying to make this a reality for new members?

 

[Juneberry]

I'm still a fledgling (again), but I intend to make everyone feel welcome and at home. I want to welcome everyone, and to ask them for feedback so that they can help shape the community in ways I never even thought of!

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I'm still a fledgling (again), but I intend to make everyone feel welcome and at home. I want to welcome everyone, and to ask them for feedback so that they can help shape the community in ways I never even thought of!

I think we should do more than send a welcome message.

My idea is to contact them by Personal Message and thank them for joining.

Initiate small talk.

Then keep the conversation going. Get to know each other and praise them for their goodness.

Make them feel like they've earned a friend just by joining. That friend is the forum owner and will make them feel extra special.

Of course, in reality, you should be a friend to them. This isn't to trick them, but it's to make a new friend and encourage a loyal member.

It takes real community relations to do something like this.

With a smaller forum, it will be easier, but overtime as the forum grows, you might need to branch these tasks out and delegate some of them to other staff members.

 

[Elseb]

I probably should do more tbh but I will always be polite and try to be as welcoming as possible. You're provably right about the personal message, some forums have an auto message when you first register but I don't like those, doesn't feel genuine.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I probably should do more tbh but I will always be polite and try to be as welcoming as possible. You're provably right about the personal message, some forums have an auto message when you first register but I don't like those, doesn't feel genuine.

It would be an interesting concept to try.

I think forums these days are harder to retain members on.

So, any sort of community development tactic we can use to keep members active, is a good thing

 

[Elseb]

It would be an interesting concept to try.

I think forums these days are harder to retain members on.

So, any sort of community development tactic we can use to keep members active, is a good thing

I'll give it a go moving forward and let you know my feedback. Just need to find the new members first haha

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I'll give it a go moving forward and let you know my feedback. Just need to find the new members first haha

I think it could be beneficial to community development.

People these days love to get attention. Not to say that is bad thing. But they love being able to talk about what they want to talk about.

People are simply taking pride in themselves which IMO creates innovation in things and generates ideas.

Some forum owners want to talk about them and them only. We just have to get past that and really focus on our members.

 

[Aaron]

I always make sure members are comfortable. Actually to the point the members who used to come from Postloop (It was a site where I could pay for posts etc) they wanted to stay afterwards. I've made a few friends from forums to the point where I am still their friends nowadays and we are friends outside of forums such as on Facebook.

 

[Dilip]

Getting new members regularly is good. The best way to retain them is to engage with them positively.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I always make sure members are comfortable. Actually to the point the members who used to come from Postloop (It was a site where I could pay for posts etc) they wanted to stay afterwards. I've made a few friends from forums to the point where I am still their friends nowadays and we are friends outside of forums such as on Facebook.

I remember Post Loop. I miss it!

I agree though. If you can get a member to stay coming from an exchange or a Post Loop type service, that's a nice accomplishment to add to your belt.

It's easier with some niches.

Some of the members here are ones that I've exchanged with and now they seem to want to come back.

I of course support their forums with activity as well.

If you can find SOMETHING of your active members to support, do it and you'll earn a loyal forum member.