Advertising

I'll admit: getting you and your site's name out there isn't easy. In fact, it's one of the hardest but most needed things for a new forum. Advertising has to be done almost all the time, preferably every week if not every day. This guide will tell you how to become a known name!

Making a site advert
Making site adverts are often just a matter of taking the site banner and resizing it so it's about 400-600 wide (and height depending on the banner). Make sure the banner doesn't get stretched or look distorted either way. If in doubt, do it simply.  The banner is then put, with a site link, on other site's advert pages.

Code:


[url=SITELINK][img]IMAGELINK[/img][/url]


However, this really isn't enough. You have a site link attatched to the banner, but does the banner actually highlight the features of the forum and why people should join? Many people aren't going to join a forum "just for fun". You need something that attracts others and tells them why they should choose your forum. It needs to be unique. Why would people join your general discussion forum that's the same as thousands of others out there?
If you have no unique feature, go make one now.

The next step is to summarise what your forum is in a few short sentences. This text should be placed under the banner and link. It needs to be concise - easily understandable in as few words as possible. If you are making an RPG forum advert, say a little bit about the plot. Readers may not want to read every detail! Also, leaving questions at the end means readers may join your site for the answers. Make them WANT to join!

Finally, links to sections of your site are helpful. These can be arranged in any way you  wish. For example, links to:
- The Homepage (Obviously)
- The Portal (If you have one)
- The Rules (So potential members can see if they like them)
- The Character Creation Form (So potential members can see if they like how it's planned out)
- The Advert Section (If you want others to be able to advertise on your forum. Be sure that guests are allowed to post if you want guests posting.)
- Any Other Highlights


Fine-tune your advert now. Make sure the coding is correct and there are no typos. There aren't many more irritating things than reading a  typo-ridden advert! Also, ask someone who is fluent at the language to check the advert for grammar errors.


Posting the Advert
The next step is to find places where your advert can be posted. Here are some possibilities:

- RPG-Directory
- RP'ers Anonymous
- Red Carpet and Rebellion
- Caution
- ForumPromotion
- Advertise Hotspot
- Splut
- Google
- Yahoo
- Bing
- Your Forum Host's Support Forum (if allowed)
- The guest-allowed sections on other forums

Please be sure that you follow any rules set by the forum creator such as putting their link on your site if required. Also, be sure the coding for your advert works on the forum software you are posting it on. Some software use different code tags for the same things. Do this by previewing everything you post, before posting if you can. Many forums disallow guest edits. 


You'll need multiple adverts on many sites  for them to have much effect. Besides, most  of  the time the site members come through word of mouth and reccomendations. Ensure your site is good enough for  people to spread the  news about it  without you having to do so!