Getting users to my site

Hi

I have just started a website, webmaster-market.com

I am wondering how to best get webmasters to register on my site.  It appears a few people have, but how do I make sure that the website takes off, and fairly quickly?

Cheers,
Web-Master

Your post looks like a spammy one, but anyway I will try to answer your question.

The thing is very simple. Just ask yourself what your site is giving that your competitors don't?

I mean, especially for a community driven site like yours, why someone use it when it has no community and it is the same - or even worse - than others that have a community attached?

I know my words sound a little bad, but I have to point out something that is very true. Hope my advice helps :)

Hi, thanks for the reply and no its not spam.

But I am confused as to how I should attract a community to grow on my website when there is no one really there already.  Whats the incentive to signup and help form the community?

I have a few users since I started yesterday, but they won't stay long if the website doesn't get more community members.

Cheers,
Web-master

Well that's the hardest part about communities, and that's why you should build a community over a site that already has traffic. For instance digital point was a site with several webmaster tools, and already had 50,000 members before the forum launched ;)

Thanks for the quick reply!

Yes, I thought that it might be hard to get this community kickstarted.

Better get something on there that will attract users to signup and participate in the community then.  If only I could think of that thing.

Web-Master

Provide something useful (scripts, templates...)

I got ~3500 new members this year...

sure most of them just download, but it's a begin

Thanks for your responce.

Having scripts and tutorials is a good idea.  Will get to work writing some of them now then.

Cheers
Web-Master

Well, if you wish, you can also pay and get targetted traffic on your website.  Use Google Program like ad-word.  Further to this, get your website Search Engine Optimized.  Submit your link to as many directories as possible.

I defintely agree with this.  Getting traffic to a site is one thing and getting them to register and use your service is a totally different ballgame.

give your users something that will keep them comming back. also competitions are a good idea to get memebers.

Quality free resources would help. Just because you have website or forum doesn't mean people will participate. Would you have been better off had you lined up people willing to participate before you launched. You could have done it in BETA and made this group stakeholders in someway. Now, it will be much more difficult.

Maybe you get get someone to launch a new product on your site!

I can't speak for anyone else but I'll tell you how I came to be a member of Webdigity. On another, much larger forum, I saw a number of helpful and insightful posts by someone who seemed to really know his stuff. In his signature was a link to his young and growing forum. I believe there might have been a post or two like, "we talked about that on my forum and ..."  I kept seeing both his name and that link and finally thought I'd take a look around. I liked what I saw and joined.

Nikolas didn't post in that other forum, hey come visit my forum, help me figure out how to build traffic or anything else that many would consider spam - he was simply a good source of information and an active participant.

I can remember when we celebrated the 200th member here and the excitement that milestone caused. It won't happen overnight.

Yes, that's exactly how I came across this forum as well.  I was on a forum that is completely unrelated based on a personal interest.  I've been a member of that particular forum for over 2 years and accumulated over 2,000 posts before I started seeing a fellow member putting a link to this forum stating "Information on increasing internet traffic"  Every day I'd log in and would see it in almost every thread I was participating in.  Finally I just PMed her and she explained to me what this forum was about; how it's a give and take forum.  If I share what I know, it would help me @ least 2x over with the wealth of information the collective membership base has past or present.  I admit I am not as versed in certain aspects of topics given, but I am trying my best to shorten the learning curve.  Just my 2 cents on it:  I appreciate being part of this forum, that's all.  Thank you.

Very good answer... It is very difficult to start a forum from scratch. I see a bunch of forums that I like but hardly anyone uses them.