New forum growth

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

Some forums open at a very slow pace, getting 1 or 2 members here and there for a long time before they either take off or fizzle out. Other forums open with an explosion of new members and activity.

Do you think new forums that open with a ton of initial activity are going to be disappointed after the new-ness wears off?

Do you think slow and steady is the better way to grow a community?

 

[PGen98]

It's such a craps-shoot these days, sadly. Forums can start with a trickle and lead to an ocean or start with a storm and end with a drought. It's totally based around luck, niche, many other factors, etc. Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle and sometimes you just plain have to build up from nothing. You can't quite predict it, sadly!

 

[Cedric]

There’s a very obvious reason for that.

Having an audience before opening the forum.

Edit: based on your post, I have released a new article: https://admin-junkies.com/articles/forum-growth-building-your-audience-before-opening.81/

 

[Mendalla]

In our case, Wondercafe2 opened as an offshoot of another forum that was being closed so definitely fit the "surge followed by a decline" model. Lots of people came over, then dropped off or started accounts but never became active. Over the subsequent years, we just did not pick up a lot of new members outside that original group, though a few people from the old site eventually returned or came and went occasionally. Right now, things are so slow I am not even sure how much effort to put into my admin work (e.g. the upcoming upgrade to Xenforo 2.3). Seems like I am keeping the lights on for the few who are left.

The problem for us was that origin story. It made for a bit of a tight-knit community that new arrivals probably find it hard to fit into (@Nebulous might be able to comment since he has an account and has visited from time to time). Interesting given we are nominally a religion or spirituality forum, it is the same issue seen in some fading church congregations (want to grow but new arrivals don't feel welcome). Not sure how widespread that issue is in other communities, though.