Looking for a little help getting your forums started?

I ran across the article How to Build A Popular and Profitable Forum Community today, and I thought it was very interesting.

I'm currently using PhpBB for my at Mystical Beauty Forums and my Etailers Mall Forums and found them relatively simple to use. Of course, I installed them through the Cpanel, so that made it really easy.

I do think it is very important to keep posting to new messages to your forums, and keep adding new relavant information to them, even when it feels like you are talking to yourself. It can be very frustrating when trying to get a forum started, but if you get the word out, people will eventually come see what you have to offer.

I had not thought about using ezine articles to keep the interest in the site up, before I read this article, but I am definitly going to look into it now. Since the articles are not on your web pages, and since they will not stand alone, it should be ok reprint these articles in a forum post, without having to worry about duplicate content issues.

I also agree with the author that less is more when it comes to the number of catagories in a new forum. I know I am much more likely to leave a site if it has a bunch of forums with no posts in them.

At the same time, I wonder how some people can send out an email with a message saying "Hey look at this new forum I just created" and when I look at the forum it already has hundreds of posts on it. I guess some people are just lucky like that.

Do you have a forum? Post a comment and share the url, and let us know the best ways you've found to build and promote your forums.

Best Wishes For a Prosperous Business,

Sarah

The Home Based Business Kit From Hobby to Profit - Book Review

The Home Based Business Kit From Hobby to Profit, by Diana Brodman Summers, and D-M Boulay, Attorneys at Law, promises to teach you how to "launch a money-making venture from the comfort of your own home" and does a pretty good job at it.

This book covers the basics of starting a home business, such as who you might need to help you with your business (such as attorneys and accountants) and why, how to decide which type of business structure will be best for your business, a brief overview of how to make a marketing plan and a budget, financial considerations to consider with your business and so on.

It also covers things that one wouldn't normally think of when planning to start a home business, such as what happens if you get hurt, or have a family emergency, and can't work on the business for a period of time - do you have a plan in place so that your business can keep going? What happens when a customer or associate gets hurt while visiting your home business - will your regular insurance cover you or do you need special insurance?

And something that I never really thought about before - how does your office look to your customers? If they need to come to your house is there a separate entrance for them?

Is there a way to separate the office from the rest of the house so that your house and your family are safe from people that you don't know who may stop by to visit your business? Will you advertise your home address for your business, or will you use a service that provides a street address for your postal needs, so you don't give everyone to your home address?

If there isn't a separate entrance to your office, is your office near the front of the house so that customers won't have to pass through several rooms before they get to your office?

Are the areas that the customers will see clean, well kept, and free from potential hazards such as low hanging chandeliers?

Are there any special considerations your customers need to be aware of before they come to your house, such as not parking in the street, or only parking on one side of the street? If so make sure you remind your customers of that each time they come to visit.

This is a great book, that was very thought provoking, especially when it comes to things that apply to home businesses, that don't apply to other businesses! I strongly suggest that you read it if you are considering starting your own home business!

The Home Based Business Kit From Hobby to Profit can be purchased from Amazon.com - just click below if you're interested.




Best Wishes For a Prosperous Business,

Sarah