1. Be There!
This may seem like a no-brainer, but there are many forums out there that suffer from a lack of the administrator's presence, and quietly die away. Keeping yourself involved, and letting your members know that you are there for them, is key to keeping their interest going. If you arent there, then why should they be?
2. Be Active and Get to Know Your Members.
One of the more important things that you can do as an admin is to get to know your members. Giving them that personal touch of being friendly with you is what will get their interest involved enough to have them want to come back again. Talk to them, message with them, know what their interests are, and they will know that you care about them. A member will want to be where they feel welcomed.
On top of that, you must be active in the forums with your members. Don't expect your members to do all the postings for you and on their own. If the administrator isn't active, why should they be? Post new things for them to talk about, lead them into conversations, get their fingers moving, and they will come back again and again to see what else is new to talk about, or see how a converstation is going.
3. Rules are Rules.
Once you set the rules/guidelines of your forum, it is your job to be sure that they are followed. You can't let one person get away with rule breaking just because they are your friend, then turn around and "punish" another member for doing the same thing. This breaks trust with your members (and not just that one, as the others will see this happening as well), and will prevent them from wanting to get that involved.
If you find a member has broken a rule for the first time, a gentle, often private, reminder is often the best course of action. Often, a member may just not have been thinking and not noticed that they broke a rule. A gentle reminder will let them be aware, and, most likely, they will not do it again. Coming at them too strongly, pointing fingers, and telling them they were "bad", will often get a finger right back at you, with some hostility involved. Any form of hostility is not healthy for the forum, or for you. If a member repeatedly breaks a rule, a harsher 'punishment' may be required, and it is up to you and the **** to decide what that 'punishment' should be.
4. Activities.
All the members will need something to do on your forum, and activities are a great way to go. Whether it's challenges, contests, games, or whatever else may fit into the theme of your forum, giving your members something to do will have them running back for more.
5. Moderators.
Moderators are actually an extension of you. When you can't be there, they are your messengers, and the keepers of the rules. Also, they are representatives of the Forum, and what you want it to be. When you can't be there, you need to be able to trust that your moderators are doing things in the best interest of your forum, and its members. When deciding to bring in moderators to help you out on the forum, it's important to remember several things:
* Choose a Mod that you can trust. Don't just randomly shout out for any Tom, ****, or Harry to be a moderator. Take a look at your members, and see who you feel would best represent you when you are gone, and even when you are there.
* Your Mod needs to be able to follow these same type of guidelines that you do. Your members need to be able to know that they can trust your Moderator, as they would trust you.
* Make sure that your mod has the same ideals of the forum as you do. If you choose a Moderator that doesn't believe in the forum, or its members, you could be in for more trouble than it's worth. At the same time, if your moderator has a suggestion for the place, listen. They may be seeing something you are missing, and it could go a long way to making the forum even better than before.
6. Listen To Your Members.
You created the forum for people to come and to hang out. If you want them to stay, you need to be willing to listen to what they have to say, good or bad. They may have a suggestion to help the place or its members out. They may be seeing a problem that you have missed, or they could be looking for something more to do, and have an idea of how to get the place jumping. Never underestimate your members. They are who/what you are there for.
7. Keep it Neat.
Basic maintenance will keep things easier for your members to follow and understand the things that are happening around the forum. Each board of your Forum is going to have different pruning/maintenance needs. Watch the activities in each board and keep things nice and neat so that your members don't have to spend hours searching for the answer to a question they may have. This will also keep down the amount of repeated posts, as the answers, or topics, will be easy to find. This means less work all around for you and your members!
8. Be You!
This is most important! Don't try to be something that you're not. You may just wind up stressing yourself out, and the members will see and feel it. Relax, have fun, and be yourself. The members will react, and do the same themselves, making everyone happy!
These are just some basic guidelines to follow. Every forum is different, and there is no way to cover every type of situation that may come up. If you just keep these simple guidelines in your head, you will be on the fast track to having, and keeping, a successful forum for all your members to enjoy.
