I have a Christian forum that I am trying to get more members on. The only members are people that I personally know in real life, and I have made up 12 members, and posted with them, to try to get more people to join. I have read many articles on how to get more members, and I am trying to find more ways to get more people to join, without spending money. Please help! :cheesy:

Post on other christian and religious forums on the web, make contacts, and put a link to your own site in your signature. Write articles and distribute them on the web. Get your name out there. Remember word of mouth advertising is free.

i have already posted on some christian forums....but i guess i will try to do it on more! What do you mean by "making contacts" and where would i "write articles" ....and what about? thanks a lot for the advice!

Posting on related forums is definitely a good idea. You may also want to run some cheap advertising campaigns if you can afford it. At the end of the day though it will take time. You can expedite it by paying for posters, but you have to persevere and keep at it.

Paid posting tends to be a waste of time to be honest. Of the many "companies" offering the services, only a few have actually delievered and not directed all posts to the 'general discussion' forum.

Since your website is christian-based, I'd probably advise against hiring a business to come in and post to increase activity. Natural growth / word of mouth is generally best.

Think of ideas that will set you apart from other communities. Offer special features, merchandise (t-shirts, etc) and related incentives to register. Content is also king. Simply relying on the forum to take will leave things to desired.