You can't even afford $10 for Google Adwords? Without some kind of boost at the beginning, you're going to grow VERY slowly.

I guess if I had absolutely zero dollars, my best way to promote would be SEO on the forum itself. For example, I just learned that Google doesn't normally index phpBB forums. The reason for this is the sid in the URL. There is a phpBB mod that fixes this so that Google will get normal URLs and start indexing the pages. By doing this, anything you post might start appearing in search results, and thus might bring in visitors. There may be similar things you can do to your forum that will "encourage" Google and Yahoo to index each post.

I might also come up with a succinct, excellent signature, add it to my profile on OTHER forums, and start posting on THEIR forums in addition to my own. Your own good posts on other people's forums will drive a few interested people to your site. The trick is to make your posts actually helpful.

-Tony

Well, we all know adwords don't cost just 10 usd. not to mention I haven't too many ways to pay for it. I am quite limited as options go because I live in Romania. Not too many ways to send money to google.

As for the links in sig. I am already doing it. but with little result so far.

Anyway, thank you for the tips Aside these, what else could I do?

... Will try add the mod-rewrite hack on the forums. Good idea indeed.

Huh? You can do a 50 cent Adwords campaign, if you want. Google will let you spend however much or little you wish.

-Tony

I used to run a $2,000 / month AdWords campaign. Nowadays, I'm running a $20 / month campaign

Anyway, I can't send the money. I don't think Google would accept cash in registered mail

So I'm left with free advertising

Best way to promote your forum on few female oriented site and related forums, publish about your forum in few relevant PR site.

Do you know any women?! Kidding.

Seriously though, I am fairly certain you have told your female friends, but if you haven't you should probably do so. Make it a grand mass-email announcement to your girlfriends. You might even lean on them to tell their girlfriends to do them a favor and go create an account on your site, and make a few token posts. They'd rather do that than help you move, trust me. Who knows, if you can make you grand opening aggessive enough, maybe some of the posters you 'guilted' into posting might stay.

Your idea is indeed nice, but I am Romanian .. my female friends are not all that willing to chat in Enlgish

By making my forums in another language I kinda cut my way to have too many friends in it. But I will surely look into this too

You have to tailor your marketing message and targeting strategy with women in mind. I hope this link would help you; ecommercetimes.com/story/MPfFIVAB8d73dc/Study-Men-and-Women-Use-Internet-Differently.xhtml