1) Help New Members feel Comfortable Things such as terms of service or rules should be easy to find and not hidden two or three pages away. Lead by example and have all staff and moderators do same. This way they already have know what rules and don't have to worry about braking some rule.

Have an Introduction area in your forum for your new members and make sure you or someone else in forums welcomes them, this always makes them feel more welcomed and not so much as an outsider.

2) Top People in Field post at forum - If you can get one or more well respected people in your topic area to post it will make it look more professional. When visitors see this they will think that forum must be good or why would someone respected like that post there.

I recently read an article regarding websites and considerations writers should take when selecting sites to submit their written works to. And, as I believe that a good deal of Internet Community accepts most of information they read from such articles to be truthful and correct, a little additional information need be presented.

Article Exchanges are web sites where professionals (in their field) can submit articles about topics they are knowledgeable of, so that Internet Public may download and reprint or publish to their web site article as free content. One of expectations is that article will be published to numerous web sites creating both linkage for search engines to spider and promotion of writers web site, business, or product.

Most of sites that serve as Article Exchange sites advice writers that their written works are being made available for FREE download and reprint/republish by Internet Community as FREE Content. Some further advise writers that if they charge a fee or do not wish their work distributed as FREE Content, not to submit their work to their site.