Something that is not obvious is that a message board must be promoted just like anything else on internet. In other words, you have to let people know that your board exists and is interesting. I know it seems kind of strange ... you created your board in order to get people to come back to your web site, yet now you have to promote board as well?

The first thing you want to do is to link your board to your web site. I know it seems obvious, but still it interesting how many people forget this simple step. In addition, link must be in an obvious place, and it's wise to include it on every page of your site.

The next tasks is to start telling people about existence of board. You are looking for contributors, especially early in life of board. You want to find as many people as you can who will actually contribute to community that you are trying to build.

A good place to start is to lurk in other message boards, newsgroups and email discussion lists with similar subjects. Read messages, then start posting your own to get established as someone who is knowledgeable on subject. You should start to determine who is active in board, perhaps make a few friends and gain some respect.

So, you wonder, why is nobody coming to my site. The answer is simple: You Must Promote!! Promote everyday and then promote some more.

There are many ways to promote your website that will cost you nothing. Here are some of best ways that I have found.

*Link Exchanges

Set up a link exchange page and find sites that are complimentary to yours. Email webmaster and explain why you want a link exchange. Tell them a little about your site and invite them to take a look. Be selective about which sites you put your link on. More often than not, webmaster will exchange links.

You can also get on some link exchange email lists:

0ne4All-LinkExchange-subscribe@egroups.com

LinkTogether-subscribe@egroups.com

LinkTrader-subscribe@egroups.com

*Message Boards

Get involved in message boards. Don’t just post an ad and never come back. Ask questions, answer questions, and get involved with group. Many people have had alot of success with this method. You can search over 310,000 forums at:

http://www.forumone.com/index.php

*Publish an Ezine

If you are serious about your business you should definitely start an ezine. You want to provide quality information as well as updates and information on your site. This will be one way to gather emails and keep your potential customers coming back. There are many sites that will help you get started with an ezine.