FreeForums.org Knowledge Base

 There's literally millions of forums on the Internet, some of them are huge. So how can you compete? By adding value and keeping members interested:

 Utilize Forum Features
FreeForums.org is both #1 in service and features. We spend 20 hours a day making your forums better, so you should take advantage of all the amazing features we have installed. Features such as the Arcade, Welcome PM, inactive user reminder, etc really help engage your users and make them want to come back. Did you know that some forums have thousands of games played on their arcade? Every time a user comes to play a game he's thinking about your forum.

Create a reward system
Users want to feel like they mean something, and everyone has a natural competitive side. Creating a system to reward active contributors, via custom rank, rank image, or an image for their sig, will go a long ways. People like to have status, so even a "VIP Member" rank for active members will make them want to come back day after day.

Contests!
Everyone loves participating in contests. Perhaps the easiest one is a "Member of the month" contest. Every month take the 10 most active posters and create a poll. The winner gets an image for their signature and a custom rank.  Depending on the type of forum you could have contests to create tutorials, help other users, find related articles, etc.