I'm not sure if this topic belongs here, but I will try.
How did you start your wpForo? How did you persuade people to sign up? How did you force them to leave social networks? How did you overcome the full beginnings and the empty forum?
Do you have any types and tricks?
At the beginning, I'm trying to fill the forum with current, controversial, interesting posts. I persuade my friends to get involved in the discussion. Gradually, I am acquainting well known and distant acquaintances.
As soon as there is at least some minimal discussion on the forum, I want to try promotion through social networks, google advertising, and advertising on my expert and forum-related sites. I also try to arrange a promotion with my partners. On their websites, but also on the facebook pages they manage.
Well i have jump-started one of mine by making accounts and post topics. Then reply with an other account. Not easy to do and keep track of who posts and who replies.
After a few months some real people came and i was able to stop doing that myself.
Also Facebook helped a bit in that case.
Here are some good articles and forum discussions:
