Why Would You Add A Message Board
To Your Site?
By Richard Lowe
One of the things that I like to do every single day
is surf the internet. I love finding new sites which
have interesting information, graphics or other useful
or merely entertaining data. It's a normal part of my
routine, and I make it a point to visit at least a dozen
sites each night.
When I visit a site, I make a point of looking for
some standard features which increase the value of my
stop. One of these things is a guestbook - why? Because
I want to sign it and let the webmaster know that I
appreciate his or her efforts. This is important to
me, as someone went to some trouble to communicate,
and I like to communicate back, even if it's just a
"nice site, thanks". Sometimes I have to spend an extra
few minutes to find something to compliment, but I usually
am successful.
I also look for a link to send an email to the webmaster.
This allows me to send private messages, which are more
useful for feedback not appropriate for a public forum
such as a guestbook. I don't always send an email or
make a comment, but it's useful to know that I can if
necessary.
It's always a huge delight to find a message board,
and it's even better to find that the board is active
and in use on a regular basis. You see, this means that
I can have discussions with people about a subject,
knowing that most of them have some interest in the
conversation.
An example of my own message board can be seen if you
click the link below. http://www.internet-tips.net/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi
A good message board allows people to register (as
does mine), lets people set up profiles with information
about themselves (all voluntary), and informs people
(optionally) of updates via email. Additionally, people
should be able to post replies and add messages anonymously
(at the discretion of the board master).
What does all of this do? It allows people to have
conversations about specific topics with a group of
interested individuals. What is the value of this? Well,
suppose your site is all about the X-Men comic series.
It has some great stories which you have written, some
graphics and a few videos from the movie (all with permission,
of course).
Think of the value you could add by allowing others
to have conversations about the X-Men as well. You could
let people post questions (which you or anyone else
could answer), give advice on where to find the rarer
comic books, submit stories and do any number of other
things.
This not only has value to you, it has value to your
visitors and improves their perception of your site.
People will tend to come back to a message board, as
long as it is active, in order to find out what's happening,
get answers to questions and keep in touch. This, of
course, increases the traffic to your own site.
And if you sell a product or service, then a message
board takes even a higher value as it gives your visitors
a way to communicate their concerns, questions and experiences
with your company and your products in a public forum.
It's far cheaper than a telephone number, and it's free
and easy for your customers.
The moral of the story? Include as many ways for your
site visitors to communicate as you can. Put in a guestbook
(carefully monitored), an email or form to give communication
to the webmaster, and a message board. All of these
things give a way for your visitors to communicate,
and this gives them reasons to come back.
Additional Information
Free stuff Headquarters
http://www.internet-tips.net/Freestuff/Freemessageboards.htm
Message Boards
Message boards are a great way to add value to your
site and to get visitors to come back again and again.
Message Boards - Ethics
http://www.internet-tips.net/Msgboards/ethics.htm
Nothing is more sad than a once proud message board
being reduced to rubble by a malicious moderator.
Message Boards - Contributor
http://www.internet-tips.net/Msgboards/contributor.htm
Message boards thrive on contributions. In fact, without
contributors there is no board at all.
Message Boards - Promotion
http://www.internet-tips.net/Msgboards/promotion.htm
Message boards are very useful in getting people to
return to your site, but they must be promoted in order
to be of maximum benefit.
Message Boards - Moderator
http://www.internet-tips.net/Msgboards/moderator.htm
The best message boards are wonderfully and expertly
moderated. The worst are frequented by nothing but spam
robots.
Sticky Sites - Message Boards
http://www.internet-tips.net/Sticky/msgboards.htm
You can add a message board to your site to get people
to want to come back over and over.
About the author:
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And
Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles
to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net
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