How do I revive a dead forum?

[dan]

My forum that I used to own has been dead since August, but I really miss the community and fancy reviving it. Are there any good techniques to bring back the members, boost the activity and maintain it?

Thanks

[Dee]

- Offer competitions
- Offer prize draws/giveaways
- Advertise it in the necessary places (try blogs, other forums, social network sites)
- Maybe create social network sites and pages for people to keep up-to-date and post related items (Facebook pages are free and help spread the word and get more followers, Twitter is very popular at the moment)
- Send a link and description of your forum to your friends via a social network or email address
- Update it regularly
- Put out a really pleasant post (example: Thank you to all members, new and old, it is great to have your support and hope you continue to participate in the discussions and enjoy the forum!)
- If you do have a Facebook page you can pay a one off small fee for an advertisement through Facebook.
- You can handout business cards in the appropriate places (if it is a game forum maybe comic stores, gaming stores etc) but remember to get permission
- Give your forum a make-over, change the banner, colours, remove any old or unnecessary posts, it is always good to give things a new look and fresh feel.

If you click on my profile picture at the side and click email, feel free to email me about your forum, I'll be happy to take a look at it and help you advertise it on my blog and social network.

I hope you get your forum back up and running soon, best of luck