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* Create a Big Brother forum and get it high on Google.
* Create a temporary discussion forum about a popular news event in an attempt to grab the BBC HYS-style of poster.
* Do a deal with a decent search engine and put it on your lead page in an attempt to get users to make you their homepage.
* Bring back the news thing you used to do with amusing spins on various news.
* Chuck up some celebrity rubbish - that always brings in people to chat.
If you want the forums to bring people in and actually be a decent marketing addition to your site then this is the rather unfortunate turn you have to take.
However there are other good things to promote alongside this:
* Writing/poetry competitions
* Most hilarious news item of the day competition
* Best bargain of the day competiton
etc
The point is there are a 1000 ways to get in some more hits from those looking to chat about current topics and win amazon/argos vouchers but you're not attempting them and the forums are dying on their a**e.
Above all these ideas won't amount to anything without high search results and a little bit of sly marketing (email or otherwise) but using the obvious tricks (calling pictures 'Big Brother'/'other' over and over for instance) it shouldn't be a problem.
Worth a go I think.
Personally I think it's a bit off putting to any new visitors to see a thread title along the lines of this to be honest, why come to a forum which some of its own members feel is dying?
> This is my second time on these here forums (I was here years ago
> on Special Reserve), so I'll call my presence here The Second
> Coming - that's it! - maybe I am The Saviour...
Not that I wish to doubt you're the savour or anything but how about a miracle to prove you are? Perhaps you could turn visitors into posters?
> We don't have any plans to change the Gameaday sites, though
> Bingo is not considered a permanent addition and is likely to be
> removed the next time we add a new category for Gameaday prizes.
[B]Woohoo!
> Will wonders never cease..
Step back in amazement: it is a miracle.