Help starting/promoting an unofficial "fan forum" like the JCF

[Number Of The Priest]

I'm curious about the history of the JCF. This forum, in my eyes, is very successful in bringing together not only Jackson/Charvel enthusiasts, but musicians of all kinds. You can tell that a lot of work was put into the JCF and I praise the Admins and the wide userbase for their enduring activity.

What did you guys do in the early days when there were few members, especially considering my impression that this forum was never officially affiliated with Jackson/Charvel? How did you go about promoting the forum without spamming other forums with links, and without having the forum linked from the Jackson or Charvel websites?

My aim is to create an unofficial "fan forum", much like the JCF, except for a company/brand (non-music related) that could use a little extra exposure and a place for enthusiasts to participate in discussions, that will eventually evolve into a sort of tight-knit active community.

I have no web programming skills so I'm unsure how to install vBulletin and relevant banner/affiliate advertisements and such (like the MattsMusic banner at the top)... although I have extensive experience being an Administrator that maintains vBulletin forums.

I know vBulletin charges a fee for installation and I'll need to buy a domain name, but are there any other monetary costs involved? How much does the JCF cost to run per month or per year, if this information isn't a secret? I respect the withholding of this information if it is private.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[LexLuthier]

I founded and operated a well known guitar forum for a few years. I would suggest maybe trying something like Proboards to test the waters, that way you wouldn't need to lay out any cash in case it doesn't work out.

http://www.proboards.com/index.html

If it looks like it will take off, then maybe go with one of the various forum software packages and a server host service. I think it is very important who is hosting the forum, since if the service is unreliable or crashes a lot, that can cause real problems.

Get your site on search engines like Google, etc, that brings in more people than you would think.

FWIW, I hated running a forum, even though it was pretty successful. When I started out, another forum administrator I asked for advice from gave me this advice: Don't do it. I should have listened. LOL

[Cleveland Metal]

I wouldn't know. I have had a bitchin site for years that no one comes to! haha...