Owning and operating a message forum is no easy task. You start off with an idea, configure and install the necessary software, test the entire production, and release it to the open public. You tell your friends to create an account and do your best to promote it. Unless you have thousands of dollars, your promotions are somewhat limited. You update your signature everywhere you post and mention the site, e-mail everyone you’ve communicated with in the past, maybe buy some Google keywords with a small budget, and even try some link exchanges.

Still, after all that work, you must create rich content people want to read and get members that are interested. That’s the hard part. You must find members that have a TRUE passion for what your community is all about. The best on-line communities I see have a niche. They aren’t a general everything you want to talk about community. It’s a community where the members have a true passion and engage with the website.

A recent example is Nutrisystem’s website. My girl-friend is part of Nutrisystem’s on-line community. She is starting the Nutrisystem diet and as a member has access to the on-line community. She is a member of no other on-line communities. However, as a member of this community she is actively involved, replying to threads, and making new posts.

I am usually involved in communities and rarely take a step back to see how users actually engage with the website. This experiment with my girlfriend has taught me one important thing. You can do all the promotions in the world, create some of the richest content, but without members that have a true passion for the subject matter the community will stay a little stale.

Focus on your membership base, even if you must grow slowly. You will appreciate the loyal membership base and it will pay off in the end.

Remember, passion = engagement!