How to turn lurkers into posters?

Question

I have a forum (board) and I would like to transform it's lurkers into posters. What are the methods used tot do this? Please detail...

Lurker => person that reads discussions but rarely participates.

Thank You

Answer 1

First, realize that lurking is the way of the Internet: anonymous search for information. You're asking people to shed some of that safety net.

So, do you have a free-for-all section of your forum where people can talk about anything?

Or, sections like Things I Hate About Apple or Things I Hate About Microsoft or some such other area that has die hard fans.

Someone might post a message about something that hate because they cannot make it work, and someone else just might give them information that solves that problem.

Other lurkers might say, "Hey, that's pretty useful." and come back again and again for more info. Each visit tends to draw them closed to shedding that lurker status.

Answer 2

it depends what kind of forum you are on