Questions to ask non-active users?

[RoadRash]

I have 800 or so users i would like to get some feedback from. Basicly, why they havent visited my site in the last 30 days, and have under 5 posts...

What questions should i ask them? Design questions, navagation questions, what would you change and like questions?

I just want to make my site better, i think asking these in-active members may be the best way. Any help appriciated!

[mmj]

I think the biggest reason that non-active users exist in any forum is that people visit for a few days, register and then lose interest and forget about the site.

It's not because the forum is bad, it's just because they're not interested in forums or they just forgot. People are disorganised and it's their choice.

Therefore if you contact your inactive members many of them are likely to have forgotten all about your forums.

How do you plan to contact these members? By email? If the members opted in to receiving emails from the administrator then you could send out a newsletter every couple of weeks and this may gradually prevent users from becoming inactive (by reminding them).

If however you just send them a PM they probably won't come and pick it up.

cheers,

mmj

[RoadRash]

Thanks for the reply, Currently i send out a bi-monthly community update. This is quite effective, but not as much as i would like.

Im thinking about holding a contest, answer a few questions for the chance to win a $25 product. I would just like to get a handfull of these members back to the forums. They have already taken the time to register at the forums, some have posted once or twice... If i could get 5% of these members (over 800!) to become active members, i would be thriled!

I would be contacting them by email, they have agreed to recive emails from me, and have not un-subscribed, yet!

[mjames]

It's good you're using the Community Bulletin e-mail - I do the same thing and it must help to a certain degree. Not to be discouraging to you, but if they don't come back and at least visit after receiving the Community Bulletin e-mails, I doubt anything else will pull them back. As mmj said, it's just the nature of many people: they are disorganized and inconsistent. They might register somewhere with good intentions and never follow through.

It's certainly frustrated for webmasters, though.

[cyc]

Hi there

I'm currently running a competition on my forum, to have a chance of winning you need to have 20+ posts to your name. Although my forum is alot smaller than yours, i've found the results to be really good.

Maybe you could anounce the competition to all your members in an email, this is sure to bring back some of the non-active members.

Give away something cheap like a bike computer, a book or even a bottom of the rang polar HRM.

BTW i'm one of the members you refering to, i havent posted at your site in yonks

cheers mate!

[RoadRash]

cyc, im talking about totaly in-active members... you have a handfull of posts I have 600 that have NO posts! GRR! Does my forum suck that much?! (please, dont answer! hah)

[cyc]

They're inactive, so a give away might help make them become active. If someone has taken the effort to join there must atleast be a small amount of interest in your site.

Does my forum suck that much?

umm no