I strongly believe it's a matter of what you offer. You can tell everyone about your site, but if something of quality isn't there, people have no reason to stay. There are plenty of options.
My community site (hubski.com) is starting to get some energy after a few months. Personally, I believe it's because my view of the site has changed a bit. A bit of digression...: I started the site to teach myself programming. I grabbed the HN code, figured it out, and began to change it. I was an early Redditor, have been on HN some time, and I had a number of ideas I wanted to try. Slowly but surely, I began to build something I personally wanted to exist. I now know exactly where I am going. As for a seed community, I was very lucky to have some friends interested in giving feedback and to mess with it. Some were Redditors too. My wife is a loyal active member as well.
I only have a few months of experience, but IMO best way to build community is to engage and importantly, enjoy the site. Take the time to post the kind of things that you really want to see (not just filler content), and definitely take the time to get to know users. I am glad I did, because I've met some very cool people in the effort. You can't fake community. Don't waste your time trying. People can see through it. It's like a restaurant. If the food is good, people will come back.
I don't know what our trajectory will be, but I don't expect a steep climb. Actually, if you want a steep climb, you are in the wrong space, as a steep climb is antithetical to a quality community. At least the type I am interested in. If you are going to build a community, enjoy the process. -If you don't, you probably won't succeed.
My community site (hubski.com) is starting to get some energy after a few months. Personally, I believe it's because my view of the site has changed a bit. A bit of digression...: I started the site to teach myself programming. I grabbed the HN code, figured it out, and began to change it. I was an early Redditor, have been on HN some time, and I had a number of ideas I wanted to try. Slowly but surely, I began to build something I personally wanted to exist. I now know exactly where I am going. As for a seed community, I was very lucky to have some friends interested in giving feedback and to mess with it. Some were Redditors too. My wife is a loyal active member as well.
I only have a few months of experience, but IMO best way to build community is to engage and importantly, enjoy the site. Take the time to post the kind of things that you really want to see (not just filler content), and definitely take the time to get to know users. I am glad I did, because I've met some very cool people in the effort. You can't fake community. Don't waste your time trying. People can see through it. It's like a restaurant. If the food is good, people will come back.
I don't know what our trajectory will be, but I don't expect a steep climb. Actually, if you want a steep climb, you are in the wrong space, as a steep climb is antithetical to a quality community. At least the type I am interested in. If you are going to build a community, enjoy the process. -If you don't, you probably won't succeed.