1. Start your forum with few forums. I suggest Rules, General, Comments, Webmaster Talk.
2. Post a couple of topics in each forum.
3. Request a post exchange at Site Point and Build Your Forum.
4. Request a link exchange at Site Point, Build Your Forum, Digital Point, and NamePros.
5. Submit your forum to Directories.
6. Pay some people to post at your forum if post exchanges didn't turn out well. You can request people at Site Point, Build Your Forum, Digital Point, and NamePros.
7. Start a domain contest at your forum and post about it at FreeWebSpace.net. If possible do more than one domain contest, so people will think that they have a better chance at getting a domain.
8. Post some articles on your forum and submit them to these article directories and Blogsip.
9. Buy some ad space on webmaster sites.
10. If you have google adsense, blend in your ads by making fake forums that display the ads, like Build Your Forum.
11. Continue to be an active Admin until your forum reaches the stage where you don't have to be around to keep it alive.
12. As your forum grows, add more forums.
