Message boards - and why they are usually lame.
Message boards are a great way to get people to re-visit your page. Another big advantage is, that other people will do the updating for you. Always something to read, to chat about, new people all the time….
It is looking good on paper.
The reality is, that 95% of all message boards are boring. Not because of the topics or the people, but because of the LACK of topics and people.
A message board with only 10-50 users and the latest post dated from one month back is like hanging out the sign "Look at me: nobody is interested!" This will reflect on your page as a whole, and I'm sure, it is not the effect you are going for.
My un-educated guess is, that you need at least a few hundred visitors on your page per day to keep your board interesting. My biggest page has currently about 3,500 visitors per day and the message board is just doing fine: We have between 10 and 30 new posts per day - but as you can see: way less than 1% of the visitors actually post anything. So if you have 100 visitors a day (which is a number that is too high for the beginning of a page) I would expect a post about every two days. And think of you as a surfer: If you find a board with this posting-frequency, would you be likely to come back?
My suggestion when it comes to message boards is: wait.
Wait until you have enough visitors to make it interesting. A board is not there to get new visitors; it is there to retain them.
Once you feel that you have enough regular visitors to start a board, be aware, that "the buzz" is over fast. Everybody will jump on the board and make a post, once it is open. Don't let that fool you: It is just like everybody will show up to the opening of a bar or a restaurant, but to determine whether or not it is really a success, will take more than the opening night.
Make sure, YOU post interesting articles and questions in the beginning. After a few months you can sit back a little, but in the beginning it is you, you and you.

Don't be afraid to close the board, if it does not work out! You can re-open any time, but don't try and try to keep the board alive, if "it" does not want to get going after a while. No Message board at all is much better than a boring one.

Another option is, to find an active board on another website that deals with similar topics your site is about. For example if you are selling self-made wooden toys, find an active message board on a page that is also about toys. Have a good a long look around on that board, and if you like it, start writing there and get your name known. Then ask the Webmaster, if it is OK to link to the board from your page. You can make it look & feel like people are actually on your page, if you use frames.

If you are active on another board and/or you link to it, it can never hurt. It will bring you some visitors in any case, and this is what you want.

If you feel you have enough visitors to open a board and your board turns out to be active, this is no time to sit back either:
Have a very close eye on what is going on! It takes only a few bad eggs to spoil the whole community. There are a lot of different characters on the web: People who are easily insulted and people who like to make a fuss. You can be sure, that they will all meet on your board.
Make sure you have rules of what is acceptable on the board and what is not. Have people agree to these rules, before they can post. This is the only way to kick people out, if they ignore your warnings. Do no make up rules "on the fly" since this might irritate a lot of the "good" members, and/or hinder ANY controversial discussions. Controversy is good. It keeps the board alive and everybody interested, but you have to regulate, how these controversial opinions can be voiced.
I have seen discussions escalate in less than an hour. Make sure, that your users are aware that you will delete posts, if needed. If people are not aware, they will feel betrayed and accuse you of limiting their right of free speech. One of my favorite lines in replying to this is: "You can flame and insult people, but you can't do it here."
Don't get tangled up in "free speech" discussions - it is your board after all. You make the rules. Just don't forget to post them before hand.