Forums

retired_member4 · 25-05-2009, 08:44:02 PM

Even if you get a forum active, it will probably not be profitable. Forums are a nightmare to monetise. I ran quite a big forum a few years ago, plenty of members and plenty of posts, but they are not there to click on your ads, so adsense is a no-no for forums. Ad blindness is real.

How many times have you clicked an ad yourself on a forum? I've never done it.

I'm afraid forums are a labour of love, and should not be considered as a way to make money. Of course some do, but usually the ones that did not start out with that intention.

Running a (successful) forum can be a full time job in itself. Is it worth the effort?

For me it wasn't so I sold it, now it is dead

jimm · 25-05-2009, 10:27:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FagEnd

Even if you get a forum active, it will probably not be profitable. Forums are a nightmare to monetise. I ran quite a big forum a few years ago, plenty of members and plenty of posts, but they are not there to click on your ads, so adsense is a no-no for forums. Ad blindness is real.

How many times have you clicked an ad yourself on a forum? I've never done it.

I'm afraid forums are a labour of love, and should not be considered as a way to make money. Of course some do, but usually the ones that did not start out with that intention.

Running a (successful) forum can be a full time job in itself. Is it worth the effort?

For me it wasn't so I sold it, now it is dead

Its strange because a lot of people say the same but I have found the complete reverse to be true. Once you reach the critical mass where users come back and there is good regular activity I have had no problem making them earn their keep overall.
But give me a normal site and I only just make a profit...

crabfoot · 29-05-2009, 01:43:05 AM

I've been involved with a couple of forums, and yes they are a lot of work, and yes, the members don't click on the ads - in fact, they can be actively hostile to ads. But in some cases they work well, when attached to a blog or a front page with interesting info.

If you serve your members with ads they like, they will click - but you have to target those ads a lot closer to their interests than Adsense does. And you have to keep that blog or front page served with interesting articles - bearing in mind that the members often know a lot, that's why they congregate with others who have a deep interest in something. If you are able to generate those articles yourself, it can be a practical proposition, but getting Joe Journalist to review veeblefetzer servicing on the Historic Veeblefetzer Forum is probably a bad idea. Then there's all those posts advertising Chinese network servers to get rid of - and the porn merchants ...

4Media · 31-05-2009, 07:51:04 PM

...realise starting a forum from scratch is a challenge however my motive isnt necessarily for monetization on this project. Anyway, the site is pretty much 90% there now and I actually managed to attract a registrant via LinkedIn

. If there are any interims out there then please feel free to register (InterimForum) dot co dot uk.
All the best.

29-05-2009, 01:43:05 AM	#13 (permalink)
crabfoot Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 821 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 1)	I've been involved with a couple of forums, and yes they are a lot of work, and yes, the members don't click on the ads - in fact, they can be actively hostile to ads. But in some cases they work well, when attached to a blog or a front page with interesting info. If you serve your members with ads they like, they will click - but you have to target those ads a lot closer to their interests than Adsense does. And you have to keep that blog or front page served with interesting articles - bearing in mind that the members often know a lot, that's why they congregate with others who have a deep interest in something. If you are able to generate those articles yourself, it can be a practical proposition, but getting Joe Journalist to review veeblefetzer servicing on the Historic Veeblefetzer Forum is probably a bad idea. Then there's all those posts advertising Chinese network servers to get rid of - and the porn merchants ... __________________ Cloud Factories ppi-info

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25-05-2009, 08:44:02 PM	#11 (permalink)
retired_member4 Banned Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 833 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 19)	Even if you get a forum active, it will probably not be profitable. Forums are a nightmare to monetise. I ran quite a big forum a few years ago, plenty of members and plenty of posts, but they are not there to click on your ads, so adsense is a no-no for forums. Ad blindness is real. How many times have you clicked an ad yourself on a forum? I've never done it. I'm afraid forums are a labour of love, and should not be considered as a way to make money. Of course some do, but usually the ones that did not start out with that intention. Running a (successful) forum can be a full time job in itself. Is it worth the effort? For me it wasn't so I sold it, now it is dead

31-05-2009, 07:51:04 PM	#14 (permalink)
4Media Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Harrogate Posts: 42 No Classified Ratings Domain Trader Rating: (0% / 0)	...realise starting a forum from scratch is a challenge however my motive isnt necessarily for monetization on this project. Anyway, the site is pretty much 90% there now and I actually managed to attract a registrant via LinkedIn . If there are any interims out there then please feel free to register (InterimForum) dot co dot uk. All the best.