Should I build a site with a forum or forum only?

[Nova]

Say you owned a generic domain name like Archery Chat .com (not mine just an example) would you build a news type site relating to the subject matter (or other) with a forum attached or just a forum?

Next question would be.. If you build just a forum, how do you go about gaining members to your forum?

 

[Edwin]

Say you owned a generic domain name like Archery Chat .com (not mine just an example) would you build a news type site relating to the subject matter (or other) with a forum attached or just a forum?

Next question would be.. If you build just a forum, how do you go about gaining members to your forum?

Neither. Forums are notoriously hard work for very little if any return. Forum-goers tend not to click on ads, so CPM rates are microscopic. If you're going to put real effort into developing something substantial, make it a different sort of site, not a forum.

 

[Nova]

Hi Edwin. Thanks again for the advice. I automatically thought of a forum because the domain name has "chat" in it. The subject matter is quite high end so I guess if the forum was busy enough I was thinking of contacting companies to advertise on the forum and not rely on CPM. Open to suggestions though?

 

[Edwin]

Hi Edwin. Thanks again for the advice. I automatically thought of a forum because the domain name has "chat" in it. The subject matter is quite high end so I guess if the forum was busy enough I was thinking of contacting companies to advertise on the forum and not rely on CPM. Open to suggestions though?

Sounds like you're looking at this the wrong way around. The domain should be registered to fit a particular purpose (if it was meant for development) rather than trying to fit the development to the domain name. In other words, why did you register the name unless it was to build a forum?

 

[Nova]

Sounds like you're looking at this the wrong way around. The domain should be registered to fit a particular purpose (if it was meant for development) rather than trying to fit the development to the domain name. In other words, why did you register the name unless it was to build a forum?

You could be right Edwin. The first thing that attracted me to buying it was the domain name itself. Then I thought about developing it. My wife is keen to learn about developing and running sites so I thought it might be a project I could get her started with.

 

[martin-s]

Neither. Forums are notoriously hard work for very little if any return.

I wouldn't necessarily agree with this. Forums often generate excellent long tail search traffic from people looking for product advice. If you can sensitively hook up an affiliate relationship, you can make good money.

 

[spiderspider]

I personally have found that having the forum as the main site, and attaching a wiki onto that, works better than having a news site with a forum attached (if you catch my drift).

Forums can be great as a source of traffic. Although your second question 'how do you go about gaining members to your forum?' is not an easy one to answer. However, in my experience, I have found that as the admin, or through a series of accounts, I need to post at least 100 high quality threads before I start getting the discussion going. And be prepared for many, many spam accounts and posts (look up spam prevention for whatever software you choose).

 

[wonder_lander]

Here's a useful thread on effectively launching a forum, you'll need to register to view I think.

http://www.wickedfire.com/enlighten...blueprint-lets-build-some-ugc-gold-mines.html

 

[Grant]

I mostly agree with Edwin as I've had forums and they are a pain in the backside. The first hurdle you have to overcome is a chicken and egg one of having regular members. Without the first 50-100, there won't be another 50-100.

As regards to CPM, they are a lot lower, although the average user might view 5-10X (a guess based on my online viewing) on a forum compared to 1-2 on a normal site. That said, users do become accustomed to ads on a site they regularly visit.

Websites are hard work, especially in the learning stages. I'd do something you are passionate about and have lots of knowledge to use as a resource. Also, if it fails to meet expectations, at least you've been researching/writing about something you enjoy.

A blog style format is going to be much easier to manage.

 

[LorSyr]

Forums are tough nuts. I see so many filled with thread starters and no responses. Some publishers have so much trouble getting comments and sign-ups, they actually pay people to sign up and comment. You have be different and you have to be extroardinary and being extraordinary online isn't easy. If I were you, I'd rely on organic search and just write content. If you want chat or comments, push that on your home page. Leave your readers wanting more. End each article with a question. Have opinions. Be provocative. Give them something to chat about. The more comments you get, the more search engines notice and the more readers you get. When you feel there is enough interest that will make a forum viable, revisit it. That's my two cents for what it's worth.

ETA
... and be patient

 

[baldidiot]

Forums, in the right niche, can be big money earners (although most aren't) - especially when the advertising is integrated naturally into the forum posts (eg: if the forum is about blue widgets and people naturally link out to sites that sell blue widgets that have an affiliate program, code it so your aff link is added to the OBL automatically). And/or sponsorship, of course.

On the other hand, if you're relying on CPM or CPC style monetisation from things like adsense, I think you'll probably struggle to make it worthwhile.

Getting it started is the tricky bit though and you probably either need to already have an active community (eg: on facebook or twitter), or hire a bunch of writers/stay at home mums/students/friends (depending on the niche) to seed the forum with activity.