Do you run your forum for fun or the money?

[batpool525]

I have not made any forums before but it can happen in near future, I want to share or chatting with friends. A forum can be useful for this.

Do you have a forum for yourself and do you run it for fun or the money?

 

[MidnightAngel]

I do have my own forum, that I am currently reworking, but mine is for pleasure and to meet new writers. I believe some do it for money as well, I have a friend that has several forums that she makes the graphics for and hers are all for fun as well.

 

[Hostlumina]

I currently do not run any forums, however I have done so in the past for a hobby and not money.

I do think that running a forum for money requires a balance of passion for communities (specially the one your are running) and sense of making money. It needs to be moderated correctly and choosing moderators has to be tactful and trustworthy to ensure the rules are applied, and constructive feedback is provided as a team.

When I did my hobby forum, I slowly added Google ads in order to cover the forum and domain costs and eventually surpassed it to a few hundred a month without even trying. The focus was within the community ensuring it was as smooth as possible and not making the money. I think if my focus was on the cash (which is great of course) the community wouldn't of gotten the attention it deserved and died off. Since i wasn't looking for $, all the funds went right back to it's community for prices, perks for top performers, copies of software/games, etc...

I personally think having it strong and consistent community, makes it's value stronger (looking at the business side).

 

[ulterios]

Most of the time running a forum for the money is not a very easy task.

It can be hard to get new members, especially ones that are active, get consistent traffic to the forum, keep spam off of it so it doesn't hurt it's rankings or reputation, as well as several other difficult tasks that are time consuming.

Many people think that they can just start a forum, do some promotion or SEO and then people will just start coming to it. That's rarely the case. A forum is hard work and requires a lot of time to keep it alive and doing well.

The founder and staff here work hard to keep a quality forum that people like and will want to join and use frequently.

It takes a lot of time and money to start and keep a quality forum doing well and many people don't realize that till after they have started it. I have always thought that someone should start a forum if they like the niche/topic that they are going to have it in and look at it as a fun/hobby activity that they like doing. THEN, if it starts doing well and can make money then that's a bonus!

 

[Dean]

Many people start forums with the intentions of making good money from it, but that is rarely the case. Sure you can make some money but having a single forum make good money is not easy and requires a lot of hard work and time.

If you want to make money from a being a forum owner then it's best to have multiples which can give you a greater chance at making decent money.

Forums are a lot of work (if you want to run one right) and require many hours of work each day. Most people think they just start one and then the people will start coming and the forum will grow. It's not that easy at all, especially these days.

My best advice is to start a forum for something you really like and are interested in and that can help your motivation to keep it growing. Plus, only start one if you are willing to put in many hours every day, week, month, etc. if you want it to grow and become a success.

Cheers, Dean.