RE: Starting a forum.. what do you think about this..

[YasirYar]

Hey guys,

I would LOVE your feedback on this.

I have been involved in SEO for over 2 years now and I was thinking it would be a good idea for me to start an online forum which would provide a good amount of unique content to its users.

I am already looking into some content writers who know their stuff. The forum will ideally have a large section on tutorials and free stuff.

The areas would be SEO, online marketing, CPA offers etc.

I was wondering if there are any people here who have successfully started their own forums?

Any chance anyone can let me know if this is a good idea? Also, how did you get people to your newly formed forum..

Did you use banner ads? SEO? PPC?

Any help would be appreciated!

Yasir

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by garyguerrerojr

I would join an all seo forum... would this be a paid forum or free to the public?

Hey,

It will be free, but 1-2 sections will be accessed for a one-time small fee.

The idea is to provide free content to the public and get new SEO and online marketing ideas going.

[Brian Cashins]

I would get a nice signature banner made and visit small business forums, lol. They are always looking for SEO help. And after a few visits to your forum, they'll bookmark you and tell their friends.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by Brian Cashins

I would get a nice signature banner made and visit small business forums, lol. They are always looking for SEO help. And after a few visits to your forum, they'll bookmark you and tell their friends.

LOL, that sounded a bit too simple.

Any other ideas on what sections I should incorporate into the forum?

[Kierkegaard]

Forums can quickly become a massive drain on your time. Unless you have a very good way of monetizing it I wouldn't bother.

They are difficult to get going and once they become viable the active members (who fully realize that they are the content providers) can often resent the owner's attempt to make money off their community.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by Kierkegaard

Forums can quickly become a massive drain on your time. Unless you have a very good way of monetizing it I wouldn't bother.

They are difficult to get going and once they become viable the active members (who fully realize that they are the content providers) can often resent the owner's attempt to make money off their community.

Yea good point. I was actually thinking of all this.

I look at Warrior Forum and a couple of other leading online marketing forums and its taken a lot of effort for the owners to get the forums to this point..

But then again I am willing to give this a try. I always wanted to build an online community if you know what I mean.

[Mr Bill]

I've been involved in building several successful forums but Kierk is right, you must be passionate about your site because they do require a fair bit of energy to start and keep them going. You can make a lot and like already mentioned make sure you have monetised the site before you start inviting people so they expect it from the start because some do get all uppity about the ads but ads make the forum worth your while. They can be placed nicely (not in every post!) so members don't have to fight them (768 banners top and bottom for example) and you should be ok.

If you can help your members make real money you can also charge a bit as long as you end up being free overall (e.g. they make more than you charge for being a member). This is how stock market and trading forums make LOTS of money - because they make money for their members. SEO is a bit different as it's a bit more of an intangible so maybe it'll be ok to charge for "extra services" and use your forum as a way to attract the right type of people to sell something useful to.

Having said that, forums are a great way to share your passion for a topic. Once the posts are made they live forever so the content can still attract visitors years down the road. My advice is to put a delay timer (via plugin) on the login to foil the registration bots as the best way to avoid waking up to a forum filled with spam (as me how I know) because just one rogue porn bot spammer can upset a lot of people.

All in all, forums are great fun. If you have a passion to run one I say go for it.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by WSOHelp

I've been involved in building several successful forums but Kierk is right, you must be passionate about your site because they do require a fair bit of energy to start and keep them going. You can make a lot and like already mentioned make sure you have monetised the site before you start inviting people so they expect it from the start because some do get all uppity about the ads but ads make the forum worth your while. They can be placed nicely (not in every post!) so members don't have to fight them (768 banners top and bottom for example) and you should be ok.

If you can help your members make real money you can also charge a bit as long as you end up being free overall (e.g. they make more than you charge for being a member). This is how stock market and trading forums make LOTS of money - because they make money for their members. SEO is a bit different as it's a bit more of an intangible so maybe it'll be ok to charge for "extra services" and use your forum as a way to attract the right type of people to sell something useful to.

Having said that, forums are a great way to share your passion for a topic. Once the posts are made they live forever so the content can still attract visitors years down the road. My advice is to put a delay timer (via plugin) on the login to foil the registration bots as the best way to avoid waking up to a forum filled with spam (as me how I know) because just one rogue porn bot spammer can upset a lot of people.

All in all, forums are great fun. If you have a passion to run one I say go for it.

Thanks WSOHelp

This was great advice.

Do you have a forum of your own.. if you do, mind PMing me the link/ Just want to check out how it is set up if thats OK.

Yes I am fully committed to the cause. I actually enjoy answering members' questions etc.

Money is kind of a secondary issue as I already make a decent living online. I guess it is more of the accomplishment part of it which has me motivated

Yes spammers are always a trouble. I had a guitar forum which I never used to update. I recently checked it and there were 5000 porn posts in there.. so much for "good content" lol.

Any other suggestions?

[E. Brian Rose]

There's a good article about creating an authority forum that you might want to read. It was written by one of the best looking Internet marketers that I know of. Here is the link: Successfully Creating an Authority Forum | Internet Marketing Strategies by E Brian Rose

[PPC-Coach]

Forums are great, but make sure you spend the time on them as stated above. Otherwise nobody will stick around. If you're going the paid route, treat your members like gold, give them new content frequently and make sure you continually advertise to get new blood in there.

It works.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose

There's a good article about creating an authority forum that you might want to read. It was written by one of the best looking Internet marketers that I know of. Here is the link: Successfully Creating an Authority Forum | Internet Marketing Strategies by E Brian Rose

Hey Brian, thanks for this, it was a good read.

Yeap, in the beginning I am sure it will take a good long time trying to get enough people to participate in the forum.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by PPC-Coach

Forums are great, but make sure you spend the time on them as stated above. Otherwise nobody will stick around. If you're going the paid route, treat your members like gold, give them new content frequently and make sure you continually advertise to get new blood in there.

It works.

Hey,

Thanks for that I think I might have been a member of your forum a couple of years ago lol.

Yes I am definitely up for it. I think I will go with a free membership in the beginning and add paid sections down the road.

[Mr Bill]

I sold my best forum but my posts still exist and are referred to to this day and I have one that's been running for years (since 2007) for members only (all the specific forums are hidden from public) in an unrelated niche but I can shortcut a lot of pain for you if you like. Head on over to the site in my signature and start a (free) support session and I'll give you the lowdown on what I know.

Do you have any money to spend on a VBulletin license? I think it's much better than the free PHPBB. This forum runs on VB and most big successful forums do too. I can tell you from personal experience they are a cash (or goodwill) bonanza if you can add enough value to people's lives so they pay monthly fee. I was involved in a forum that charged $99 per month and I can tell you we ALL enjoyed the 5 figure passive monthly incomes (there were three of us in partnership).

Forums can make you a LOT of money if you can charge access but because of the massive amounts of cash they can generate you are best off dealing in a subject that you are very passionate about (and would do in your spare time for free) so you can be really good value.

Tip: Set yourself up to receive an email about every post and set your inbox to receive email every minute. Nothing impresses a member more than getting an instant response from the admin.

I even have a VB Forum sitting waiting doing nothing already setup if you want to go and have a play. It's even about making money. I won't put the link here because there is adsense on it but if you come and see me at the site which is open at the moment I'll take you for a free tour and a spin. If anyone else wants to watch or join in I'll start a webinar.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by WSOHelp

I sold my best forum but my posts still exist and are referred to to this day and I have one that's been running for years (since 2007) for members only (all the specific forums are hidden from public) in an unrelated niche but I can shortcut a lot of pain for you if you like. Head on over to the site in my signature and start a (free) support session and I'll give you the lowdown on what I know.

Do you have any money to spend on a VBulletin license? I think it's much better than the free PHPBB. This forum runs on VB and most big successful forums do too. I can tell you from personal experience they are a cash (or goodwill) bonanza if you can add enough value to people's lives so they pay monthly fee. I was involved in a forum that charged $99 per month and I can tell you we ALL enjoyed the 5 figure passive monthly incomes (there were three of us in partnership).

Forums can make you a LOT of money if you can charge access but because of the massive amounts of cash they can generate you are best off dealing in a subject that you are very passionate about (and would do in your spare time for free) so you can be really good value.

Tip: Set yourself up to receive an email about every post and set your inbox to receive email every minute. Nothing impresses a member more than getting an instant response from the admin.

I even have a VB Forum sitting waiting doing nothing already setup if you want to go and have a play. It's even about making money. I won't put the link here because there is adsense on it but if you come and see me at the site which is open at the moment I'll take you for a free tour and a spin. If anyone else wants to watch or join in I'll start a webinar.

Damn! Very helpful..

Yes I would love to take a peak at the forum.. if you like you can send me a PM about it

Believe me, money is not an issue, if Vbulletin is better, I will try for that instead of using the free forum scripts.

Yes I do see a lot of people (especially in weight loss niches) making decent money just because they started their forums at the right time and the forums have tons of members.

Is there any chance I can add you to skype or g talk? Or maybe we can have a talk over the phone

[Vanfenix]

Forums are great. I had an online gaming community at one point with 5,000+ reg'd users. I never charged because of the genre, but once people get on it - they can get quite addicted so long as you make it appealing.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by Vanfenix

Forums are great. I had an online gaming community at one point with 5,000+ reg'd users. I never charged because of the genre, but once people get on it - they can get quite addicted so long as you make it appealing.

True. I actually was looking at SEO Book's forum. I think they have a membership service for around USD 300 per month. Thats a good amount of revenue if you ask me, especially if there are so many members in the forum.

[Mr Bill]

Originally Posted by YasirYar

... Is there any chance I can add you to skype or g talk? Or maybe we can have a talk over the phone

Of course! That's what I do all day anyway. (check my signature). You'll need a headset so we can talk. It'll be fun to show you around so you can see how it works on the back end. Forums used to be a big passion of mine. Don't get me wrong I'm not an expert in VB (it's a huge field! - check their support forum to see how big it is) but I have many years of experience which might help you.

Go to my site and request live help from the big button.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by WSOHelp

Of course! That's what I do all day anyway. (check my signature). You'll need a headset so we can talk. It'll be fun to show you around so you can see how it works on the back end. Forums used to be a big passion of mine. Don't get me wrong I'm not an expert in VB (it's a huge field! - check their support forum to see how big it is) but I have many years of experience which might help you.

Go to my site and request live help from the big button.

Got it, thanks for the message

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by ncmedia

Been running a marketing forum since 2007 myself as well - quite the hurdle but it's rewarding none the less.

I started mine to support my affiliates that were selling my products, since then it has outgrown me in many many ways and I've been through quite a few models with it over the years. Free - monthly/quarterly/yearly recur options - private section for pay - and have actually since taken ALL monetization off and gone back to basics re helping affiliates convert on our slate (and other vendors come to do the same once products are proven)...

Don't open the forum looking for money mate - in fact make money your absolute last objective. A community has many forms of value and money can be made in many ways collectively vs. from each other or from your base (not to disregard it but it's not the only way).

Forums are amazing but do indeed require long term vision and patience as you fill it with content and get people on board. Making it active is not something people will be able to simply show/tell you how to do - it's real people in a semi-real environment. Doing contests, paid-posts, recruitment efforts, give-aways, etc. are all good but nothing beats NATURAL attraction. Just do your best at each element and don't model after others too much.

Very well said, yea money is the last thing on my mind, I just want to get the community thing going.

I already make a decent living with my SEO services so the forum is just there to communicate with other link minded people.

Mind sending me a link to your forum? If its a public forum.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by ncmedia

^ I'll tell you now:

If you run actual profitable SEO case studies and document them well - and SEO your board well (which you should have no prob doin' ) - you'll get traffic and signups rather quick.

Give give give - ask for nothing in return, no adsense, no membership fee - just over the top value and actual results vs hype/copy/marketing ploys. You give enough and mark my words you'll receive 10 fold in time.

Sure dig around my second sig there it should be accessible (most parts are private though)..

SEO services to a forum = can also couple your servicing as a main part of the forum i.e. 'sign up and save xx% on our SEO packages as a forum member' etc. - I tried that at first re a design/media biz I used to run but it was too much (52 services being promoted through my own forum = crazy).

N.

Hey thanks. Yeap thats what I am thinking of doing. I am thinking of getting 1-2 full time content writers to first write good quality content just to seed the forum u know?

Afterwards, I will start doing some case studies. It shouldn't be too difficult to do.

I was also wondering, what is the estimated cost of just designing a forum and getting it going? Any suggestions would be helpful.

[howinfo]

Originally Posted by YasirYar

I was also wondering, what is the estimated cost of just designing a forum and getting it going? Any suggestions would be helpful.

We also added a forum to our site over a year ago and if I remember correctly the basic cost to get it up and running was just over $ 500. That included the VB licence $ 195 and VBSEO $ 149 and custom design about $ 200 plus you have to include the domain name and hosting as well.

And if you do decide to use vBulletin don’t forget to go to vbulleting.org as you can find lot of really useful modifications and add-ons there.

[Sarevok]

It might not be a great idea. (I hate to say never, but hear me out.)

I've been a member of sherdog.com for over 8 years. I was a huge MMA fan long before it was popular. When I joined in 2003, it was a tiny site, and the owner never made a god damn penny. But, he spent TONS of time & effort to get it big.

Just by happenstance, UFC and MMA blew up over the last few years, and finally he's seeing some money.

Now, what's the point? Well, if it wasn't for the happenstance of the MMA community blowing up, sherdog would still be tiny and broke. (Imagine having your forum for 10 years and it not being profitable? Do you have that type of passion?)

If I were you, I would make the forum only if you want to do it FOR YOURSELF and not for money.

Would you ENJOY providing great content and contributing to the community?

I think it can be profitable over time, but will be time consuming; so only proceed if it's truly worthy of your devotion.

PS: PM me if you get it going I'll contribute to it.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by howinfo

We also added a forum to our site over a year ago and if I remember correctly the basic cost to get it up and running was just over $ 500. That included the VB licence $ 195 and VBSEO $ 149 and custom design about $ 200 plus you have to include the domain name and hosting as well.

And if you do decide to use vBulletin don’t forget to go to vbulleting.org as you can find lot of really useful modifications and add-ons there.

Thanks a lot For some reason I thought it would cost a lot more but this puts me a little at ease!

Thanks for mentioning the addons, definitely need to get the forum modified in order to get that unique touch going

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by Sarevok

It might not be a great idea. (I hate to say never, but hear me out.)

I've been a member of sherdog.com for over 8 years. I was a huge MMA fan long before it was popular. When I joined in 2003, it was a tiny site, and the owner never made a god damn penny. But, he spent TONS of time & effort to get it big.

Just by happenstance, UFC and MMA blew up over the last few years, and finally he's seeing some money.

Now, what's the point? Well, if it wasn't for the happenstance of the MMA community blowing up, sherdog would still be tiny and broke. (Imagine having your forum for 10 years and it not being profitable? Do you have that type of passion?)

If I were you, I would make the forum only if you want to do it FOR YOURSELF and not for money.

Would you ENJOY providing great content and contributing to the community?

I think it can be profitable over time, but will be time consuming; so only proceed if it's truly worthy of your devotion.

PS: PM me if you get it going I'll contribute to it.

Thanks for the honest feedback!

I totally understand what you mean. I am not doing it for the money, but for recognition etc. Also, I wanted a forum that I can manage lol.

Yes definitely, if you like to contribute you are more than welcome.

Can you please PM me so I remember to ask you to join us when I start the forum?

[YasirYar]

Also guys, can you give me a couple of suggestions on how to make the forum unique? Maybe enter new markets.. have new kinds of content? I am open to suggestions!

[PeerFly]

Originally Posted by WSOHelp

Do you have any money to spend on a VBulletin license? I think it's much better than the free PHPBB. This forum runs on VB and most big successful forums do too.

Originally Posted by YasirYar

Believe me, money is not an issue, if Vbulletin is better, I will try for that instead of using the free forum scripts.

The latest version of vBulletin is horrible. vB 3.8.X is awesome (this forum runs 3.8.7) but 4.X is hideous. I suggest checking out XenForo. XenForo is developed by former vBulletin lead developers Kier Darby and Mike Sullivan.

Some big boards have already switched over.

urban75 forums - Over 10 million posts.
Checkout
urban75 becomes XenForo’s biggest UK installation. Transfers 10.3 million posts from vBulletin.

Shoryuken - Over 5 million posts.
RunUO Community - Over 3 million posts.

The below have over 1.5 million posts:
RMS Forum
zroadster.com - BMW Forum

The below all have over 1 million posts.

• DailySportsPages
• OrangePower.com
• nucastle.co.uk - music, events, banter, and stuff
• RunUO Community
• Why We Protest | Activism Forum
• Shoryuken

The below all have over 500,000 posts.

• MliePoint - Where Frequent Flyers Meet
• Albforumi
• FPSGameForums.com
• Forums | Terraria Online
• Tradition Sports Online
• WeTalk Community
• WTF?!

The below all have over 100,000 posts.

• The Self Preservation Society
• Cricket Forum
• Bukkit Forums
• Casual Players Message Boards
• Cheerforum
• Diskussionsforum auf computerbetrug.de
• DCFC Fans - Derby County Forum
• The Dragon's List Forum
• The Fierce Board | We Talk Cheerleading
• Games Only Forum
• General Forums
• Husky Owners - The Siberian Husky Forum
• Kayako Community Forums
• PalPadPark - Wi-Fi League Friend Codes
• http://www.ptsdforum.org/c/
• smsmasters.co.uk
• TuniTech
• WebDesignForums.net
• WireForums

[Louie Sioco]

Make if forum if you have a membership site because the forum allows your members to access for in-depth information and co-mingle with other paid members.

[Mr Bill]

Originally Posted by PeerFly

...The latest version of vBulletin is horrible. vB 3.8.X is awesome (this forum runs 3.8.7) but 4.X is hideous....

I 100% agree. I went back to 3.8 as well. Reminded me of what Skype did with version 4+.

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by PeerFly

The latest version of vBulletin is horrible. vB 3.8.X is awesome (this forum runs 3.8.7) but 4.X is hideous. I suggest checking out XenForo. XenForo is developed by former vBulletin lead developers Kier Darby and Mike Sullivan.

Some big boards have already switched over.

urban75 forums - Over 10 million posts.
Checkout
urban75 becomes XenForo’s biggest UK installation. Transfers 10.3 million posts from vBulletin.

Shoryuken - Over 5 million posts.
RunUO Community - Over 3 million posts.

The below have over 1.5 million posts:
RMS Forum
zroadster.com - BMW Forum

The below all have over 1 million posts.

• DailySportsPages
• OrangePower.com
• nucastle.co.uk - music, events, banter, and stuff
• RunUO Community
• Why We Protest | Activism Forum
• Shoryuken

The below all have over 500,000 posts.

• Albforumi
• FPSGameForums.com
• Forums | Terraria Online
• Tradition Sports Online
• WeTalk Community
• WTF?!

The below posts all have over 100,000 posts.

• Cricket Forum
• Bukkit Forums
• Casual Players Message Boards
• Cheerforum
• Diskussionsforum auf computerbetrug.de
• DCFC Fans - Derby County Forum
• The Dragon's List Forum
• http://fierceboard.com/
• Games Only Forum
• General Forums
• Husky Owners - The Siberian Husky Forum
• Kayako Community Forums
• milepoint
• PalPadPark - Wi-Fi League Friend Codes
• http://www.ptsdforum.org/c/
• smsmasters.co.uk
• TuniTech
• WebDesignForums.net
• WireForums

Hey buddy,

Thanks a lot for the info, definitely helpful. I will tell my coders to look at this post!

[YasirYar]

Originally Posted by WSOHelp

I 100% agree. I went back to 3.8 as well. Reminded me of what Skype did with version 4+.

3.8 huh? Sounds good. I will get the coders to check this out.

I also had another question, do you guys know of a good forum posting/populating service? I just want a couple of guys seed the forum in order to get the forum going.

Those people should understand how SEO and online marketing works etc.

Please let me know if you know anyone good!

[upendraets]

Warrior Forums is an awesome Forums Posting website for all . with Dofollow Signature it gives a best result to Website PR also. i am Using this forums since 2 years.