What would you do/suggest?

by Hostie
7 replies
Well, I own one of the most popular call of duty forums, I've worked countless hours marketing the site, which is not a problem getting members.

The problem is:
The age group is too young to sell products to directly. Selling banner space to other companies is hard to do seeing as they know that ad space on a site filled with children will not do them any good.

I'm currently using Adbrite and making $60~ a month - also I have an account with Doba (a dropshipping company) which is making $0.00 a month (due to age of user base I think)

Also, we provide a VIP membership (Which is a $5.00+ donation requirement) it's making roughly $15-30 a month) it varies a lot.

We get a very good amount of traffic, and I know the forum can be monetized to generate more income, I'm just having a hard time finding the way to do it.

I figured I'd ask WaFo. I appreciate all feedback and suggestions!

(Btw, I was doing quite a bit of email marketing, but it was not too effective, again I think due to the age group on the site)
#do or suggest
  • Profile picture of the author Rob Thayer
    Are you sure about the demographics of your site? I checked the numbers of CallOfDuty.com on Quantcast, which is the official site for the game. It did show that 37% of visitors were under 18, but that means the majority (63%) of their visitors are over 18. I would think your demographics would be similar, but it's hard to tell without seeing your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
    Originally Posted by Hostie View Post

    Well, I own one of the most popular call of duty forums, I've worked countless hours marketing the site, which is not a problem getting members.

    The problem is:
    The age group is too young to sell products to directly. Selling banner space to other companies is hard to do seeing as they know that ad space on a site filled with children will not do them any good.

    I'm currently using Adbrite and making $60~ a month - also I have an account with Doba (a dropshipping company) which is making $0.00 a month (due to age of user base I think)

    Also, we provide a VIP membership (Which is a $5.00+ donation requirement) it's making roughly $15-30 a month) it varies a lot.

    We get a very good amount of traffic, and I know the forum can be monetized to generate more income, I'm just having a hard time finding the way to do it.

    I figured I'd ask WaFo. I appreciate all feedback and suggestions!

    (Btw, I was doing quite a bit of email marketing, but it was not too effective, again I think due to the age group on the site)
    Is there anyway you could integrate Zazzle or Cafepress, to integrate T-shirts specifically for the forum? Could be an effective way to monetize to loyal users, and further reinforce the website.

    P.s. What is the forum? (Not to steal...cause I may possible want to join )
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  • Profile picture of the author Hostie
    yes my forum is codspot[d0t]com, also we have had tshirt design contests and found our design, but need to make money to spend money on production of the shirts.

    @Rob, our under 18 is higher than that, I will have to double check.
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    • Profile picture of the author JennSpencerIM
      Originally Posted by Hostie View Post

      yes my forum is codspot[d0t]com, also we have had tshirt design contests and found our design, but need to make money to spend money on production of the shirts.

      @Rob, our under 18 is higher than that, I will have to double check.
      If you use CafePress or a similar site you won't need any money for production of the shirts...they will create them as they are ordered. You won't make a fortune off the shirts since the seller's cut is pretty low, but its a way to start off and see if there is interest in buying the shirts!
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  • Profile picture of the author Rob Thayer
    The Quantcast results may be skewed by kids using their parent's computer, but it seems to me that there are a heck of a lot of adults who play Call of Duty, too.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hostie
    That is very true, kids using their parents computers is very common in the gaming world. There are a lot of adults that play, but for some reason, I'm having a very difficult time monetizing. It's very frustrating actually. I've spent countless hours/days/months marketing the things that would bring in income, and nothing is budging.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hostie
    I will check them out and see what we can do. Thanks!

    Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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