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HOW HOW HOW to monetise a new, niche-specific forum?

by theultimate1
7 replies
Hello Warriors,

I just purchased a niche-specific domain name (not keyword targeted though)... For some reason, I'm thinking of creating a forum out of it. The domain name can do well either as a forum or as a blog/site. So, I'm just considering the two options.

If I choose to make a forum out of it, how do I go about monetising it? I'm not dreaming $2,000 right from the first month, but at least $150-200 a month to start with...

Please share your ideas
#forum #monetise #nichespecific
  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Unless you've got serious traffic coming I think your goal of $150 - $100 to start is pretty ambitious. You could put adsense type ads up, sell banners, charge monthly but offer a screamin' lifetime special discount for people willing to join at the launch. Without knowing the niche, it's hard to speculate. Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Almo99
    Maybe it could work if your site has brilliant content that everyone knows about and wants to visit. Then, if you can actually encourage people to click any ads placed on the site, you may realize your goal.
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  • Profile picture of the author Elsoft
    I would suggest you to concentrate on building the registered member list before thinking of monetisation.Once you get a good set of members and reasonable traffic then you can put in your thoughts to monetisation.Earning from the start especially forums and blogs is difficult if not impossible.
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    • Profile picture of the author Scott Burton
      Originally Posted by Elsoft View Post

      I would suggest you to concentrate on building the registered member list before thinking of monetisation.Once you get a good set of members and reasonable traffic then you can put in your thoughts to monetisation.Earning from the start especially forums and blogs is difficult if not impossible.
      I would tend to agree, except you won't want to have an ad-free site then later all of a sudden blam! ads everywhere.

      For that reason if for no other, I would suggest having some measure of advertisements on the site, even if just a couple adsense blocks and maybe a banner in a few places pointing to your own or affiliate offers. Don't make them overly present, but let it settle in that there was advertising at this site from the start.

      Then don't increase the amount of ads later, instead cycle some of your ads and/or some of the adsense blocks out for paid advertisements from others.

      That's my 2 cents, and your mileage may vary, but since you're asking for input, I'm hoping it helps.


      Originally Posted by David Jackson View Post

      The first thing you need to do is give the appearance your forum is somewhat active. Otherwise, visitors are not going to hang around. So collect a group of friends and/or associates and start posting to your forum daily, until you get members posting regularly. Regarding monetizing your forum, unless you have a ton of traffic, forget Adsense. You won't make any money.
      Personally, I'd still include some adsense ads (if nothing else) just to build that premise that the site accepts advertising, even if it doesn't make a penny in advertising revenue from the adsense ads. If the ads are there, they either make money or they don't. If they don't, they get phased out when something better becomes available.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Jackson
    Originally Posted by theultimate1 View Post

    Hello Warriors,

    I just purchased a niche-specific domain name (not keyword targeted though)... For some reason, I'm thinking of creating a forum out of it.

    If I choose to make a forum out of it, how do I go about monetising it?
    The first thing you need to do is give the appearance your forum is somewhat active. Otherwise, visitors are not going to hang around. So collect a group of friends and/or associates and start posting to your forum daily, until you get members posting regularly. Regarding monetizing your forum, unless you have a ton of traffic, forget Adsense. You won't make any money.

    Trying soliciting sponsors on your own. There are plenty of new websites out there that are looking to promote themselves, and will gladly pay a few dollars each month for the privilege of sponsoring your forum. As your traffic increases, you can increase the price of your ad space accordingly.

    Affiliate banners are also an option. For example, marketers are always looking for a good hosting company. The possibilities for monetizing your forum are limited only by your imagination!

    David Jackson
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  • Profile picture of the author LondonPaladin
    What you should do is simply have a commercial section of your forum. A place where people can advertise products or services and you just take a commission. Make sure it's always your affiliate link and allow the site to grow organically. YOu need a LOT of traction with a forum before you can post ads all over the place
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    • Profile picture of the author theultimate1
      Originally Posted by LondonPaladin View Post

      What you should do is simply have a commercial section of your forum. A place where people can advertise products or services and you just take a commission. Make sure it's always your affiliate link and allow the site to grow organically. YOu need a LOT of traction with a forum before you can post ads all over the place
      Or how about a WSO kind of a section, in a non-IM niche forum?
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