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Starting a forum in 2020. Is it worth it?

by Bob Kipkoech
32 replies
Hello Warriors,
I've been thinking about starting a forum here in my country. The forum will be a platform where men within my country will be able to express themselves and be heard. I'm also planning to bring experts on board to help answer questions asked by members. I've been a blogger and a writer specialized in Men's Health so I believe I've got some backing in terms of answering questions and creating discussions deemed fit for the members.
My question is, is it worth it?
I had thought of starting the forum to accommodate any man across the globe too. Can this be realistic or I'm I just ambitious?

What do you think warriors?
#2020 #forum #starting #worth
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  • Profile picture of the author Monetize
    Hello Bob!

    I think that a forum is a great idea but you might want to
    consider how you will make money with your forum. If
    the forum doesn't earn income you will just be wasting
    your time and efforts, IMO.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bob Kipkoech
      I have a monetization plan in place. I'm planning to start with Adsense ads then, later on, switch to sponsored ads and affiliate links.
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  • Profile picture of the author yoangov
    It's not like it used to be thanks to Social Media, but some forums are still going strong.
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  • Profile picture of the author qwikaddotcom
    Don't. I knew several marketers who tried to start forums in the last 5 years or so, none of them succeeded. Making a forum seems like an exciting venture, but it's also taxing as hell. 15-20 years ago it would've been a different story. Spend your time and energy on something that has a potential. Starting a new forum isn't it.
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  • Profile picture of the author 55sadhikar
    Warrior forum is still going because it wasn't started yesterday. That doesn't mean you can't do it. You can certainly do it if you can bring the value to mens issues.

    As long as there are men in this world, you certainly would always have a platform to discuss issues. If there is no active participation from membemembers, it will just wither and die.
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  • Profile picture of the author Medon
    It is a great way of allowing men to share their problems and have them answered. I encourage you to go a head.
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  • Profile picture of the author CharlieMa
    You can also consider FB groups instead. Easier to create, however not as anonymous.
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  • Profile picture of the author Robinyork
    Maybe instead, try to make a facebook private group, and see if there is any interest in that, if yes, you can proceed with a forum)
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  • Profile picture of the author George Flm
    Think supply and demand plus why would they come to your forum.

    Issue solved.
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  • Profile picture of the author incomenow
    Originally Posted by Bob Kipkoech View Post

    Hello Warriors,
    I've been thinking about starting a forum here in my country. The forum will be a platform where men within my country will be able to express themselves and be heard. I'm also planning to bring experts on board to help answer questions asked by members. I've been a blogger and a writer specialized in Men's Health so I believe I've got some backing in terms of answering questions and creating discussions deemed fit for the members.
    My question is, is it worth it?
    I had thought of starting the forum to accommodate any man across the globe too. Can this be realistic or I'm I just ambitious?

    What do you think warriors?
    Having an ambition to start a forum of your own is an excellent idea, but to make the most out of it, try making it for both men and women, so you can help all categories of man with their problems.
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  • Profile picture of the author spartan14
    Well i think this will work but its not easy it need time patience perseverance very very hard work to succed
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  • Profile picture of the author Internet Trillionaire
    Like minded people like to congregate in online forums. Once your forum member count reaches 50000+ members, you can start selling advertising space on your forum, to product vendors who have created solutions to sell to your forum members. Like this WF does!
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  • Profile picture of the author SingleEye
    Well, how do you channel it to fetching money? Or are you gonna be doing a free service? It can be very tiring, but if money is coming in, that could serve as a comforter.
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  • Profile picture of the author Yunix
    If you have enough time and money to build a forum from scratch, then this is a very good idea.

    But it's much easier now to gather a community on social networks, because people spend a lot of time in them and it's easier to keep them there.
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  • Profile picture of the author sahi
    It would be better if you first built a private Fcebook Group and take it to 1000 members first, and depending on your niche you can charge a fee like $20 or so for allowing anyone to make a sales post about their product in the group..
    Once your revenue starts you can decide whether to move your group to a forum or not. Also ask your members what they think about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author wmtips
    Despite the fact that forums are not so popular as before, it is still worth a try in any case. To compete with social networks, you can try to choose some modern looking script (xenforo? discourse?).
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  • Profile picture of the author DURABLEOILCOM
    Sounds like a great idea just make sure to use a quality built forum platform.
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  • Profile picture of the author mandiradebnath
    Though I am not expert in forum. But what I understood till now is, the admin of your forum must be a knowledgeable person, who can identify the spam comments. It will increase the value of your forum.
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  • Profile picture of the author yourbesttshirts
    Every forum is great way to start in internet marketing especially when people are engaged and helpfully there
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  • Profile picture of the author cearionmarie
    Forums still work, even though it's not as strong as how it was before, (due to social media platforms) it still works. What you plan to do is actually a good idea, now the next step here is your marketing strategy.
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  • Profile picture of the author webcontent
    Hi,
    Yes, starting a forum seems to be a good option but when you say men's health, you need to take care that it is not going other way. Today, at this time of pandemic, forum is actually a good option as the whole mass is on Internet. If you are able to bring good experts, and answer things in a proper manner, nothing can stop you from being successful. Just take care to take unbiased role of moderator. Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    If you don't have a strategy on how to make money with your forum then I wouldn't even start one.

    Yes, the goal is to give VALUE but you also want to have an effective way to make money and profit from it.
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  • Profile picture of the author qwikaddotcom
    Honestly, I am surprised that so many users are in favor of starting a new forum. It's a known fact that it's excruciatingly hard to make a new forum work these days. Webmasters hire paid posters just to create an appearance that their forum is busy. They start new threads and reply to their own threads under different names for the same reason. Sometimes they do this for months to no avail. Eventually it all goes down the drain.

    @BobKipkoech I am going to repeat myself, but if I were you I'd pour my time and energy into a different project. A new forum is like a hell hole. It will suck all the energy out of you, leaving you totally frustrated.

    But if you still decide to go this rout, I wish you good luck. Keep us updated.
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  • Profile picture of the author Profit Traveler
    Banned
    Originally Posted by qwikaddotcom View Post

    Don't. I knew several marketers who tried to start forums in the last 5 years or so, none of them succeeded. Making a forum seems like an exciting venture, but it's also taxing as hell. 15-20 years ago it would've been a different story. Spend your time and energy on something that has a potential. Starting a new forum isn't it.
    Originally Posted by CharlieMa View Post

    You can also consider FB groups instead. Easier to create, however not as anonymous.
    A FB group is faster, you can collect emails right from the outset to join, you can always entice them into a membership later.

    But visiting an empty forum that is new I would never go back regardless the potential just too many other distractions to click.

    If the founders of TikTok had came here and said hey I would like to take on YouTube we all would have laughed but I think when we are in a successful forum we forget how challenging it can be.

    Internet was all over the place...Allen Says created a place where you could learn and earn all on the same url. It was just too perfect.

    Now if someone had the bank, they should create a place that was all inclusive...teach everything for free on a topic, allow everyone to sell items on that topic, why would they leave? Hmm that's Warrior forum isn't it?
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  • Profile picture of the author Poprugan
    Having a forum is a good idea but your only problem would be the billing and how to spread the word to would-be members.


    As others suggest it would be a good idea to start with a Facebook group and also create group chats that involve things related to your forum. Most popular nowadays are group chats made at Telegram due to privacy and security.


    I cannot say that Telegram is the most perfect platform for creating group chats that leads to making a forum though I would recommend it from experience and from what I see on forums at Europe.
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  • Profile picture of the author joaquin112
    It has to be very niche, and unfortunately you're competing directly with social media. I would do something else, if I were you.
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  • Profile picture of the author hashila
    I think it is not a good idea in 2020, because the technology was changed most of the users are now using social media and mobile apps over forums, And there's still have forums for most of the categories then there is a competition.

    If your topic is new and trending it is a good time to create a forum. actually it is depend on the topic
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  • Profile picture of the author klixion
    It's never too late for anything. I'd say give it a go. It'll be a good learning experience. What's the worse that could happen? You end up talking to yourself.
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  • Profile picture of the author LuizKA
    what if it will be blog ? i think will be much better in blog also you can post comments ,i think will be more comfatble .
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    • Profile picture of the author Medon
      Originally Posted by LuizKA View Post

      what if it will be blog ? i think will be much better in blog also you can post comments ,i think will be more comfatble .
      Yes, I think this should be the way to go. Forums are getting outdated and I doubt if they still matter as far as SEO is concerned.
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  • Profile picture of the author Muhammad Baig
    Hey Bob !
    Yeah you could start a forum if its helping you generate revenue if not then you are wasting your time. Companies from various country always want their product advertised on forums in the form of back link to their products/services. So it is a good thing to engage the end users in the form of their discussion and reviews.
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