early launch or wait untill it's perfect ?

Hi,

I've decided to build a forum
In many ways the forum is similar to any other forum but during the early stage some great ideas came to my mind...
These features will require some custom development which will probably take some time (+6 months to finalize everything)

The forum will be targetting webmasters, -developers, -marketeers,...
Being a developer/webmaster myself I know the targetted audience can be really hard to convince sometimes

The main focus will be "quality content" but some additional features & provided services will definitily make the forum a lot more attractive.

So my question is :
Would you as a webmaster / -developer / -marketeer join the forum in the early stage of development ?

 

First impressions can make or break anything you do. If you have a forum for poodles are there already some forums for that? If there are, then you really want that WOW factor when you launch. If there aren't that many poodle forums, then although it is important to wow them, it isn't as important.

I know how it is to get very excited about something and want to jump in right away and show it off, but most of the time I feel it is better to wait.

 

On the other hand, it is easier, sometimes, to refine your ideas once your site or forum is already live. You can work on your new stuff for 6+ months expecting it to take off, but what if it doesn't? You've just lost 6+ months for nothing. I'd suggest going live and then implementing your ideas, gradually, one at a time.

I agree though make sure your forum looks and functions top notch.

 

I agree with both of you... as qwikad mentioned, spending 6 months on development without knowing if it will pay off one day is a risk I prefer not to take.
I would prefer the forum the grown (slowly) from the start. If people use it , it would also motivate me to continue the develoment.
I guess over time, even if people don't sign up because its not used that much, if some do, others will follow...

today, 1 person signed up (it is live already but unadvertised)
That 1 person gave me hope... since there are barely posts (and members) i must be on the right road with it

 

Are you planning to have a link to your forum in your signature? That would help.

 

Hey,
I would go for two versions, start with a Beta and tell people that this is Beta and is getting better and better everyday,
provide some visible links for feedback and ratings. While you are getting the word out and people are using it
they will also give you good feedback.
Though remember, do not release something which is extremely faulty, Beta version means some issues or shortcomings are
expected but not some major faults such as access to all accounts is open for everyone.
I also suggest to focus on the differences you have with other forums, if a potential user is already a member of a forum
why would they come to yours whether it's working perfect or not? So during the first couple of months the most important
thing for you is to take care of those differentiation points and spread the word.
Gooooood luck man. Put a link in your signature and I will support if it is good.

 

Thanks for your shares, i will put a signature link in the near future
I never release something if it's faulty ... that's why I don't release that often & it takes a long time before I make some bucks

I saw others collect thousands of $ (on sales) for systems that doesn't work that well, and they keep patching it during 'early bird' release...

But 2 versions is indeed an option, i didn't thought of it... interesting ...tnx...

 

If your idea is perfect at launch then you've launched too late.

 

I guess what you're saying is : 'don't launch to early & don't wait to long'

I've decided to wait a few more weeks in order to make some more tweeks before official launch *...
Most basic stuff will be handled... It will not be perfect, in a sense that not every feature I have in
mind will be available from day 1 but (hopefully) it will be enough to differ from other forums.

* read : before spending money on advertising
& some changes are easier to implement before the database is highly (-> relative ) populated ...

Thanks for your replies

 

As a marketer I also need to mention this that I believe creating for the user not the money users have. My point being, do not focus first on how you can make money
until you have something that can make money, till then focus on users and what you can provide to solve a problem or offer a better service to them so they stick with you

 

I would recommend you research the amount of reads and posts for each category you intend to serve eventually at all your competition including this forum. Open the website with the top category as soon as you have all the necessary features to compete for participants in that category. Focus on marketing this one category with social posts and forum posts everywhere you might find members, will allow you to make a good effort.

Figure out the most effective marketing techniques as you develop the first category and when you have good traffic start the process again with the second category, and so on. You will get faster results if all your efforts is focused on one category at a time and make sure it reached a level of activity to sustain a community. I believe you will get better search traffic growth in the beginning having content that is focused on a specific category.

 

Oh, I'd definitely wait if I were you. Passion is great, but it can set you back years if you apply every single thought you come with without waiting for the reaction of your visitors first. Get a feel for them and make changes as you go. That's what I do.

 

Thanks guys,

That is exactly what has driven me into this initiative ...
You see, my main activity is developing but I do have sites on my own.. that's how it all started...
I'm more like an allrounder who evolved into a developer during the process.
So basically you could say that I want to convert this allround experience I have into the ultimate platform

Because it's not my intention to make money with this project, I can not focus 100% of my time on this project.
Which slows down the development progress significantly. That is the reason why I opened this topic I guess

I agree, i didn't ment all features... definatly many will remain pending at the time being.

 

There are already too many webmaster forums out there. If you are just going to be one of the many, then it'll be very hard to get a significant number of active members. If you are going to offer features that will make you stand out from the crowd, then wait until everything is ready to launch.