Really thats terrible, www.computalk.net which is mine gets around 30 posts a day and I get around $2.50 a day on it.
Yeah ... would you tell us how you manage to do that ...? 30 posts a day and you make $2.50 from that? It's a very very good rate you're getting.
I have had $25,000 worth of active forum sales in 2007. I can take a domain, setup a forums, bring in traffic, create activity, and then sell for profit. I plan to write more details into an ebook on how to run a successful forums sometime early next year. I just acquired startforums.com which I plan to use as a hub to help new webmaster monetize forums and set them up. Forums are tricky...they are not simple. But with experience and proper help most forums can have some level of success if the base is there. By base I mean a good topic and a good domain. Now I also want to state I do not work "full-time" on only forums. But ....I sysadmin for a friend that does. He started his forums about 5 years ago. It's now a top 10k Alexa site with over 3 million posts and 100k members. The database is about 4 GB. He makes 6 figures a year revenue from this one site. He quit his job 2 years ago. Recently he has been approached by a large conglomerate interested in his site...he may end up getting a 7 figure sale from this site. So yes...it's not only possible but many actually do it.
Hi Rectangleman you have really got me motivated with forums. I know it might not be appropriate to ask for all secrets and tips especially since you are coming out with your own ebook., but could you give tips to starters on how to push the forum to atleast become something of 200-300 posts a day?
With anything that's of good value there is no easy shortcut. It takes time and effort...sometimes great effort. The key is attracting a base. I like to have a core of 10-15 regular posters that make about 50 posts a day...start off with small incremental goals. Try to achieve 20 logged in members in a day. Try to achive 50 posts in a day. Grow slowly but surely. Balance promotion with activity. If you site has "leveled-off" in stats then look to promote. Be creative with your promotion and mix it up. There are dozens of ways to attract visitors. Watch the traffic on your site carefully. I find Google Analytics to be very good for this. If you get to 200-300 posts a day that's a good respectable amount of traffic and activity. Here are just some of the markers of a successful forum. 1. Daily uniques 2. Bounce rate 3. New member signups per day 4. New posts per day That should help you a bit.
No you can't. It's simply impossible. You can make an average sized forum, maybe one the size of a site like easternuswx.com if it's in an untaken niche, but your going to basically get a moderate sized forum, if you put a lot of effort and money into it.