Things to consider before starting a forum.

In the world of internet marketing and business, the term 'forum management' is always in the top of the list. I am also almost quite certain that you are here because you are either a business minded person and is interested/indulged in the world of forum management, or you are just a enthusiast and is interested in learning the ways and means of the said internet marketing strategy. Most people have talked about it, gave their testimonies about how successful they are in this profession. You might be thinking of starting one yourself. But of course, before thinking of proceeding in starting a long-term project, what most (if not, all) professionals in the business world do is to plan. Before you continue, you must answer a very serious question: Are you ready to start the grueling process of starting a forum?

To help you, I have made a list of things to consider before you indulge yourself in the world of forum management.

1. Are you patient enough to handle a huge task?

Most of the people who are starting in the world of internet marketing thinks that earning cash in the internet is so easy. Let me tell you this beforehand: Starting, Maintaining and Earning in a forum isn't easy. It is a grueling task, and it won't happen in a heartbeat. To start a forum, you need a huge syringe of patience injected to your bloodstream. Setting it up, getting daily visitors to it, promoting it, rendering it active, setting it apart from others, etc. is a huge task. If you have no patience, maybe starting a forum isn't the right thing for you.

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2. Do you have the time?

The setup, maintenance and promotion of a forums require time and dedication. The promotion of a forums might be the hardest thing in starting your own community, because you need to think of cool ways to advertise your website/forums and let the whole world know that your forums is great and is deserving to get daily visitors. That's why you need time, focus and dedication to it, because it will be the key point of how successful your forums will be.
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3. What is your forum all about?

I find this question the most unanswered Q of the bunch. Most forum owners lack unique and cool ideas of a forum subject. So what they do is, they go "mainstream" and go and make forums that has been made for countless times now. Bottom line? If you lack a unique forum subject to make, you will have plenty of competitors, and your forums will sink rather than shine in the spotlight.
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4. Are you willing to spend?

Oh yes. Most of the people I've encountered were rendered speechless after I ask them this question. Remember, folks. You will not earn without spending a few. Life works this way. Equivalent Exchange. The idea of making a successful forum without spending a few bucks is just plain preposterous. Why? Because to start a forum in a legitimate way, you really need to spend a few bucks on the setup and the maintenance. For example, you need to spend about $50 to get the domain (.com, .org, .net), the forum software (ex. vBulletin), and the forum hosting (ex. Hostgator). Although there are free providers of domains, forum softwares and forum hosting, the paid ones are the only ones that will give you the guarantee to success. Why? Because people tend to visit the sites that are managed and is made well. Most of the free providers will only give you half of the desired results that you want for your community.​

5. Are you sociable?

Are you willing to mingle with the people, answer their questions, read their ideas, and value their thoughts? If you are, then this thing is the right stuff for you. Valuing other's thoughts and creating a relaxed atmosphere will definitely boost the chances of making your community great and successful.
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Thank you for reading, and I hope this gives you some idea about how the creation of a community works.
You may also reply to this thread about the things you consider before you start a forum.
Enjoy!​

 

Basic but quite informative, even though I knew it all, it's a good advice for forum starters, thank you

 

You say that paid software with guarantee you success... Well that is false information. I have had more success with free software than I have had with vBulletin, IPB and XenForo combined. In fact, I get quicker support on free software that I did using paid software. Why go the overpriced route when you can get a free forum software that will do the exact same thing as any paid software?

 

Valuable information for new forum starters like me
points taken.

but i also agree with @kruzzen
I am running my forum in mybb. And i m 100% satisfied
With the kind of support and plugins it offers.

Thankyou.

 

Also, be careful of what mods your installing, as from experience they can only lead to problems with hackers. I agree with your points though, they are definatley the basics which need to be taken into account.

 

the most important thing as you mentioned is patience it will take sometime to get visitors and increase traffic