Are forums good for making money?

Discussion in 'General Marketing' started by MechPoint, Oct 31, 2008.

  1. #1
    I heard from some people that the only way to make money from forums is to Google AdSense, sell advertising, and collect donations. They also said forums are only good moneymakers if they're huge. Is this true?
     
    MechPoint, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  2. TechDudeDan

    TechDudeDan Peon

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    #2
    Yes they are true, its really hard to make good money from forums unless there really big and you use multiple revenue streams such as CPA, CPM, CPC etc
     
    TechDudeDan, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  3. glitto

    glitto Notable Member

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    #3
    In the initial stage forums are VERY hard to make money from, but once they grow and become famous you can earn good money from them by any way (selling links, banners, sticky threads, adsense...etc). But remember if forum becomes big and famous it means you need to upgrade your hosting plan too because forum will take more CPU resources.

    But forums are VERY good for marketing and your other site's promotion.
     
    glitto, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  4. Trioman

    Trioman Active Member

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    #4
    You can also make money from members advertising on your forum after you have develope a huge following.
     
    Trioman, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  5. Russell Card

    Russell Card Peon

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    #5
    Forums are good for back links to your web site to rank you higher in the search engines. Join between 5-10 of your favorite forums and post 2 or 3 times a day, only takes a few minutes. Use a signature in your posts once they allow you and you will get more traffic.
     
    Russell Card, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  6. Tech Gringo

    Tech Gringo Peon

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    #6
    I'd say that advertising opportunities are very good for a forum, especially for a product or service that appeals to your forum users. This means you need to spend more time focusing on making sure you are superserving your forum niche.
     
    Tech Gringo, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  7. dcristo

    dcristo Illustrious Member

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    #7
    Depends on the niche but yes they can make a lot of money.
     
    dcristo, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  8. Fozz Dog

    Fozz Dog Peon

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    #8
    I owned a couple of forums a while back, I would seriously think about it before you start because from all the forum owners I talked to it was more a hobby that making money.
     
    Fozz Dog, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  9. host102

    host102 Peon

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    #9
    Promotion is crucial during the initial stages.
    After your forum becomes huge, you can pretty much leave it alone.
     
    host102, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  10. MechPoint

    MechPoint Banned

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    #10
    I would assume a forum like DigitalPoint makes a lot money, but then again, I wonder how much hosting DP costs...
     
    MechPoint, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  11. jcwgpwg

    jcwgpwg Guest

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    #11
    I've been told too that forums are a great way to make money, but quite honestly I don't get how. Not unless you spend your whole day, everyday, posting like crazy, and I don't know about you, but I have a life beyond the computer screen!
     
    jcwgpwg, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  12. ms2134

    ms2134 Well-Known Member

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    #12
    Forums are a good way to make money through advertising providing that you have a good Niche (Selling Point).

    You need to have good traffic and also good content on that forums to keep it active in order to get more members who may see your advertisements.

    ~ Mike
     
    ms2134, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  13. adigital

    adigital Peon

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    #13
    Well if you compare this with having a normal website then YES it is hard to make enough money. However there are forums such as DigitalPoint that has hundreds of active users, a new post every second and making up to $10,000 / day!
     
    adigital, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  14. MechPoint

    MechPoint Banned

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    #14
    How is DP making $10,000/day??
     
    MechPoint, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  15. tzh

    tzh Guest

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    #15
    He is terrible nonsense
     
    tzh, Oct 31, 2008 IP
  16. 010081

    010081 Banned

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    #16
    forum are very very hard on start but once it keeps going then just stay back and relax.. sometime members do irritate by spamming but its all money matters.
     
    010081, Nov 1, 2008 IP
  17. adigital

    adigital Peon

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    #17
    According to NYtimes in 2006 D.P was making at least $10,000 / month with Adsense. I am sure that now Shawn Hogan (owner of DigitalPoint) is making much much more $$$ per month!
     
    adigital, Nov 1, 2008 IP
  18. lifeplayer

    lifeplayer Notable Member

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    #18
    If you can make it well like DP, of course you can make huge money
     
    lifeplayer, Nov 1, 2008 IP
  19. josechukkiri

    josechukkiri Well-Known Member

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    #19
    Forums are good for making money. Especially pay to post forums. My lot .com is the best such site. Yesterday I got $10. Good luck.
     
    josechukkiri, Nov 1, 2008 IP
  20. JewelryReseller

    JewelryReseller Peon

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    #20
    forums if you are just starting out in internet marketing are quite hard to get going. Any good forum has a core user group that regularly writes posts about stuff that is interesting to other viewers. To get that initial core will require you to post a ton yourself, pay other people to post or figure out some crazy traffic generating scheme like youtube videos or something. good luck!
     
    JewelryReseller, Nov 1, 2008 IP