Forums effective internet business models?

I've heard of a fair number of forums that earn what most people would consider substantial profits.

There is often "supplemental" content in these cases, but I'm talking about places where the forum is clearly the "main attraction" and source of revenue.

 

It depends on the industry the forum targets. Some forums generate a lot of indirect advertising $$$

 

Forums usually generate between .7% and 2% CTR. It really depends on the placement and integration of a forum. OH I'm referring to adsense.

But forums are an easy way to increase index'd pages and get high traffic flowing easily if you find your niche.

And it's fun!

 

A 2% CTR on a forum? I maybe manage that CTR on my Content sites....o well...I might have to do some optimisation

But I agree with carowan ...discussion boards are a good way to keep your visitors returning.

 

Yeah, I get about a 1.5% CTR on my forum, and it is the main focus of the site. I have articles, tutorials, contests and other things, but all in all, it's a photography forum. And I'm able to monitize it quite well with Adsense, banners, and text links, as well as contest sponsorships.

 

Forum provides a good platform to know people from every corner.It can not take money direct,,but it can help human relationship and promote the possible business.

 

AUTOMOTIVE FORUMS such as ls1.com, ls1tech.com, clubgp.com, clubsi.com etc seem to survive.... I wouldnt call it getting rich by no means.

the advertisers and sponsors on the "bigger ones" tend to keep the sites alive and pay for server cost etc.... heck, most probably make more cash from the t-shirt and pen sales.

 

Forums as Internet Business Model

It is very profitable to make money with your own hosted forum.
You pull people into your defined niche, on your topics and in
your marketplace you control.

I take it that you are an Expert in your field to run such forum
because I did not explain to You that this is the easy route.
And then again it is if you are over a turning point of hassles
you actually are not needed anymore other than to pay for the server.

The biggest problem is to find people you can rely on to outsource your
work to in the long run you should take in employees you pay.
There are a lot of forums that run pure on the strength of the community
We are talking about a business model here and you do not run a business
by chance to see if you can get in on top of your business.

In the brick and mortar world if you want to setup a new business quick
you use a template approach, the beauty of Internet Business building is
that you can use the Darwin method to setup the same business in a few
variations and see how these evaluate like marketeers are used to do A/B
split testing.

The water cooler model is more popular then ever, think Facebook.
The social proof and bundling of people on target topics.
You know forums make money, you are here to do business, right?

Thank You for reading.


internet business expert,
Themelis Cuiper
social media marketing, internet consultant, seo

 

I think that this forum is a great example of a forum as an internet business model!

 

If you are looking to solely make money then a forum isn't the best idea.

Making a lot of money with a forum is definately possible however it takes quite a long time. There are a lot more methods to making money than simply throwing a few ads on the page. Such as charged listings, VIP membership etc. However these are the things that are only valuble once your forum is packed with users and pretty much nobody would be interested in from the start.

If you are interested in the forum route this is a route to go down. People in online marketing tend to have a massive misconception that stuff is really easy when in reality your are starting a business.

If you need anymore help on the matter send me a PM on here.

Thanks,
Majestic Marketing Consultancy