Hello there, Just a general question i would like to be answered due to a forum being a possibility to a next project. Can a relatively active forum become a good source of revenue? I.E making money from subscriptions etc. All answers greatly appreciated and any pointers would also be thought about. -Regards
Depends on it's popularity... though, forum members are notorious for having ad-blindness, so CTR's tend to suck. An active forum, with paid member perks can certainly make it pay for itself with various subscription levels. Just keep in mind, be a friendly and active Admin, and you'll fare better then most places. Get a GOOD moderating staff and have fair (but moderate) rules (no one likes an iron fist). Offer GOOD content but don't go overboard on the number of boards offered (you don't want to drown new members out).
Many thanks for that information. Only problem with me is marketing ;l I'm terrible at it and would find getting good active members hard. Apart from that, no other problems would happen i don't think.
Paid forum from the begining I don't think will work.At the start it must be free so people can see what is about. Also if exist others forums free on the subject, free - paid , I choose free. What you are offering and I can not get the information for free? , this is the question.
I think (hope?) that Liberation was referring to having subscription levels, as in having certain aspects of a forum set aside for paid member. Kind of like the Underground here, but having people pay to see it. Something like that could work for like the BST section on Digital Point rather well (but Shawn already said no). But you are correct, people will likely not pay anything for a completely paid forum...I know I wouldn't, as there are likely dozens of other forums with the same theme, that are free.
I do not mean paid to post on the forums. I mean extra privileges, such as for example VIP or something like that.
You can charge for access but you either need a market that are used to this (such as photography/ modeling forums) or the board needs to be well established first. Ad revenue is the more common target initially but this again depends on your subject and target market. Whilst there have been exceptions we predominately have sold forums as a loss leader to our clients for their main focus/ service/ products