Creating A Forum

**Market_Fanatic** · 09-10-2007 10:23 AM

I was just wondering since we are all obviously interested in Forums. How profitable do you think they are? and how much of your time do they need to continue running properly? I have had an idea I wanted to use for sometime now but didn't know if it would be worth it. I also would like some input on how hard it is to create the actual site and maybe cost since I have never created one before.

**jck2003** · 09-10-2007 10:41 AM

1) In terms of profitability it depends obviously on the traffic you can create. If you have lots of traffic then you will have no problems finding people interested in advertising and thats how you'll make the money.

2) Forums can become time consuming when you start out especially getting used to design, coding etc. If you have somebody that is used to doing it it wont take too long depending on your needs etc.

3) Cost-Wise it depends. There are actually some forums that you can get that are free but take a bit of coding and design to get right. One example is: www.proboards.com

I have had actually lots of experience with forums so just PM with some info and I am sure I can help you out in any way that I can.

**tsbales** · 09-10-2007 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by jck2003

1) In terms of profitability it depends obviously on the traffic you can create. If you have lots of traffic then you will have no problems finding people interested in advertising and thats how you'll make the money.

2) Forums can become time consuming when you start out especially getting used to design, coding etc. If you have somebody that is used to doing it it wont take too long depending on your needs etc.

3) Cost-Wise it depends. There are actually some forums that you can get that are free but take a bit of coding and design to get right. One example is: www.proboards.com

I have had actually lots of experience with forums so just PM with some info and I am sure I can help you out in any way that I can.

We use proboards.com for a dealer forum we run. It was very easy to set up and seems to give all the tools necessary to manage. And the price is right!

**Viraj** · 09-10-2007 03:33 PM

Proboards is good especially when you're starting out. But if you want to build an online community, I wouldn't recommend it.

Last time I used it (around a year or so ago) there were a few flaws - for example; you can only modify your board to a limited extent, and as far as I know there is no option to use your own domain - you have to use a proboards sub domain.

Proboards get you off the ground quickly, but what you can do with them is rather limited. Personally, I'd advise anyone to use some dedicated forum software/scripts (e.g. vBulletin/Invision Power Board or even SMF - Simple Machines Forum).

**Market_Fanatic** · 09-11-2007 10:14 AM

Well Since I'm a college student, my target market is also college students. I know what I want the forum to look and everything and I kinda have a plan of how I'm going to market it. I'm based in San Antonio, Tx and so I'm gonna use TX universities and community colleges as my first market and then hopefully work my way out slowly as my idea will benefit anyone in school. Are any of ya'll based out of TX

**nellyshark** · 09-11-2007 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by Market_Fanatic

Well Since I'm a college student, my target market is also college students. I know what I want the forum to look and everything and I kinda have a plan of how I'm going to market it. I'm based in San Antonio, Tx and so I'm gonna use TX universities and community colleges as my first market and then hopefully work my way out slowly as my idea will benefit anyone in school. Are any of ya'll based out of TX

Hi Market_Fanatic, would you believe that I have just set up a College Specific Forum for only yesterday. I have big ideas for it. Kinda the same situation as your good self, except I just finished college and seen a market for it where I live.

The forum I used was SMF that can be installed using Fantastico. PM me if you want any info or a link to it. It's still not exactly or even close to the way I want it but still you can gauge it. All the best in your venture regardless. Hope to be of help.

**tsbales** · 09-11-2007 11:11 AM

One more thing...since you are trying to reach a college audience, you will most likely have to invest in traditional marketing to get the students to your forum the first time. Fliers, t-shirts, and contests jump to mind as ways to motivate the students to take a look. And then the content has to be great when they get there...otherwise it will be a "one look" forum.

Once you got the repeat views...then you have a vehicle to pitch to other advertisers who want to reach that same population.

**jck2003** · 09-11-2007 11:30 AM

The great thing about Proboards is that they offer great support. They have a dedicated forums where you can get feedback on your own proboard forum, coding, graphic design requests etc. I found this to be an exceptional service mostly when my forums server had gone down. I received help in an hour or so.

If you are willing to invest a bit of money I would then say vbulletin I suppose as you can do a lot of editing with them but you need the expertise to really make any dramatic changes.

**nellyshark** · 09-11-2007 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by tsbales

One more thing...since you are trying to reach a college audience, you will most likely have to invest in traditional marketing to get the students to your forum the first time. Fliers, t-shirts, and contests jump to mind as ways to motivate the students to take a look. And then the content has to be great when they get there...otherwise it will be a "one look" forum.

Once you got the repeat views...then you have a vehicle to pitch to other advertisers who want to reach that same population.

Some college has a student union type services