Running A Forum?

[skybluesam1]

Okay, So I am thinking about setting up a forum but I am not sure how to yet and don't even know a good topic so I was maybe thinking about gaming! Anyway, will this do to get my forum off the ground and to get a few people posting? A free drag and drop forum creator and a cheap domain? I could add hosting a few months down the line if needed!

Also I have a few questions...

Can you think of a good gaming forum name/domain name?
How do I get traffic in the first place?
Should I setup fake accounts to start talking for SEO?
Is there a lot of money in it or not?

Thanks!

 

[MoBowen]

Gaming is always a popular forum segment, but I think you should take it a step further and consider a more tightly focused gaming niche. There are already several extremely popular general gaming forums, so it would be hard for you to make a splash. A niche gaming forum gives you a better chance to succeed.

For example, you can focus on one popular game, like Minecraft. Or you can focus on a popular gaming site like Steam. Or you can target specific types of games like strategy games.

As far as traffic... My daughter watches Minecraft videos on YouTube all the time. They're just recording as they're playing the game and saying funny stuff while they play. I know the guys (and ladies) doing these videos get A LOT of traffic. That traffic can easily be funneled to a forum, if you want.

Can you offer mods? Free server space? Cheats? You need something of value to get your name out there. Something that people can refer back to over and over again.

There is a lot of money to be made with forums, but it's not some get rich quick thing. If you're going to do it, make sure it's a topic you REALLY enjoy and be prepared for all the little hidden extras like moderation and server space for the amount of traffic you'll get.

Good luck!

 

[penny101]

Thanks for the information above as l have been thinking about setting up a forum and everything that has been listed in the second post is questions l would have had. Making money is the end goal but l can see it would take a while before any money was made, l will be bookmarking this page!.

 

[Jellyfish]

If you don't know how and don't know what about why do you want to run a forum? There is more needed to make money than just to do anything.

 

[penny101]

I don't want to run a forum to get rich, i know that a lot of forums do not make money it would be more of a personal thing (something i am intrested in). Some forums that are making money now have been on the internet for years and it takes time and dedication if the end goal is making money like i said in my above post.

 

[BigJ]

I don't want to run a forum to get rich, i know that a lot of forums do not make money it would be more of a personal thing (something i am intrested in). Some forums that are making money now have been on the internet for years and it takes time and dedication if the end goal is making money like i said in my above post.

If it is something that you are interested in then why not? Even if you lose a few dollars on it, you will still be enjoying your hobby. If you turn it into a success then you are getting paid for your hobby!

 

[skybluesam1]

If it is something that you are interested in then why not? Even if you lose a few dollars on it, you will still be enjoying your hobby. If you turn it into a success then you are getting paid for your hobby!

What would be a better thing for me to do then? Like should I setup a blog, website or a forum? Like I said the hosting is free so I don't need to worry about it but what would you try first?

 

[Steverd]

Also I have a few questions...

Can you think of a good gaming forum name/domain name?
How do I get traffic in the first place?
Should I setup fake accounts to start talking for SEO?
Is there a lot of money in it or not?

I've ran numerous forums over the years. I used to always use vBulletin, now I'm using Xenforo for the software. As for making money? I've never made enough money to even pay for my band width. Find a good host, don't use a free or cheap one like GoDaddy or 1and1.com to host your forum or you will have major headaches later when you have to move it or a better/faster host. Getting traffic will be by far your hardest challenge. I've tried Twitter, Facebook and even paid Google ad/adwords. It's hard, but I'm doing it for fun and not to get rich. Many, many new forums will make 'fake' accounts and start posting. I don't think that there is anything wrong with that. Whatever it takes to get a conversation started.
If you are using Xenforo, there is a great plug in call 'Login As User' which is perfect for switching to different users and posting.
Good Luck!!!

 

[MoBowen]

Steverd... just out of curiousity, what made you switch from vBulletin to XenForo?

 

[BigJ]

What would be a better thing for me to do then? Like should I setup a blog, website or a forum? Like I said the hosting is free so I don't need to worry about it but what would you try first?

A forum would likely get more interaction once it became popular. A blog might get more search engine traffic depending on how well it is set up. You could also have a forum attached to a website. This depends on your technical background.

 

[vash]

If you use Hostgator, you can easily set up some free forum software from their Cpanel. It's a few clicks and done thing. I am using MyBB for my forum, and it was installed from the Cpanel of Hostgator.

However, I am actually curious why you want to start a forum before know what the topic is?
There are basically two types of people who want to start forums.
1. Into the niche as a hobby.
2. Into making profit off the forum.

If you are neither then it's the best not to start one. Only those who are really into the niche or really into making profit can put enough effort/money into it to make it successful. It is no easy task to start a forum. These days there are not only too many forums out there already in every niche you can think of, there are also lots of popular social media which take away potential members from forums. The days of "build it and they'll come" is long gone. Nobody wants to join anything less than very popular these days.

 

[skybluesam1]

If you use Hostgator, you can easily set up some free forum software from their Cpanel. It's a few clicks and done thing. I am using MyBB for my forum, and it was installed from the Cpanel of Hostgator.

However, I am actually curious why you want to start a forum before know what the topic is?
There are basically two types of people who want to start forums.
1. Into the niche as a hobby.
2. Into making profit off the forum.

If you are neither then it's the best not to start one. Only those who are really into the niche or really into making profit can put enough effort/money into it to make it successful. It is no easy task to start a forum. These days there are not only too many forums out there already in every niche you can think of, there are also lots of popular social media which take away potential members from forums. The days of "build it and they'll come" is long gone. Nobody wants to join anything less than very popular these days.

Yes I understand how hard it is because I am struggling to get visitors at the moment for my fishtank keeping forum which I just setup so if you have any tips then please do tell me .


I am basically in it for the money making above anything else... How many hours will it take me before I start seeing any returns>

 

[trentz]

Try some thing new. Gaming forum is just competitive and you might not get a chance from them, there are lot more niche to monetize like travel forum for your city or fruits forum. Running a forum is no fun too, i myself have 2 forum which makes me exhuasted at some point.

 

[vash]

Yes I understand how hard it is because I am struggling to get visitors at the moment for my fishtank keeping forum which I just setup so if you have any tips then please do tell me .


I am basically in it for the money making above anything else... How many hours will it take me before I start seeing any returns>

There is no fixed time in term of "hours". There is even no guarantee to make a profit.

You have to put in effort to create some decent content in order to attract web traffic. You can only get registered users after you get some decent traffic. Because nobody will even see your forum otherwise. The hard part is really because no one will even know your forum's existence before it has a lot of content... and there won't be a lot of content without a lot of people joining. So these two problems actually combined into a giant problem. You have to somehow get some content going on the forum before people will join.

 

[Firebreathz]

Createaforum is one of the best free forums I have found so far