Blog V Forum

[wealthboards]

Good Day Everyone,

I am planning on starting a website on wealth. But, having looked around the web, it appears that it is a growing number of 'general' Blogs that seem to be earning good revenues from AdSense etc., and hardly any forums?

Although I note that there are indeed a handful of (and only a handful) Forums which seem to be earning good revenues, but all of these forums are niche forums and not 'general'?

I must say that the xenForo software does seem user-friendly all-round, but can a forum website really take-off these days?

Why would any one now visit a forum (leaving aside the established ones) when you have Facebook, Blogs & Twitter etc.?

 

[Claudio]

Good Day Everyone,

I am planning on starting a website on wealth. But, having looked around the web, it appears that it is a growing number of 'general' Blogs that seem to be earning good revenues from AdSense etc., and hardly any forums?

Although I note that there are indeed a handful of (and only a handful) Forums which seem to be earning good revenues, but all of these forums are niche forums and not 'general'?

I must say that the xenForo software does seem user-friendly all-round, but can a forum website really take-off these days?

Why would any one now visit a forum (leaving aside the established ones) when you have Facebook, Blogs & Twitter etc.?

Your forum needs to offer something that other forums doesn't. That's the trick.

Nowadays, forums are easy to monetize but the problem is moderation. You need to hire someone to moderate the threads and posts but if the forum is great you'll gain more users rather than a blog

 

[Paul B]

If your primary goal is revenue from adverts then a forum is not for you.

 

[wealthboards]

If your primary goal is revenue from adverts then a forum is not for you.

I'm sure a blog wouldn't start making money in the early stages; the question is whether a forum can possibly be more lucrative than a blog over the longer term, or has Facebook, Pinterest and others have practically rendered forums useless?

 

[Paul B]

Forums are for social interaction, generally based around a common theme.

It sounds like you are just interested in making money from clicks.

 

[wealthboards]

Forums are for social interaction, generally based around a common theme.

It sounds like you are just interested in making money from clicks.

No, I'm not just interested in making money but I think everyone who start a serious forum is eventually looking to monetise it; I doubt if any one starts a forum for charity. The point is to compare a blog V a forum - which one can truly create a greater following in a speedier time and so which one is more lucrative in the medium+ term. I mean I see blogs flourishing even with Facebook & Pinterest around, but I don't see very many comparable numbers of forums reaching similar heights. The issue is whether a forum is a safe longer-term bet for both traffic and revenue as opposed to a blog, and what the true advantages of a forum over a blog really are?

 

[Naiwen]

I'd prefer blogs, much less drama than forums.

 

[wealthboards]

I'd prefer blogs, much less drama than forums.

But with blogs admin always has to feed them to a certain extent, with forums they can be fully user-generated in time. I'm gonna give XF a go.

 

[Deepmartini]

Making money is always a popular topic. I say go for it and see what happens! You'll have fun using Xenforo. Instant community.

 

[TPerry]

"Making money" is not why I started up the forums that I did. They are on topics that I enjoy and just want to provide resources to other like minded people. I've never gotten into a hobby (which is what mine are) with the intent to make money. The only exception that I ever had was when I got into the hobby of "computers". Ended up turning into a career (and still a part time "old retired persons" job).
If they take off - fine. If they don't - that's fine also. I still get to play with them.

 

[craigiri]

I think the main topic here is WHO IS GOING TO PROVIDE THE CONTENT?

Most of the financial blogs you see making money have vast numbers of members who provide free or cheap content (seekingalpha, etc.).....

On the other hand, you have forums like bogleheads.

http://www.bogleheads.org/

where users provide help in the time-honored forum manner.

The blogs are designed to attract ads and money whereas the forum is structured differently.

Nothing wrong with making money, but if want to do it the "old fashioned way" (earn it), then you need to provide great info which isn't designed just to attract attention and ads.

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[wealthboards]

I don't think most people start a forum for just the fun of it - I think at least a vast majority of forums are started to make the owner money.

 

[TPerry]

I don't think most people start a forum for just the fun of it - I think at least a vast majority of forums are started to make the owner money.

I have 7 and all of them are done for the "fun of it" for me. Like I said earlier, it's one of my hobbies, and I never go into a hobby expecting to make money off of it. The only one that really turned into money was when I got into playing with computers back in '85.
I'm probably the exception to the rule as money is not central to my life.

 

[=MGN=RedEagle]

Take a look at the votes on my topic for a great insight into this question: http://xenforo.com/community/threads/can-you-make-money-off-a-forum.50336/

 

[Carlos]

If your primary goal is revenue from adverts then a forum is not for you.

It IS possible to make money from a forum. It's just that you need to make it not-so-intrusive...

 

[clickdotsingles]

It IS possible to make money from a forum. It's just that you need to make it not-so-intrusive...

Well, I'm sure millions of dollars can be made from a well run and light-minded forum - I for one will use the XenForo script to run a Singles discussion forum using the new .singles domain extension.

I also think that we have yet to see a group of extraordinary fast growth- based forums.

 

[rdn]

If you can write really good articles, then go for a pure blog site.

 

[clickdotsingles]

If you can write really good articles, then go for a pure blog site.

I will hardly write anything apart from a few start-up posts, as taking into account the nature of my intended forum I reckon people will kick-start the forum themselves... plenty of singles out there who are lonely, depressed, happy, cheating or otherwise! (And, most of whom will fancy a decent discussion before they join any dating website).

And, if you look at the speed at which .singles domains got fetched, .singles is sure to become one of the hottest ever domain extensions.

 

[Carlos]

I also think that we have yet to see a group of extraordinary fast growth- based forums.

Look harder.

I've already seen multiple Call of Duty forums rack up $10k to $25k a pop. The best one that I've seen is $50,000.

I've seen a few other kinds of forums get around $100,000 to $1 million.

These are acquisitions. Now, on the revenue side it's $6000 or better.

 

[W1zzard]

If your primary goal is revenue from adverts then a forum is not for you.

+1 on that

These are acquisitions.

Acquisitions are a completely different thing than realistic, stable, earnings, and profit.
$6k ad revenue per month from a forum? unless you direct-sell branding ads, you're not gonna get this from adsense unless you have a ton of traffic, for which you need to spend more on hosting cost and employees