A while back the Internet saw the launch of a number of exclusive paid forum communities. Despite the fact that these communities charged expensive registration fees to new members wanting to join, they still flourished. Thousands of visitors signed up to these communities, whether the reasons were plain curiosity or a need for the information, the owners of these forums generated hundreds of thousands of Dollars, even millions of Dollars, in income.
The question today asked by a number of webmasters is: ‘Is it still lucrative to start a paid forum?’
Well, although the market is saturated we are of the opinion that the market still has space on offer for more paid forum communities on a number of niches. It will mainly depend on the strategies implemented by the webmaster in developing, designing, establishing and marketing the paid forum community.
Essentially the successful candidate will spend a fair period of time on the website; have access to a large number of friends to start joining the community as well as extensive knowledge and experience on the niche the community will be based upon. Furthermore the candidate will have access to funding required for the successful promotion of the community.
Why paid forum communities?
One advantage of these communities is that members all share the common topics. There will generally be active involvement from all members, which will automatically lead to the growth of the community in future.
Another advantage is the income generation aspect. Webmasters will generate income upon each new member joining the community. In certain instances, annual or monthly membership renewal fees may ensure recurring income.
Webmasters are more likely to sell additional goods and services related to the niche to members. In these communities such sales often flourish and more income can be generated from these sales than anywhere else.
Software required
If you are indeed planning on starting a paid forum community, the next question may be what type of software or scripts may be required to start such community. Essentially we recommend only one script or software for such forum – vBulletin – www.vbulletin.com
vBulletin can be seen as the Rolls Royce of forum software. This is a fully comprehensive script, easy to install and manage, with built-in payment transaction facilities. The software comes with tons of additional add-ons aimed at making the community more interactive and keeps members glued to their screens.
Although available at a price tag of $180 for the owned license, this is an investment the prospective candidate can not afford to miss out on.
Can I expect a lot of traffic?
This will all depend on the niche. Generally paid forum communities focuses on specific niches and will only attract a small percentage of users.
Although traffic is required, a lot of traffic will not mean a lot of members will sign up. The webmaster must plan his forum carefully in order to provide visitors, especially new visitors, with a hook to get them signing up.
Planning the forum
Webmasters should plan the layout of the forum carefully and decide which information will be made publicly accessible and which will remain secured to members only. Public information is of utmost importance if the webmaster wants to provide newcomers with teasing content to get them signing up to the forum.
The webmaster must also differentiate his forum from other publicly accessible forums. There should be exclusive member tools and services, not available elsewhere. Members should be rewarded for signing up to the forum and this can be done by means of give-aways or other rewards publicly advertised.
The forum should be planned to appear professional, in fact, the content need to be professional at all time as paying members will accept nothing less.
A lot of time, marketing and dedication will need to be spent on the forum in order to ensure its success.
