So...You have $7000 to go into developing a site based on a forum, what do YOU do
 

Hey,
This is actually a situation I am in right now.

I am putting $7000 towards the development of one of my sites, www.DeuceAce.com

The site is a poker forum mainly with a few extra things, articles, reviews, directory etc. but nothing else major.

The forum isn't exactly new, there are 200+ members and just under 3000 posts, but I would still consider it as very new and will be working on it as if I just launched it.

I am starting to budget what I will use the $7000 on.
I just sent off a payment of $800 to vbulletinskinz.com for a new custom design - I think they are one of the best in the forum design industry.

So..you have just over $6000 to build up a poker forum, it?s a highly competitive industry but I feel there is still space for another, quality forum.

The money can be spent on development, content advertising/marketing or anything you think would help improve and develop the community.

So...what are your first steps and what do you use the money for?

Well.

I wouldn't recommend you spend all of that mate in all honesty. I believe you can find a top-notch designer for 1500-2000. I have no sites to recommend sadly, but I would hope that you don't waste what strong money reserve you have in the preliminary stages.

I would put most of the money in the bank and buy a good php book. :D When the forum got big enough, I'd pull out some of the money and pay for a dedicated server.

I dont think you need to spend all that money to make your forums or site better.
There are lots of good communities out there that spent much less than that and are good.

I would advise you to be very careful how you spend it and do not tell everyone you have that much to spend as you dont want people charging you extra because they know you have more.

Try and get good deals and dont accept first price.

They're good...but no custom skin is worth $800 lol. You've gotten some good advise here...don't throw your money away on things that won't bring you a return.

For starters:

• A design should be the last step in this process -- right now, you are throwing your money away. I gaurantee that you will need modifications/additions done to it later on.
• Products that you should have:
  • Dedicated Server
  • Custom Portal
  • Custom Articles System
  • A Sponsors System (a system that is simple and which a member has control over ... eg. options, etc)
  • Try to stay with vBulletin products (products run by vb core files/functions), adding 3rd-party apps will only increase your workload.
• Get yourself a good copywriter - this is where all sites fail ... without a message you will never increase conversion rate. Your message should pass the AIDAS Test:
  • A - Grab their ATTENTION.
  • I - Strengthen INTEREST.
  • D - Stimulate DESIRE.
  • A - Get them to take ACTION.
  • S - SATISFY them.

Only after you have done all of the above should you advertise. Advertising in a poker magazine will drive traffic to your site. You will be surprised on how much traffic advertising in the right place can do for a site.


Good Luck

I disagree ... with the right design, $800 or more could be worth the price.
It all depends on how user-friendly the design is.

Coming from the industry I am in, with the contacts and knowledge I have, I guarantee you that $800 is too much to spend on a custom design. You can have a design created by a top designer for less than $400 (probably more like $300) and coded by top coders for less than $250.

anyone can create a "design" ... only a few can create a "winning design"

It all depends how unique the design is I believe.