What Type Of Internet Forums Do People Like?

[alf walters]

Hi,
I am currently in the process of deciding which topic niche I should build my forum about. I am looking at it from a purely profit angle you see.
I know that the latest media stories attracts loads of attention but how does that become sales?
I am currently selling prescription drugs and write articles on them.
Can advertising alone support a forum's expensives?
I have a Google Adwords account.
What I need to know is whether traffic is what drives sales or whether small traffic but good advice can sell and create a trustworthy brand?
I am aware that in my niche there are not many people who will discuss their buying habits but on the other hand, they are buyers and they want to come to a forum that offers them great advice and leads them to a happy purchase.
I just simply do not know if a forum for purchasers will ever make me the profits I want.
Can anyone advise me please?

[King Justice]

So you're a prescription drug dealer? -_-
Stick to the streets...

You wanna work on the net, you need to work hard. Hard work pays off, not a quick fix.

[Princeton]

alf walters,

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[Fusion2]

Originally Posted by alf walters

Hi,
I am looking at it from a purely profit angle you see.

I have been using vbulletin since 2006, and I can honestly say every month there are hundreds of people who buy vbulletin thinking they are going to make millions of dollars in a "get rich quick" scheme.

Just search these threads, and you will see thousands of posts like yours about people attempting to do the same.

And just look at the section where people ask you to rate their website, and you will see most of them rely heavily on RSS feeds, thinking that by re-posting other peoples content, they will make money.

It doesnt work that way!

During my first 3-years, i made less than $20 from google ads, doing exactly the same thing. Customized my forum extensively, re-designed my topics a few dozen times and still made pennies.

The people who succeed, do so because they put their heart and passion into their site. They live and breath their site every day. They write 5-10 new CMS, Blog or Posts a day, and comment on 50 or more of others posts, CMS or blogs.

Most importantly, they usually have a lot of friends, who they get to join and help get the forum started because your not going to get people to register in a forum where you are the only person doing the posting. there are bigger forums people would rather join.

As for success?

Most people end up achieving a personal website from the deal. Some have succeeding and made lots of money from millions of users. But, they have a monopoly on a niche market before the internet became popular. Such as a bodybuilding website with 25 million members, thats been around since 1990's and now has a staff of 125 people. You will never be able to have that particular niche because the site name is as exact as a site called "coffee" and talks only about coffee.

So best bet, don't wast your time or money, get out now! Unless you are like most people, like i am, where you are doing this more for personal rather than profit.

[BirdOPrey5]

I don't know if the situation is as dire as above... Yeah "bodybuilding.com" and "coffee.com" aren't available anymore but no one ever cared to register "facebook" or "yotube" or "twitter" before they became billion dollar successes. If you provide a valuable service or content people will come... you can make up any name "RxSpace.com" or whatever.

That said you can't legally sell prescription drugs so while you may very well make money on the sale of the drugs you'll never have a large, flourishing, community because the "trust" just isn't there. Maybe I'll find your site to buy some discreet Viagra one day but the last thing I'm going to do is stick around and post about it.

[fluidswork]

That's true , its not that easy to earn money .........

[fize4ever]

Well, Fusion covered the subject splendidly. So I'll just add that I am only using vBulletin to make my sites more established. If you're looking to get rich with vBulletin, then you have a very, very, long road.

[souffHofsToxy]

Do not give anyone plugin / product management access. Giving people access to code plugins on your live production system is like asking to be hacked because they can interupt any standard vBulletin process.

[Ricky Doherty]

I am currently in the process of deciding which topic niche I should build my forum about. I am looking at it from a purely profit angle you see.

[nochkin]

Just to add to whatever was said before..
Having a great forum and super advertising is a part of the deal only. You have to find people who is going to be involved into forum discussion. If you advertise your empty forum (it will be empty or almost empty when you start), it's hard to get some starter.
I would find professional who can help you to put some content and quickly respond to forum's users.
Maybe add some kind of blog with your reviews/articles and add "comment on that" to get some good start.