Suggestion for forum owners: Stick to niches that by their nature are more mature

[ChrisGuthrie]

What I mean by the statement:

Stick to niches that by their nature are more mature

Is that I used to run a network of video game related forums. This was a stupid idea for several reasons.

1. video game forums pay out terribly
2. video game forum members are often immature

I've found that if you want to have success with forums you have much better odds by sticking to niches where the members are older and/or the topic matter more mature.

[Birdie]

and you believe that because? Do you have any data to back this up?

What is wrong with being first in on a new niche?

[ChrisGuthrie]

Originally Posted by Birdie

and you believe that because? Do you have any data to back this up?

What is wrong with being first in on a new niche?

I think you missed this part in my comment:

Originally Posted by ChrisGuthrie

Is that I used to run a network of video game related forums.

Yes I had a video game forum that was generating 500k page views per month at it's height and only earned $400 a month via Adsense.

[sbfc]

If you run a forum for money then maybe you have a point. I don't myself though and as for your point about video game forumers being immature, some will be yeah but that would be an unfair generalisation.

[ChrisGuthrie]

Originally Posted by sbfc

If you run a forum for money then maybe you have a point. I don't myself though and as for your point about video game forumers being immature, some will be yeah but that would be an unfair generalisation.

I ran 3 different video game forums for about 3 years and I found they were the least mature forums I ever had the trouble of managing because the audience is very young. So I don't think it's an unfair generalization. I know that video game forums are the lowest paying (if not the lowest paying) niche for forums.

I don't think running forums specifically for money is a problem either. I'd much rather have food on the table and run a forum about expensive electronics than be talking about video games and have no food on the table...

[~kev~]

Originally Posted by ChrisGuthrie

I've found that if you want to have success with forums you have much better odds by sticking to niches where the members are older and/or the topic matter more mature.

What I do not understand, the average age for a gamer is in the 30 year range. But what I do not understand, forums seem to attract the younger group. If you could get the older people into those gaming forums, things would be fine.

I dont know if its really a "mature", or a real topic. When you get into cyber (not a tangible topic), everyone is a pro. Regardless of "what" you do, someone out there can do it better - or at least they say they can.

Anyone can buy a 20 dollar game, play it for a couple of weeks and get pro at it. at least they think they are pro.

It takes a little more then a couple of weeks to grow a garden, survive cancer, fix up a classic car, raise children,,,,,,. Those are all long term topics, and can also be a mature nature.

When you get into "real" topics, those usually cost real money. Your not going to see too many 16 year olds sinking thousands of dollars into fixing up a car - unless their parents are rich.

So I dont know its really a "mature" topic, or a real (physical) topic, that is the best one to pick.

When I started my gaming forum, I thought I had everything it takes to make a good gaming site. My online gaming experience started back in the mid 1990s with Quake and Quakeworld, Diablo, command and conquer,,,,, all the way up to some of the more recent games like left 4 dead and left 4 dead 2.

One of the issues that I see, it seems that nobody wants to join a forum. They just want to read that walk through, find that cheat code and move on. There is no need in building a relationship with a forum your going to be at for just a few minutes.

[Aouragh]

The problem is tho that if you start a niche with mature people, that it will be harder to get them to view that site.

[ChrisGuthrie]

Originally Posted by Aouragh

The problem is tho that if you start a niche with mature people, that it will be harder to get them to view that site.

I think it really just depends on how you market it to your potential members.

[SocialAdm1n]

I would say that this depends on the forum owner and what the motives are.
Saying that it is best to stick to a mature topic is like saying "it is best to scramble your eggs"

Just my two cents.

[ChrisGuthrie]

Originally Posted by SocialAdm1n

I would say that this depends on the forum owner and what the motives are.
Saying that it is best to stick to a mature topic is like saying "it is best to scramble your eggs"

Just my two cents.

Yah, if your motive is to have less stress then sticking to topics that are more mature is a great way to do that.

If you prefer to deal with unruly and immature members all the time then pick topics where younger / less mature people like to hang out.

I really do think it comes down to whether you want to work hard or not.

[alter-ego]

Originally Posted by ChrisGuthrie

What I mean by the statement:

Stick to niches that by their nature are more mature

Is that I used to run a network of video game related forums. This was a stupid idea for several reasons.

1. video game forums pay out terribly
2. video game forum members are often immature

I've found that if you want to have success with forums you have much better odds by sticking to niches where the members are older and/or the topic matter more mature.

This may have been the case on your site but I'm pretty sure IGN, Gamespot, Gamespy, etc., are all laughing their way to the bank.

I would agree however that revenues would remain small if your gaming forum stuck largely to console gaming because I don't see ads running there as being a huge money maker (I could be wrong though).

Personally, if I were to run a gaming site I'd ensure there is enough variety in there to attract an audience of all ages. I'd make sure there was also a hardware section, tech talk; perhaps even modding/skinning and software discussions.

The last I checked, the average gaming age was actually late teens to early 30's and was an audience larger in scale than the audience for prime time television. Thats a lot of gamers and with digital downloads for software becoming more and more prevalent, I do believe there is good money to be had.

...

Switching gears, I think you can say the same for most websites in that some draw more revenue than others. That being said though, I don't believe one successful niche to be any more of a revenue stream than another successful niche; its all in how its put together and the audience it attracts.

IMHO.

[Groovystar]

lol like teens never buy anything and it just never pays to market anything to them? tell that to disney and almost the whole fashion and music industry.

I think that the topic starter might mean that those niches are harder to break into in message boards, not that they are not lucrative for those lucky few who make it to the top. I am sure they are or they would not exist.

Gaia Online=largest forum on the internet. Anime and roleplaying forum populated almost entirely by teens.

[Vekseid]

Only 500k pageviews per month and you were making $400 per month? I certainly wouldn't mind making ~$4k/month from my forums, sheesh. It would take a pretty incompetent server admin to not consider that raw profit.

They're a hobby, though. I don't run them for the money.

[Groovystar]

Hell, *I* get 500k pageviews a month. My adsense turns in about $40 a month XD {Luckily I'm not doing this for money...just want the forum to cover its own overhead.}