Forum revenue question

[Beach_goer]

Hi all,
I am considering launching a forum. I have another person who is not interested in anything but running the forum. The forum content is his passion, not mine. He is an avid forum goer in his subject area and he believes that there is a niche area in that subject area that would suit.
I work in a technical area and have been looking at what I can do in terms of setting up an online business of some sort.

So I thought that I might set up a forum in the following way,

- I would pay for all expenses the domain name and hosting and handle all the technical side of things. In effect the forum would be my business
- He would run it, in terms of being the moderator etc

My question is,
- What are the revenue generators for a forum?
- What sort of challenges might I be facing, I can see (subscribers) as being the biggest
- Is there money in it?
- Any comments or opinions on the realities on running a forum?
- Are there any hidden costs with regards to running a forum

Amy comments welcome,
Thanks

[rogerd]

Forums tend to be labors of love rather than money generators. They take a lot of work, and in their early days (or months, or years) won't generate much revenue at all.

Paid memberships are one possible revenue source, but this will work only after the forum has something of value to offer subscribers. Very few forums get to the point where they can charge.

Ads are the other common revenue source. Of course, these will be lucrative only if the forum sees high volume. They could take the form of sponsorships, CPM ads, Adsense, or affiliate links.

Hidden costs: some forum operators find that legal expenses are one of their biggest expense items.

Bandwidth costs can be high, too.

Unless you've got a unique forum idea in an area that has very strong ad interest, I'd be doubtful about the business venture. Of course, the fact that your partner would enjoy running the forum is a plus. Good luck.

[weeks]

This forum's format is a good example on how to do it right. Even as sophisticated an audience we have here, the owners do not run ads on the forum very often, and then only very quietly in the corner and they're not clickable. (The ads are sold with meeting sponsorship.)

Having a preimum area that you charge for might work for you after you're very established.

[Gargen]

Well i have a forum, phpbb i have 2 adsense Leader boards one on top and at the botttom yea it doesnt bring in much but im just getting started, im not in it for money i just want as little as possible to come out of my pocket, as for bandwidth i dont have that problem i get 25Tb way more than enough

[encyclo]

Forums tend to be labors of love rather than money generators.

Exactly! After almost exactly one year's operation, I consider my own forum to be very successful - many thousands of superb posts, numerous dedicated members, a thriving community spirit. The members are planning the first international meet-up in July 2006 and there are already over 70 people signed up.

Revenue? I use a voluntary contribution/subscription model, and there is AdSense on an attached niche directory (there are no ads on the forum itself). I have not charged a penny for my time, obviously, which represents many hundreds of hours. My profit after expenses for the year is $54.

[Beach_goer]

Hi all,
Thank you for your posts. I’m really glad I asked the question as I’m really looking for some sort of business as apposed to a hobby.

Thanks again,

Beach_goer