[Contest is closed.]

If you’re not a member of my forum, Website Babble then you’ve already missed out on quite a few income opportunities. I’ve given away nearly $1,000 over the past 2 years (trivia contests, most valuable posters, etc.)

On March 26th (next Thursday), two people are going to win either $150 or $75 for their designs in the first Website Babble Design Contest. You can view the entries here.

Obviously it’s too late to join this contest, but you might want to become a member so you can qualify for the next one.  (In order to participate in any Website Babble contest you must meet some undisclosed member requirements).  New members are not eligible but there will be more contests, so join and get to babbling so you can qualify!

Why am I waiting to tell you about this AFTER the entry deadline?  This contest was pretty spur of the moment, so it would have been pointless to announce it since new members are not eligible to participate. So I figured I’d announce it now so you can join and be eligible for future contests.

Benefits of Being an Active Forum Member

If you’re new to building websites and/or making money online, getting started can be intimidating and even downright scary.  There are so many questions, doubts, concerns, fears, etc.   Many people quit because they feel alone and can’t get answers to questions they need.

Belonging to a forum allows you to meet and chat with other people who are in the same boat, and you can get that reassurance you need from a friendly, community environment.   You’ll be surprised at how many people have the same concerns and questions that you have.

One of my members said that even though he doesn’t post/chat on the forum regularly, he has learned more from Website Babble than any other site or web class he’s ever taken. What a compliment!  So you don’t have to chat to reap the benefits of the forum.  A lot of people just subscribe to the forum’s RSS feed and keep up with the latest topics that way.  So yes, lurkers are welcome too!

I’m so proud of what Website Babble has become in nearly 2 years. It’s such a friendly, helpful place to visit if you need advice.  The members have a range of experience from newbies to programmers and even full-timer Affiliate Marketers like myself.

There’s also a lounge where you can stop by and chat about anything not related to web development.   We have some pretty fun and even off-the-wall discussions here.  It’s a nice break from the day-to-day website-building chatter.

Another advantage to joining is after you have a certain number of posts, you can add a signature that promotes your website or blog.  So every time you post something, your signature is added to the bottom of your posts.  It’s a great way to build additional traffic to your site.

Join Us!

I hope you decide to stop by and join us.  Registration is free and you don’t have to give your real name if you don’t want.  Most members use aliases/nicknames.  And even if you are shy and don’t want to post, it’s a great site to keep in your bookmarks because we have some very interesting discussions that you can learn from.

Hope I get to “babble” with ya soon!  I’d love to see you there.

Note: Website Babble is a spam-free forum. All self promotion posts will be removed immediately and in extreme cases, members will be banned. The purpose of the forum is for people to ask questions and help others. When you have enough posts you will be able to add a signature to promote your site or blog, but you are never allowed to create a post with the sole intention of promoting your site.

Owning an active forum is a dream of many Webmasters.  I know because this topic ranks near the top of my “Frequently Asked Questions” list.  However, before you jump into creating one, it’s important you understand a few things about owning a forum.

Forums often look glamorous to people because of the traffic potential, community environment and popularity.  However, with those pluses comes some minuses…

Spam Is Inevitable

The more popular your forum gets, the more spammers will target it, so you’re going to have to come up with an action plan to handle spam.  Not only do you have to deal with bot (automated) spam, but you have to deal with people who create accounts just to promote their websites.

Of course there are many things you can do to combat spam (screen new member posts, install anti-spam plug-ins, hire moderators, etc.), but just be prepared to deal with it at some level.

This is one of the reasons I highly suggest going with a reputable forum script like vBulletin.  They have many anti-spam solutions built right into the software.  Plus, there are a variety of free plug-ins available that you can install as well.

Many web hosts provide free forum scripts with your hosting account, and while a lot of them are great, many are not equipped to handle spam as well as vBulletin.

Moderators Are a Must

It took me over a year before I appointed moderators.  Part of the reason was I had a bad moderator experience about 8 years ago that left me paranoid.  The other reason was I wanted to make sure I appointed people I could trust.

Well it’s been worth the wait because I have a great team helping me.  Just understand that the more popular your forum becomes, you will need to appoint moderators to help you out and decide how to compensate them.

You Have to Be Strict & Consistent

One reason my old forum got out of hand was that I was afraid to regulate.  I was more concerned with people being upset with my rules and not coming back to post.  Well I’ve grown up a lot since then. Not everyone is going to like your rules and I’ve learned to be OK with that. It’s much better to preserve the integrity of the forum than to try to please everyone.

It’s an Ongoing Commitment

Even though I have moderators now, I still visit the forum just as much as I did before I had them.  Part of that is I’m a workaholic , the other part is I am the owner and want to be involved as much as I can. Now that the forum has grown, I cannot respond to all posts like I used to, but I like to participate as much as possible.

Getting it Going Takes Work

I wrote about this in another post so I won’t go into great detail here.  You should never launch a forum without an existing traffic base.  People aren’t going to post if a forum looks inactive so in order to give yourself a chance, you should launch a forum after you have a sizeable audience to your website or blog.

Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but most successful forums are byproducts of popular websites or blogs.

Any Regrets?

Reading this post may get you the idea that I have regrets about owning a forum.  Quite the contrary.  It’s been a very rewarding experience.  Sure, there have been days when I’m tired, about to climb into bed and thought, “Crap! I gotta check the forum one last time.” But for the most part, the positives outweigh the negatives.

I just want you to understand that running a forum is not as glamorous as people believe it is.  There’s a lot of work involved so you need to be prepared.

State Your Reasons

I would also suggest that you think about why you want a forum.  Is it just to make money or is there another purpose behind it? To be honest, I created Website Babble to help cross-promote my existing websites and provide a way for people to get answers quickly.

I receive so much email on a daily basis so I encourage my visitors to join Website Babble to get help and feedback from other members. Often times they’ll get an answer long before I can get to my email. Plus forums can be a great way for people to learn and share ideas due to the community environment.

As far as monetization, yes, my forum makes some money from banner advertising and I recently enabled third-party text ads.  However, making money was never the main goal.

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So if you are thinking about launching a forum in the near future, hopefully this post gave you something to think about.  Make sure you understand what you’re getting into and have a clear goal in mind for your future forum.

Since there are quite a few conversations about starting a forum over at WesiteBabble.com, I thought I’d blog about it.

Owning a forum can be a great addition to your online business. You can monetize it, use it to promote your existing site or blog and build credibility for yourself as the owner.

A forum can also help keep your inbox manageable. I get quite a few emails so I encourage people to post their questions on my forum.

Many times people get an answer faster than they would from email, and the whole community can benefit from the discussion.

If you’re just starting out, it can be tempting to launch a forum. After all, how cool would it be to own a popular community website where people can interact, right?

On the other hand, if your forum has no activity, it can be more of a headache than a compliment to your cyberlife.

Build Traffic First

Any kind of online community needs a traffic base. Unless you already have a large group to market to, it’s not a good idea to begin with a forum.

I always tell people that it’s easier to launch a forum if you already have a website or blog getting steady traffic. Then you can use that site to promote it.

I waited until 2 Create a Website had at least 2,000 visitors per day before I launched WebsiteBabble.com. The first 3 times I tried to launch a forum, I didn’t have enough traffic and it was very difficult to build up enough activity.

People don’t want to participate in communities that look vacant. Not to mention, a vacant forum makes your site seem smallish and unimportant.

Link Weaving

Once you do have enough traffic and you’re ready to launch your forum, start using your site or blog to begin building participation.

I helped WebsiteBabble.com grow by weaving links into my content on 2CreateAWebsite.com.

For example, at the very bottom of my Website Creation Options page where I talk about Site Build It!, I invite people to post questions about the product on my forum.

Instead of linking them to the main page of the forum, I send them right to the Site Build It! section. Sending people to relevant areas of your forum often encourages them to participate.

Start Small

When you first launch a forum, don’t create a lot of sub categories. It takes a while for forum activity to pick-up, and if you have a lot of sub categories, it really emphasizes the low number of posts on your forum.

I started off with 4 categories, and when the activity picked up I added more.

Create Fake Conversations

You’re going to feel silly doing this, but it really works. When I first launched Website Babble I created some fake usernames and posted some starter questions and answers.

This will keep your forum from looking so bare and will encourage others to participate.

Tip: Just make sure you turn off the “View IP Address” option or your members might get suspicious when they see 10 people posting with the same IP address.

Use a Good Script

There are some decent free forum scripts out there (phpbb, mybb, etc.), but you get the best support and most flexibility with a paid solution like vBulletin.

I’ve tried many different forum scripts over the years and nothing beats vBulletin. The customization options are endless and the Admin panel is easy to use. If you can afford the $160 then it’s definitely worth the purchase.

Also, since many forums use vBulletin, people are often more familiar with the script and there’s less of a learning curve for the average user.

Are You Ready for a Forum?

A well-run, active forum can be a nice addition to your online portfolio. Just remember there’s work involved with maintaining it.

You can appoint moderators to help you, but ultimately you are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep.

Take your time with the launch. Build your traffic base first, then consider setting up your online community.

When you’re learning the ropes of website creation, design, making money, etc., the online world can be a lonely and even intimidating place.

More and more people are finding e-comfort at my forum, Website Babble. It’s a place to connect with people who are learning just like you, and the members are some of the friendliest folks around.

Have a question you can’t get answered? Want to communicate with newbies just like yourself? Looking for advice from some more seasoned Webmasters?

Website Babble has it all, including a Lounge where you can talk about virtually anything and get to know the other members.

We are like family, so won’t you join us?