How much have you invested in your community?

[Cedric]

How much have you invested in your community? As webmasters, we pour our time, effort, and resources into building and growing our online communities. Let's take a moment to reflect on the investments we've made and explore the impact they've had on our forum's growth, engagement, and overall success.

Community building is a labor of love. It requires dedication, passion, and a genuine desire to create a thriving online space. Many of us have invested countless hours in designing and maintaining our forums, from crafting engaging content to moderating discussions and resolving conflicts. The time we've devoted to our communities is a testament to our commitment and the value we place on encouraging meaningful interactions.

Perhaps you have purchased services like paid posting?

Beyond time, the effort we've exerted in building our communities cannot be overlooked. This effort encompasses a wide range of activities, such as promoting the forum through various channels, engaging with members on a personal level, organizing events or contests, and continuously seeking ways to improve the user experience. These cumulative efforts contribute to the growth and vibrancy of our communities.

Maybe you purchased paid advertisement services ?

Of course, investments in a community may extend beyond time and effort. Many webmasters have also allocated financial resources to enhance their forums. This could involve purchasing premium plugins or themes, investing in robust hosting solutions, running advertisements to attract new members, or even compensating staff members for their contributions. Financial investments can be seen as a testament to our belief in the community's potential and our commitment to providing the best possible experience for our members.

How much are you invested technical wise ?

Now, let's open up the discussion. How much have you invested in your community, both in terms of time and resources? What strategies or initiatives have you implemented to encourage community growth and engagement? Have you encountered any challenges or limitations in making these investments, and how have you overcome them? Share your experiences, insights, and tips with fellow webmasters.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I've purchased themes and addons for my communities. I spent hours setting things up and I visit my community for at least 20-30 minutes most days of the week to add new content. I also participate in post exchanges with other admins to help boost activity on my forum. I'm not sure how many hours a month that adds up to, and it varies but I do like to invest in my communities as much as possible.

 

[DigNap15]

I spend a lot of time on my forum (not much in technology etc)
I think itss quite busy, but in reality its a drop in the bucket.
I wish I had 5 times the number of members

 

[Bluezone777]

I believe that if you are going to start a community that you either go all in or don't bother. Going into it half halfheartedly will only lend up with you giving up sooner or later. To put it this way, where your eyes are focused on is where the rest of you will soon be. If your eyes are wandering towards something or someone else then soon the rest of you will follow suit and you end up abandoning that forum, person, etc. The one that is going to succeed in their effort to make a good community is the one that remains focused on that community and doesn't let anything compel them to let their focus drift elsewhere. I'd say the willingness to open up ones wallet is a poor indicator of their passion to their board and the people who go there. It's easy to throw money around to cover up one's lackluster relationships with the people who make up their community but it's not long before people see through it all and call you on it. If you fashion yourself as a person who presence compels people to step up and offer themselves and what they have to help your community then you will get much farther then trying to "buy" that with contest prizes, features, and other things that cost money. It's not to say it's bad to spend money on your board but it shouldn't be your selling point to joining your board.

 

[André]

"How much have you invested in your whatchamacallit?"

🤔...hmmm, maybe like fiddy bux or something, hard to keep track.

 

[cdub]

I've spent a TON of money (10s of thousands) on my forums over the 20 years. Thankfully all the money spent currently is now not my own money anymore but money the site brings in.

Things I've learned:

• Don't buy advertising
• Don't pre-buy swag to sell or give out
• Don't waste too much money on design
• DO spend money hiring good writers
• DO spend money on good developers to create custom useful features

I also try to spend some time each day interacting with members and every year I personally pump the new threads to get the new members coming in for application season.

It's hard with a full time job but that's why I hire writers for the articles. They also do a much better job than me.

 

[cdub]

Don't waste too much money on design

I should clarify this one. Don't spend a lot of money on a style, logo, or a design thinking that it's the magic bullet that'll make your site active. It's not. It's all about content and useful unique features.

I did hire the great designer Russ to do a new mobile style for my site with bottom navigation and it's worth every penny though.

 

[Cedric]

I should clarify this one. Don't spend a lot of money on a style, logo, or a design thinking that it's the magic bullet that'll make your site active. It's not. It's all about content and useful unique features.

I did hire the great designer Russ to do a new mobile style for my site with bottom navigation and it's worth every penny though.

@Russ is a great down to earth guy and it’s a privilege to have him working on XF.

 

[cdub]

@Russ is a great down to earth guy and it’s a privilege to have him working on XF.

Yes working with him has always been wonderful and worth every $$$.

 

[Cory]

I haven't spent a single penny on my community, I've built the community up from experience and want to make something more out of the software with the resources I provide.

In terms of time, I generally log in every day to see if there's anyone that needs assistance and if I can think of a new code to build. I want my board to provide endless resources, it's just sometimes hard to figure out what to create next when it feels most things are already available as a feature or code.

My board has been open for 5 years recently, so I have spent just about that amount of time investing in it, whether it is publishing new resources, engaging with community members, or finding new places to promote the board.

I've done little to no contests due to not being very creative in that area and the fact that I probably couldn't think of many good prizes to give away.

There are always more things I can do to invest in my board, but building up the resources has always been my #1 priority.

 

[Jason]

I invested a couple of thousand to build a social media following. However, I don't really know what I have put into communities over the years, otherwise. I seriously don't think it amounted to even a thousand dollars.

 

[Nomad]

I started on open source forum scripts, therefore, I did not have to spend money on subscrioption. I also already had hosting, so I also did not have to pay additional for hosting. My only expenses are related to domain and content. I sometimes hire paid posters on my forums.

 

[Empire]

I have spent a lot, not as much compared to some people, but then again seven years and started with free before moving up. Plus I save money via the shared hosting option With IPB most of you know that's not cheap to begin with, spending around $600 just to get the Forum Software if you are hosting it yourself.

Looking at over $5,000 in six years