What if everyone else has a similar forum?

[Beverly]

I'm a huge fan of admin forums, being a forum owner now for many years. But it seems that everyone has one of these forums. Being on admin forums makes me crave one of my own. But I know how much work starting a new forum is. Still that doesn't take away the desire to own this type of forum. And, I've been battling this urge for several years now. In my mind, I justify how much money I could have spent on hosting and promotion to keep the site going. Then again, I wonder if maybe I shouldn't have just started a similar site a year ago and given it a good shot rather than second guessing myself. What would you have done in this situation?

 

[Shortie]

I am exactly the same. I see so many of these kinds of forums and I know that they will be popular if I promote it right but it's having unique ideas that keep people interested in wanting to be part of another forum that they are already a member of. I sit and I think if only I had chosen to start a webmaster or promotion forum a few years ago maybe I would be quite popular now. I wouldn't hesitate to open one though if I knew I had the right kind of unique ideas that I knew would attract members.

 

[xTinx]

I'm a huge fan of admin forums, being a forum owner now for many years. But it seems that everyone has one of these forums. Being on admin forums makes me crave one of my own. But I know how much work starting a new forum is. Still that doesn't take away the desire to own this type of forum. And, I've been battling this urge for several years now. In my mind, I justify how much money I could have spent on hosting and promotion to keep the site going. Then again, I wonder if maybe I shouldn't have just started a similar site a year ago and given it a good shot rather than second guessing myself. What would you have done in this situation?

Forums are meant to look the same, I guess (including format and interface). You can add a few features that aren't present in other forums but the mechanism remains the same: there's a forum, a subforum, a thread and then reply options for each thread as well as the option to start a new thread. That's basically how forums work. Now, to be really different, then you must delimit your forum. Find a niche and concentrate on it. Allow for a bit of randomness by including a general discussion subforum. That's about it in a nutshell.

 

[cyberpuppet]

Admin forums strike me as being a very crowded niche. It has never appealed to me as I really do not think I have enough knowledge and experience to make it work.

 

[Ed321]

Never be afraid to enter a niche you have an interest in just because there are many others doing it also. Look at it this way... there are a lot of bars out there, but there is always room for one more. A tavern and a forum are very similar and thrive or fail for a lot of the same reasons. It all boils down to attracting a few "regulars" to give the joint some character and then having a nice mix of people passing through who provide some diversity.

Cheers!

 

[Rainman]

Your success depends entirely on how unique your forum is. Unique here doesn't refer to appearance. It's the content and atmosphere that matters. Get those two right and sucess will embrace you. However, if you wade in donning the same 'colors' as the rest of those who are already in the game, your entry won't be noticed.

 

[net_zen]

No need to worry, success comes with the way you implement your forum. Sure, there's plenty of admin boards out there - but are they ran properly? Numbers mean nothing when most of them lack users, content or proper management. You'll never know until you try how your forum will perform. Maybe people will like you as an admin and stick around, maybe the content you generate will do better, maybe ... Have a go!

 

[SimplySidy]

If we all believed that there is too much of things on the similar niche on the Internet, most of the people on the Internet would not have been around. It is always the individuality, the faith, the belief to make it successful that drives us on the Internet. Agreed, the investments today are higher as compared to the success results, but then, the efforts are well paid if you get successful.

If you have the intense desire to be successful, intense desire to give it a try and you are passionate about it, I see no harm in giving it a shot. And yes, it is about the marketing ideas that will work today and help you reap better results.

 

[Azareal]

Honestly, this is where knowledge starts to come in. Do you know how to code (even knowing basic HTML can give you an advantage over people who don't)? That can do a number of things for getting some uniqueness going.
What are the problems with all of the other forums in the niche? Can you fill those problems?
It's things like that which can help keep things more distinct.

Admin forums strike me as being a very crowded niche. It has never appealed to me as I really do not think I have enough knowledge and experience to make it work.

The biggest problem that I find with admin forums is that alot of the admins forums which I find (particularly, the newer ones) usually have the same people that I've seen before on other admin forums. While what I'm looking for is a unique crowd on each one, as otherwise you're always speaking to the same people.

 

[cyberpuppet]

I would imagine one reason for that is people setting up admin forums are going to be very aware of the benefits of paid posting and post exchanges and will be actively advertising to the same group.

 

[Maximum]

Advertising Forums are actually really good to make, I have one of my own I plan on advertising here soon

 

[proxynvpn]

I was always worried about starting a forum of a niche that was done a lot however I looked at it like this. There are many forums of a similar niche that most of the time have owners who are just out to try and make a quick buck and when they realise they can't make it as easy as they thought they woudl they tend to leave it and let it run down and close. If you have a strong interest in the niche you choose then it may be wise to go for it and do your best to get the word out there, you may be surprised at how successful it can end up being.

 

[Deka]

I think that if you have a particular passion for that niche, why not? After all, if you love the forum, you will do anything to make it survive. If you have the knowledge for it, you could post useful threads in there as well. I do understand that if it's an overcrowded niche, it might be harder to make your forum stand out. But even in real life, there are tons of businesses in the same niche and even if a new one rises, it can still compete with them if the owner makes his business something different.

So I would focus more on the content of the forum and try to make them a little more different. Have some different types of incentives for the members as well. Another thing that could make your site stand out is the theme and graphics itself.

Good luck!