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The truth about starting a new blog/forum/website!



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The truth about starting a new blog/forum/website!

Everyone wants to have a successful website and be sitting back on the beach drinking paniculata. But the simple truth is not everyone is going to make it big like that. And guess what there is nothing wrong with that because 90%+ of the websites on the internet don't make a dime. And not making money doesn't mean you're a failure, as long as your doing to the best of your ability and you enjoy what you're doing then I would say that you are having a successful website.

Where I see a lot of people making mistakes is the employ the "Feild Of Dreams" motto. "If you build it they will come!' And that the furthest thing from the truth. I have honestly seen a guy spend $40k on paid posting and advertising for his forum. And as soon as he stopped putting money into his website it died in a month. So that just goes to show you no matter how much money you throw ar something your not always going to have success.

And on the other end of the spectrum, I saw a forum start out without putting any money into it and grow to 1 million posts in two years. And there is no rhyme or reason or some secret info to have that kind of success. Because if there were everyone under the sun would have 1 million posts on their forum.

So in closing, if you're making a website to make money from it, your doing it wrong. If you're making a website because you're passionate about it and if it does make money then great. But whatever you do don't go throwing a bunch of money into a website in hopes of striking it rich, because more than likely you're going to be disappointed.

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TommyCarey
I agree that you have to be passionate about something before the money will start to roll in. I've started up websites in niches that I didn't know much about and I would have failed at them if I didn't hire content writers that knew what they were talking about. Sure, I could have done all the research and written up quality content just like them, but it would have taken me 5x longer because I had to do all the research. They simply got the payment and started writing, and when they were done I'd get it to my inbox and copy/paste it to my website The truth about starting a new blog/forum/website!

Not everyone can do this because it costs a decent amount of money to employ a full time writer for a single website. If you want to be competitive in difficult niches, you'll need to be posting at least once a day, which is what I need and paid for. My writers were happy to oblige with the work, and I love they did the work when I needed it done, but in the end I didn't see much of a ROI :'( It's true, sometimes you throw a lot of money into a website and as soon as you stop, it goes all the way downhill.

This is why I always recommend people to start blogging about a topic they are passionate about and not to branch out right away because they found a nice niche with high paying keywords. Knowing what you're writing about, and actually liking it, will make it easier to get the content churned out at a quicker pace.

Another thing, people think they can just put up a website and the riches will be delivered to them. I like the "If you build it, they will come" saying because I actually use it frequently with my own clients. I let them know that they need to do more than just put up a website and get sales, they need to bring the clients to their website before they can actually make a sale, and most websites fail at that :'(



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eychetian
m you absolutely need to come up with your unique wedding finances planner.From go through and advice from others the online budgets really are a great start line but they will do unfit the areas and particulars of the unique wedding ceremony.They will not fit the exact circumstances of this wedding you are planning for.Therefore it is necessary to help with making some adaptations to the existing wedding day plan.
Rough Estimates
Sometimes it is hard to determine a general estimate and / or figure to start from.Typically wedding event planners say to budget estimated at $100 $ $ $ $ per guest for that wedding and next allocate the money to a categories that happen to be important for you.Of course the greater formal your wedding day ideal is the more expensive it can typically often be.
Ways to Save?
After you ham you absolutely need to come up with your unique wedding finances planner.From go through and advice from others the online budgets really are a great start line but they will do unfit the areas and particulars of the unique wedding ceremony.They will not fit the exact circumstances of this wedding you are planning for.Therefore it is necessary to help with making some adaptations to the existing wedding day plan.<br />
<br />
Rough Estimates<br />
Sometimes it is hard to determine a general estimate and / or figure to start from.Typically wedding event planners say to budget estimated at $100 $ $ $ $ per guest for that wedding and next allocate the money to a categories that happen to be important for you.Of course the greater formal your wedding day ideal is the more expensive it can typically often be.<br />
<br />
Ways to Save? <br />
After you have developed some budget not to mention added within the approximate costs it happens to be time to examine, revise as well as save.Go back over typically the planned budget and then judge if there are laces you can actually cut obligations.For instance if $25 funds were planned for the wedding prefers you might be able to cut expenses in this area and eliminate overall expenditures by generating the mementos yourself.<br />
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Also make sure you always do comparison browsing.Never decide to use a photographer, deejay or even wedding officiant without first selecting them as well as calling around to get rates as a result of other industry experts.<br />
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By attentively planning not to mention fully utilizing a budget spreadsheet in list you can find lots of ways to save cash.Often these include compression shipping.Buying in the off season, looking for the purpose of store cut price, and factory outlets will help save profit.Also getting things rather than buying them all can save a huge amount on the overall price of this wedding.<br />
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Another way to save money is almost always to pick typically the theme attentively.As stated above common wedding will cost more then a non customary counterpart wedding event.For situation a sand themed wedding will often be les expensive then that more proper church marriage ceremony.Just think about it at your beached assembled wedding it'd work to help you wear pants, a Hawaiian shirt, and flip flops instead of the traditional tuxedo placed by groomsmen.Yes you are able to still wear an impressive wedding apparel but most likely it will be less formal therefore less expensive then a traditional wedding outfit.



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Corzhens
I have plans of putting up my own blog and it will hinge on my passion about pets. I already had an experience as a co-blogger but I cannot say that I am 100% confident with having my own blog because thinking is easy but writing is difficult. What if I hit a wall and couldn’t write anymore then I would resort to hiring a freelancer to write blogs for me. I wouldn’t want that scenario to happen because the purpose of my blog is the expression of my passion and that will not be true if I have a writer for my blog.



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anwebservices
Creating new websites becoming more and more complicated, specially if you looking to go viral or become popular. Without any investments, it's hard to gain. Specially if new webmaster don't have enough knowledge about SEO and social media marketing. Also many new webmasters don't understand real difference between advertising and ral marketing, so they invest in advertising instead of good marketing campaigns which work better on long run then advertising. So many things are involved in webmaster's duties lately, so as you said, everyone have to be careful about investing and make sure they have right strategy...



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Soulwatcher
I agree its extremely tough and even if you know SEO and media marketing there still is no guarantee. Because websites are popping up like candy these days. Because everyone hears rumors of how to be a millionaire overnight and its the furthest thing that is going to happen to most people. Most people are not going to make a dime no matter how hard they try.



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Tronia
Exactly! I have already said this so many times to so many people - your initial idea shouldn't be about making money but rather write/do something that you're truly passionate about. You can't expect to just start making enough to turn it into your full-time job because to start generating revenue from a website it can take a while depending on your knowledge, what niche it's in and more.

Therefore I agree with you. We should always focus that we are enjoying our chosen blog/forum and then monetize it later on as a cherry on top. But most of the time, such forums do need at least a small investment from your side.



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JoeMilford
Tronia,
I see this sentiment or idea come up over and over in discussions about blogging and content. If you are not passionate about the work, the audience is going to be able to smell that from miles away and avoid your content for content that is cared for by more passionate writers and creators. As Soulwatcher also says above, you can know tons about marketing and SEO and STILL have your online endeavors fail or fall short of all of your overnight success and monetizing expectations. If you are doing something that you love, anyway, then the money is a bonus, but if we could all making a living and be comfortable getting paid while doing something that we love, then that would be quite the utopia.



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kgord
Yes, I think that we need to go at website building with the attitude it is something that we love. I think you can hope to earn money, desire to earn money, but that is not necessarily going to happen, at least not overnight. I think being committed to something over the long haul is your best bet.



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wiseagent
I think if you don't have passion / love enough in something that you are putting so much effort, time and determination... The project is already born destined to fail and die very, very soon.

What would be the point of doing such a project?



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peachpurple
I agree with you, my blog was initiated 8 years ago but I was obsessed with other writing sites that earned more money and my own blog ended up "dead".



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wiseagent
I think it's all a matter of doing what you like (because it's natural that things go the way you expect), dedicating yourself right to it, and redefining priorities... Because that - sooner or later - needs to be done.



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Soulwatcher
Sometimes even the long haul isn't going to help. Sometimes there really is nothing that you can do to make money no matter how hard you try. But whats important is you give it your all and that you stick with it. And as long as you give it your all and you're happy with it then that's worth more than all the money in the world. I wouldn't trade self-pride for anything!



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kgord
Well after a certain point it is not really worth it to stick with something that is not making you any money. You probably should not quit, but maybe just revamp or sharpen your skills to get the best earnings out of your blog or website.



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Baburra
I think it's good to look at the potential money if that's what you're after. When you are trying to build a site or a blog as a business, I think sometimes people have a hard time determining if it is a hobby or a business because it just is one of those things that can blur the lines easily. So yes, I agree that it's best to determine the long term plan and make sure that the earning potential is included when you first set out to build the blog as a business.



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wiseagent
I think that devoting so much time working in something that you don't like to do just to earn money will bring you more frustrations and headaches than moments of happiness. There is no point in making an effort to do what you don't want to do if at the end of the day you'll be unhappy.



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Barida
As a freelancer, I accept works that I feel comfortable about doing for it will be easier than going for those ones that might give me difficulty in completing.



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Judas2018
Your best return on a website will be how much YOU promote it yourself. You can't put money into advertising without doing some promotion on your end. That's where passion comes in. People who start websites to engage others about something they like - will find promoting their website to be fun and mostly easy at times. Those who start websites simply as a money making endeavor however - will find promoting it to be monotonous, dull, tedious and boring. That's because it;s all about the money for them. They have little to no creative passion for what their site is about.



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Soulwatcher
And the people that are in it for the money don't last they are fly by night websites. I have seen so many websites tank in the past because of the amount of grueling work that it takes to get a website off of the ground. And sometimes you may never get a website off of the ground and that's just life. Having said that I told myself that I am going to give my website 3 years and see where it's at in 3 years and I am at the 6th-month mark right now and things are a lot slower then I wanted so I am changing things up in order to hopefully see some improved results.



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vinaya
The first thing you need is passion. If you are not passionate about the thing you are doing, you can never succeed.
The second requirement is patience. Success does not come overnight. You need to work for weeks, months even years in order to become successful.
Third requirement is a skill. Wanting something badly will not help you achieve it, you need to have skills required.



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Tronia
I completely agree. If you want to be able to reach success you need certain qualities and things such as passion, patience, determination and more are a huge part.

I feel like determination is also extremely important besides the ones that you have listed since it will make you keep going even if you meet an obstacle.



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vinaya
The determination is also important. I began working online in 2010 and I did not receive money until 2012. If I did not have determination, I would have given up and never made this far.



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Soulwatcher
That's really good to hear, even though it took two years you stuck it out and finally made some money. I have a 3-year plan with my website, even though the 6 months haven't been too hot I am going to stick with it.

I have learned a lot since I started my blog/forum so I have made some changes that will hopefully help. And I am sure that I am going to keep learning and even if this website doesn't ever take off I will be more refined for my next website.



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vinaya
I launched my first self-hosted blog in December 2015. It has been two years and the blog is still not earning me enough. My Adsense earning from this blog is just 3-4 cents per day. IN 2016, I launched more blogs. Currently, I have half a dozen blogs and websites on various niches. I am using Adsense on these blogs and the total earning has improved but I am not reaching payout threshold every month. However, I am hopeful that one day I will be earning enough from my blogs.



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mildredtabitha
You are definitely right. I always prefer doing something that I enjoy. I also know when someone earns well in a niche or a specific business they started, their friends will also jump in and start a similar business with the hope of reaping the same benefits. I believe that everyone has something they are good at and that we should always focus on doing something we love and the money will come later.



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potentialwriter
The truth about starting a blog, website or forum is that you must know about SEO strategies in order to be successful. One fact about online business is that you always need a way of making people know and see what you are selling since all we do with our online brand is selling stuff. You sell your stuff online through your online shop front which can either be your forum, website or blog.

Thus, you need to learn about search engine optimization and take necessary actions to ensure that you succeed with your online business. You must find a way of making your brand visible to the target audience. You need a wordpress theme to set up your blog so as to get a good ranking in no time.



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Baburra
I think it just depends on the person handling the site. I don't necessarily agree that a site has to be done purely with passion for it to make money. If a site is built to make money first rather than the topic being a passion of the owner, it could still work if the owner is competent. In that way it's just like any other business wherein you could get into it even if it's not really the thing you are good at and you'll still succeed as long as you have good business knowledge.



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overcast
I think the right approach is creating community and connections. Like you are starting some food stall. And you want buyers. So you make connections and friends. And this way you are building something on top of those things. That would get you more meaningful and mindful connections. So that in itself can be really good option. Another thing is that not a lot of forum and blogs are going to be good enough as there is more competition. So the user retention wise I'd say starting proper content website or community is years worth of hard-work.



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augusta
You just said it the way it is.Blogging first and foremost is about having Passion for something because if one just think about then a blog wouldn't last. Money making from a blog should be secondary the main thing is interest or else failure sets in.



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DarthHazard
You are correct. I think the problem with a lot of people is that they expect instant success. And if it doesn't happen in a few weeks or even a few months then they give up and move on to something else. Websites, blogs and forums take a lot of time to grow and require a lot of work as well. They don't just magically grow without any effort or work going into them. You need to work on advertising, marketing and the content on your site.



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Corzhens
I had seen websites that succeeded and some that fell by the wayside. The main factor between them is the continuous promotion of the website in any which way. One website seemed complacent when the hits were good and suddenly the hits were gone for no reason at all. But there is actually a reason which is complacency. I agree that you need passion, perseverance and full concern. Even with a slight dip in the traffic should be alarming so you can do something about it.



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overcast
Yes promotion and conversion. One has to constantly promote the website and the stuff they are working on. And that in itself can be really a good option. I have seen some of the people making use of the blogs that convert and make money. And then there are people who find it harder to convert their content. It just depends on how things go though.



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vinaya
I have 10 websites and none of my websites are earning me revenue. Therefore, you can call my blogs unsuccessful blogs. However, I still have hope that these blogs will make me money some day. IF you only concentrate on making money, you might be disappointed.



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Everett
If you ever have a thought of creating a website with the end goal to be come rich, well lets just say that goal is really far fetched. Most successful websites get lucky. They either helped a problem many people have, such as this marketplace by offering a secure marketplace to sell seo services. A lot of the times, from what I gathered, people who make it big on the internet via a website all say they got really lucky. And I believe this. I have created numerous website, some made a little money, some made absolutely zero dollars.

I remember back in the old days of the internet where there was these advertisements that ALWAYS showed someone on a laptop in a beach chair laying down with the warm sun on their face, and smiling. It was really enticing to see, especially if you worked countless hours to go absolutely no where. However, the truth of the matter is, is that that is false. Most people won't be able to live like that because it's all a luck factor, or really hard work is involved.

If you know absolutely what you are doing, then good for you. Work your butt off to get to earn that beach lifestyle life and rake in those coins.



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Soulwatcher
I have said it a million times myself, there is no rhyme or reason why one website takes off and another fails. I have seen someone throw stupid amounts of money into a website to hopefully live that beach lifestyle and truth be told it blew up in his face and he was out $40k.

And on the other side of the spectrum, I saw someone start out with nothing and get a million posts by two years time and he never put any money into it other than scripts and design and hosting.

And what makes me sad is I see so many people chase the dream and spending money that they don't have. And sometimes going into debt and other times taking money away from their family and they also end up with nothing. That's why I am a broken record and say don't spend any more money than your willing to lose.



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itommy
The truth is very difficult when starting a new website or forum because you have to build from scratch for everything. If you have a good budget then it will be more easier to start because you can buy services to start your website without investing too many time and efforts on it.



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porubayalexey
Backlinks is the most important thing for SEO, like this one. Google still count this like one of the most powerful instruments, that can move your page to the top of the organic search. You can tell anything that you want about design, but you should see ukranian sites for examples, and what will be in the top.



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Aree
Let's look at this from the viewpoint of a VIP. The visitor to your site.

Does he go to your site so that you can make some money out of his visit? Of course not. He goes to your site because you have something there which he is looking for. If your content satisfies his need, he will come back again. If your product or service satisfies his need, he may spend some money on your site.

It's all very simple, isn't it?



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potentialwriter
The truth about starting a blog or forum or website is that once it's started, it becomes a deal for you. Once it's set up, it becomes a brand that you need to build from time to time and posting must be done on a regular basis. Your website is your brand and your virtual real estate.



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TimothyAlex
In order to make money, a website must first provide value to visitors. It must fulfill some need.



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Adesuwa08
I fully agree with all these you are saying, blogging\Owning a forum/ starting a website, it takes a whole lot of processes, there are so many guidelines involved before you make it and get through. All these do not start right away with you earning money, as everyone wants an easy way to making money, they feel blogging/forum/ website owning is an easy way out of life.

Here is my story;
I have a blog which I started so many years ago, I did have blog but I didn't know a way on how to be and go about it, I was so frustrated that the money wasn't coming, so frustrated because I was broke and I needed a way out of everything. I gave up my blogging job and started the whole 9/5 again but now I regret not putting much efforts again, I went back to blogging last year and I am doing much better now knowing that it is my passion I don't expect anything from it, I am used to the passionate approach to getting money through blogging now because my lesson is now learnt.



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rhombus
I do not think that all companies set up a website to generate income, many are merely there to convey information. Some companies will set up websites to portray the company in a professional light. Websites have become expected, how else would you be able to see what that business does - therefore used more as a marketing tool in my opinion (much like a phone directory).



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Pixie06
The success of a forum will depend on the topics being discussed and the steps that you take as a forum owner to retain the members. It will take some time before you can actually earn from your forum. I think if as an admin you try to interact with the members then they will feel valued and will keep visiting the forum. I joined a forum some months back and the main reason that's keeping me there is the admin. He is always there whenever someone needs him. The topics being discussed are also very interesting. I can spend hours on there without getting bored.



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Kakashi2020
Like what Forrest Gump said and I quote "Life is a box of chocolates, You never know what you'll gonna get". My take on having a successful website is that even if you work hard and done all the right moves, including spending a ton of money there's always two things that can't be controlled and those are Luck and Correct Timing.



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cmoneyspinner
Your advice is spot on when you say “don't go throwing money at a website”. I would even say that if you are a newbie and you are trying to be an affiliate marketer you should try the free DIY website builders and build your own website. It's a way for you to learn and understand what goes into building a website. If later on, you want to pay for a website, you will likely have learned enough so that you don't get ripped off.



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Kakashi2020
In my opinion if you're passionate in doing something, if you love what you're doing then you'll automatically give your very best. Not because you can or you have to for money or profits sake but because you love to do it. Having this kind of attitude would always make you a happy and contented winner and not a sad and stressed out winner.



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MendasDigital
I agree. If my blog makes money that's great, but it's not my plan, and there are other ways that a blog can be useful. I use mine to promote things, and just to practice my writing. I have ads on my blog, but that's just because, why not.



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RobbieDs
User Experience audit can help you figure out where a website/blog might have issues that could negatively impact traffic, time spent, user behavior, and other important metrics of your site



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TaimoorAsghar
Truth has been said. Good to know someone is talking about this. Do check out website development if you want to have a website.



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