What’s the #1 thing you wish you knew before launching your forum?

[Shawn Gossman]

I wish I knew that forums take time to grow.

In the early days, I wanted my forums to become big boards so badly that I would never give them a chance to florish on their own. If I had kept some of my previous forums going, I feel like today, I would have some amazing big forums.

That's what I wish I knew before I started forums way back when.

How about you all? What’s the #1 thing you wish you knew before launching your forum?

 

[Heatman]

I wish I knew that it cost money to run a really successful forum.

Yeah, I know that it's possible to run a forum with using free tools but how much success can that get for you? I don't think it's much since I know better now because I used to think it's possible to do it without investing money in forum project.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

You know, I knew of a forum owner that successfully grew a very large forum using ProBoards. His members would pay to remove ads. I believe that was how that feature was setup.

But you'll definitely have to spend money in some form or fashion. I think you could use free software but you'll spend money on the hosting part at least if you want to grow.