2008
Community Websites Are King
Posted by Jason in Website TipsIf you want a website that needs the least amount of paid growth, you can’t beat community orientated websites.
I’m not talking about blogs… even though they are similar to mini communities; I’m talking about things like forums, social networks and membership sites. I currently run the sexiest looking blogging forum out there, and at the moment I’ve made around 1,000 posts… with a total of 5,500+, that’s more than 4,500 posts generated by users nearly 100% free.
If you’re looking for websites that sell, forums are one of those that sell for the largest amounts (assuming all other things are equal) – why? Because forums, and even social networks and membership sites can be eventually worked so that all content is contributed by your users. Meaning that you have to spend a few minutes a day moderating and not do much other work. I have no doubt that if I sold Blog Premiere now, I’d fetch around mid $x,xxx – I’ve spent less than a few hundred (the bulk on the theme) and nothing else but my time on promotion. Promoting a forum is far easier than promoting a blog; hire some paid posters to start it off and ask around for contest prizes and bang, you’ve got your first 2,000 posts or so taken care of. 
If you haven’t, you should look into starting a community site – add value and a reason to signup (for example, at Blog Premiere there is a private section which you can only see after you have ten posts) and people will run to it. Websites with recurring income (like paid membership sites for example) will usually easily sell for the usual 10x one month revenue or even double that.
Speaking of membership websites, I picked up two today; worth a $100 or so each but I got them free due to some negotiations on my part. I’m going to try listing these at Sitepoint, see how they go; if they sell for anything more than $100 I’m going to rinse, repeat and so on. A tip – use Joomla as it can get you all the facets of a membership website you need for free and customizing it (with themes etc) doesn’t cost much either.
Time for the football and a few BP posts; I have a few questions I want to ask you guys so will be doing so over the course of the next week. I also entered a couple Market Leverage contests, let’s hope I win something, eh. 
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DigitalPoint is a perfect example. I wonder how much it’s worth…
Rajaie AlKorani’s last blog post..Think Ahead Before It’s Too Late
forums are a great resource to drive traffic. i remember when i was more active at bloggeries, i had some reasonable amount of visitors everyday..
Hugo Santos’s last blog post..Comment Sniper – Be the first to comment!
Jason you are right community websites are really king. I always wanted to own a forum. Now you have motivated me more and I will surely have mine soon.
Agent 001’s last blog post..Some Online Counters you must Display
User-generated content is a good way to go, since it’s so low maintenance.
Question: Where and how do you sell a website?
I think Joomla is a great system. I’ve been using it 5+ years and am now very proficient in the platform. I gotta admit it is confusing as heck at first though, so you need to really take your time to understand how things work.
Great post, community websites are great re-sale value
Jim’s last blog post..How To Get A Free Guaranteed Yahoo Directory Listing – Boost Traffic & Exposure
Honestly, CMS’ haven’t really worked for me. I’ve tried Joomla, PHP-nuke, and Drupal and then all just slap me across a brick wall. I’m kinda tied up to WordPress for everything!
sexy!… that’s not so sexy..
Melvin’s last blog post..I Know Alexa Is Useless
User generated content is not only free, it is usually better. Collective minds often beat out a single mind.
Jason you are under estimating the value of your site. I think you have a better understanding of how to develop your web real estate.
I did several community sites in the past. I sold them with great profit.
Aleks’s last blog post..Funny picture – Love couple
I was actually thinking of starting a forum, not of MMO, but of interior design where people can talk about it, haven’t thought of a motive to join yet.
Nathaniel’s last blog post..Free Custom Logo
i m with u when u say community sites are gr8.but they are a lot harder to get off the mark in the start.you have to either spend big bucks or put in a lot of hard work as compared to other sites.