Are fansites harder to run rather than a general niche forum, or is it easy to run a fansite?
Honestly I think running a fansite would be easier, it would be easier creating topics, boards, and the members will all have something in common. The only downside is trying to run a fansite that is based off a show and the show is off the air until next season. 😛
Fan sites have their own set of challenges that put them sort of in the same realm of difficulty.
I mean on one hand they tend to come with a built in group of potential members. People who are interested in the source material and want to discuss it. So that means advertising for a fan site can be easier. You already know there are people interested.
However they can be harder to manage because fans can be passionate about their shows and in some cases... over the top. Which means keeping things in order can be more difficult.
Take for example the TV show Supernatural, this show has a large number of fans. But from what I've heard/seen, they are also extremely vocal and can easily run into problems. Especially when it comes to shipping (putting characters into relationships). Some fans are die-hard shippers of certain pairings. (Destiel, Dean and Castiel, being one such ship.) Which means if/when they encounter another ship, things get nasty in a hurry.
Also there is the ever present issue of what happens after the source ends. I mean discussion can only go on so long before new content is needed.
General forums tend not to suffer from that issue because if one thing ends they can move onto another with minimal fuss.
Now if a source gets huge and develops a massive following (EX- AMC's The Walking Dead) then this becomes less an issue because there are plenty of different things to discuss. From the graphic novels to TV show (and spin off) to games. But not everything has this happen for them. Some may only get a few entries before they're shelved.
I think at least in the beginning it would be easier to run because you have knowledge on the subject so that would help with making categories/forums, initial topic and posts, themes/graphics, etc.. I think you would still have trouble with normal forum start up issues like getting and gaining members and posts.
I guess it depends on what the fan site is about. It may be more difficult for a TV show, as there's generally a pretty small audience who are interested enough in the show to use a forum. But games, for example, may have a later appeal. I once ran a RuneScape fan site that I think went pretty well.
Yes and no. As much as specific fansites have potency to grow big and last long, it is also very high-maintenance. It is also largely dependent on the subject.
My most successful project was a fansite forum for a Japanese singer; I used to advertise it here before it closed down. As long as the singer is active, I have lots of things to talk about and regular updates coming from her. The downside is the singer is Japanese, meaning all articles, news, or info about her is in Japanese. It became a problem since I couldn't read Japanese so I had to recruit people to help. I also needed to browse and advertise the forum where I could possibly meet people who could be interested in her. FP members were not familiar with her so it was not very helpful, from a statistical point of view. But I did made some friends at the forum, some were pretty loyal and actively visiting. Even though the forum is now dead, most members now use Facebook group to keep the news and chatting.
Fan sites have their own set of challenges that put them sort of in the same realm of difficulty.
I mean on one hand they tend to come with a built in group of potential members. People who are interested in the source material and want to discuss it. So that means advertising for a fan site can be easier. You already know there are people interested.
However they can be harder to manage because fans can be passionate about their shows and in some cases... over the top. Which means keeping things in order can be more difficult.
Take for example the TV show Supernatural, this show has a large number of fans. But from what I've heard/seen, they are also extremely vocal and can easily run into problems. Especially when it comes to shipping (putting characters into relationships). Some fans are die-hard shippers of certain pairings. (Destiel, Dean and Castiel, being one such ship.) Which means if/when they encounter another ship, things get nasty in a hurry.
Also there is the ever present issue of what happens after the source ends. I mean discussion can only go on so long before new content is needed.
General forums tend not to suffer from that issue because if one thing ends they can move onto another with minimal fuss.
Now if a source gets huge and develops a massive following (EX- AMC's The Walking Dead) then this becomes less an issue because there are plenty of different things to discuss. From the graphic novels to TV show (and spin off) to games. But not everything has this happen for them. Some may only get a few entries before they're shelved.
I once tried to start a fansite/forum for the Gotham TV Show but getting people to join and post was like pulling teeth. I think people generally like to stick to the "official" sites.
I've never hosted my own forum, but most fansites that I visited suffer hard when the source material is being rocky. I think forums for serialized, long-running sources have better chance to retain members in the long run, though. If you have enough loyal cult fol- *cough* I mean, forum members, especially with a narrative-based theme like books series or game series, at the end of the source's publication, people can always turn to roleplay and fanfiction, which is quite a steady source of posts (and drama, probably).
I've joined a few specific fansites that were widely based on a specific anime show and ever since the anime has been finished. People have showed a lack of interest and don't post as often. These sites have become widely inactive or go through huge phases of inactivity.
