Should I close my forum?

[StaticSilva]

Should I just close my forum? I don't want to but keeping it going is causing problems with me not doing school when I should. So should I just close it, or keep it up but just spend less time working on it. It's mostly the promoting it that is taking up so much time.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Mr.Panos]

You could try to sell it. 🙂

 

[Atrox]

If it really is going to have a bit impact on your education just get rid of it. 🙂

 

[StaticSilva]

You could try to sell it. 🙂

I don't know how to go about doing that.

 

[Mikaya]

or get someone to help you whilst you're busy, instead of getting rid of it.

 

[StaticSilva]

or get someone to help you whilst you're busy, instead of getting rid of it.

I thought of that, but I don't have anyone who would want to, or who knows how to.

 

[Golddisk]

A lot of people give up on their sites because they don't grow as quickly as they hope they would. I hoping that isn't contributing to you thinking of closing it down, and heres why.

Based on what I see, you just started this a week or so ago. It takes time for it to grow. I've had mine going for over a month now and it's still pretty small. When it comes to making a site patience is key. They don't bloom into a huge community overnight.

With that said, if you really want to shut it down, shoot me a PM. I have some positions I could offer you in my community if you're interested in still being apart of one. 😉

 

[Mikaya]

not trying to be mean, but why make a forum if you won't be able to commit to it?

you should've thought about it beforehand.

 

[ForumSource]

not trying to be mean, but why make a forum if you won't be able to commit to it?

you should've thought about it beforehand.

True, but sometimes things pop up that you probably didn't see coming.

It happened to me and that's part of the reason my forum died after getting off to a really good start. School and work really got in the way and I couldn't put any effort into it at the time... However, I just kept it up because now as my schedule is getting more clear I have time to put more work in.

 

[Mikaya]

not trying to be mean, but why make a forum if you won't be able to commit to it?

you should've thought about it beforehand.

True, but sometimes things pop up that you probably didn't see coming.

It happened to me and that's part of the reason my forum died after getting off to a really good start. School and work really got in the way and I couldn't put any effort into it at the time... However, I just kept it up because now as my schedule is getting more clear I have time to put more work in.

but school isn't so sudden, right?

maybe you could shut it down for now, and when you get more free time, just relaunch it again, but make sure you're committed, for when you do decide to do that.

 

[Joshua Farrell]

You should do what you feel like you need to do, but think about it first. Would you like to return back to it when your life gets to a point where you can get it to where you want? Do you think you need some help in getting the initial advertising and such to help take time off your hands?

There are a multitude of decisions that go into what you should do with a new forum, with a domain attached to it.

 

[StaticSilva]

you should've thought about it beforehand.

I did, but it really isn't just school that is the problem.

With that said, if you really want to shut it down, shoot me a PM. I have some positions I could offer you in my community if you're interested in still being apart of one.

What would I be doing as part of your site?

Do you think you need some help in getting the initial advertising and such to help take time off your hands?

Yeah that's mostly it. But I don't really have any friends who either want to help with the site, or that know enough to.

 

[VirusZero]

Can people please stop using the "get more staff" line? I mean it's not always so easy to get more (and decent) staff.

A lot of people won't even consider your site to be staff on unless your forum is pretty large already. They don't want to help build a site up, they just want to be staff on a large site someone else put the work into. (Either that or they're more interested in any 'glory' that the title of staff may hold.)

Even if you get someone to help that doesn't guarantee they'll be any good nor stick around. (To be a bit blunt, I don't think many would want to become a mod/admin on someone else's site only for that admin to vanish or even go off for a bit for school. In many cases if they were going to be solo admin/staff in that case then they'd much rather run their own site and make all the choices rather than do it for someone else's benefit.)

---

As for what you should do with your site... Ultimately this is your decision but ask yourself:

How much do you really care for the site?
I mean is this something you started on a whim and have only marginal or passing investment in?
(If so, probably better just to close down.)

Or is this a site on a topic you're really passionate about and really love. Something that even if you don't have much time for, you'd still really love to keep going?
If this is the case, maybe keep working on it albeit a bit slower until you get more time to really devote to it.

 

[20CentsPayout]

well I will be suggest you go for your education dont close your forum just keep running and work at least 1-2 hours daily..
sell it when your forum rank is higher in google result or use adnetwork on your forum yo earn more...

 

[vx-enthusiast]

I wouldnt sell it if you have just set it up, it does take time to grow like people have mentioned already. Id just keep doing the school work and spend a couple of hours a day on the site. It will get better once everythings in place you want. Took me 2 weeks to get mine the way i want it

 

[Eclipse]

I'd suggest selling it like Panos stated, it's simple. All you need to do is just ask for a certain amount of money for the forum and if someone purchases it, turn it over to them.

School is way more important than forums, sad to say. I'd suggest to focus on your school as your future depends on it, forums usually won't get you anywhere with education.

 

[Yoda]

People give up too easily on forums. They are a big commitment for what is usually little or no reward to start with, however, given time and effort, a forum can become very rewarding, but if you are already thinking of giving up, then you need to consider why you are giving up? Is it really because of other commitments or is it because you can't be bothered waiting on the activity to pick up?

 

[Nebulous]

I didn't know that school consumed your entire life leaving you unable to ever take a break. You just need some balance. 🙂

 

[Migi]

You just need some balance. 🙂

I actually agree with this line.

I am in no place to say that I understand your situation. However, I have some points to share before you decide to close the website down.

• First and foremost, like what posters above had said, websites don't grow in a night. Or two. Or thirty. It takes a long and heavy work, whatever the type is, as you seem to experience already. Several members here spent amazing effort and succeed, some others don't. There are many factors involved here, indeed.
• It is indeed not easy to take someone in to help the project, but I don't believe websites can be built alone. Too much effort to do it on your own. Have you actually tried to recruit people to help? The genre of your website is probably not too popular, but you still need to give it a try. At least to get a help to run the website so you can concentrate on advertising, for example. It is true that some people wants the glory without working hard, but let's not be so pessimistic.
• I would say that even investing 1-2 hours a day is good enough. You have to maintain the presence, at least. If you can get someone to help look over the website while you are off advertising, you can pop in for a while in between advertising. And advertising doesn't always have to be done everyday; you can make a list and schedule to balance things out.
• The last option is to sell it and let someone else run the website, indeed. You should try to ask around first, because customers decide.

Tough lines, you think? I bet so. It's easier said than done. I myself had once given up on my forum due to various reasons, when I felt that I couldn't do what I said above. But perhaps I just didn't try hard enough. I hope you won't end up like me and can run your website for a little while longer.

Good luck!

 

[Soapbox]

What is your membership at the moment? Even if you get/got rid of it, you can still make use of your acquired skills and revive or start a site at a later date.