What are some of the worst methods you've used to monetize your forum?

[Cedric]

I wanted to open up a discussion about some of the worst ways we've tried to monetize our forums. I think we all know that managing a forum can be a labor of love, but when it comes to keeping the lights on and maybe even making a bit of profit, things can get tricky.

One thing that comes to mind is when you try to monetize a forum by adding way too many ads. Desperately trying to cover hosting costs, signing u for every ad network you can find. Littering the forum with banners, pop-ups, and auto-playing videos. It can get so bad that you can barely navigate your site without getting annoyed. Needless to say, your users won't be happy.

I once tried to implement a premium membership tier with hardly any added value. I thought people would jump at the chance to support the forum, but without offering significant perks, it just felt like I was begging for money. It was awkward and didn't go over well at all.

What about you all? Have you ever tried a monetization strategy that backfired spectacularly?

Looking forward to hearing your experiences!

 

[Cam]

If I'm thinking about the worst methods, it's some of the experimentation we've done on here. We've tried all sorts of different ad platforms. AdClerks (it no longer exists) is one that I wasted a little bit of time with. We kept using BSA for our primary ad locations, but we started using AdClerks for those less desirable ad spots. I think I was getting like $5.00 for each ad that was sold. That did okay, but I never actually received payment from the company. The whole service was still running, but they had totally stopped approving cash out requests.

 

[Cedric]

If I'm thinking about the worst methods, it's some of the experimentation we've done on here. We've tried all sorts of different ad platforms. AdClerks (it no longer exists) is one that I wasted a little bit of time with. We kept using BSA for our primary ad locations, but we started using AdClerks for those less desirable ad spots. I think I was getting like $5.00 for each ad that was sold. That did okay, but I never actually received payment from the company. The whole service was still running, but they had totally stopped approving cash out requests.

Sucks that they didn’t pay. I remember the BSA ads, bought a few myself here when it was possible.

 

[Cam]

Sucks that they didn’t pay. I remember the BSA ads, bought a few myself here when it was possible.

We still use it a little bit, but BSA is no where near what it used to be.

 

[jweb]

Definitely placing many ads everywhere was a big one for me.

I've also set up "premium" forums for members to take part in, which was like a VIP area that didn't go over well. We tried hyping it up which was just annoying to the members.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I've tried setting up a VIP member group on a few of my older forums in the past. It didn't do anything, I didn't have anyone signing up let alone wanting to pay for membership.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Putting popup ads on the forum years ago when popup ads were common.

But I mean, come on. They're annoying.

Funny though - I get most of my email subscribers on my blog with my popup CTA.

 

[Nomad]

I have used pop up ads. I have received payment from a couple of pop up ads. But I think using pop up ads was the worst monetization method I have used. I lost 90 percent of repeat traffic.

 

[jweb]

Ugh, premium memberships with no perks are the worst. Makes users feel like you just want their cash. I'm thinking of offering exclusive content (like interviews with industry experts) for a paid tier. Thoughts?

The problem I had was not enough content, so I think if there is enough there it could work.

Exclusive content, like you mentioned, would definitely interest me.