Earning Money

If you have ever run a forum, you know the frustrating truth about there being a member who always causes problems, always posts nasty comments, and all in all, just irritates people left and right. If you haven’t, you will have that as your forum gets bigger. The truth is, I actually see having one of those members as a sign that your forum is beginning to go somewhere because it means that you’re not just getting your friends to sign up, but also the general population which shows growth.

When you look at this rude member, the first thing that probably pops through your head is: “this guy is being a jerk, I am going to ban him and get him off my site.” I mean, who wants to have a member on their site that just causes fights? Before you ban the individual, step back and take a moment to analyze the situation and ask yourself: what am I gaining and what am I losing from having this person on my site?

There are some pros and there are some cons. Here are the cons and then I will go into detail about the pros. By having a ‘bad guy’ on the site, you are getting someone who is going to upset people. They are going to get upset and potentially leave. And, if it is not controlled, you are going to get a bad reputation and people won’t join. I’ve heard so many times how Digital Point sucks and had I heard about that before I joined, I probably would have stayed away. Another con is the fact that the member soon begins to gain a following and others begin to follow in his footsteps: being rude and downright mean.

But, then there are the pros to having this sort of a member on the site. I remember on the debate forum I used to own, the hottest topic was the “Should Gays be Allowed to Marry” one. It went on for post after post because there were some people who posted very mean comments. They posted comments that made me, a guy who is used to hearing a lot of negative things, step back and go, “woah, that’s really screwed up.” But, what did it do? It got people to post all the time. There were fights, but it made the site look really populated.

Another thing that it does is it makes new people who see how this guy is being a jerk to join because they want to take a jab at him. There will always be the hero and they will come in and join just to try and beat the mean guy. Well, this only helps you, so having the bad guy continue to post only makes the good guys want to fight harder. In essence, it makes the bad guy turn into the good guy because he is helping your site succeed even more. More members is always a good thing.

The point I am trying to make is before you think something is horrible and need to get rid of it very fast, think about it and try and manipulate things to make them good. Chances are, if enough people fight against the bad guy, he will leave. But, while that fight is going on, the forum will be increasing in posts and members. The bad guy can sometimes be the good guy simply because he creates problems and people want to fix those problems. The bad guy can help. But, if things go wrong, just ban him. You don’t want the cons to appear. Just the pros. Keep an eye on him and you’ll see your forum grow. I know I did.

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When I started DormEarning.com, I was using a generic, free skin because I was dirt poor and I could not afford to upgrade. When I have started every single site save one, it has always been me using a free skin and then, when the site go to the point of maturation, I would find a new theme or something and make it look even better, putting money into it so that I could really give it that look. But, now that I look back on it, I have to ask myself if that was really the wisest way of doing things.

As I have grown as a business man and I have seen how things work, I have begun to appreciate the real necessity of a first impression. With that, I have begun to appreciate the importance of putting aside some money before you create a site to really get that theme that will make you stand out. Am I saying that you need to fork over $600 and get a unique theme? Absolutely not. This theme is not considered unique, cost $80.00 (thanks to SheisDesign), but I have never seen a blog with it and that is what makes it unique.

I have heard the argument that it is better to start with a free skin until you are getting bigger and I only say do this if you have a really nice looking free skin. John Chow did that for a while, but it was a really good theme and did its job. But, I have to ask myself: would John Chow have gotten bigger even faster if he was using the theme that he is using today back then when he was using his old theme? I have to say yes, I think he would have. This new one has a more professional look to it and I have only see greater success in his blog since he added it.

All in all, my opinion on a free skin at the start or a unique skin at the start has changed. I think that, if you really are going to treat your blog or forum as a business, you are going to want to have a skin that looks really great. Sure, it might put you in the red right from the start, but with the right location for advertising and the right look to it, your earnings could far outweigh the red that you are in. But, look…It’s my opinion. I have plans for another site and if I make it, I will be using a more unique theme because I want it to really look great. But that’s just me. Do what works best for you.

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