Do you talk to friends online, or offline friends and family? Do you approach companies with the question if they are interested in helping or do you wait for people to contact you?

Lucky to be at the stage where people are approaching me wanting to take banner space.

i've had some people approach me for advertising, but nothing really interesting yet :D

Couple people have asked me to do advertising, however only a few turn out to be good ones :)

It really isn't very easy to find *paying* advertisers, unless you're very well known.

It really isn't very easy to find *paying* advertisers, unless you're very well known.Even then it's not that easy!

t's look a really tough business making money with forums...

t's look a really tough business making money with forums...Adsense & TribalFusion & Kontera & Direct Sales = $1K per month income.
Hosting = $200 per month costs. (Ok, I had to invest about $4K in a half decent server but that's a one-off expense and I own the server).

It's possible to make money off of one forum but to make a living I'm sure I'd need a few more.

My site is really just used as a medium for things i work on for Microsoft.
I do offer some Microsoft support, and invite a few friends.

But i don/t look for investors, or ask companies if their interested in the site.
I more then likely would if it was a site like this one...

Though i do let people advertise their services on my site, i don/t mind if they do that to a certain point..

I wouldn't want investors. Advertisers, fine, but I no way would I put my site/business in the hands of someone else.

If someone simply wants to give me money, then sure. But usually the term 'investor' implies they have some control over what you do. Not many people will give you money so you can fling it around as you wish; they want to be part of the decision making process.

I wouldn't want investors. Advertisers, fine, but I no way would I put my site/business in the hands of someone else.

If someone simply wants to give me money, then sure. But usually the term 'investor' implies they have some control over what you do. Not many people will give you money so you can fling it around as you wish; they want to be part of the decision making process.
Too true. The "Money Men" do like to control what they put money into, especially if they don't believe they are getting the return on their investment they expected.

This can be good, but it can also compromise your forum.

Yeah I agree, putting my site in the hands of someone else sounds way too scary for me. I'm one that has very little trust for anyone on the internet (mainly due to past experiences).

I'd only ever really sell a business.

I wouldn't want investors. Advertisers, fine, but I no way would I put my site/business in the hands of someone else.

If someone simply wants to give me money, then sure. But usually the term 'investor' implies they have some control over what you do. Not many people will give you money so you can fling it around as you wish; they want to be part of the decision making process.

Seconded ;)

Seconded ;)

Thirded. :D :D

I've just had very few people asking me for adspace but unfortunately I only approve ads that are specific to my forum market.

Our site is very much a 'let them come to us' model.

We don't want to appear to be 'begging' for money and to be fair, selling online 'real estate' is no longer a very viable advertising medium. Think about it, how many banners do you click on?

PPC advertising seems to be a more interesting process, but again, I personally do not feel the $.03 a click is worth the hassle of installing/purchasing proper PPC software.

So, as it is, I'm happy to offer advertising to those who ask and sweat each year when the hosting bill comes in! :P

ETA: just saw this
I wouldn't want investors. Advertisers, fine, but I no way would I put my site/business in the hands of someone else.

If someone simply wants to give me money, then sure. But usually the term 'investor' implies they have some control over what you do. Not many people will give you money so you can fling it around as you wish; they want to be part of the decision making process.
I agree. We were approached by several companies who wanted to 'monetize' my site since we are a rather niche sector and these companies saw potential. I was interested until they started talking about 'shares' and '% owned'... I built this site with my sweat and blood (and wife's tears)... I'm not about to relinquish 'control' for a few more pennies a month!

Has anybody got friends who invest into your forums? family-members? how is it going?

I don't and will never have any investors with my website. Its just the way I am. Im also trying to keep my forum ad free as long as I can.

I haven't done much of it, but I would suggest contacting smaller companies who want to get their word out. Obviously this is best if you have a niche forum.

For example, if your website was about windows, you may want to contact some software publishers who could sponsor/advertise/etc. on your forum.

I contact others, cordially, and in respect for their works. If things going well, nice! If not, peace. I don't wait others, usually (I wait only with my girlfriend :/).