So I have recently decided that I want to start a website and forum..or atleast a forum to start out with. I have no clue how though. I really need some help here. I have researched and cant find anything real helpful except just talk to people that know whats going on. Please help me:confused:

Thank You
Cody

So I have recently decided that I want to start a website and forum... Please help meokay, let's start with some very basic questions:

What will the forum be about?
Who do you think is likely to participate in it (be as specific as you can)?
What other forums exist that are about the same or related things?
What will your forum offer that will make the people in question 2 come to your forum instead of the others?
Why do you want to start this forum--for money, for fun, because you're on a mission?

well here we go

1. Jeeps, offroad, and related subjects.
2. Jeep interested people and offroad lovers
3. There are a lot of jeep forums, I want to go a step above them though.
4. I want to have the basics but then reviews on products, a way people can find places to offroad in there area from other people and find shops in there area.
5. actually all the above apply on this one...who really doesnt want to make money? which I would eventually like to move into a full blown website and aftermarket vendor, for fun cuz i love learning new things, and i AM on a mission to be better than all the rest!

cody-

It is good that you have thought about these things.

Your answer to number 5 worries me a bit. You need to be pretty clear in your mind if you want to start this site: a.) for fun, but it would be nice to make some money from it; or b.) primarily for income, but it would be nice if it were more fun than activities that involve asking "would you like to supersize that?" The two aren't mutually exclusive, but at least initially, those things that increase the money-making decrease the fun quotient, and vice versa.

There are a lot of jeep forumsYou need to think about what will make people want to go to your forum instead of or in addition to all those others. This is called your USP (http://www.vbulletin-fans.com/showthread.php?p=156287#post156287).

Jeep interested people and offroad loversThis is your target market. Just Jeep owners--how about Broncos, Hummers, other SUVs? How about 2- and 3-wheel offroaders?

I suspect that none of this is the kind of stuff you expected to find here (probably wanted to ask about software)--but this is the stuff that makes a difference between a successful forum and one that closes in 6 months - a year!

Ok well I do want to make money, but I also want to learn in the starting stages. Like I am doing now. learning to me is fun. The objective though is to grow into a online business. And actually I didnt really know what to expect...I am just looking for a helping person and the knowledge. I have been getting a lot of feed back from other people about not doing just jeep but maybe going wider with just offroading.

Thank You for you help