Hello,

I'm Ivan and I'm new to these boards. Basically, I have a problem. I've been reading up on various articles on how to start a good forum, listening to podcasts, etc. The problem that I'm facing is one that I'm sure all of you have faced before. The dreaded - choosing of the niche! Basically, I found a really nice niche but there is a problem. I'll illustrate my problem with the following example. Let's say I really love cars and I know the inside and out of how sports cars work. The problem is that a good niche popularity wise and also in terms of potential profit would be rally cars. So basically, I love cars but don't care much about rallying. I love the "support" aspect of it, but don't really love the actual sport. Do I have to really love all the things associated with the niche or can I just be the man for a part of it? What can I do to compensate for this?
The only fear I have about launching a forum is that because I am not a guru at the whole niche, I may have problems getting visitors. What do you guys think?

Regards and thanks in advance,
Ivan

I believe you are correct in your assessment. You need to be a fan of the niche in order for it to succeed.

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I think it helps to be a "fan" of the niche, but I don't feel it is necessary. It is necessary to have SOME experience or interest, but not a lot IMO. I personally have run and grown forums that I know little to nothing about.

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Thanks for the input Red & Lee...

How can I compensate for my lack of knowledge and if the user base is passionate about the niche do I really need to bother that much with that in order to give my users a good experience?

Surround yourself with people (coadmin or mods) who are passionate and/or knowledgeable about the niche.

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GetShorty Nailed It!

If you can find some people, maybe it's friends or family that share the same. Maybe with them you could make it possible.

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This is the advice I would offer as well. Get some people on board who can help you out and are genuinely interested in your niche.

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Seems that I'm going on a little networking "quest". Thanks guys!

Not that it means a whole lot now, as you've already made your decision...but these guys are right. It's always better to be passionate about the topic, but you don't have to be passionate about it. What is the most important is that you have a good plan and have the dedication to make your forums succeed. Go out and find some buddies who love rally cars...perhaps bring one or two of them on board to help you get the forums underway.

That said, I personally can't ever see myself running a forum on something I'm not passionate about, because part of the reason that I do this is for the interaction with the community...I enjoy just sitting back and chatting about the topic...so I always do something that I'm interested in.

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