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We had the opportunity to interview, Brandon Sheley, who once owned various online communities like Admin Talk and a general chat forum. He is currently a web developer now and is no longer running forums.
- How many sites have you owned?
- About 20 sites, dozens more domains that seemed like a good idea at the time and never panned out.
- What is your advice on creating revenue?
- Know your audience and know what they are looking for. Experiment with various advertisers, collect data on what works and what doesn’t. Don’t limit yourself to Google adwords and think that’s the only option. Don’t overload your users with ads either, find a happy medium that isn’t too intrusive.
- What forum software’s do you prefer?
- When a client asked me that questions I saw xenforo right away. If you’re asking my personal opinion, I’d still go with xenforo if I had money to buy a license, otherwise I’d go with phpbb. For years I would have said vBulletin, but when Jelsoft was bought out in 2007 by Internet Brands that platform started to crumble apart.
- Do you think vBulletin will come back strong?
- Sadly no, I think it’s a dead horse. Trust me, I wish it would come back more than anyone, I have 100’s of old vbulletin clients that think they want to continue running vbulletin.
- What do you think could be in XenForo 2?
- I have no idea, do you mean the actual 2.0 series or a new script that compares to xf like xf did to vb? Eg cleaner code, less bloat… Either way I have no idea, I don’t even know what new script may be out. I like xf the way it is, it does what I need and what I’ve needed from the clients who have taken the leap to xf.
- What are some of the mistakes you have made as a forum admin as well as a webmaster?
- I don’t know if these are just mistakes I’ve made but I’ve seen them made with new owners.
- Don’t go crazy with the mods you add, only add them if it’s going to directly help produce content on your site. Is it going to get your members to post more, will it make it easier for them to post or share?
- Putting ads up to early, not setting up user groups so your members might not see the 9 banner ads you added to one page. I like the idea of no more than 3 a page, sometimes more depending on the content. Ads will slow your page down, and potential members don’t like slow pages.
- Adding to many forum categories with not enough post. I understand you think your forum about state flags will need 50 sections at some point, but why not group them off, setup the west coast, mid-west, central etc.. Create new categories when you need to sort out similar threads. A new member would most likely rather pick a forum with 3 categories and 50 threads in each, vs 50 categories with 3 threads in each. It’s just easier to navigate.
- Not doing enough research on the keyword phrases you’ll be targeting. Go to Google keyword tool and search for your current site title.. Does it show anyone is searching it? Might not be a bad idea to rethink your SEO strategy.
- Do you think the admin forum market is flooded?
- Yes I could you could say that, but I think it’s been like that for as long as I remember. It’s just a matter of giving your users what they want, giving them a medium to discuss freely with other admins and providing a friendly site for that to happen.
- Do you think it is important with keeping server software up to date?
- In terms of security exploits, absolutely. I feel the same way about webscripts as well. This is one of the best ways you can keep yourself from being compromised.
- What inspired you and motivated you to sell admin talk? Because since you sold it, this forum is no longer an active forum.
- I had started up another forum, Admin Talk, after I had already tried to get away from forums. I just couldn’t kick the habit I guess..lol I really enjoyed it for the most part, I already knew most of the experienced admins around the vb world and they’re all happy to stop by and post here and there. I just sort of ran out of time and energy to be honest. I was just starting up a new job at a local tech company and was spending a lot of time with them. I still think it’s a great little forum, I’m not sure why it would have died. I haven’t honestly been on many forums for a few years. I stop by vb.org, xf.com and taz from time to time but that’s it. I mainly use those to troubleshoot client issues I may be having.
- What do you think caused your former admin forum to become an inactive one?
- I don’t know, maybe I was so charismatic that everyone wanted to be around..lol but honestly, I have no idea. I remember Bob imported admin addict over to admin talk, I liked that merger and it’s what I had wanted to do. It seems like he moved it to ipb then back to xf? I don’t know what’s going on with it now, I’m pretty sure it’s been sold again since I had it. Maybe I can buy it back and rebuild..lol
- How old were you when you created your first ever online community?
- The Yahoo site that was just handed to me would have been my first and I would have been 24-25.
- Where does most of your online income come from?
- All my online income comes from working on client sites. I have a little trickling in from old affiliate programs that are still feeding in but 99.9% is from fixing or building sites.
- What are your favourite methods that you use to promote/advertise any of your online projects?
- This depends on the budget completely but social media is always a quick one to setup. Back in the day I liked sponsoring or owning designs and being able to link back to my site when the style was installed. Facebook and Google ads are a quick way to get feedback but you’ll need to spend a few bucks. I like using sites like fivvr if I need to make a cheap banner or logo adjustment. (photoshop is not my friend)
- Do you currently look up to anyone that's been involved in the webmaster/admin industry?
- Oh sure you have to keep searching for those doing something better than you. Learn what they changed and why than see if it’ll work for you. I could produce a list of admins I personally know that have ran very active forums and I look up to each one of them.
- How do you feel about posting services like postloop and theforumwheel? Do these services give rich forum owners an unfair advantage over the ones that don't have the funds to invest into one of these services?
- I’ve only heard of Postloops because I knew the owner before he started that site. I like it, I’ve used it and I still get some referral traffic from it. I’ve used it on my site from time to time during the dead times. I’d pull in 10-20 new post which would usually kick start conversations. You’ll want to pay attention to the rating your requesting. I would usually start at 4.6 stars and finalize it with 5 star contributors.
- You're currently a parent, how old is your son?
- I am, he’s 7 years old at the moment.
- What were your personal thoughts and feelings when vBulletin came out with version number 5?
- Complete crap… building on old code was a horrible idea and then the nerve of suggesting it’s a “completely new framework”. At the time vBulletin 4 was just getting to the point that I’d suggest it to my clients. Then vb5connect killed all that momentum.
- Have you ever made any money online by being an affiliate marketer?
- Yup a few times. It’s a very interesting way to make money but you either have to be lucky or be on the ball with R&D and figuring out what will work for you.
- Do you think Facebook and twitter are damaging the growth of online communities or are they actually benefiting them and are helping forum owners expand and grow their horizons?
- I don’t know if I can say Social media is hurting or helping online forums. I can say that the medium in which we interact is always changing. I think the key is to make your forums very easy and intuitive to use from your phone or mobile devices, that’s going to be a good start. I also think the “fresh” users of this generation generally have very short attention spans. There will always be a place for a desktop or laptop when long detailed post are made.
- What are your favourite methods to build and attract new backlinks?
- It’s an oldy but still good, my #1 would be linkbait above anything else. Create great content that users can’t get anywhere else, controversy is good 😉 Create eye catching headlines, follow everything through with pictures and questions for the viewers in the post. Once you have your perfect post (remember, research and test over and over) you then go to your friends on Social Media and you ask them to share. You may also check out fiverr or Twitter/Facebooks own advertising tools to expand your reach.
- What was your most successful and most profitable online community that you've ever owned?
- I don’t exactly tie success and profit together but I do see why you’re asking..lol I’ve had a few forums that I’d consider a success and I run one now that I feel is successful yet it’s not making me anything. In fact I just updated my licenses and my hosting for the year so it’s a couple hundred in the whole for the year..lol but I like the group of users on it and I enjoy giving them a place to chat. So to answer the question I consider the vBulletinSetup.com site to be the best example of what I was able to do with the tools I had.
- What social media site do you use the most on a daily basis, twitter or Facebook?
- TBH I don’t use them like I was 3 years ago nut.. I’d say the sad truth is I still use Facebook the most but I would suggest Twitter if I was promoting online or looking for help. Facebook groups/pages are also good. Another one people often don’t think about, LinkedIn is a great site if you’re looking for work. This goes for all types of work, not just “freelancing online”.. I suggest that everyone have their resume up on Linkedin and Follow those in your town/city/industry and try to make your connections.
- How do you feel about the current state of forum software?
- It’s gone a bit stale but that may just be me. I mentioned before that a large majority of users today make their decisions within 0-8 seconds if they’re going to check out your site or move on. Many new admins will toss up a very basic forum and maybe if we’re lucky they change the style from the default one. Most forums have looked the same for years and decades. Create something new, offer clear call to action buttons or links to your top content. Make your site unique and offer content/tools, that can’t be found anywhere else… This type of thing isn’t done enough with most forums in my opinion.
- Is the forum software market a lot better than it was in the past or no not really?
- The market is obviously down, you can clearly see that on Google Trends. I think the scripts we have now and plugins are better just on the security aspect side of it. It was tough getting 2 step authentication when I started, and Twitter wasn’t even around to even think of allowing a member to sign up to my forum from a Twitter/Facebook email. I like that aspect of it, I like the new options we have I just wish more users would customize their forums a bit more vs the vanilla setup.
- What forums are you generally active on these days?
- I’m not active on really any forum these days. I check out xf.com and vb.org from time to time or if I’m working and need a mod or help troubleshooting why one isn’t working. I visit TAZ from time to time but I’d say the forum I’m most active on would be reddit.com and that’s just to pass the time on my phone.
- Are you a fan of sports? If yes, what type of sports do you enjoy to watch?
- NCAA Basketball, MLB and I try NFL but we have the chiefs and well…. My teams are KU and Royals.
- What type of server do you currently have a dedicated or a vps? What are your current server specs?
- I guess you would call it a VPS. I split a server with a few friends but I use it like a VPS.
- What do you think are the most important aspects that help an online community become a successful one?
- Dedication from the owner and staff. You need a strong team and a roadmap of future improvements is helpful. The bigger your team when you start, the easier your launch will be. Have the style and site all setup before you launch. If you need to keep the site “closed” while you build content, it would be better then opening the forum up with zero post. First impressions and all.
- Where do you see social media/social networking sites heading in the near future?
- It’s hard to saw but I see VR and AR taking off like crazy. (virtual and augmented reality) I’m not sure how these technology would apply to forums, but I’m sure someone is working on it.
- Do you think Facebook will someday launch its very own search engine to compete against the powerhouse, google or is this something that you don't see ever happening?
- Facebook would love some of that Google traffic, but they would prefer to keep the traffic on Facebook itself. I see them trying to ramp up the search on Facebook itself before launching a site to compete with Google search.
- Are there any blogs that you like to read on a daily basis?
- Every day or every week? Not really. I find info on Reddit or from twitter that leads me to the articles.
- What are some of your favourite hobbies, games and/or interests?
- Web dev (obviously) disc golf, camping, fishing and always would rather play catch with my son over anything else in the world. Looking forward to enjoying the sunshine every chance I can get this summer. Games I don’t get time for much, but I have minecraft, gtav, cities skylines, besiege is always a fun one I bought on a whim.
- How often do you think a new forum owner should push out new topics?
- One a day at the bare minimum. I’d rather see 10 or 20 a day if possible.
- What's some advice that you're willing to share with any webmaster that's looking to start up their own online community?
- Understand that you’ll be providing much of the content in the beginning and maybe well into a year after you’ve opened. Don’t give up, have a plan and provide steady content.
- What service do you use to track your site's traffic?
- Google Analytics
- What is currently the biggest, most successful community that you're a member of?
- Do you feel that the use of forum signatures can help a forum grow and attract new members or is this method no longer a great promotion tool?
- It’s still a great tool to use if you like helping people. So if you have a health forum, and I have a weightlifting site I’ll try to answer and/or help with every question I can. Especially targeting those questions about weightlifting. You help that forum out by providing helpful content, and you may pick up a member if they find your signature headlines appealing.
- Have you ever hired someone to do your seo work for you or do you work on seo by yourself?
- Nope, never. SEO work isn’t the most enjoyable thing I can do, but doing it myself allows me to know exactly what has been done.
- What’s the most traffic that you've ever received in a single month from just google alone?
- I’m not 100% sure since it’s been a few years since I had a good forums running. I know I passed ¼ million hits a month a few times.
- Are online directories still a key promotional method of building new backlinks or not really?
- A niche directory would usually get my time, but I’d use digixmas or a forms plugins in firefox so I wouldn’t have to type everything up each time. DMOZ is worth your time to submit to once. Make sure it’s the correct section for your site. Other directories I would pass on.
- What do you feel are the key reasons that help make an online community become a huge successful and active site?
- Lots of luck and/or hard work. You need to know your market and you need to know how to deliver the content to your guest in an efficient and effective way.
- Has one of your forum's ever reached big board status?
- Not my forums personally.. Well not organically I should say. I did have a general forum that had over 1,000,000 post when I sold it. That was the collection of about 10 other forums I’d had purchased and merged together over the course of a year.
