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Greetings all. This is my first post, so I'd like to say right off the bat that this is a great forum.
I'm currently in the process of setting up my first website which is a forum site specifically for the Chicago area. The site is designed to be a resource for students and professionals working in my industry. While my foremost goal is not monetization, I would still like to find ways to monetize the site (to at least recoup the costs of maintaining it). As an aside, as far as I know (and I have looked) there is no site in my industry specific to this area, so mine would likely be the first .
So my question is this: What would be the best way to monetize my forum without disturbing the community intent of the site? ie I don't want users to feel that the site is purely a commercial venture by putting a bunch of banner ads or text ads all over the place. I want to instill a real community feel.
Here are some ideas I have thrown around:
1. Cafepress store.
2. Some kind of program that would allow me to sell books relevant to our industry.
3. Paypal donations. (worried about not making much through this).
4. A premium registration on top of the free basic registration.
5. Local sponsors. (not sure how to get these).
So that is basically what I have so far. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, even if they are not relevant to my question. Thanks.
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