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Main Subject - Forums - Should You Have Them On Your Website?
Forums have become a common feature in many websites. With good free scripts available, and paid scripts being relatively cheap, it seems that every new website has its own forum(s). But is it wise to add forums to your website?
In this article I'd like to take a look at the pros and cons
In this article I'd like to take a look at the pros and cons
According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product
of adding forums to your website. The largest of my websites, www.TheCatSite.com boasts one of the largest online forums on pet related subjects. In fact I have yet to see a larger forum dealing with pets. As of the writing of this artic
; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.
Examples of combination products may in
Examples of combination products may in
e (Summer 2004), we have over 7,000 members and nearly half a million posts. In the past four years I have struggled with the hardships of community management and learned what works and what doesn't. Let me share a few insights that may help you decide if you want to take the forums path y
lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.
ourself.
The Pro Side of the Equation…
Forums Generate Content
Large, active forums generate content for your website. Google now has literally tens of thousands of pages indexed for TheCatSite.com's forums, and people looking for some of
The Pro Side of the Equation…
Forums Generate Content
Large, active forums generate content for your website. Google now has literally tens of thousands of pages indexed for TheCatSite.com's forums, and people looking for some of
here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe
the more esoteric subjects related to cat health and cat behavior are very likely to meet one of our forum pages in their search results.
Forums Make People Return to Your Website
Forums are truly a "sticky" element. Most people come back, at least to check on developments on their thread
Forums Make People Return to Your Website
Forums are truly a "sticky" element. Most people come back, at least to check on developments on their thread
d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.
Combination pro
Combination pro
s. With a good community, you get some real addicts who have to get their daily fix. TheCatSite.com's forums run on Vbulletin Forums, which means members can opt to receive an email whenever someone replies to their thread. Most people use it and that little email sends them right back to t
ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc
e forums…
Forums Create a Sense of Community
Reaching from behind their computer screens, people from all over the world join together, get to know each other and create a community. This is actually happening! Members connect with each other, offering support in time of needs and some of
Forums Create a Sense of Community
Reaching from behind their computer screens, people from all over the world join together, get to know each other and create a community. This is actually happening! Members connect with each other, offering support in time of needs and some of
easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi
them even meeting each other in real life. For you as the webmaster, this means loyal visitors that keep coming back to a place they consider to be home.
And Now To The Cons
Forums Can Take a Lot of Time to Take Off the Ground
I remember how I could feel my posts echoing in the empty bo
And Now To The Cons
Forums Can Take a Lot of Time to Take Off the Ground
I remember how I could feel my posts echoing in the empty bo
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
rd four years ago… It can take a long time before your forums pick up. An empty forum can actually drive new visitors away. It's a vicious circle – when they see that no one else is posting, they don't post themselves, and move on to the next website. It can take weeks and even months of ha
and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ
rd work to get your forums off the ground.
Forums Need A Lot Of Ongoing Management
You need to constantly monitor your forums to make sure that they are clean of spam, troll posts, and just keep everything where it belongs. Once your forums are large enough, you have to have a team of qua
Forums Need A Lot Of Ongoing Management
You need to constantly monitor your forums to make sure that they are clean of spam, troll posts, and just keep everything where it belongs. Once your forums are large enough, you have to have a team of qua
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
ity moderators to help you run the place - the task being too time-consuming for one person. This is the place in this article to say "hi!" to any TCS team members reading this – thank you guys – you're the ones that make it all happen!
For the webmasters reading this article, I will say t
For the webmasters reading this article, I will say t
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.
Following aspects would a
Following aspects would a
at managing a team is a task in its own right. Finding the good mods can mean the difference between success and failure. And it doesn't end there. You have to put your heart and mind to it – all the time.
Forums Take Up a Lot of Resources
Forums are database-type applications that genera
Forums Take Up a Lot of Resources
Forums are database-type applications that genera
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:
Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
te web pages on the fly. Every time a user views a page, it's being created from scratch. As the forums become more active, this can take a heavy load on the web server's resources. When our forums reached 2,000 members, we had to switch over to a dedicated server. When they reached 7,000 m
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
mbers, we had to upgrade to a new dedicated server… With several other websites stored on our server, the forums are the big resources hoggers, taking up bandwidth, disk space and, most importantly, CPU resources. This brings us to the next point…
Forums Do Not Make Lucrative Advertising S
Forums Do Not Make Lucrative Advertising S
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
tock
You think that with successful forums, generating millions of targeted pageviews each month, you would do well financially? Think again. Forums not only cost you a lot to run, they also don't bring in a whole lot of revenue, compared to regular web pages. Advertisers don't like to run
You think that with successful forums, generating millions of targeted pageviews each month, you would do well financially? Think again. Forums not only cost you a lot to run, they also don't bring in a whole lot of revenue, compared to regular web pages. Advertisers don't like to run
t?
As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
ads on forum pages. So much so, that most CPM based ad networks won't even let you place their ads there.
Our experience with CPC ads shows that they may have a good point. Click-through rates on forum pages are significantly lower then on other types of web pages. There are ways to make y
Our experience with CPC ads shows that they may have a good point. Click-through rates on forum pages are significantly lower then on other types of web pages. There are ways to make y
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.
Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
our forums generate revenues, but trust me, it's not that easy. I will be writing a separate article on how we got our forums to pay for their keeping.
The Bottom Line
Forums are not for every website. Don't just put it up there and hope for the best. If you can't or don't want to put a l
The Bottom Line
Forums are not for every website. Don't just put it up there and hope for the best. If you can't or don't want to put a l
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
t of time and effort into creating a viable community, just leave it. Having no forums is better than having dead forums. Having dead forums on your website may actually drive people away.
Research your field. How easy will it be to create a community geared towards the subject of your web
Research your field. How easy will it be to create a community geared towards the subject of your web
.
As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
site? Is it something that people want to talk about with each other? Are there other forums on this subject? How are they doing?
Get your feet wet. Join several forums and become an active participant. If possible, become a team member or a moderator in a large forum. Big forums often hav
Get your feet wet. Join several forums and become an active participant. If possible, become a team member or a moderator in a large forum. Big forums often hav
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.
Companies that provide selfless information through particip
Companies that provide selfless information through particip
secret team forums, where you can learn a lot about community management.
Think ahead. Where do you see your website in a year or two? Is this your main project and passion? Will you have the time and energy it takes to maintain a forum? Above all: Will you enjoy it?
Copyright © Anne Mos
Think ahead. Where do you see your website in a year or two? Is this your main project and passion? Will you have the time and energy it takes to maintain a forum? Above all: Will you enjoy it?
Copyright © Anne Mos
tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products
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BB link (for phorums):
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