We know that when it comes to forums, there are many different forums all under different genres, and whilst some genres are easier to run and gain exposure to, there are also niches that can be quite difficult to run.

What has been the most difficult niche for you when running a forum? Would that stop you from running a forum in that niche again?

I found that running a general/off-topic niche was the most difficult for me. I just don’t get into every topic, and it’s hard to try to do it.

I’m better at focusing on what I’m passionate about.

The paranormal topic was also difficult. Used to, you could get a nice member base of those folks. Nowadays, they’re on social media, and they do not want to go anywhere else.

On Sep 23, 2026, Shawn said:

I found that running a general/off-topic niche was the most difficult for me. I just don’t get into every topic, and it’s hard to try to do it.

I’m better at focusing on what I’m passionate about.

The paranormal topic was also difficult. Used to, you could get a nice member base of those folks. Nowadays, they’re on social media, and they do not want to go anywhere else.

That’s a really huge problem today for forums. Facebook groups are easier for people since they’re already scrolling through Facebook anyway. Logging into a forum is just not part of their routine.

I run a Christian forum and I also own a religious Facebook Group and the Christian forum has been around for over 11 years now and is down to 7 members logging in a day …the Facebook group has 6,000 members and activity daily. I barely do anything now for my group because it just took off in the last 7 months.

I really want to start a forum related to the niche of computer engineering, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrencies. I am specifically talking about complicated aspects of AI and computer engineering such as coding, programming, software development, etc. I think that this would be a really difficult niche.

The hardest niche is the one that doesn't have audience or too tough competition. The general discussion forums is tough because it's everywhere but niche forums like tech or health is still reasonable.

On Oct 2, 2026, Uptrend said:

The hardest niche is the one that doesn't have audience or too tough competition. The general discussion forums is tough because it's everywhere but niche forums like tech or health is still reasonable.

I think that general forums still have a lot of potential and they are still less competitive. The problem arises when you start a forum in a technical niche. Not each and every person is a tech savvy. This really restricts your audience to tech savvy people like engineers and software developers, especially when you start a blog in the niche of cryptocurrency and Blockchain. The same goes true for other technical niches as well. However, some general niches are really great. For example, starting a forum about education and homework help could be a great idea. Such niches have a great demand and they are less competitive.

The niche of business is one of the toughest niches out there. Not everyone is good at conducting business. Apart from that, conducting business requires you to have extensive knowledge about legal aspects of trading and commerce. Not to mention that international trading laws differ a lot. This niche is very much saturated as well. This makes this nuche very competitive and tough.