Baseball: The Dog Days Of Summer?

Question

I own a sports related website that consist of its own directory, forums and articles. That being said, I'd like to make changes to the site for the better- features that are unique is what I seek.

Should I turn the site into an all sports articles site or a sports forums or a sports directory? Or Sports articles and directory?

If articles and directory- what topics would you like to see added for a sports articles and directory?

Basically my question is what would make you return to my website?

Answer 1

Given that there are already so many sports-themed discussion boards and forums, I'd look at moving towards a content-driven site. If you can have people writing articles that, if not groundbreaking, are at least original in concept, it would make me more likely to return.

The problem with discussion forums is that the same issues get beaten to death, while half the posts are pointless or just plain wrong. At one time I was a moderator for a baseball discussion site with very heavy traffic and a lot of great people, but even then we had our fill of morons. As a contrast, a good content-driven site is unlikely to draw anyone away. I don't participate in any forums, but I'm a religious reader of anything new at Baseball Prospectus, Hardball Times, Aaron Gleeman's blog, and a lot of the ESPN Insider content. It might take you time to build a readership, but thought-provoking writing will eventually win out.

I could see having a place for dicsussion or content at the end of articles similar to the current ESPN model, but I honestly don't see much value in that. I just find it's another place for people to express their ignorance. And as for the idea of a directory, I don't see much value in that. Other sites already offer it, many people would rather use a search engine than a directory, and I can't think of any directory that would have me coming back for more.

One clarification I should make is this - if your current site has active participation in its forums, I'd be hesitant to let it go. I think the market on sports forums is pretty close to saturation, but I wouldn't cut an existing proven product if I had it.

Answer 2

This will agree with Craig, only less articulately. There are plenty of general sports websites like espn.com, cnnsi.com, foxsports.net. There are specialized sites like mlb.com and nfl.com. You would need an angle, something that makes visiting your site particularly informative or fun. www.bostondirtdogs.com might be a good one to look at. It has articles, breaking information, interviews with Boston players picked up from newspapers and TV and radio. It has cartoon charicatcures. It has sufficient ad content to keep it free.