There have been several reasons for being able to avoid the social media leaks.
- Very Small Target Population. Our site is about the Lotus Elan vehicle from the 1960s and 70s. Only ~13,000 cars were produced. Assuming every current and past owner joined the forum, we have an upper ceiling of 15,000 members.
- Deep Technical Information. If you want to understand how to diagnose or fix any issues related to a Lotus Elan, we are the best website. We have already discussed in great detail, or we have the people who can help. 57,000 images help - yes, we need photos of the direction of fiberglass strands in the body work.
- Good Core Group. We have people who want to see the Lotus Elan survive and succeed. Being a Lotus owner makes you a little weird and different. We like helping others with our shared affliction: Lotus ownership.
We have people say things like, “I visit other places like Facebook and Instagram, but when I need help, LotusElan.net is where I go.”
If you look at the reasons, these are steep hills for a competitor to overcome for a very small target market.