Search the Community

A lot of us run fandom roleplaying games and as such, we can utilize a much wider range of advertising methods. One method that I personally have used to favorable reception in the past is the forum function over on FanFiction.Net! So how did I personally use it in the past? Well, first off, you need to find out if they have your particular fandom, because they don't have every single thing under the sun (and some fandoms have been dropped for various reasons). If they don't have your fandom, then you can always request its addition by mailing the administrators. In the meantime, they do have a miscellaneous category. Once you have determined whether they carry your fandom or whether you need to add it to the misc category, you can weigh your options. I personally don't think something in the misc category will even be found on the site, so it might be a long shot. It's up to you, but it's always an extra place to get your site more views. More eyes may equal new members! The forums are found in a link at the top of the page that says Forums. If you click on it, a dropdown menu will appear with their various categories. For example, we'll use Harry Potter. To find the Harry Potter forums, you would click Books. The list might intimidate you but all you have to do is choose the H from the alphabetical list to shorten it. You'll notice a number beside Harry Potter. This is the number of communities in the Harry Potter category. Each of those communities is a different forum! Now, one thing I should note right now is that you can't just drop an ad in other people's communities. That would be rude. Most communities on FF.net aren't made to show off ads to other people's sites. In fact, they are generally used to discuss certain authors, specific stories, and the fandom itself. However, some enterprising individuals like myself have also found it to be a good outlet for advertising our sites. What you're going to want to do, rather than drop an ad off in somebody else's forum, is to make your own community. To do that, you need to go to your settings. (If you don't have an account, that link will probably just say you need to be logged in.) From there, in the left sidebar, you will find a list of links. The one you want is called Forums. If you click it, a list of new links will slide underneath it. The first one is a guide to creating forums on FF.net. It's pretty short and sweet: you can create up to ten forums for yourself and you must adhere to three rules: don't use them to post stories, all discussions must be rated T for teen, and you as the owner are responsible for whatever is posted in the forum. The second one is the one you really want. It's called My Forums. When you click it, it will take you to a page that lists all your current forums (and yes, you can delete any forums you no longer need) and beneath that, an area to create a new forum. There, you can name your forum, select a category, choose a main language, a type (I choose RPG), and then add a summary. That's it! Once you've created your forum, you may have to wait a few minutes before you can post in it. There is a button on the upper right side that simply says New. When you are able to, click it and a window will open. Add in a subject title and then in the body, write out your "advertisement" for the site. In my case, I tend to share announcements--things that I post in the announcement forums on-site anyway. (It's just throwing the net out to a wider audience. In this way, I actually discovered more than half of my members on one of my fandom sites, so I always recommend this method to others who run fandom sites. There are also no rules as to how often you can post in your own forum, so if you like to post daily announcements and statistics, feel free! I would recommend something more like once a week or a couple times a month, however, so you don't appear too aggressive.