Libby 100 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Ok, so let me preface this with: We are very aware its a niche genre/concept. In January, we had an idea for a lovely game, set it up, did all the lore etc. and opened. Lord help me I can't get people interested in it. I've done the usual ads on other site, resource sites, etc. We started writing just the pair of us, hoping that people would join in... nada. How do you keep on keeping on three months in and not a single bite? When do you just throw in the towel and say it is just not going to fly? Or do we try again, revamp the lore to be less niche? (Honestly, I didn't think it was that odd) The past is a place of reference, not residence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Arceus 1,082 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 Kay. Are you and your friend having fun? Then there's no problem. See, the thing is, I think other people can kinda sense it when you're feeling the drain. When you're like "Omg why won't somebody just JOIN this stupid thing," instead of actually just, having fun. Because honestly, if you're not having fun with the site on your own, then how does anyone know you're still gonna be enjoying it in a few more months? Maybe you won't. And that's kind of a stupid thing to judge based on, considering, a lot of people may not be having fun by themselves, but would if someone joined, but you know hey, joining a new site is such a big deal anymore, right? Everyone's been around the block a few times, and nobody wants to get caught up in a site where it seems like the staff are just going through the motions and little else. The weirdest crap turns people away, but maybe one or two will give it a go sooner or later. Listen, my long-runner? I had that site for 12 years in its first iteration. Through about four of those years, it was just me and my girlfriend. I feel you. I really do. But you know, it stopped being fun for me at all, and I let it go. ... then I restarted it, so obviously I missed it, and guess what... still me and my girlfriend. But we're enjoying it again, and that's what matters. As long as one person is still enjoying the site, and still believes in it, it's worth it to keep going. But if you look at it, and you think to yourself "Wow, this really just isn't fun anymore/this is basically a chore," then, I guess you're done. As I've said before and I'll keep saying: "Run the site you want to have, not the one you think you should." Sometimes, the site you want will be pretty much just you and a pal, and that's okay. But you'll really want that site and love it, quirks and craziness and all. If you don't think there's anything wrong with it, then, there's nothing wrong with it. Chin up. It's really just kinda random which sites get oodles of members anymore, and your member count is not and never has been a proper measure of either your site's success, or your ability as an admin. Insert usual "Have you had a review of it done because maybe there's a something obvious in your way," junk here. 1 1 1 4 I am the darkness, always watching, always listening, ALWAYS THERE. (If you're interested in Plain of Ice, message me, it's private. Bleach site, non-canon.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Libby 100 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 Yes, we're having a lot of fun, and we have absolutely no problem telling all the stories. I guess its just frustrating feeling like we're failing 😛 And yes, we've had a review done, and appreciated all the feedback we got. ❤️ Thanks! 1 The past is a place of reference, not residence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jones 177 Share Posted March 26, 2019 As long as you're having fun you're not failing! It's great when other people want to join in on our stories with us, but the measure of success is definitely our own happiness with the stories we tell on a site. Hang in there and your passion will eventually pay off one way or another. 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Muse 121 Popular Post Share Posted March 27, 2019 Slow and steady wins the race. We started Thorns: Uprising with a couple of admins and a handful of players with the express goal of staying small, intimate, and narrative-focused. We have no desire of becoming a huge site with hundreds of players each playing a fistful of characters. Yes, we have some big main chapter plots we'd like to play out that open up the world and tell a story, which we're sitting on right now because we'd like to grow a little, but we're also wanting to allow for player-led development and player-led plots. When it's only a handful of people writing, it can feel a little lonely, but I also believe that the "if you build it, they will come" saying is true. It took us a few months before we really started picking up players (we've been open a year this month), and to be fair, some of those original folks have come and gone. Keep talking about what you've got going on. Keep a few advertisements going. And if you keep the candle burning, you'll get some players! For now, though, make sure (like everyone else said) YOU are having fun. Because that's what you made the forum for anyway. 1 3 1 Thorns: Uprising A Unique Victorian Fantasy Play-by-Post RPG LORE | FORUM | CHARACTER CENSUS | WANTED ADS | DISCORD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spangles 35 Share Posted March 27, 2019 I feel you so much, right now. I'm about to open my own brand new, niche market, role play site. Like yourself, it's me and one other person. A third has expressed interest. Now, I plan to go about it in much the same way: adervtising on other sites, advertising on directories etc, etc. However, I'm going to take the time to work out Tumblr and start advertising there too. A lot of role players are coming over from Tumblr, these days. Also, new resource sites spring up frequently and it's always worth advertising on those. Anything just to get your site out there. I know it's a pain and highly frustrating. But just keep at it. There's bound to be someone out there with the same interests as you. Good luck! 2 1 HOME PLOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie 25 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Something I always tell my fellow staffmembers is the size of the site is not important, but the quality of story told is where I count our victories. As long as you are enjoying writing, keep doing it. When good people come by, get them involved, too. Keep doing it, keep yourself out there, because you never know when the flood might happen - or when your single awesome new addition comes by as a lone drop, for that matter. Don't compare yourself by the metrics of other site activity or memberlists. Only ask: am I proud of what I'm doing, and is it worth doing for me? 2 1 HOME | PLOT | RULES | ADVERTISE What the Future Holds, a newly opened post-Civil War MCU site with a world fighting to find its way, and entirely new mutant canon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Deacon Frost 196 Popular Post Share Posted March 28, 2019 So my friend @jordan and I are about to hit the 6 month mark on our board (link in the signature for those curious) and we've got a slowly rising population. But a lot of them aren't incredibly active because they have a lot of IRL stuff going on. And that's okay. They come on and post when they can and are talking to us semi-regularly in the discord. The ones who don't communicate with us, well, after a bit we'll clear out the inactive members to free up the face claims. But we have a solid core of a few regular players who are continually posting and so our board looks active. We're doing the same as you. Putting up advertisements and trying to spread the word. We welcome new players whenever they arrive and we try to make them comfortable to join. We have a pretty wide variety of characters but some people are turned off by the fact that the more powerful species you need to prove you're going to be active before you can claim one. We run IC contests and stuff to let players earn points and show they're having fun. Trying to make it a warm community. But one thing I have to keep reminding myself is not to get discouraged whenever someone joins and then leaves IT IS NOT MY FAULT. It's the nature of the RP community. People join, look around for a bit, start to make a character, then change their mind and ghost. I have to remind myself not to let that discourage me. I'm a little new to being an Admin so I'm kind of sensitive about it. But I am trying to keep myself active in the RP world and just gonna keep having fun. As long as we're having fun it's worth keeping going. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spangles 35 Share Posted March 28, 2019 3 hours ago, Spirit Caller said: But one thing I have to keep reminding myself is not to get discouraged whenever someone joins and then leaves IT IS NOT MY FAULT. It's the nature of the RP community. People join, look around for a bit, start to make a character, then change their mind and ghost. I have to remind myself not to let that discourage me. I'm a little new to being an Admin so I'm kind of sensitive about it. This entirely! I'd been roleplaying for years before I opened my first site. And while just a regular member of other boards, I didn't really notice just how many people joined only to vanish soon afterwards. If I did, I pretty much forgot them as quickly as they poofed and carried on as normal. But, when it was my site, I thought it must have been something I said, or did, or my site sucked and I should pack it in etc, etc. You're absolutely right, though. It is just the nature of what we do. HOME PLOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Libby 100 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 I think its that frustration of having to repeat "It's ok to wait for the right players." This is our first step outside of a popular genre (up to this point I've run almost exclusively supernatural/wolf type games) When we started the project we wanted to do something new and different for a reason. It's just an adjustment going from a game that could easily attract 30+ people in its first week to something that you slow burn the kind of writer that wants the 'different' angle. We have, however, realized that game to game ads aren't yielding enough prospective players for the time/effort cost. Resource sites (like this one) seem to be far far more effective. So I'm hoping we can switch up our efforts to help get the word out. I am curious about tumblr ads, I haven't seen this but I do love tumblr so... Help me obi wan, you're my only hope! 1 The past is a place of reference, not residence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Operations Mod Dragon 673 Operations Mod Share Posted March 28, 2019 1 hour ago, Libby said: I am curious about tumblr ads, I haven't seen this but I do love tumblr so... Help me obi wan, you're my only hope! There are a lot of tumblr pages dedicated to RP ads. Twitter is also a pretty good ad source through following the various resource sites and updating what's going on with your site. 1 Icon & Profile set by The Inquisitor of Dragon Age: Absolution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sage 289 Share Posted March 30, 2019 Honestly - if you're 3 months in without a bite, you should reassess the way you're advertising. Tumblr and Discord can bring in a lot of traffic. Throw your affiliate button into your signature on resource sites. Get on Twitter. And give your site something that really makes it stand out from the others in that niche category (i.e. a forum feature or something fun). My site just opened and, prior to opening, we had exclusively advertised through tumblr and discord. We've been open less than a week and we already have 26 members. Most of them came around before/into our soft opening. Now who knows if they'll stick around, but hey, it works! Game to game ads, while they yield a small return, aren't something you should give up on. But also look into affiliates. People love to click a cute button, so make sure yours is real cute. 1 a dark, urban fantasy; inspired by sailor moon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusk 106 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Someone needs to write a guide to tumblr advertising lol Keep playing amongst yourselves! Talk about your site. Join discussions. Watch "looking for" rp ads on resource sites. I almost always find an influx of players when I've answered ads like that. Not always the person I reply to, but people notice that you are actively looking for members rather than being passive about. But make sure you are thoughtful in doing this. As a member I find it distasteful when sites plug their ad even though it is against what the player is requesting. If you don't ping all the checks, still try, but when your site flies in the face of all of them, move on. And keep on having fun! Its why we open our sites, isn't it? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sage 289 Share Posted April 2, 2019 I totally agree with what @dusk said! Be intentional about the way you go after new members. Ngl, when I'm looking for new sites, I'll browse other people's "looking for" requests. Also - join some directories and actually update your ads regularly. Don't just post in a directory and let it sit. Set calendar reminders or something so you remember to go around and do the things. a dark, urban fantasy; inspired by sailor moon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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