Muse 121 Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) Goodness, as a self-hosted phpBB forum, finding places to advertise on Tumblr and around the web seems a bit challenging. So many places seem Jcink-focused (or, worse yet, Jcink-ONLY). I'm not particularly gung-ho about advertising (we're small but growing, though I'd like to see more players trickle in so I'd like to get our name out there more), and I'm pretty laissez faire about linkbacks and affiliates (I do not have a forum on my site for others to advertise—is this really a necessary thing?). Anyway, I've scrolled through a few collections of "resources" for advertising and found that either 1) they're Jcink-only or 2) they're defunct, haven't updated in weeks/months/years. So, for all you folks who aren't running Jcink forums, how do you get the word out? I wanna pick yer brains. Edited March 31, 2019 by Muse 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...
Popular Post Kit the Human 759 Popular Post Share Posted April 1, 2019 There is no place on Tumblr to advertise on that allows both non-jcink sites and a site without a guest advertising section. Which is fine! As a fellow non-jcinker and no ad board, I wouldn't expect those places to provide a venue for me. I debate the efficacy of Tumblr because even if you maintain your own blog, posts with links in them may not appear in people's searches. I have managed to net a member through tumblr though. The post that got me a member was a plot wanted ad for a fandom. I did a manipulation that got reblogged a fair bit which was cool. Is it necessary to have an ad board? No. The members I might get is far outweighed by the amount of ads I need to drop. Some people swear by them though, it really depends on whether you believe the few members you may get is worth the effort. I wrote a guide on that here. I don't touch on it in my guide but it's worth mentioning here: even though I think that ad boards are inefficient (NOT that they never work or have zero merits, they're inefficient) I think that non jcink sites need to really consider if they want to narrow their avenue of getting members even more. The "I will only be a member on a jcink site"* crowd is real and not insignificant. Given that you have to work against the tide, you might consider adding to the number of tools you have at your disposal, rather than throwing them out. But like I said, I don't have an ad board. I should just post more often on resource sites to increase my site's visibility. Other things you can do: answering looking for rp ads. Also dropping character want ads on resource forums. Actively maintain your site directory listing. Write guides so that your helpfulness is preserved for posterity (phpbb focused guides are lacking!) Anyway, I hope that's a little bit helpful! I'm pretty relaxed about advertising too, but the nature of my site makes it easier for me to be chill about it. By the way, your site theme is so beautiful and soft. I want to cuddle it. * before anyone gets salty, I am only talking about members here, I am NOT talking about admins choosing what software they want to work with. 1 4 PSI: an Occult Investigations RP Roleplay Architects: Grab a friend (or many friends!) and just write. You can also find me at: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotPinkUnicornMess 51 Share Posted April 6, 2019 I recognize the huge versatility and vast usefulness of jclink for RP boards. That said, I don't run one and don't stipulate what kind of software can be advertised on my website--other than it has to be about Role Play. I have used SMF, phpBB, tried MyBB (Never tried jclink and I am probably missing out) and never judge an RP site by what software they use. I am not about limiting community. I think that, in my PERSONAL opinion, we as role players and we as role play website owners need to be more inclusive with community, especially about sharing or helping one another out, especially when it comes to slightly increasing the chance of sharing members. It's not Us or Them. It's US. Period. I get a little frustrated when I see forums stipulating "x software/forums/websites only" for advertising, but it is what it is. I haven't had any luck with Tumblr. Every RP advertising community I come across appears to be dead and or inactive or maybe I am just old and yelling at the wrong clouds. (Searching/finding the wrong listings.) Anyway. There was a point to this post. I hope it's in here somewhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Sea 326 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Have you had any luck advertising on Reddit? Glub glub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotPinkUnicornMess 51 Share Posted April 6, 2019 6 minutes ago, Deep Sea said: Have you had any luck advertising on Reddit? This may not be directed at me, but I will reply because why not--as far as I know--no. I haven't had anyone tell me they came from my reddit advertisements, nor do they get any comments/much interaction. I'm not going to know it, though. It's a place to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit the Human 759 Share Posted April 7, 2019 1 hour ago, GreaterRealms said: I think that, in my PERSONAL opinion, we as role players and we as role play website owners need to be more inclusive with community, especially about sharing or helping one another out, especially when it comes to slightly increasing the chance of sharing members. It's not Us or Them. It's US. Period. I think that's your point 💖 Anyway @GreaterRealms have you tried Google Analytics? It can help you track where your users are coming from. Straight up though, no matter what my advertising technique was, my single greatest source of members has always been roleplay directories. Which makes sense, they're a tool designed to help users find your site and I believe it's the first port of call for the majority of roleplayers out there. 2 PSI: an Occult Investigations RP Roleplay Architects: Grab a friend (or many friends!) and just write. You can also find me at: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothic 307 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Roleplay directories are a big one. There is also sigs and word of mouth that help to promote the site, too. If I read what people say in directories, you can get a pretty good feel for what they would be like as an admin and then go from there. It was how I found @Kit the Human's site. 1 2 Active, fun, established 2008! Come join us. Aeterna Roma Sites I am on; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muse 121 Author Share Posted April 9, 2019 On 3/31/2019 at 9:39 PM, Kit the Human said: Other things you can do: answering looking for rp ads. Also dropping character want ads on resource forums. Actively maintain your site directory listing. Write guides so that your helpfulness is preserved for posterity (phpbb focused guides are lacking!) Anyway, I hope that's a little bit helpful! I'm pretty relaxed about advertising too, but the nature of my site makes it easier for me to be chill about it. By the way, your site theme is so beautiful and soft. I want to cuddle it. * before anyone gets salty, I am only talking about members here, I am NOT talking about admins choosing what software they want to work with. Currently, my player base is really, really good at answering each others' want ads, which makes us rather self-sustaining, and I'm so not complaining about that one bit. I'm not dissatisfied with our player population, but, you know, it's okay to grow ... eventually. I appreciate your insight on options, and, much like you, I'm pretty chill about it. I'm very much in the mindset of "if you write it, they will come." We keep writing awesome words and maintain a friendly, welcoming, plot-happy community, and the right people will fall right in when they find us. I suppose it's just the graphic designer in me that thinks I would be telling people through advertising somehow. LOL. Aw. You can cuddle my theme all you want. Thank you! I'm a huge fangirl of your code work, to be fair. Ridiculously so. 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...
Muse 121 Author Share Posted April 9, 2019 So, uh, anyone wanna start a Tumblr RP Advertising site that's unitarian about forum RP? Oh? Me? Fine. Also, I've put a post on Reddit once. Maybe. A year ago. And I'd love to advertise here, but I'm not changing my whole aesthetic for a button with a logo on it. Yep. I'm stubborn, too. It's those little things (like an advertisement board that's open to everyone, etc.) that keep me from jumping all in to some advertising options, so I guess I'm doing some of this to myself. 1 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...
Muse 121 Author Share Posted April 9, 2019 On 4/6/2019 at 7:25 PM, Deep Sea said: Have you had any luck advertising on Reddit? I haven't put much effort into Reddit, to be fair. Have you? 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...
Deep Sea 326 Share Posted April 9, 2019 9 hours ago, Muse said: I haven't put much effort into Reddit, to be fair. Have you? I've gotten one or two hits off it, I haven't put in the effort to advertise every week like some GMs do though. 1 Glub glub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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