What do you do to keep new members around?

[Sammiie 40]

As RP admins or owners, we all kinda know when someone's gonna stick around solely by the way they interact with others or how eager they are to jump into the roleplay. There's players that join up, write a great character app, jump right into the Discord and start plotting and building relationships right away; and then there are those other people who seem really promising, but when their character gets approved, they make like one open thread and then are never seen again. I can't help but feel like I've failed these people in some way by not providing a great experience to keep them on. 

 

What's your best advice for reeling in not-so-enthusiastic members? How do you make a new member stick around that is maybe not so sure about your board?

 

Or, through a new member perspective, what are some things that you look for as a member that will make you stick around longer? 

 

[Kazetatsu 263]

As a member some communities don't really mesh well. Like they could be doing everything to be welcoming, but I might not feel like I fit in enough to stick around. Other times is disillusionment. I might get excited about an aspect of the site, but my experience in the few threads I join, or the players I speak to makes me feel like I'm not going to get what I want out of the rp.

 

Usually it's a mix of factors that create these feelings. community communication styles, cliques, which threads become popular, an rp style that I can't adjust to, trying to create a plot and being brushed off or finding radio silence, finding no variety in the plot (like only romance, or only war and nothing else),  and sometimes just low commitment to begin with cause ultimately I'm probably shopping around and not yet sold on a site.

 

I look for a culture that's flexible, willing to play with me rather than tell me to play by their script, willing to plot with me, get excited about what I have to bring in, and help me find my place there, or if I don't engage oocly, cause I sometimes am shy, I'm looking for open threads that get not just one but two, three, even more players, and are able to build into plots rather than being drama from the get go, or falling flat. If I'm playing a difficult characters which I also often do, I'm looking for characters to be icly flexible and not just give up or avoid mine when mine are being hard to work with or a bit avoidant.  

As a staffer I try to be the person that I'd want to encounter to welcome me into an rp. I try to be involved in creating the culture I'd want to be welcomed into, and in intentionally engaging with players who are a little more difficult to plot with. I was the sort of person who'd join any and all open threads, and I had several supporting characters who's role was really just to bridge the gap, provide a little ic orientation if needed, and introduce the new member to other characters and plots, kind of like a designated greeter. they also existed to bridge plot gaps, giving characters a means to travel or a possible way out if a situation took a bad turn early on.

 

you'll still lose some people however. People are looking for different things, and will still flake off depending on their criteria. try to build a site where you, if you looked at it as a new potential member would find welcoming. try and create a culture that feels welcome to the sort of player you want to have stick around. also don't lose hope. these things take a lot of work after all.

[Rugs 63]

I, and I think our staff and members generally, do what we can to make new people feel welcome and to be as friendly as possible. Answer questions, be responsive -- generally treat them the same way we'd want to be treated upon joining a new community. I know I will usually try to reach out to new people if they're looking for threads or if I notice they haven't been able to find one, for whatever reason, and other members do the same.

 

But no matter what you do, some people will drift off. Might be a lack of long-term interest, might feel they don't quite fit in, or it may be some real life circumstances arise and pull them away. Through the years I've learned you can't make people stay if they don't want to (and if you could, if it got to that point, you probably shouldn't want to anyway.)  Just the nature of the beast with online communities.

 

[msfoxtrott 25]

I try to be the first one to say hi to newbies. Hi, how you doing, what questions do you have, what character will you make, so on and so forth if they're sociable. Anything to strike up a conversation, because if my stupid retail job taught me anything, it's that talking to customers increases the likelihood of a sale.

 

From there, there are too many factors at play to give blanket advice. Like others said above, sometimes people just don't click. Your site's culture may not be for everyone. That's one thing you can't help. (unless your site is genuinely toxic, in which case, Stop It)

 

As a member, I'm most likely to app-and-abscond on a site where I can't fit in. I understand there's cliques on every site--that's an unavoidable consequence of normal human interaction. But I'm talking about a site that I genuinely cannot make connections on. People don't say hi, people don't ask how you're doing, sites where it feels... closed. I admit, I can be a little much sometimes, but at least say hi, right? P:

[Sammiie 40]

Thank you, guys! 

 

We generally try to be welcoming, kind, and helpful to any new person that hops into our Discord Server, and I think we mostly do a pretty good job with that; however, something I think we can work on is reaching out and plotting with new people. That might be a factor that'd help keep some of our newer players on board.

[Jaxx 317]

So I'm going to preface this by saying that I don't go out of my way to reel in wishy-washy members. Because if someone needs constant encouragement to be active, then what happens when I'm too busy to be their cheerleader? And if they're on the fence, I'd rather they leave now instead of deciding weeks or months (and plenty of started threads) down the road that we're not what they're looking for after all. Because I'm not going to be pissed at them either way, but I think it's more considerate towards the people on the site if unenthused people flake out earlier rather than later. 

 

And people leave for a variety of reasons. Maybe they didn't realise my site had something that was a dealbreaker for them until after they were applied. Maybe they lost muse or real life got busy, and they wanted to just slip out the back door instead of telling anyone since they hadn't gotten tpp involved with the site yet. There are dozens of reasons why people leave, I'm sure, and honestly it's probably because of them rather than your site. One thing I've noticed said by several people is that they didn't notice how flaky the general rpc was until they started staffing and were responsible for cleaning things up after someone left. 

 

Our Discord has those little welcome messages enabled (I can't remember the name off the top of my head) and that new message ping generally brings in a few people to say hi. I'll say hello, ask them how they're doing, and if they reply I'll then ask them how they found us or what interested them in joining. Make them feel welcome and like I'm paying attention to them. And whether they're just looking around or know for sure what they're joining with, I say I'll be around to answer any questions or help out if they need me. People seem to respond pretty well to it, I've had some positive comments but never any complaints. 

 

I do a few things that I think helps people integrate into the site after they're accepted. When someone's character gets approved, I post an @everyone in our Discord's announcement channel with a little blurb hyping up the character, and a link to their app. So that way people not only know that there's a new character around, they get a vague idea of what they are even without looking at the app. Which I feel is kinda like putting up posters for an event - there might not be a whole lot of info but it's enough to get some interested generated!

 

And then when they post their shipper, I'll jump in and offer a couple threads or ideas. If I have a site event or plot in mind, I'll DM people about a role their character could play, or post an open announcement that people could sign their characters up in. Because honestly, a site will follow an admin's lead. If you're excited to see a new character, and reaching out to do things with them - so will your memberbase. I think the two key things in getting people to stay are 1) making them feel welcome and 2) giving them an easy foothold on the site. 

[Sophie Hatter 38]

On 4/6/2019 at 1:30 PM, Jaxx said:

So I'm going to preface this by saying that I don't go out of my way to reel in wishy-washy members. Because if someone needs constant encouragement to be active, then what happens when I'm too busy to be their cheerleader? And if they're on the fence, I'd rather they leave now instead of deciding weeks or months (and plenty of started threads) down the road that we're not what they're looking for after all. Because I'm not going to be pissed at them either way, but I think it's more considerate towards the people on the site if unenthused people flake out earlier rather than later. 

 

And people leave for a variety of reasons. Maybe they didn't realise my site had something that was a dealbreaker for them until after they were applied. Maybe they lost muse or real life got busy, and they wanted to just slip out the back door instead of telling anyone since they hadn't gotten tpp involved with the site yet. There are dozens of reasons why people leave, I'm sure, and honestly it's probably because of them rather than your site. One thing I've noticed said by several people is that they didn't notice how flaky the general rpc was until they started staffing and were responsible for cleaning things up after someone left. 

 

 

this is pretty much what i came in to say. don't spend too much time on the people who don't seem completely into it. that energy should be going toward the members that are putting in work and actively participating on the site. i see admins worry so much about what they could have, they ignore what they do have. tbh i think that's part of the reason some sites close so quick after not getting the reception they wanted, even though they have at least two other members actively posting.

 

people who are flaky are going to flake. that isn't saying to ignore them completely. sending out a message or a shout out to them when they seem to be flaking might just be the thing they needed to get back on board. maybe they lost the link, or were feeling like this wasn't a right fit - letting them know you liked their app and telling them that you hope they're still around can go a long way.

 

for me, i always try to let new members know what i liked about their apps or their characters. on my site, that's been really easy - i've been getting so many beautifully written apps and characters that i want to gush about them all! but my site is knew, and it's easier to reach out and pay more individual attention. for older sites, that might be difficult depending on the memberbase.

 

still, i think going that extra mile is worth it. players can join any board out there. showing them that it matters that they joined my site and that they're not just a number is important.

[wilde 14]

On 4/6/2019 at 1:30 PM, Jaxx said:

When someone's character gets approved, I post an @everyone in our Discord's announcement channel with a little blurb hyping up the character, and a link to their app. So that way people not only know that there's a new character around, they get a vague idea of what they are even without looking at the app. Which I feel is kinda like putting up posters for an event - there might not be a whole lot of info but it's enough to get some interested generated!

 

This is BRILLIANT, and so straightforward that I'm legit embarrassed that it never occurred to me. Definitely stealing it from here on out.

[StormWolfe 557]

My sites are very small and the core group tends to play in each of my 3 games. We love getting new people! Our group tends to be friendly and encouraging without being pushy. The goal is to make the new person feel included without forcing them to interact more than they are comfortable with.

 

However, I do not jump through hoops to keep someone that has clearly lost interest or has decided our site is not for them. After all, they did the jumping through hoops to create a character and get it into play. We can offer threads with the character, help them get oriented to the current stories, and generally do what we can to be helpful. We cannot force someone to respond or stay. At the end of the day, it is up to each player to help keep their character active.

[ammut 42]

I do the pretty typical things: greet everyone, ask how they are, what character ideas they have, etc. I can usually tell who's there to stay and who isn't, though.

 

After they app, I usually try to post on their plotters so that other people will follow suit, or my other admin does. I think being an admin is a lot about setting an example, and usually it pans out. Sometimes, though, I just have too many threads or plots, and when that happens, I just try to put in a good word for the newbies to other players I talk to.