Membership How does one recruit members

[Leeann 0]

Hello, I need some advice from others. I am new to owning a RPG forum and recently opened it up to the public. I have been advertising like crazy, doing affiliates, and redid my skin to make the apperance of my site better. I am starting to get worried since I am not getting any traffic. I know things like this take time, but how does one recruit members? i even have a special event for it, but none of the current members who have joined seemed to be interested. 

 

Is there any advice or help someone could give me?

Edited March 10, 2016 by Leeann

[Guest Archaic Cyborg]

Show interest in your own site, which- while a given, is harder than it sounds. Guests can expect the staff to be available, 24/7, pretty much. I wouldn't advise pushing aside Real Life and other priorities, but as long as there's a 'visible' and active community, then guests should feel inclined to join! No one really wants to join a group where the staff are MIA most of the time; sad to say, timezones play a huge role, and a lot of guests assume that just a couple hours of no staff means the game is dead: when in fact the staff are asleep or at work~.

 

Post want ads, character example lists, plot ideas for any major IC roles (like guilds, turf wars, etc). Also, does the look of your ad(s) and the game itself look 'new', or does it offer what ever other game does? That's not to say it's a bad thing, or that you should post misleading information. An ad means everything to a guest, and it can be hard finding the right details to balance. I find that ads who are too abstract/irrelevant to the actual role-play are off-putting, because they don't tell the viewer anything. It's just a picture with random lyrics or a quote tacked on.

[Rune 1,099]

A thing I've seen a lot of new staff overlook is something that, you'd think, would be obvious.

 

Post.

 

If I go to your site, see you have 5 members and 0 IC posts, I'm going to assume that something is off. Even if its just you doing a couple open threads, that's never a bad thing. (Also, by the same logic, have your characters up before you open. I see so many sites with no characters listed but admin begging people to join. Join and do what? RP with no one, since you apparently have no characters?)

 

Having a clear list of available ranks (if any) or what your site is after (gender ratios, certain species, etc) can be helpful, too. Want ads, like BB said, are helpful, too, as some people look at these first for inspiration.

[Elena 546]

Besides what was said before - in how many directory sites is your site listed? Why don't you have a graphic link to your site in your signature, here and on other resource sites? By being active in the discussions on the site, curious people would click the graphic and visit your site, and maybe join.

 

How many of your friends have you invited on the site before the official opening, to have characters approved and stories ongoing when you open? Because nobody would join an inactive site...

 

Do you have a tumblr for your site? Have you posted in tumblr directories with it? A FB page that everyone can like and see the latest highlights of your site? (Tip: make the tumblr posts post themselves automatically on the FB page as well).

 

And first and foremost... be active with your core members you have invited to write on the site. Activity inspires activity...

[Leeann 0]

I am lucky cause I do have active staff excluding one cause he has cancer, but all of them I have known for a while and trust they are on once a day. I have characters already up and RPING but it's not much to go on. I know apperance plays a key role. It's just trying to get those members to join. They want an active site but how can a site grow without members?

 

I have recruited a few friends, but not much. Got a few active people  in terms of not staff and we're pretty quick as enough there is any issue and try to get it resolved. I see a lot of potential and want people to enjoy this as much as I do. Probably should finish the plot thread to explain what it's about. 

 

Got any other tips in terms of ads? Like any sort of things I should avoid like colors or mistakes often made in advertisements lIke misleading or too abstract/irrelevant?

[Morrigan 1,826]

Advertisements are dependent on the genre and what sort of people you are looking for. Having a rating and general premise is a must. For me I want the elevator version of your site (what you can say about your site in less than 30 seconds but reading). However, I'm a rapid fire poster and that's my like for sites so a short description is going to catch my attention so if you are looking for people that are going to want longer posts you may want a longer description and whatnot.

[Cloud 0]

Activity is key. No one wants to join a site that looks like it's struggling to breathe. With that being said, it takes good ole fashioned elbow grease. You just got to be persistent with spreading the word. Join awesome directory sites like this one. Make a signature people can use on other forums. join non-roleplay forums that relate to your roleplay forum so your signature is like an ad space there and advertise on EVERY roleplay forum that has an advertise section. 

 

You never know who is interested in what. 

 

It's like working a second job (or third in my case). Just got to be diligent and it'll pay off. Never give up, never surrender. 

[Leeann 0]

That's what I have started doing. I hope this helps and I do get kind of impatient on everything. Its a quality I hope that will improve since I get excited about RPing. Recently, the only sort of members are ones I have been friends with on other sites that were referred to mine since they're is falling apart or not as friendly to members with another staff members work. Those are the only sort members I seem to get. 

 

Thank you. I appricate the help to a newbie. 

[Bishop 172]

Be active. Be present. Be willing to listen. It took me a long time to really realize that some of the most important ways to find new people is just to constantly be a warm smile on the board. Even if no one is around, say hi in the cbox, bend to their wishes to include them. Don't let them walk over you no, but if someone really wants to play a female pirate and yeah they are rare...let them do it.

 

I also keep a planner just for my admin/rp life, and every Sunday I make sure to sit down for a few hours and just do as I'm doing now--help, bump ads, chat with my crew, and most of all reset before I dive into posts myself.

 

[Orchid 12]

Ads can be very hit or miss. I started with the basic IMAGE + BLURB + LINKS and got crap feedback. Then I put the image and blurb together in one actual image, added the four important links (plot, rules, FAQ, Advertising) and everything just suddenly exploded. It's about knowing where to advertise as well.

 

I'm not sure if it's a good practice or not, but brand new site, no one advertising, find a directory site with a lot of posts, skim through all the ads in the directory, and spam until your little heart gives out. Doing it in the middle to late evening seems to help as well. Early morning, not so much, and after midnight? You won't get many hits back. Mid hours, 3pm - 8pm seem to be prime time, from personal experience.

[Brocade 1]

Another key to creating an active site is simply being patient. I've seen a lot of situations where forum owners basically check out after a month with minimal membership gains and activity, thinking that they've failed or that their idea isn't viable. Sometimes it takes two-three months to start gaining members. I've noticed that once you get members that are going to stick around, they start to invite their friends. And that, in turn, bolsters interest from those that happen upon your site. 

 

It's also really easy to 'get lost' in trying to gain activity. It turns into a full-time job and burns you out before you can even enjoy your forum. Just relax, be active (like so many of the other great members here have mentioned), and learn. I can tell you that the larger your member base, the more work you generally have on your forum. Keep doing what you're doing, and take this slow time to learn how to streamline and simplify your work load. Also, you can always post a forum review request here and get some great advice from the RPG Initiative team.

Edited May 19, 2016 by Brocade
I cannot english today

[Mischief 2]

It can be tough and stressful for newbie Admin's to run their sites and getting new members. The best advice I could possibly give to you is, have faith in yourself. Post like a made woman/man, make plots with your fellow members. If you show initiative to your members that you already have, it looks good to guests. This is my opinion anyways just from looking at a guest perspective. Also have fun, enjoy the game that you've created. Try not to worry about getting new members right away, just advertise when you can, make some site wide events (even if nobody plays them right away) just keep them going. Eventually people will come in. Just have to be patient is all.