Staffing TIPS for lone newcomers trying to get their site on its wings...?

[Kieran 15]

I thought I'd start this here as a discussion instaed of posting on a site review board, because I'm sure  I'm not the first or the last one in this situation - as in I believe this topic might serve better as a Tips topic / discussion. So I'm not asking anyone to review or analyse my site or anything like that - juts to ponder on this topic and share whatever tips or experiences they may have.

How to get a site on its wings in a fandom that has tons of competition, when the site is clearly an underdog in two major matters?
- The admin is a newcomer and thus doesn't have a group of friends to kick-start the site with as in can't hold a candle to the shit-tons of sites with numerous players, when it comes to activity level.
- The site is not set in the currently popular era setting of the fandom.

In my personal case, things I've done so far:

* Run the site for almost nine months, so it shouldn't suffer too much from being new, as in people probably should by now trust that it's not going anywhere any time soon. If not for the age alone, at least in relation to how much time and work I've put into it.

* Been an active admin, (on average several updates every month) but the game's universe is already so established I'm running out of stuff to do. As I'd rather not pull pointless threads/updates out of my ass just to have something new pop up all the time because then it would also start to look stupid/low-quality. I'd rather keep posting updates and development that have some substance and usefulness.

* Generally tried to show that I myself am excited and inspired about the game, and a friendly admin.

* Posted my writing samples in the bios of a couple of my characters so people can see my writing style and level even without diving into the in-game areas, which they of course can also do.

* Advertised it actively in several directories, kept the ads updated regularly, have it on a couple of Top lists, my signatures on the fandom's discussion forums, gathered some affiliates and board ad exchanges, founded a Facebook page, even gone out of the RPG community over to general creative writing communities to advertise.

* Put up a few Wanted Ads of substance for those who'd like to have a link with characters rather than randomly create one. Also posted those Wanted Ads on several RPG and creative writing communities and the fandom sites, and not just on my site. And actively bumped it to surface. (It has two or three fans at Fanpop's Harry Potter club, which is how I'm sure it's not a total failure as a Wanted Ad.)

* Allow both canon and original characters, both equally valued.

* While my site has a lot of established lore, I have made clear that it's not all manadtory to read before joining if ever - and provided a list of links to the bits that are mandatory which are not that much. As in, the amount of lore that a visitor would have to read in the end is not much more than on any other site in the fandom. It's also very easy and light to navigate through the lore.

* Have normal, basic rules and nothing bizzare or limiting.

* Made a couple of video trailers which are publicly viewable on YouTube and DailyMotion.

* Tried to keep it relatively active in game posting, seeing to that there is only I and one other player. Hence, it can't be anywhere near the same level as sites that already have numerous players, especially not constantly.

* Have a colourful cast of original characters already in the game.

* Posted welcoming and friendly general discussion thread on the OOC area, to show that I do wish it to become a nice community and not just a gaming community - including that you don't have to be a pöayer yet to participate and start OOC discussions and so on.

* Been discussing (semi)-actively on a couple of RPG Directories with my site attached to my signature, referring to it in discussions whenever see the chance and suggested it in RPG request threads other people post whenever it fits their request at all.

* Some three weeks ago I moved the site over to a better forum host and increased the rating to free-for-all / 3-3-3.

* Started to send a friendly and useful Welcoming private message to newly registered, in effort to make sure they feel I acknowledge and appreciate their interest in my site and that they feel personally welcomed and a part of the community from the very start.

^
All of that, and still we have only one player in addition to me. An awesome, relatively active player - but still only one - (while we're both mature adults with a life outside RPing) - which naturally makes it that much harder for us to provide enough activity to withstand the competition in activity terms. Especially when the era isn't popular as in isn't in itself drawing people in. Since we moved and increased the rating to free-for-all we've had a couple of new registered members but they haven't logged in since the day they registered.

So - what else can an admin do? How on earth could one get visitors excited and inspired to join and become active members?
I never imagined it would be this damn difficult to get a site on its wings in a large international community and popular fandom  - where by all means should be enough individuals to find different eras interesting and inspireing as well as to find a lot of lore useful. I'm not giving up, though - I'm not even dreaming of it. I've worked way too hard on ths site, and its era as well as my characters there are very important and dear to me.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Kieran

[Red Star 6]

Hi! I will admit I'm no pro when it comes to getting big sites going. Sites that I have adminned in teh past generally end up with 3-5 members and no more than that. But, combining advice I've gotten from other people with things I've learned on my own. 

 

--post your ad on every single rpg directory you can find. There are SO MANY out there, with different people on them. Post on all of them. And get your site's affiliate button in your signature for all of them (assuming that's allowed in the directory's rules, respectably), and participate in RP discussion on all of them when time permits. 

 

--Find directories that offer reviews of your RP site, and ask for reviews from people. Get several different opinions, see which things people repeatedly mention could be improved, and then improve that.

 

--I've had some peole say that getting a new skin/prettier skin sometimes helps attract guests better. People like shiny new things. 

 

--I know a lot of people swear that they've never once gotten a new member based on an ad that they posted randomly in the ad section of another site. BUT, I know I have personally joined several sites based on ads I found randomly like that, and in the past a majority of my members came from random ad posts. So, I would recommend (if you're not alreayd, I didn't see it listed), make an advertisement for your site and post it on 5-10 forums, whenever you have the time or opportunity. It's arduous but for me it has paid off in the past. 

 

--Try and make sure you're right there in the cbox as often as possible. Sometimes all it takes for someone to walk away from a site without joining is to say "Hi cbox!" and get no immediate answer. It's silly on their part for judging the activity of a site based on the cbox, but soooo many people do.

 

That's what I got for now! Hope some part of it was helpful.

[Kieran 15]

Thanks!

Yeah, I have posted an ad to every single RPG directory that I've come across that has accepted it - (there was one that didn't because we use play-bys who are under the age of 13 in the photos and one is meant for JCink forums only.) I guess I should hunt for more, there probably are.
I do discuss in three out of five directories that I have joined and I really don't have time for more + the two I don't discuss in, don't have active discussions going on anyway. Literally, no one or barely anyone is active on their RP discussion forums.

And yep, I did mention board advertisement exchanges as in I've had several come post their ad on my board and I've gone to post mine on theirs in turn.

But I see I did forget to list that I actually have already asked for reviews/board analysis from several people and made adaptations/changes according to them.

I changed the skin only a few weeks ago, and I believe it's pretty enough for now though I do feel it could use some polishing. But yeah, I do change ths skins of my sites from time to time.

But a cBox didn't work for us. I did offer it for 8 months because from general RPG community discussions on directories it seemed like people want a cBox on a site, but I decided to drop it when we moved three weeks ago because IcyBoards currently doesn't have a cBox plug-in and almost no one used the box after all. Approximately three people out of several hundreds of visitors posted anything in it during all those months, each only once, and stuff that they could've just as well posted on the Suggestions & Questions board or the Affiliates thread. As in, I came to decision it's pointless when no one is using it for chatting, and barely anyone even for questions. Also, I want people to join my site because they like and are inspired by the site - not because of a cBox in any way.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Kieran

[Rune 1,099]

I've helped get a handful of sites off the ground, including a few of my own. This is directed at new sites in general, not just yours. 

 

In my experience the following are helpful:

 

Advertise - Get word out. Don't worry about genre or board type. Drop your ad on any site you can. Don't spam the same board, but post it on different boards. This includes directories (though, I've seen luck with this varying.)

 

Post. Make sure you have characters approved and active on the board. Post open threads. Be around.

 

Have standards. Don't look for staff and accept the first person that comes along. Yes, running it on your own can be tough but tough it out for a couple months, then look at allowing someone that has been around for a while moderate (then later admin if you want.) I've watched boards die because they throw staff at someone they just met and that person screws them over.

 

Establish how things are done. Don't cave to people going against what you have set up just because you want members. If you're an animanga site and someone wants to app with a RW face, don't allow it just to add a +1 to your member base. The same goes for anyone thats trying to push the boundaries of what you're comfortable with lore wise. Once you allow it, its how things happen and it will continue to be allowed. Taking things away is far harder than giving them.

 

Plan ahead. Have at least 1 event, contest or happening set up for your site's first six months. It gives people something to be excited for and lets newbies know you're looking at the long term. It doesn't have to be a site changing plot, a simple temporary scene (ball, festival, etc) for people to RP where they might not otherwise can be enough.

 

Don't give up. People join new sites and leave within days. It's discouraging, I know, but don't let it get to you. Keep trying. Unless your site is just too niche or there's some other grand flaw, there's probably several someones out there eager to be involved. I've seen so many sites close within weeks (or days) of opening because they don't explode into 40+ members right off the bat. It's a slow process. Everyone starts somewhere.

 

Don't spread yourself too thin. Don't set yourself up to run multiple new sites at once, a twitter for each, a tumblr for each, work full time and RP.

 

Don't bemoan the lack of members in public. Don't complain about your current members, other sites, how hard it is, etc in public. (Namely, the Cbox if you have one.) This turns me off of sites so fast. If the admin are losing steam, why should I bother?

 

Explain how things work. If I go to a site and can't figure out how to join, I'm not going to bother. Look at your site from a guest's perspective or send it to someone unfamiliar with your site and see if they can figure it out (the site critique board here might help?)

 

I'm sure I'll think up more, but I'm out of time at the moment.

[Alicia 0]

I agree with what everyone else says - directories, advertising, and a friendly face.  I have the same issue as you and while I had a good base of roleplaying friends, you always want your site to grow!

[Guest Archaic Cyborg]

Do what makes you comfortable and happy, inspired to play in your own game! Don't force yourself to write ______ or utilise ______ if it makes RP a chore for you, if it makes you dread logging into your own site, etc. 

 

Don't think that you have to please everyone: it's impossible. Stick to your vision of the site; it's not the end of the world if a few guests have a whinge about XYZ aspects of your game. If your site doesn't allow kemonomimi/catgirls/dragons, and someone is dying to play one despite your game being a Real Life Crime setting? Too bad, find an appropriate game, guest! No game out there can cater to absolutely everybody; that'll set you up for disappointment as people will keep asking for more and more 'do this for me and me only!' demands.

 

Ignore member and guest count. People will come and go all the time~. Just enjoy what you have, don't devote yourself to 4+ threads for each new player, don;t take on staff jobs when other staff should be doing it, etc~.

 

If there's an issue, discuss it in private. Don't act on impulse; if you can, think on what you intend to say/do, later. Give yourself an hour or so to do other things and come back to the problem, just in case you think of a more appropriate action. Leave personal feelings out of the equation, in addition to friendships, 'so and so did X months ago, I haven't forgotten' and so forth. :E

[KONYA 0]

One thing I think helps a lot (but not necessarily in the "how do I get more members" sense) is to be open to the fact that your (general you) site might just be a small site. There's nothing wrong with a RP with only a handful of members! I ran a site for three years with only myself and two others. We were pretty damn active, and it was a whole lot of fun. I feel like a lot of the time, admins take on all this stress and anxiety about their sites, their rules, their roleplay styles, because they don't see them paying off through attaining lots of members. But imo these things pay off if even one person is interested in playing in what you've built.

 

The right mindset with the right admin/team goes a long way to making a site successful and last. If you're comfortable and happy, it shows. It shows through your love and dedication and that does communicate itself to the wider community and to anyone who might just be lurking on your site. There's always someone who joins after weeks or even months of just hovering around, waiting for the right time, there's always the people who joined and left because life got too much who come back once things have settles. Perseverance and dedication are what makes a site, and while it can be harder on us single staffers than it might be on a close-knit team, it's still definitely attainable! 

 

I have the same thing with being a solo staffer in a genre dominated by large sites with built in member bases. But I love my site all the same c: Good luck with your site!!

[Coley 2]

I agree that there is no exact formula to getting members. It takes time and it's not always easy but you seem to have nailed the most important part - perseverance. You appear to be devoted to making your site work. You are in a bit of a niche which will make it more difficult. Your genre has a lot of competition but you can look at your era choice as something that makes you unique. Your site appears to be more writing oriented. When writing an ad, focus on this things you are looking for. There are certain kinds of advertising that are better than others but I stand by the fact that its all good exposure. Keep doing what you are doing, continue to be patient, reply to RPG requests on the directories daily/weekly/whenever you can. Those are a great resource because you already know they are looking for a site and you get a chance to sell yours too them! Good luck!

[iReadYerMind 2]

As someone who has been trying to get a new RP off the ground, I think these tips are very helpful!

 

I've personally done all of these things for this group, but I have still never been able to get more than a handful of members for a forum before.  Seeing how many of you are saying that it's OK to have just a few people is encouraging.  I can relate to feeling like a failure just because my group doesn't have 20+ people playing.  So thanks for that!

 

One thing I can recommend that I haven't seen here: share your site on facebook with your friends.  "Birds of a feather flock together," as they say, and it's entirely likely that someone you already know is into forum RP but has never mentioned it - OR - your friends have friends that enjoy it and would consider joining.  Just make sure to set your share to "public" so that others outside your friend network can see!