Samantha 64 Share Posted December 18, 2017 What is the best way you've found to advertise? Which ones actually seem to work and what do you think is a waste of time? Personally, I think the biggest waste of time is advertising on other RP sites in their link backs or anything like that. I think that's because I just assume since I never checked out any of the sites that posted in the advertising board on sites I was just a member on I assume most other people don't look at it either. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uaithne 543 Share Posted December 18, 2017 I like to look for sites that are like mine and affiliate. Or I use the "rp request" area on some forums. I think that posting in advertising forums on roleplays can be a waste of time, but sometimes I get curious about sites I see over and over from around various RP communities and I'll go check them out. Plus there are certain site genres I will always check out when I see them in the advertising areas on my forum or on others'. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quell 249 Share Posted December 18, 2017 I've never done a survey, so I don't know how well each work. Ark advertises on Tumblr, directories, other rp sites, and top sites. We also have quite a few affiliates. When I look for sites though, I usually look at directories, then I click through their affiliates and link backs. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 64 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 @Uaithne - Yeah, I think once we get our new skin I'm going to look more into affiliating with other sites, because we haven't ever really tried to go out and get affiliates. I like the RP Requests, but honestly, I won't reply if the thread already has 2 pages of replies by the time I get there. I just assume that they've probably found something they like at that point. Also, I always try and make my replies to RP requests as personalized as possible and it just requires a certain kind of motivation for me that I don't have all the time. But with our advertising board, I've told my co-admin more than once that I would be completely fine deleting it if it wasn't such a staple for all RP sites. And every now and then I might go through and check some of them out (it's funny because on here I'll see people advertising their site in their signature and I'll be like "Oh hey, I know that site, they advertised on Sin lol) but I never do link backs. @Thyme I usually try and ask new members how they found the site just to have some kind of gauge. A lot of people say topsites and whatnot but we haven't been super active with voting lately, but a lot of people also just say they did a good search lol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Morrigan 1,826 Admin Share Posted December 18, 2017 They all work to varying degrees. The highest return rate that I've seen. is normally from advertising in RPG Searches or from wanted ads. I have joined many a site based on wanted ads/canon lists. 4 Profile set made by myself and original Artwork by Fae Merriman, my daughter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rune 1,099 Share Posted December 18, 2017 I have thoughts on this: I've never had anyone join from a directory (that has stuck around/told me so.) Most luck I've had is with adverts or word of mouth. 1 1 1 Heart of the Community 2018 Cry Wolf - 18+ AU Mercy Thompson (Urban Fantasy) RP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Kitten 200 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Most of my best crew have come from word of mouth. Most of the people who've come to me via directories have been an utter wash out (there's one directory in particular that every person who came from them ranged from a dud to a hot mess, not one of them worked out). To be honest, I've only had two people come to me from directories with any staying power. The first was from some directory that didn't require a link back and didn't allow me to bump my ad, so it was one and done. She's been a mixed bag (good writer, when she's focused, but very flighty on her focus). The other one came from here and she's been amazing (hi @Zahara!). So I only really worry about directories for the community surrounding them, and the bump to my google index rating. I do have a few select affiliates. Maybe if I was a little more open about who I affiliate with, I'd see a little more activity from them, but everyone I'm affiliated with I consider a friend, so I'm not worried about how effective they are at pulling people in for me. I <3 my affiliates (hi @Rune, @ohsith, and @lola_shvarek!) Honestly the best payoff I've seen, outside of word of mouth, has been making friends on a non-RP discord. But even that has been just more potentials moving through, and not so much people signing up. I've still seen more "foot traffic" from that in the about a month I've been listed in their FAQ than I've gotten from any of the other advertising I've done. But unless some of them start sticking, it may still end up a wash. I also have a twitter account that's set up with ifttt to automagically post when a new mission log releases, and we see a little bit of activity on there, but no converts to join. I perhaps don't spam that enough to remind our followers that we're an RP that's always looking for new people, but I try to engage people on there regularly. If Twitter made it easier for me to throw money at them over mobile (oh, and kicked the nazis off), I might have better luck there. 3 Captain Amelia Waterhouse, Commanding Officer =/\= Join =/\= Roster & Openings =/\= Rules =/\= Chat =/\= "It is human nature to yearn to be what we were never intended for. It is singular, but it is so." -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 64 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 35 minutes ago, Death Kitten said: Most of my best crew have come from word of mouth. Stupid question, but how do you get the word of mouth out there? lmao 30 minutes ago, Death Kitten said: Most of the people who've come to me via directories have been an utter wash out (there's one directory in particular that every person who came from them ranged from a dud to a hot mess, not one of them worked out). I know that two of my most active members came from replying to RP requests on RPG-D. One of them is a staff member now and is basically a godsend ( @Renya ). She's also basically a robot because I have no other explanation for her being able to be an awesome staff member, have 26 characters or something outrageous like that (and be active with literally every single one of them) AND be on two other sites. She's an actual machine and I love her to death. I will say that those two really seem to be the exceptions and not the rule. I had one person join through an RP request that I responded too and she seemed totally normal and down to earth and seemed like a good fit. But not two days on our site and she was convinced everyone was out to get her, went on random rants in the chat that just left everyone speechless and confused and yeah... It was bad (weirdly amusing, but still bad). lol Quote I've still seen more "foot traffic" from that in the about a month I've been listed in their FAQ than I've gotten from any of the other advertising I've done. But unless some of them start sticking, it may still end up a wash. 1 I'm confused by this lol. Can you explain what you mean by this? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Kitten 200 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Word of mouth is just that. When my crew are happy, they tell their friends who might be interested, and the friends show up and check out my game. My current XO joined because my former XO recommended the game to her. She told her wife and their mutual friend, both of which joined (sadly, her wife recently decided she doesn't have the time anymore, but she was great while she was a member, and she still hangs in the discord). I occasionally remind people to invite their friends if they're having fun, but honestly, beyond that there's not much you can do to encourage it. But that's also part of the reason why it's some of the best advertising, because the only motivation is that they're enjoying themselves and want to share the fun, they tend to do a better job "selling" it too. As for the "foot traffic", I mean that I've had a lot of people come though my discord, showing interest in joining, since the other discord plugged my game in their FAQ. However, not many of them have actually put in an application, so that's what I mean by them not sticking. In the end, a lot of interest without people joining is effectively the same as no one showing interest at all. As long as these people coming through and checking us out isn't causing a problem, I certainly won't dismiss it though. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if most of them are coming through looking for RP on discord, and the link to my site doesn't really specify much other than we're a good place for RP. 2 Captain Amelia Waterhouse, Commanding Officer =/\= Join =/\= Roster & Openings =/\= Rules =/\= Chat =/\= "It is human nature to yearn to be what we were never intended for. It is singular, but it is so." -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulsRPG 15 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Word of mouth is the "best" way to advertise - as in it gets you very quality members that tend to stick around for a very long time. The most traffic, from my experience, comes from topsites, however. 2 'souls | no wc | character-driven | werecanines | open & active since 2001! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 64 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 7 minutes ago, Death Kitten said: I mean that I've had a lot of people come though my discord, showing interest in joining, since the other discord plugged my game in their FAQ. I've never heard of being plugged through another discord server. I guess the whole concept is just eluding me. lmao But that seems awesome, I would like to be able to do something like that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elena 546 Share Posted December 18, 2017 (edited) There is no individual advertising method to work. Advertising is a sum of methods, and none is a waste of time, even if you can't see results immediately sometimes. Getting members from advertising is a sum of all the advertising efforts. One needs, for a solid start, an advertising spree of more than 100 sites/ week, plus topsites, all resource sites, tumblr directories, facebook, twitter, etc. Publish your site's advertisement (with the appropriate links), your wanted ads, fragments of the best threads, bios and photos of the best characters - spotlight your members and threads on tumblr, always with the appropriate links to your site... Submit your site ad and wanted ads to forum directories, directory tumblrs and helpers, and go on! Facebook and twitter contribute to getting your site into public view (and into google ranking) so you shouldn't neglect it. Make your tumblr posts post automatically on twitter and Facebook, and it will help with the updating. If you are in a fandom, this might help you - join the fandom's discussion boards/ fanfiction boards and find new people interested there. Edited December 18, 2017 by Elena 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 64 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 1 minute ago, Sunchance said: Word of mouth is the "best" way to advertise 8 minutes ago, Death Kitten said: When my crew are happy, they tell their friends who might be interested, and the friends show up and check out my game. And I think part of the issue with this on my site, is that I don't think many of my members really talk about the fact that they roleplay. I think for people who haven't actually heard about our little corner of the internet really don't understand what it is and trying to explain it to those people is kind of hard. lmao 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elena 546 Share Posted December 18, 2017 I have the same problem, @Samantha. Most people on my site aren't on other sites anymore. Some never were. And the friends they have aren't interested in historical RPGs, in writing in general or in writing in English. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 64 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 Yeah, @Elena The really active members on my site (save for a couple) are only on Sinsomnia and nowhere else. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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