Membership What Makes a Good Advertisement?

[CovertSphinx 710]

As a prefix, I sit firmly in the camp of belief that advertising for a site does nothing for actually recruiting members. HOWEVER, I really don't have any other means of getting my site's name out there (I don't want any 'affiliates' other than sites my members are on/recommed this time around). So, thus begs the question: 

As MEMBERS, what do you think makes a good advertisement? What would make you say "Eh, lemme click and check and check it out"?

[StormWolfe 557]

I try hard to limit my advertising, preferring word-of-mouth over writing up an ad and doing graphics for one. And, I'm not going to be offering anything on my site other than close affiliates (my members' sites, sites I'm associated with, etc.). I also do not want a huge site (member wise). I'd like to keep it under 10 or 12 very active players that are willing to do a few more characters and plots.

 

With that said, it does make it hard to get the board's name out there so that new writers are attracted.

 

What I look at is a short, but detailed write-up on the premise. It should clearly state the site's premise, plot-lines, etc. Links to look over the site and links to its lore. Of course, I also want to know the site's rating and policy regarding the graphic stuff. When I do click on an ad to see a site, my first impression will be based on its legibility. Can these really old eyes read the information? What's the layout? Can I easily find pertinent information.

 

Oh! It also helps if the ad states something regarding how active you're expected to be. Are there posting requirements, is the pace fast, casual, really slow?

 

Now, if only I can follow my own advice when I get ready to revise the ads for my site!

 

@CovertSphinx  Great topic!

[Deep Sea 326]

Can I tell the genre/fandom at a glance? For example, a Harry Potter site should have an advertisement that uses the Harry Potter font, or iconography, or some other aspect from the series that lets me know "Hey this is definitely a Harry Potter roleplay".

[Vellamo 74]

I'm in the same camp.

 

I'm simple: Perfect ad = eye-popping image + a very, very brief descriptor of that site (e.g. dark fantasy or weird western) + it's name.

 

I learned a lot when I went looking for a site to join. I noticed that I hardly ever read the descriptions under the images. When trawling through boards and threads of advertisements, scanning ad after ad, I become tired and lazy and I don't have all the time to read everything. Too many places make the mistake of having chunky descriptions, it needs to be kept very, very short, if at all. Bullet points following descriptions just added more reading. These need to be short as well, if at all present. Certain buzzwords (e.g. "no app") are necessary, but the ones like "friendly staff" are over-used (and don't work anymore) and fit under "show, don't tell". 

 

Not everything needs to be revealed from the get-go or compiled into the advertisement. It's an advertisement. It's supposed to spark interest first, then the selling points can be given once I click and read more.

 

What the site is about should be shown in the image, sort of like a movie poster. A well-made, non-generic, relevant, eye-popping image. If you put "[site name], dark fantasy" and I see the image, that's enough.

 

[Rune 1,099]

A few simple things.

 

1. You can tell what the site is about. Genre is clearly defined.
2. There is a separate link available because sites like to resize things and make getting to your board a pain.
3. Important Phrases. "Buzz-words." The defining features of your site. Are you 18+? No character limit? The selling points that make your board worth looking at for specific people.
4. Clean image. You don't need a lot going on. Sometimes just the name of the site is good enough. 
5. Not too much text. People are inherently lazy. They won't read it.

This is my jam! 

[CovertSphinx 710]

So basically: The Genre draws you in, the rules make you inquire, and friendly community response makes the stay. 

 

Thank you everyone! Time to go fashion my new advertisements after Clickbait! <3

[Rune 1,099]

That's pretty much what they are. "Hey! Look how cool we are! Come be cool with us!"

[Raven 18]

Give me a short plot hook. If it's over 100 words, I will not read it. #oops

 

Other than that, give me a bullet points of things you'd think make your site unique. Standard rules, like what your word count policy is, what genre you are, your RPG rating, if you're 18+ or 15+ or whatever, policy on canons (both from your fandom, if applicable, and other fandoms). TNI is a harry potter OC only website, but we have had people try to apply with Leslie Knope from parks and rec, as well as others. Even if it's an original plot, stating OC only can be important.

[Icewolf 258]

Other than initially getting my attention that a site might be what I'm looking for, I've found that ads really have no bearing on whether I join it or not. I usually decide that when I've looked around the site for a while. I do agree, though that the image you use must be relevant to the site's genre, or fandom as they are the thing that causes it to come to my attention in the first place. I do want to know what the site rating is regarding adult content, and perhaps the platform it's on. I don't think it needs more than that, because whether or not you decide to stay long enough to create an account will depend on what the board is actually like and not the content of the ad beyond grabbing people's attention.

[nyx 164]

I'm a graphics designer so how your ad is designed is going to be the first thing that catches my eye. It doesn't have to be over the top and crazy though. I'm looking for some creativity in it that sets you apart from all the other site ads posted on the page. I'm looking for your ad to tell me about the type of board you have and its tone...oooh and a catchy tagline doesn't hurt either.

[Uaithne 543]

Dude, I don't even bother reading the text most of the time. I go off the image entirely. If it's an attractive image (not perfect but at least nice to look at) and I can figure out the genre, that's great. A couple buzzwords are even better.

 

But the chunks of text afterwards are lost on me. I always thought people wanted them based on previous polls and discussions on this topic, but now that I've read your responses, I want to revise mine to remove all the wasted text and spruce up the main graphic.

[Sailor Chrome 43]

This thread makes me want some kind of "Advertisement Feedback" thread...

[Deep Sea 326]

That would be pretty damn awesome.

[Rune 1,099]

11 hours ago, Pancakes said:

This thread makes me want some kind of "Advertisement Feedback" thread...

I've been considering doing a "shop" thing regarding this because I'm all about the advertising and see, literally, hundreds of ads a month as I scoot around.

[Stat 60]

I'm on the side that needs a bit of a blurb. I usually won't click on an add just because it's pretty, I really need a bit of a plot hook to draw me in. Yes, it should be short and catchy, but when an add gives me nothing but a pretty picture and a genre I kind of assume it's just a generic-supernatural or generic-fantasy with admins more concerned with design than story.