Halp?

i've got three boards. they're all small communities and we need new members. we've got dedicated members but there's not really much that we can seem to do to get more members.

i know the basics, advertising, cleaning up the board. the question i think i'm asking it what attracts you to a board to get you to join? they're all different boards with different plots and settings... i can't really do anything in terms of interaction since we all really do interact...

we can't do anything huge with plot twists until we get others on the board so i need more than just clean up the board and advertise...

help?

I'm in the same boat as you, without the devoted members. :/ Of course, what I made with my board was the central idea that the members and characters are what mold the site, and like you said, there can't be any big plot twists or events, or even member events such as contests unless you have a member-base.

What I have yet to do is start advertising at places other than RPG-D (like in other boards' advertisement sections,) but I don't personally want to do that because I'm afraid of attracting the wrong kind of RolePlayer.

Perhaps you could do some "research" and look at some very successful boards and see what seems to be appealing about them. Think of what draws you to another board.

Also, I just now noticed the board critique section of RPG-D. Perhaps you could post up your board there and get some opinions, even if not members, about how you could make your site better and attract more members.

That makes me feel like not such a terrible admin! I have the same problem. I have advertised everywhere I could find, and filled my board with affiliates to get as many eyes on us as possible. I respond to character offers and RPG requests everyday, several times a day, but its hard to get members. We try to work with what we have, and we managed to still keep very active and heave our various plots around with NPCs and what characters we do have.

A lot of times, the name of a board can attract or drive away perspective members. Another thing that drives me away is a slow reply time. If I post a character, its because I'm very eager to start playing. I know application acceptance can take an amount of time, but try and speed it up a little maybe?

People have drastically different views on things, so its hard to dictate to someone what they should change or what they should keep. There are people out there that would love to join your board, and others that wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

Maybe there just isn't enough interest in the kind of forum you have currently. Perhaps there are too many other forums out there like yours and people don't want to do the same thing on fifty different boards. There are a lot of reasons why you could be having difficulty. My best advice is to just keeping advertising and getting your board's name out there. Eventually you'll attract some people who generally like your vision.

Well a couple of things, don't forget it's summer in a lot of places! So new boards are showing up everywhere! That stretches people out. A lot of boards end up short lived though so if you just hang in there, keep finding plots you can do with the members you do have to keep active you'll start looking more attractive to those members that have joined boards that keep dying.

Another thing is if you're out of ideas, try asking for a board review! People can go check it over and give you some opinions on it, and maybe give you some new ideas!

nope! not a bad admin, just a bad time for boards. my plots are driven by the characters and canons [save for one plot idea on one board] aren't necessary to keep the boards alive but we get people to join and, then, disappear.

i dunno about board names but i'm always up for doing admin duties, first. if you post in the sign up or get your app up, that's the first thing i take care of. i hate that admins don't focus on that. it's like... "i came to you, buddy, you need to show you're appreciation and that you actually want me here."

i've put nearly 18 months into one board and nearly a year into another so, really, i'm all for sticking it out XD that's definitely not going to be a problem.

as for posting in the reviews, it'll be a three week process since i've got three boards to have looked at but, i think, i'll do that AFTER the revamps.

i just figured i'd take suggestions before criticisms because, i know, a lot of stuff i'll be set in my ways about XD as stubborn and horrible as that sounds, it's true... >.>

Cleverly conglomerate all three boards into one?

XD i'd DEFINITELY need to be clever but it'd pretty much be almost impossible.

one is a vampire board, the other two are RL but one is set in the city with a music subplot and the other a small town RP with criminals.

we like the separation and the same members are on all three boards.

An aspiring vampire rock band moving to a small town and vying with the criminal element there is a game I would join. BUT if you have the same members everywhere ... well, nevermind, lol.

Oh boy, count me in. xD

XD don't tempt me. i've already opened up enough boards for people and their desires XP

Actually, a recommendation is usually what gets me to join. I've only joined one board without someone recommending it. I guess I like to have a personal reference that the site is at least somewhat successful.

So I guess start answering the RP requests and also encourage your members to invite their friends. Also having a cool plot. Sorry, that probably wasn't much help.

haha no, i totally get what you mean. i reccommend boards to everyone i know and i usually post in the RPG requests, here. i've been slacking off but... meh. i need to tighten up but RL and running three boards, mostly on my own and having a bunch of threads to reply to have turned me into an epic failure