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Post by cfs on Aug 5, 2007 18:55:55 GMT -5
We his this thread to see if you could find it.
cfs
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Post by G on Aug 26, 2007 21:38:12 GMT -5
Im still open to suggestions and looking for ways to get people here. Underdog, Im willing to give this affiliate table a shot. Way I see it, cant hurt. Also, Im looking for ways to advertise the board. So, let me know if you have any ideas!
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Post by G on Sept 24, 2007 19:46:03 GMT -5
Hmm...been rather slow on here the last few days. I guess that is to be expected. On those days, I kind of just keep plugging away and putting my background pic of the day up and if a thought hits me, like this one, I just post it. Hopefully soon the board will pick back up. I guess sometimes it is like this. I dont have enough regulars to keep the board self sufficient yet. A few of the "regular" posters have slowed way down. And a few that you dont see for long periods of time pop up unexpectedly sometimes and post a couple and then they are gone again. Ive seen some boards run themselves and create there own threads and just keep the flow going. I have a sincere appreciation now for what they have accomplished.
By no means, would I want anyone to think I am disappointed. Because, I am not. If we went back to July and said that in Sept I would have over 800 post (even with half of them being mine), I would have laughed. There was only 2 or 3 showing up back then. The board has exceeded my expectations so far. But even so...Ive seen a few slow spots like this already. Just have to keep at it.
If anyone has anything to say...please....Feel free!
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Post by cfs on Sept 25, 2007 0:25:37 GMT -5
Hmm...been rather slow on here the last few days. I guess that is to be expected. On those days, I kind of just keep plugging away and putting my background pic of the day up and if a thought hits me, like this one, I just post it. Hopefully soon the board will pick back up. I guess sometimes it is like this. I dont have enough regulars to keep the board self sufficient yet. A few of the "regular" posters have slowed way down. And a few that you dont see for long periods of time pop up unexpectedly sometimes and post a couple and then they are gone again. Ive seen some boards run themselves and create there own threads and just keep the flow going. I have a sincere appreciation now for what they have accomplished. By no means, would I want anyone to think I am disappointed. Because, I am not. If we went back to July and said that in Sept I would have over 800 post (even with half of them being mine), I would have laughed. There was only 2 or 3 showing up back then. The board has exceeded my expectations so far. But even so...Ive seen a few slow spots like this already. Just have to keep at it. If anyone has anything to say...please....Feel free! Having been a member of slow boards, busy boards, usenet groups etc. I've seen it all. Here is what I think. 1) You need new content/posts to keep people coming back. People have to have a reason to come here. You can't rely on any one person or water cooler discussions. There has to be a focus that people care about. 2) Search Engines need to be able to find the board. You need both common nouns and uncommon words to appear. Common words are what everyone types into a search engine. Uncommon ones are what put your board at the top of the search results. 3) The board needs to narrow it's focus. If the board appeals to everyone just a little, it's not appealing to anyone a lot. 4) It needs informative posts. High five's and shout outs are fine, but people come back when they learn about something they like. Even boards that should do better like comicspriceguide.com are surviving mainly upon a few very knowledgeable people. When they don't post, I don't read. 5) Although not critical, I think the board needs better contrast for people with eye problems or fading vision. Purple on Grey has a gothic look but it's a strain for me to read I think you need to settle down on some themes which you like and bring some of the things you know about them to the discussion table. Be it variants, art where the bar codes go, freeware links, artists database or whatever... it needs to pique curiosity. cfs |
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Post by G on Sept 25, 2007 21:08:33 GMT -5
Having been a member of slow boards, busy boards, usenet groups etc. I've seen it all. Here is what I think. 1) You need new content/posts to keep people coming back. People have to have a reason to come here. You can't rely on any one person or water cooler discussions. There has to be a focus that people care about. Well.... Im doing what I can. I have put in nearly 400 posts and you're at nearly 1/3rd of that and ranked as the 2nd highest in terms of total posts. I think Ive been willing to create threads and try. Im not discouraged. 2) Search Engines need to be able to find the board. You need both common nouns and uncommon words to appear. Common words are what everyone types into a search engine. Uncommon ones are what put your board at the top of the search results. I could honestly care less about this....really. I mean, if I had 7 or 8 regulars that made a good discussion infrequently, I would be plenty happy. I always thought lyria had a great board when he had like 10 - 20 regulars. But I never felt whet was happy with that. He wanted a bigger audience. He changed boards and tried one that I dont think anybody liked except him. Full of bugs and just a pain to navigate. He has finally wised up and went back to the old format. But he's struggling now to get posts. If he would have remained happy with what he had, the board would still be rolling. Instead, he put his users through an obstacle course and a lot fell off the wagon. Dont get me wrong...I love the board he created. But, I think he asked a lot out of the regulars he did have. Search engines be dammed. My goals are much lower. 3) The board needs to narrow it's focus. If the board appeals to everyone just a little, it's not appealing to anyone a lot. You know, I think I have listened to this and cut off some of the thread areas I used to have like stocks and work. Im considering dropping home and auto improvement too because of no one posting there. The board will morph as time goes by. But again...I dont really care about appealing to one crowd. If I did, I would just be comics. I dont want to be just about comics. But, I want to be mainly about comics and I think it is. Im probably not going to have any special insight or hook to get you to come back. Im not the investment guru of comics, nor am I specializing in 1 comic company, era, or genre. Im simply a fan. Certainly I want people to come and chat. But, if they dont...well. Im not going to get all upset over it either. I'll stick with it and let the board decide its own direction and whatever I feel like I want to do with it. I followed other's boards and they didnt really care what I thought especially after giving as much support to it as I could. When it came down to it, it didnt matter. I think thats how I ended up with this board in the 1st place.  4) It needs informative posts. High five's and shout outs are fine, but people come back when they learn about something they like. Even boards that should do better like comicspriceguide.com are surviving mainly upon a few very knowledgeable people. When they don't post, I don't read. I know what you mean. I feel the same way when brotherj, azbatx and comickings dont post.  5) Although not critical, I think the board needs better contrast for people with eye problems or fading vision. Purple on Grey has a gothic look but it's a strain for me to read The problem with that is this was a template and the purple and grey was pre-established. I may be able to change some colors, but the purple and grey will remain in others. It took awhile for me to piece this together. I had never done it before. When I had finished with it, there was pieces missing and the shape wasnt right. Underdog came on board and fixed the final remaining pieces. Although he doesnt stop by much, he still checks in and makes it a point to see whats up and see if anything is needed of him. I appreciate what he did. He isnt really into comics. He just came by to help me out. He hasnt been critical. Only helpful. I may decide to change the template of the board again in the future. I dont care too much for the basic shape of the board without a template and I must admit, there are a lot of bad templates I have seen out there with a few good ones too. Its just a evolution and learning experience. I know more now than I did 2 months ago. Hopefully that will continue to be the case. Im happy with it and thats what keeps me okay with everything. I'll keep tinkering with it. If it caters to 20 or even 2 or even just me...I'll stick with it until Im no longer interested. I appreciate the contributions that have been made here. This has been a learning experience the whole way and harder than it looks. Success is on who's perspective you have. Regardless if it flops or not...Im proud of it. I think you need to settle down on some themes which you like and bring some of the things you know about them to the discussion table. Be it variants, art where the bar codes go, freeware links, artists database or whatever... it needs to pique curiosity. cfs Comments noted, thanks for the input. |
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Post by cfs on Sept 26, 2007 6:48:50 GMT -5
Before I say anything else, let me clarify that a "good" board is a lot like a good recipe. It's got to have a proper balance of ingredients. It's got to have ingredients that don't detract from the flavor it's already got. It's got to have a flavor people agree is acceptable.
I guess I'm a little confused about your goal.
I say that because first and foremost people have to know about your board. A search engine is invaluable for getting the word out. Even the people who know your board is here will forget to pop in. They have other things going on and it's just not on their minds. I got a lot of return visits on my board because fans typed a word into a search engine and said "oh wow, I haven't been there in awhile" Heck, that how a beautiful TV star found one of my web pages and I exchanged a few emails back and forth with her.
I have tracking scripts tell me what keywords people typed into a search engine to get to my page. Several comic creators found my site by typing their own name into a search engine. Since their name was fairly unique they found my page. Their presence enticed others to visit. One person (non creator) wrote a blog about my board and site because they typed their name into a search engine and we were talking about them. The conversation brought back fond memories and that inspired them to write a blog and link to my page.
For awhile, my messageboard was popping up in the top slot if you typed "Comics Messageboard". Do you realize the exposure that can bring? It was beating out newsarama and comicbookresources.com. I take a lot of pride in running a free site that gets better search results than people who are out there paying to get the same.
Even if a hundred people stumble upon your board randomly, you'd be lucky to get one person out of those hundred that is willing to participate.
Lyria had some seasoned veterans posting. I started posting on the usenet over a decade ago. Flame wars don't intimidate me. Dry spells don't stop me from posting.
People who have been posting as much as me can spark some life into any dead board. You have to keep in mind that lurkers won't even lurk if a board is not getting posts. They just wander off out of boredom.
Your goal seems similar to what Whet had. Whet was really surviving off overflow from Gregs board. The few people that weren't on Greg's board added a little variety to the mix. It gave people a reason to chat on his board rather than Gregs. When my board was firing on all cylinders most of the participants were overflow from Greg's board and comicspriceguide.com but it also had people who wandered in from search engines. .
A lot of Greg's success is overflow from the CGC boards. People have a trickle down "success".
Rocket 2600 is running a moderately successful board at comiccovers.net. He was an admin at comicspriceguide.com. His success is trickle down members of people from comicspriceguide.com.
These boards that are getting activity all fill a niche.
Gregs board allowed newer CGC collectors to elaborate upon modern collectibles that are affordable. Rocket2600's board features a selling forum and that isn't available at comicspriceguide.com. Lyria focused on investments and predicting which will be worth money. It wasn't limited to one company.
Money fuels a lot of these messageboards.
Newsarama is basically press releases. That's $$$ to the people releasing stories. That's why the Valiant thread had VEI & VIP representatives posting under aliases. They want to protect the value and image of what they are selling.
The CGC board is fueled mainly by collectors that want to increase the value of their collection or boast the value.
Greg's board is filled with dealers who'd love to sell a Turok #1 for a quarter and get 5 times what it's worth.
You've lured a few veteran posters here. The problem is there is no common theme holding everything together. We are willing to talk, but we don't have a lot to say to each other.
People are always looking for the next guy to say something interesting. I get a significant number of emails and thanks from lurkers that never post. They thank me for saying things they agree with. I'll never understand why they don't just post and say it themselves, but they don't.
Lyria worked for awhile because everyone had a slight interest in seeing comics more popular and seeing them increase in value. I didn't collect or care about DC comics, another guy did. There were times when I had nothing to say, but eventually someone would say something that I did have an opinion about.
Attracting people is just a non commercial form of marketing. It's selling an idea or theme instead of a product. You can say you don't care about search engines, but thats the same thing as saying "I don't care if people find the board." Search engines are designed to look for relevant and desirable content. I think that's what any visitor wants.
Maybe you are under the mistaken impression that good search engine results must be bought. You don't have to pay anyone in order to get good result.You just have to have info people are looking for. If the search engine don't think anyone's looking for what you offer, that might be a hint as to why more people aren't posting. I'm not saying that as criticism. I'm saying that objectively.
Keebler isn't putting their name on building supplies. They got good at one thing... baked goods. You have to get good at one thing before you try to diversify.
Myspace got good at being a social network. They are trying to use that as leverage to be more. They aren't doing so well as a record label yet. It's very difficult to be everything to everyone.
cfs
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Post by G on Sept 26, 2007 8:03:42 GMT -5
Im not trying to be everything to everyone. Im just not concerned with the things you are saying. I honestly am not. To be honest with you, I dont think others are either. A few of the people I have on here are just my friends. Honest to goodness friends. Maybe they stop by to be cool to me. If they stop coming by, I figure they have better things to do. I know comickings runs his comic shop. I consider him a great friend. He doesnt post too much over at vf.com, but occassionally he does. When he posts over here....bonus. Its info and good posts from a friend. Azbatx is a friend. I have personally been to shows and traded comics with him. He recently got married and has other issues in his life. If he doesnt post...I figure he is busy. Life has changed for him. See him when and if he decides to come back. Smuggler is a friend. I see him everyday at work. I work 10 feet from him in my office. Sometimes he just tells me why he hasnt been by. Its okay with me... brotherj is someone I consider very cool. When he posts, it adds value to my board. Sure, he does a lot more posting elsewhere. But, I understand Im not as good as those other boards. When he doesnt show up, I just figure he'll hopefully come back when and if he thinks about it? At least I hope... How did Underdog get here?  He's not even truly a comic collector in the sense that we are. How did I get him to come here? Well...I guess I put the word out somewhere. He doesnt show up everyday....I dont worry about it. Same with you...you dont show up everyday. I dont worry about that either. You must be busy at the time. Or it is slipping your mind. Thats fine. If you want to come back...thats great. If not...well...what can I say? However, you probably have more to do with this board being here than anyone else. Everyone who shows up....I honestly appreciate. If they dont. Well, like I said....they have lives. Im not going to concern myself with things like search engines and stuff. I'll find ways to drop a link here and there. Im not waving a big sign saying "come here because my board is special". It isnt.... I know it isnt. I took the board on as a challenge to see if I could do it. Even though it only trickles with posters...Im happy with it. This board was about making me happy with it and if others come to it and post.............bonus. Its too early to worry about search engines and movie stars and emailed compliments by people thinking I am doing a great thing for having an opinion on such and such. Im still just learning to run it. Its like a quote I heard Eddie Van Halen say before to people who are concerned whether their music sounds good to others or not. He said "If it sounded good to you...its good". Well, I like my board whether anyone shows up or not. If the board had zero posters. I would still run it. I guess until I got over it. Im not thinking that deeply about this board. Its like a hobby at this point. Something I am tinkering with. A way to post some things and maybe people drop by. Heck, its kind of like myspace. I created 2 pages over there and 1 gets tons of hits and the other gets only a few. I dont worry about either one. I like them both. If the board lacks focus or purpose...then perhaps I just made it that way. But otherwise...Im really not thinking about it too much. If you can stomach it...please come by and check it out from time to time. I'll be doing what I usually do....posting about.....whatever? |
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Post by cfs on Sept 26, 2007 10:07:24 GMT -5
How did these people get to be your friends? You share common interests and thoughts right?
I'm not giving points on how to make this board the most popular board on the web. I'm just giving pointers on how to attract people with similar interests and goals.
The topic of this thread is "How to get some more people on here".
All I'm saying is that the same formula to get Joey or Azbat posting more often is the same formula that will get "more people" to post.
You don't have to believe me. You don't have to adopt any of my suggestions. I'm just providing feedback to the question you asked.
cfs
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Post by G on Sept 26, 2007 10:15:13 GMT -5
Hmmm...you're right...the post I made on Sept 24th should have been posted in Admin observations.
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Post by Brother J on Sept 26, 2007 17:04:05 GMT -5
I'm still here and reading, I just don't post unless I have something to say. On top of that, my internet time is a lot more limited now than it was when I was unemployed. I'm not online until after 5:30 PM usually (although sometimes I sneak on early in the morning) I was going to try the wrestling thing I mentioned, but there wasn't any interest, so it made no sense to continue. I'm around... |
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He's not even truly a comic collector in the sense that we are. How did I get him to come here? Well...I guess I put the word out somewhere. He doesnt show up everyday....I dont worry about it. 
