How to get more people to view my interest checks?

[mitsuo nakamura]

Hello.

I have made a number of interest checks since I first came to this site. However, it seems like they don't get enough...interest. What should I do?

I recently made an interest check for a spaceship battle RP and I tried to make the thread and the title as simple as possible to get more attention. But I'm afraid it'll fall short of getting any replies like my other interest check threads (which I've deleted in frustration, so don't go looking for them).

Any tips for more views? I'm probably not allowed to advertise my RP outside of the interest check thread, so what should I do?



Regards,
Mitz

[Rose Swan]

Pop it in your sig. Invite your friends.

[Kagamine]

Actually, providing links to your interest checks would make this a lot easier. Can't fix the problem if we don't know what it is. (Really when it's said that "advertising" is against the rules, it means to other roleplaying sites as it directs attention away from this one, and is bad internet etiquette in general. Promoting your own roleplay is fine.)

Assuming there is something that can be done to better attract people's attention. No offense but it is possible that people just aren't interested in your ideas.

Though presentation does help. I remember seeing a thread once called "Things that Instantly Kill my Interest Check Boner" or something similar to that, basically telling GM's what not to do with an interest check, from that one members perspective. Some I could agree with, some not, but it's best not to follow guides like that to a letter, anyway. Better to just read them, look over the advice and get a feel of the person's reasoning behind them, and see what works for you. I'll see if I can find that thread.

Though I think this thread would be much more appropriately placed in the Roleplayer Discussion forum rather than this one, for future reference, since normally this forum is used to report bugs and make suggestions to better the site as a whole, as opposed to garnering more attention for one's roleplay. I'll ask if it can be moved to RPD.

Edit: Also, what Rose said. Though the former I've found isn't as effective as it sounds and the latter only works for inviting, well, friends. Good presentation in an intchk is what you want to attract people you don't already know, but I will definitely say that inviting friends works to pump more activity and attention into a roleplay, no matter what stage of development it's in.

[mitsuo nakamura]

Thank you both for your advice.

Also, Kagamine, are you Japanese? Watashiwa Nihonjin desu^^

[Kestrel]

A good title.

Your question basically is; how do I get more views. How do I get people to click on my thread? Well, by utilising the only thing people see before they click; the title. This may seem simple, but it's not. The most effective way to get people to click on your thread is to be made curious; compelled to click on it in the first place. To determine what is interesting to click on, ask yourself the following; what interest checks do you click on first? Why do you do this? What do interest checks you click on first have in common? Do they use pretty words? Do they tell you something about the game already? Or are you an avid Harry Potter fan that joins everything with the dude's name in it?

When you know what you want, it is easier to determine your audience. Your audience is the body of people you want to click on your threads. For example, if you're making a modern warfare RP, with a heavy focus on the terror war causes on a psychological level and the powerlessness that both civilians and soldiers experience, etc. You don't want people who are first and foremost looking for romance in your RP. Likewise, if you put up a highschool game with a heavy focus on romance, class dynamics and struggling with growing up, you don't want some gruff, foul-mouthed Rambo to barge in and tell you about the time he shot a Vietnamese prostitute.

So having made that distinction, try to look for the people who join RP's like yours. What appeals to them, what specific elements are they looking for? What do they bring into the RP's they like? What do they avoid? Use that knowledge to define your core values. Make sure people get to know what these core values are as soon as possible. This can be as simple as calling your RP "Violet High" which makes it obvious your roleplay is a high-school RP (and therefore will likely have lots of romance.) If you want to make a magic high-school RP you could call it for example 'Mysticia High.' People will instantly know it's a high-school RP with supernatural elements. Alternatively you could simply add [romance/fantasy] as makeshift genre tags. It's a more obvious in-your-face approach, but gives you more freedom with the actual RP's name.

Oh and keep your thread up high on the page. Encourage discussion, answer questions, have fun in your interest check.

Also: sure, you can pop a link in your sig, but for that to spread you need to be actively posting around the board. 'cause like, people need to see that too. Unless you post a lot in places other than your own RP, try to make some trips to off-topic-sections and pray you're noticed, or (much more effective) join other people their RP's and be fun to play with.

[Herostratus]

What should I do?

I recently made an interest check for a spaceship battle RP and I tried to make the thread and the title as simple as possible to get more attention.

Namedrop Star Trek.

[mitsuo nakamura]

A good title.

Thanks for the advice. I ended up simply naming it "Space Battles RP interest check" ... That seemed to work! ^^

Namedrop Star Trek.

Haha, nice one. xD

[Rilla]

A good title.

Your question basically is; how do I get more views. How do I get people to click on my thread? Well, by utilising the only thing people see before they click; the title. This may seem simple, but it's not. The most effective way to get people to click on your thread is to be made curious; compelled to click on it in the first place. To determine what is interesting to click on, ask yourself the following; what interest checks do you click on first? Why do you do this? What do interest checks you click on first have in common? Do they use pretty words? Do they tell you something about the game already? Or are you an avid Harry Potter fan that joins everything with the dude's name in it?

When you know what you want, it is easier to determine your audience. Your audience is the body of people you want to click on your threads. For example, if you're making a modern warfare RP, with a heavy focus on the terror war causes on a psychological level and the powerlessness that both civilians and soldiers experience, etc. You don't want people who are first and foremost looking for romance in your RP. Likewise, if you put up a highschool game with a heavy focus on romance, class dynamics and struggling with growing up, you don't want some gruff, foul-mouthed Rambo to barge in and tell you about the time he shot a Vietnamese prostitute.

So having made that distinction, try to look for the people who join RP's like yours. What appeals to them, what specific elements are they looking for? What do they bring into the RP's they like? What do they avoid? Use that knowledge to define your core values. Make sure people get to know what these core values are as soon as possible. This can be as simple as calling your RP "Violet High" which makes it obvious your roleplay is a high-school RP (and therefore will likely have lots of romance.) If you want to make a magic high-school RP you could call it for example 'Mysticia High.' People will instantly know it's a high-school RP with supernatural elements. Alternatively you could simply add [romance/fantasy] as makeshift genre tags. It's a more obvious in-your-face approach, but gives you more freedom with the actual RP's name.

Oh and keep your thread up high on the page. Encourage discussion, answer questions, have fun in your interest check.

Also: sure, you can pop a link in your sig, but for that to spread you need to be actively posting around the board. 'cause like, people need to see that too. Unless you post a lot in places other than your own RP, try to make some trips to off-topic-sections and pray you're noticed, or (much more effective) join other people their RP's and be fun to play with.

Whatever he said.

[Kestrel]

Thanks for the advice. I ended up simply naming it "Space Battles RP interest check" ... That seemed to work! ^^

That does indeed tell people what they can expect right away at the doorstep! Titles don't need to be overly fancy ;) Good luck with your game.

[Kagamine]

Thank you both for your advice.

Also, Kagamine, are you Japanese? Watashiwa Nihonjin desu^^

Haha, no. I just have a Japanese username (named after a frigging character that I liked) because I was a little weeaboo when I made this account.

Also, as promised, this.

Oh and,

Also: sure, you can pop a link in your sig, but for that to spread you need to be actively posting around the board. 'cause like, people need to see that too. Unless you post a lot in places other than your own RP, try to make some trips to off-topic-sections and pray you're noticed, or (much more effective) join other people their RP's and be fun to play with.

The Introduction Forum works great, too. Especially since all the newcomers are, well, new and will be actively looking for RP's to join. They get to jump right into things without having to look around and your interest check gets more interest. Everyone wins.