How to get interest in your interest checks?

[TiredKhajiit]

Hello all! I'v made two different interest checks for RPs I had in mind since I've been here, but no one's interested! I don't know if it's because I'm new, if I'm doing something wring, or if it's something I'm missing, but it kinda stinks. If you have any tips or anything they would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! :D

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

The truth is with interest checks on the Roleplayer Guild is the genre, the category, and then when it is posted that matters the most. First, the most popular topics tend to be of the fandoms, fantasy, superhero, school, or anime variety, particularly in the casual section, but free as well; the other sections narrow your audience greatly. Lastly, there is a general cycle of activity that flows with the current of the education system and colleges, meaning activity dips particularly low during the usual exam periods.

This one should try to keep in mind, but then comes the topic itself. Players tend toward a topic that is easy to read, familiar, with maybe a few paragraphs and then bullet point style details. A long introduction, higher reading level, excess fluff or detail, or lack of what you specifically want or do not want makes it less likely to receive the attention it might well deserve; think of it as an advertisement for a product, almost.

Last, though not least at all, you might need to "bump" the topic per day or so as prospective members tend to look for and through the first few pages more than anything else. This all said, there is a bit of a game involved and hopefully this insight will see you further off than where you were.

[Scarescrow]

Your RP is just less than 24 hours since it was created. Give it time. And I don't know about the rule of when to bump, but most that I saw is usually one per day and after 24 hours since the RP- Interest Check is created.

Be more descriptive with your RP as well. What do you mean when some advancements had been made? Are we referring to a new type of agricultural advancements, new energy sources, or new weapon types? The population is also an important factor when playing a zombie game. I did read that you said, "Set in the US." But what place do you have in mind? Is the RP gonna begin at the Washington DC during the winter or the Nevada Desert during summer?

And maybe a quick tip. RP do need some emotions between characters as it not only spark something humane about them but also some drama necessary that would pull the RPers to continue. So you might want to change that to "action-based with soft spots" or something along that line.

And one final thing. If the RP does not gather any interest, don't worry. Just put it up and try it next time.

[Mixtape Ghost N]

By being interesting.

[TiredKhajiit]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

Last, though not least at all, you might need to "bump" the topic per day or so as prospective members tend to look for and through the first few pages more than anything else. This all said, there is a bit of a game involved and hopefully this insight will see you further off than where you were.

@The Harbinger of Ferocity

Thanks man! I wasn't sure if bumping was discouraged around here, but it seems not :P

Be more descriptive with your RP as well. What do you mean when some advancements had been made? Are we referring to a new type of agricultural advancements, new energy sources, or new weapon types? The population is also an important factor when playing a zombie game. I did read that you said, "Set in the US." But what place do you have in mind? Is the RP gonna begin at the Washington DC during the winter or the Nevada Desert during summer?

@Scarescrow

I was planning on putting all that info if I actually created the RP, as I din't want to overwhelm the reader in my interest check, but it seems that may not be the best idea. I think I'll add a bit more info in my interest check ;)

[Dervish]

You definitely need to give people enough information to know what they're in for.

Outline the setting, do some world building of sorts and answer the "who, what, where, when, why" of what the game's about, including what the player characters are supposed to be, as well as outlining generally what kind of conflict is going on, or at least what the story is going to be about. Treat it kind of like the summary of a novel, just with more game-oriented direction. Coming up with a hook should help.

You should also state what your standards are, so like casual, 2 paragraphs, whatever. Also keep in mind that zombies/ most apocalyptic RPs are pretty over-represented, so you will have to really try and sell people on why your game is different than a lot of the other ones, and having a clear goal can help a lot with that. If an RP is just about aimless survival, you probably aren't going to have a lot of retained interest; you need to have goals for people to work towards. Maybe it's something like trying to get to the coast, or a rumour of a safe haven, or even a way to stop the infection. It doesn't have to be anything substantial, but it does need to be there, otherwise you will end up with a few rounds of posts without any real progression of a story.

[NuttsnBolts]

By being interesting.

@Surtr Inc

Laughed at this, but honestly @Surtr Inc hit it right on the mark.

To start, you need a title that will catch people's attention. This can be done with a name, brief description or even throw in a pseudo title. The tag system will help as well seeing as you can categorise the roleplay to a specific genre. From there it's everything inside your thread, and this is where you have to show your best.

Clarity, presentation, colours, images — the who, what, where, and when of the roleplay must be the centerpiece of your OOC. @Dervish touched on this but you have a total of about 15 seconds to grab the user's attention. They need to know everything about your RP before they even read through the page, and they need to see that this information is presented as best as possible. When does this roleplay take place, where is it located, what will be the objective, and more importantly, who will they be able to play. In any roleplay you can create an amazing world but if you don't give a detailed section on who the players will create, you will either get nothing or any kind of character that you never could have thought of.

On top of this, I'd be patient. you've only been in the site for a couple of days and it may take some time for people to either see or enter into your roleplay. there's a careful meta-game of playing the bumps where you can be over eager to the point of driving people away, or slow and lax thus leaving people to think you've ghosted.

[TiredKhajiit]

Thanks guys! I've added some more info and followed what some of you all said, so now I guess I wait :P

[TiredKhajiit]

Well I got some interest in my interest check! The only problem is when I created the RP it got buried within like 1o minutes xD

[BrokenPromise]

@NuttsnBolts is correct, I highly encourage you to look at other people's interest checks and first OOC posts to see what draws people in. good formatting and good aesthetics are a winning combination.

Another thing that really helped me out for my Danganronpa RP is that I scouted people before I even put up my interest check. I looked for people with Danganronpa characters in their avatars and struck up conversations with them over PM. Not only did I get to know some very friendly, loyal roleplayers, I was able to get feedback on my interest check before releasing it to the public. There's also strength in numbers. Sometimes all that's required to get people to join an RP is a few people showing interest. People don't want to wait weeks for an RP to start, so the more people who show interest day one, the better. Timing is also important. I unveiled my RP a week before Danganronpa V3 released in Japan, and westerners wanted a way to participate in the action. With things stacked so heavily in my favor, I got ten players in twenty-four hours.

You might not be doing a fandom RP, but look at movie/game releases and see what everyone's excited for. You might have to tweak your interest check or idea so that it's more appealing to people. Even though this is your RP, it's something you're going to be writing with a few different people.