Tutorial How to attract people to your interest check

[Jannah]

It has come up a bit and I have observed it around the site that certain people have trouble drawing people to their interest checks. A lot of these I have noticed have a lot of traits in common. As a long time RPer I'll outline some tips on how to get more people interested in what you have to offer. Anyone else can feel free to chime in here too!

• Know your audience. If you're seeking to RP with a certain type of person then you should make an interest check that appeals to them. This can be done with words, images, or even fancy coding. Having an creative and eye-catching title can also work wonders.
• Define your boundaries. Different people have different preferences and comfort limits in the types of things they are comfortable writing. Whatever yours are should be stated somewhere in the interest check, particularly so those who may have different limits can make an educated decision on whether to RP with you or not. This can also include things such as whether you're looking for romantic or platonic pairings. If romantic, then the type of romantic pairings you're seeking or willing to play should be outlined.
• Communicate! whether it's PM, email, Discord, or something else your preferred method of communication should be listed. If people are interested in RPing then they will have questions and will want to discuss plot/character ideas. They should not be left wondering on precisely how to do this.
• State your interests! This is arguably the most important. Personally I will simply skip over interest checks that simply say something along the lines of "I'm interested in RPing". Okay, cool. We all are. what are you interested in roleplaying, though? People need to get a feel for the interests of their potential partners rather than being kept guessing. Specifics are great, but even something generic like "I want to RP fantasy or fandoms" is fine. It at least gives information to work with. Additionally, do try to avoid stating you will RP anything. From my experiences the vast majority of seekers saying this sort of thing will immediately say no if you suggest something to them that may be more obscure. If you're going to say you want to RP anything then you should mean it.

 

[Idea]

Excellent advice! I'll bring a few extra cents here as well:

1. Try to keep a positive, polite attitude. If you come across as entitled, angry, or disinterested, then people are likely to nope out. People don't want drama, and they don't want arguments, and generally speaking don't like it when other people act like they are better than them. Word what you say in one of these ways, and it may just come across as a big red flag.

2. Know your preferences. This is pretty much Jannah 's lost point, but I would expand it beyond just your interests in roleplay. I think it's not only best to be able to inform people of just the kind of roleplay you enjoy, but in fact being able to identify it in the first place can be a great boon for your roleplaying experience. You may find your search for partners improves a lot by being more aware of what sort of partners are right for your particular style of roleplay, and this includes being aware of the genres and characters you usually like, what kind of mood and detail level you're most comfortable with, etc...

3. Try to keep in mind that the other person probably doesn't find your ideas to be the main appeal, or your story, your setting, especially not your character. No, the main appeal to them will be most of the time, their own content. This isn't to say they won't be interested in what you yourself bring to the table, but rather you cannot count on your idea being "really cool", you have to make a role your partner will find appealing for them to take.

 

[nerdy tangents]

An additional point.

Sub Genres Are Your Friend
When I search for a roleplay I filter based on sub-genre. I also just look at sub genres when doing random searches by page. The first chance you have to show your interests is through the sub genres. Not only does it ensure people will see your search when they filter by specific sub genres it also shows them what your interests are.