Little gasmask
Your annoying communist neighbour
So I'm hosting a roleplay called Verdun. It has a cool concept and still nobody is interested. How do people get like 29539164 million people to sign up in like 0.1 seconds
Need help Hosting
- Thread starter Little gasmask
- Start date
Chordling
Bardbarian, the Divine Chordia of Concordia
Before actually creating the thread in the roleplay section, use the recruitment forums. Your idea will gain much more of the appropriate attention it needs when it is posted in the correct area. If your recruitment thread struggles to gain momentum on its own, do as you did previously, and advertise your idea through the status updates with a link. Most of the people on RpNation do not consider to look for someone's roleplay thread through their activity history. It's just too much work. These are the steps I took for my most recent hosted project and I had nearly 30 users interested, which was way more than I ever needed. Mind you, this was just after I had arrived from a seventh-month hiatus. Also, use your connections. I like to call them "tagging sprees". Let me show you an example. Here are some other folks who can also give some great input towards your inquiry:
I have just tagged 10 different individuals to attract them to your thread. Can you imagine how many people you would have on your thread if everyone tagged at least 10 other people to read your thread? This has actually never happened in my experience but it definitely does increase the amount of traffic in your topic. Just increasing the amount of views on your thread can be enough to grab other's interests.
I have just tagged 10 different individuals to attract them to your thread. Can you imagine how many people you would have on your thread if everyone tagged at least 10 other people to read your thread? This has actually never happened in my experience but it definitely does increase the amount of traffic in your topic. Just increasing the amount of views on your thread can be enough to grab other's interests.
eclipsa
faerie sightings
i was summoned.....
yes!! tag people. post statuses. bump the interest check. tagging one person can lead to three. for example, if i find a roleplay i'm interested in, i almost always tag one or two friends.
yes!! tag people. post statuses. bump the interest check. tagging one person can lead to three. for example, if i find a roleplay i'm interested in, i almost always tag one or two friends.
Greenbriar
Exile
You rang?
I'm still new around the site and my network is small, but I tend to tag people I think will be interested in a thread that grabs my attention.
I haven't looked at your roleplay thread yet (sorry, on from my phone) but assuming it's great without being perfect (as most are), maybe pm other roleplay hosts you respect while you're in the development stage to ask how they'd tackle something you want to show or represent - like the hideous loss of humanity at Verdun when you only have a manageable number of players whose characters you presumably want to keep alive.
And yes, what Musician said about using the recruitment thread before you launch your roleplay. Sometimes the time just isn't right for an otherwise great idea and it's better to know that before you're committed.
@folclor @HK Fifty @Sherwood @Silvertongued, any tips you can share on getting a concept you're hyped about off the ground and manned?
I'm still new around the site and my network is small, but I tend to tag people I think will be interested in a thread that grabs my attention.
I haven't looked at your roleplay thread yet (sorry, on from my phone) but assuming it's great without being perfect (as most are), maybe pm other roleplay hosts you respect while you're in the development stage to ask how they'd tackle something you want to show or represent - like the hideous loss of humanity at Verdun when you only have a manageable number of players whose characters you presumably want to keep alive.
And yes, what Musician said about using the recruitment thread before you launch your roleplay. Sometimes the time just isn't right for an otherwise great idea and it's better to know that before you're committed.
@folclor @HK Fifty @Sherwood @Silvertongued, any tips you can share on getting a concept you're hyped about off the ground and manned?
Sherwood
Luna's Concubine
Another place to find interested players is in the introduction posts. New players come there to say hi and get a read of the place, you can reply to them with a welcoming message about how great RpNation is, and that you are looking for players in a great game you have. I've done that before, and after a while, you'll get some nibbles depending on how popular your game idea is.
welian
#BlackLivesMatter
Always use statuses!
There are clever ways to pitch things without sounding cheesy and trite, which I think is where people shoot themselves in the foot. Are you able to describe at least part of your premise in under ten words?
There are clever ways to pitch things without sounding cheesy and trite, which I think is where people shoot themselves in the foot. Are you able to describe at least part of your premise in under ten words?
Little gasmask
Your annoying communist neighbour
Thanks for the ideas Everyone!
folclor
Resident Cripple
I'm going to cut in real quick as, while I agree with the told mentioned, I still have advice I don't see given.
1. Don't make the RP thread until you have at least the minimum amount of people to man it. This sounds obvious but if you don't secure a player or two in order to begin interactions it will be difficult to keep the flame lit.
2. You won't get people signing up immediately until you build your group. It sounds exclusionary (it both is and isn't) but as you interact with other players you'll find that a group naturally emerges. These are players that like each other and play well together. This is more advice for something down the road, but my two most successful RPs on this site never had recruitment threads as I had my built in group and the interaction drew more people.
3. Be persistent. This means if someone says they're interested and drags their feet you send a message to remind them of your RP. Don't go overboard. One PM will do it, but it keeps you at the forefront of their minds and reminds them of your RP.
4. Once your RP does start keep on top of your players. This is another case in which a group will naturally emerge. You'll have what seem to be a main group of characters that are involved with the plot. However, that doesn't mean your other players don't deserve love and even that main cast will have one or two (or, if you're unlucky, more) players who will fall off the wagon. Just send a little nudge, a PM or a message on their profile asking what's up, how they're doing. While your RP is important, people are more important.
5. No matter how wonderful, epic, amazing, or even active your RP is eventually posts will peter out. You'll notice it go a couple days, then a week without posts. This is where you use 3 and 4 most but it's also where it pays to have that initial recruitment thread or make another. If it is a project you want to see continue you have to put in the work to keep it going.
I hope that helps and I realize a lot of those are tips for later, but I felt it important to say all of that. I wish you luck.
1. Don't make the RP thread until you have at least the minimum amount of people to man it. This sounds obvious but if you don't secure a player or two in order to begin interactions it will be difficult to keep the flame lit.
2. You won't get people signing up immediately until you build your group. It sounds exclusionary (it both is and isn't) but as you interact with other players you'll find that a group naturally emerges. These are players that like each other and play well together. This is more advice for something down the road, but my two most successful RPs on this site never had recruitment threads as I had my built in group and the interaction drew more people.
3. Be persistent. This means if someone says they're interested and drags their feet you send a message to remind them of your RP. Don't go overboard. One PM will do it, but it keeps you at the forefront of their minds and reminds them of your RP.
4. Once your RP does start keep on top of your players. This is another case in which a group will naturally emerge. You'll have what seem to be a main group of characters that are involved with the plot. However, that doesn't mean your other players don't deserve love and even that main cast will have one or two (or, if you're unlucky, more) players who will fall off the wagon. Just send a little nudge, a PM or a message on their profile asking what's up, how they're doing. While your RP is important, people are more important.
5. No matter how wonderful, epic, amazing, or even active your RP is eventually posts will peter out. You'll notice it go a couple days, then a week without posts. This is where you use 3 and 4 most but it's also where it pays to have that initial recruitment thread or make another. If it is a project you want to see continue you have to put in the work to keep it going.
I hope that helps and I realize a lot of those are tips for later, but I felt it important to say all of that. I wish you luck.
Silvertongued
Yes, this is dog
Folclor has pretty much laid down the mad note on the main rules. Now for her to drop her mike and walk off.
Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
Ordinarily I would stop reading there, but I'm British and therefore intensely allergic to explicit displays of pride.
A lot of good advice here so far, but the big one is networking. Talk to people. Join other RPs. Make friends, acquaintances, and friendly creative rivals. Patience, persistence, practice, and a recognizable persona all help - some people sign up for the name alone.*
*this is sometimes frustrating when people haven't read any further than your name and don't actually know what they've signed up for but hey it's enthusiasm I guess
Chordling
Bardbarian, the Divine Chordia of Concordia
Just to give you a look at what my tagging spree did for your discussion thread, 40% of the people that I tagged have already read and replied. It hasn't even been 24 hours yet. 
welian
#BlackLivesMatter
You'll find out soon enough who has no life and is on the site 24/7.
RatFlail
Brain Buster
Not much to add, except to be patient and flexible if a concept that you love doesn't get off the ground. Try to keep an eye out for interest checks that generate a lot of attention. See if some of the themes can work in your RP.
For example: you have an idea for a Lovecraftian RP. For whatever reason, it doesn't get off of the ground. So take a look at some other themes that get attention, like Academies or asylums or dragons. Find ways to spotlight one of those in your RP. For an academy, what if everyone was a student at Miskatonic University? For asylums, what if people there weren't crazy, just really attuned to the horrors that lay outside of space-time? For dragons, what if they guard the Earth against the things from beyond?
So try to meet people halfway. Let them have their relationship dramas during whatever epic story that you've developed.
Beyond that, more specific advice would require more specifics on the idea.
For example: you have an idea for a Lovecraftian RP. For whatever reason, it doesn't get off of the ground. So take a look at some other themes that get attention, like Academies or asylums or dragons. Find ways to spotlight one of those in your RP. For an academy, what if everyone was a student at Miskatonic University? For asylums, what if people there weren't crazy, just really attuned to the horrors that lay outside of space-time? For dragons, what if they guard the Earth against the things from beyond?
So try to meet people halfway. Let them have their relationship dramas during whatever epic story that you've developed.
Beyond that, more specific advice would require more specifics on the idea.
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