Ideas to attract new members

[SteveinMN]

From the Open Forum thread "Less Posting is a Disappointment..."

how do we reach potential members? If anyone has ideas you might start a dedicated thread to post them. Remember, it has to be totally guerilla marketing...we have no budget for this.
If, as a relative newb, I may be so bold...:)

We've seen (too) many political ads over the past months. The main theme is family economics and the two major parties are offering two alternatives to preserve the status quo: government-funded stimulus/incentive/assistance efforts or taking hands off familie incomes regardless of the longer-term outcomes. However, the folks here have discovered and are practicing a third way: simple living.

If you've reached FI, you're no longer living from paycheck to paycheck and at the mercy of The Man. Similarly, if you are concerned about your dollars being wasted, simple living offers a way to keep more of your money for what you want it for. Okay, it's not quite that simple. But there's a lot of collected wisdom here about how to live as well (or better!) on less money and/or time, and I think we should advertise that fact. "Here's a place where you can learn how to get off the treadmill. Whether you dabble a toe in the water or dive right in, you can get that kind of information here."

As for how to get that message out, that will be the more difficult part. Some of us have blogs; maybe mentioning forums like this one can be a more regular thing than just a badge on your site. Maybe when you post a new blog entry, you could post the names of topics currently drawing a lot of attention on SLF. I don't know quite what the financial relationship is between SLF and New Road Map. Is it possible this forum could be part of their promotion? Could the donations offered through the yellow button here be used for some advertising on sites where potential new members could be found?

Largely thinking out loud here, but it's a start.

[flowerseverywhere]

another forum which I really like banned all political postings. There is no political forum. If a political comment is made that person is warned and then banned if it persists. It has really helped the members who want to stay on topic and cut way down on people leaving in a huff.

[ToomuchStuff]

Or at least there should be an option in the settings to not view sections (opt out of the politics section). (I looked and there is not)
Of course then you have the problem of people posting the bs in other sections and moderators are NOT immune from this, on either political side.

[Gregg]

Public policy has far more impact on our lives than most of the 'simple' choices we make. Being aware of the political environment is critical to being able to plan for the future which is why topics in that arena are welcomed here. This is a general discussion forum that provides the option to discuss politics, religion and any other topic that some feel are too polite for dinner time. Those topics are impossible to avoid if we decide to interact with other people. I don't think the way to draw in new members is to continually narrow the focus of these boards down to any singularity. Think of reading/posting like decluttering. If there is a topic that does not bring you joy to discuss I humbly suggest simply avoiding those topics.

RE: new members. Thanks for starting this up Steve. I think promotion through the blog-o-sphere is an excellent suggestion. Obviously if there is anyone following the blogs anyone here writes they have some common thread. I have no real idea how many bloggers are here. I am not active in that hobby at this time so won't be much help.

I think there will be resistance to purchasing any kind of paid promotion. There isn't enough money available. One possible thought, and Rozie if you happen to read this please chime in... What about promoting NRM, along with the forums, in future copies of YMOYL? Not sure if NRM has funding to consider something like that or if they even would if they had the money. Also not sure who is printing it now, what the rights are, etc., but that certainly would lead us to a target audience. You never know if you don't ask.

[Rogar]

I'm just sort brain storming here, but I remember back in the "old days" of the forums there was a fellow named Jonathan who did a lot of moderating and if you got too much away from the topic of YMOYL he would very politely try to get things on track. I agree that politics is part of things, but it does seem to get a little overbearing at times.

I have not read YMOTL for a long time and have forgotten a lot, but I wonder if some of the forum categories could be reformatted to match with chapters in the book. It was pretty much my inspiration.

I am not much of a computer guru, but I wonder if there are ways to add tags or whatever so that the forum come up more or better when people are doing internet searches?

[bunnys]

I think there should be a healthy balance between politicizing the site and banning all political discussion. If all controversial topics are restricted this site would be reduced to cute things to do with egg cartons and listing deals gotten at the thrift store. Somewhat interesting but a little of that goes a long way.

I have no idea where to draw the line between the two, though.

[Alan]

I am not much of a computer guru, but I wonder if there are ways to add tags or whatever so that the forum come up more or better when people are doing internet searches?
Tags are already possible when a thread is created, although not for individual posts. When you create a thread, just add tags to the tag field underneath the posting box. vBulletin allows up to 25 tags per thread. I've noticed that several posters have used this feature in the past.

[try2bfrugal]

I like being able to discuss politics here. Some forums get rather heavy handed on the moderating. I find the free speech aspects here refreshing.

This forum does rank pretty high in searches. We may need more specific simple living topics like ones titled urban homesteading, getting started with permaculture or how to retire early to attract additional posters. I saw an article on another site called something like from corporate tool to urban homesteader that I thought was a catchy title. YMOYL seems to be a good topic, too, but I am not sure that everyone who reads the book finds out about the forum. I just typed in your money or your life in Google and this forum wasn't in the top ten entries.

I think if we had a post called Your Money or Your Life and everyone put a link from their personal web sites and blogs to the post that might help.

[iris lily]

I like being able to discuss politics here. Some forums get rather heavy handed on the moderating. I find the free speech aspects here refreshing.


lord yes, the minimal interference of moderators here is a good thing.

[Rogar]

This forum does rank pretty high in searches. We may need more specific simple living topics like ones titled urban homesteading, getting started with permaculture or how to retire early to attract additional posters. I saw an article on another site called something like from corporate tool to urban homesteader that I thought was a catchy title. YMOYL seems to be a good topic, too, but I am not sure that everyone who reads the book finds out about the forum. I just typed in your money or your life in Google and this forum wasn't in the top ten entries.

I think if we had a post called Your Money or Your Life and everyone put a link from their personal web sites and blogs to the post that might help.

I think those ideas are worthy for consideration. A bit of good marketing.

[Blackdog Lin]

ditto Iris Lily. Moderation is needed.....but only in moderation. Minimal moderation..... :)

[treehugger]

I like being able to discuss politics here. Some forums get rather heavy handed on the moderating. I find the free speech aspects here refreshing.

I third this. Please, let's be adults and stay out of the threads that bother us.

As far as the tags and improving searching capabilities, I think that's a great idea and worth a try. It's free, after all, and fairly simply. That said, there have been a lot of threads recently about internet privacy and some posters were appalled to discover that threads here can turn up in search engines. It surprised me that that surprised people, but it's something to keep in mind.

Kara

[Alan]

Just as an FYI, we've been kicking around the idea of adding blogging capabilities to the forum. We haven't made much headway on it simply because no-one (meaning me) has gotten off his sorry behind and put together the moderation framework, privacy policy and blog guidelines for presentation to the moderators and our NRM host for their consideration (adding functionality is easy, deciding how to use it is hard).

I'm fairly certain that adding the blogging platform to the existing framework would go a long way towards promoting the site in a positive manner, that is, if enough of our members step up to the plate and contribute material. It would also be an easy way to link our forums to the NRM site and act as a bridge between the forums and their content.

Our current platform has a blogging platform available as an upgrade and would integrate fully with the existing site.

I'd be interested in thoughts on this. I've already committed to creating a test site on my personal server in order to try out functionality. Once I feel proficient with the back end, I'll be ready to add it here if there's enough support for the concept.

[SteveinMN]

Just as an FYI, we've been kicking around the idea of adding blogging capabilities to the forum.
I'd be interested! I don't think I'd be the type of blogger who'd always be on the make for link exchanges and seach engine optimization, but to write something on a periodic basis when the framework already is there -- I'd give it a shot.

One other comment in this area -- someone mentioned adding posts related to specific concepts, like YMOYL. I think it would be more apparent to visitors/newbs if the forum topics were jiggered around a bit. Maybe there should be a forum devoted to discussing the YMOYL book and concepts. Maybe another one for urban homesteading -- perhaps that's the Gardening & Farming forum under a different name. Another one for simplifying technology in our lives. You don't want too many subdivisions, but maybe a realignment of what's here and the addition/perhaps the drop of a few.

[flowerseverywhere]

I third this. Please, let's be adults and stay out of the threads that bother us.





This is exactly this type of posting that drives people away or turns them off. the topic is how to attract new members and how to have people post more and contribute ideas. To be critical or condescending is not going to make people post more or get more involved. Allowing people to express ideas, even if you don't agree with them or even think they are stupid leads to a healthy community.

We are entering a very critical time in the evolution of our planet. Those that master simple living, learning to be kind and generous souls and live in harmony with their fellow human beings and not be consumed by the tremendous greed that dominates our cultures are destined to be light years ahead. The world cannot go on like it has been, using tremendous resources without regards to the consequences. All of us need to be mindful of where we are, where we are going and what we can do to make this world a better place. Personal responsibility in all we say and do.

[Polliwog]

We are entering a very critical time in the evolution of our planet. Those that master simple living, learning to be kind and generous souls and live in harmony with their fellow human beings and not be consumed by the tremendous greed that dominates our cultures are destined to be light years ahead. The world cannot go on like it has been, using tremendous resources without regards to the consequences. All of us need to be mindful of where we are, where we are going and what we can do to make this world a better place. Personal responsibility in all we say and do.

So true, so true.

[treehugger]

This is exactly this type of posting that drives people away or turns them off. the topic is how to attract new members and how to have people post more and contribute ideas. To be critical or condescending is not going to make people post more or get more involved. Allowing people to express ideas, even if you don't agree with them or even think they are stupid leads to a healthy community.

You are absolutely allowed to think that, but I disagree. I am the one who always posts in the threads that complain about lurkers that lurkers (and infrequent posters) are welcomed and valued members of this forum. My comment was in response to the people who complain about the political-minded posters driving people away and suggesting that we should limit or prohibit political posting. I think *that* drives people away. That is censorship. I am advocating self censorship, or choosing to not read posts that bother us.

I hope I have made my intent more clear and that you reconsider your opinion. But if not, that's really OK, too. All are welcome, whether they post or not, has always been my thought.

Kara

[try2bfrugal]

One of the current issues simple living helps solve is preparing for retirement. So many of the financial "experts" these days are telling people to delay Social Security, work until 70, replace 80% of income (not expenses!) in retirement, and so on. Basically a work 'til you drop kind of philosophy. Yet most of those people are in some way beholding to the investment industry which makes it money from keeping your money, and probably they probably don't live in solar powered tiny houses.

Cutting expenses to live off less than SS payments is one other option, but very few retirement articles ever look at the cutting expenses side of the equation. They just focus on income and saving.

I think a lot more people would embrace simple living if they understood what it could do for them, their retirement age and their stress levels. It is getting the word out that is the issue. On this forum we are all preaching to the choir.

[SteveinMN]

I think a lot more people would embrace simple living if they understood what it could do for them, their retirement age and their stress levels. It is getting the word out that is the issue. On this forum we are all preaching to the choir.
try2bfrugal, you said it far more succinctly -- and better -- than I did. Thank you.

[Rogar]

I'd be interested in thoughts on this. I've already committed to creating a test site on my personal server in order to try out functionality. Once I feel proficient with the back end, I'll be ready to add it here if there's enough support for the concept.
Alan, with due respect, this is probably not a feature I would use. Other than the comments I make on the usual forums, I'm not sure what other information of value I would add and I'd probably not want to spend the time with it.

With regard to my comment about tags, I think the correct term is meta tags? I was thinking along the lines that if someone does a search say, on frugality, that the SLF would come up.

[Alan]

With regard to my comment about tags, I think the correct term is meta tags? I was thinking along the lines that if someone does a search say, on frugality, that the SLF would come up.

Ahhh, meta tags. That's a horse of another color.

Our current meta tags are rather generic such as "simple living" & "discussion forum". I'll go through the thread tags list and apply those that may be useful to the meta tag list, plus, any suggestions would be helpful.

[Rogar]

Continuing the discussion, I wonder if a simple face lift of the forum topics and a streamlining would help develop interest from new visitors.

The environment could become "living lightly on the planet". Finance becomes "achieving financial independence". Gardening becomes, "permaculture and home food production. Holidays is "simple holidays" Or what ever. Maybe just more trendy terms, but also adds focus to simple living/YMOYL.

IMHO, a forum on simple living has become cluttered. There are some topics that are not used often. The personals forum, spreading the word, housing exchange and travel, and so on. Volunteering might be combined with creating community. And so on. Again, just adding some focus on the main issues.

[Gregg]

I was just thinking along the same lines Rogar. More updated forum titles and letting Alan go wild with meta tags seems like it has the potential to increase traffic. I know Urban Homesteading and Permaculture are both popular topics right now. Full disclosure, they interest me a lot so I could be biased. Anyway, they are hybrids of current forums so we'd have to figure out how to merge and reorganize so we don't end up with too many, overly specific categories. Simple Retirement sounds catchy, but also sounds exclusive of other personal financial topics. Other ideas?

[Gregg]

Just wanted to add that the membership here does an outstanding job of self moderation. There are occasional crimes of passion committed, but they tend to be few and far between (even in election years!). That is, IMO, a good thing because most of the sites I've visited that require moderation by the staff eventually dissolve into chaos or are commandeered by bullies. I have no worries about that happening here.

[SimplyL]

I've enjoyed reading this thread, as a new member.
Just want to say, when I joined, I didn't see anything wrong at all with this forum?

There's a healthy mix of people that sure, maybe a strong % are already advanced in living somewhere on the spectrum of a simple life. However, I don't feel that is a negative thing.

There's a place for political content. I prefer as a military spouse to not engage in those types of discussions. However, I can appreciate reading them, and if I feel that I can interject from a military family's perspective in a way that I'm comfortable with - will do that.

I do think, to be constructive about things that may help, is to cater to the various types of simple living folk.
We have the urban dweller that may take transit, lives in a brownstone or loft, may grow veggies on a rooftop..
We have the suburbanites that live in a planned community and keep their community/resources within a small radius
We have the rural homesteaders.
We also have the tiny/small house folks.

There's no exacting definition to describe a person who lives simply (voluntarily or by necessity).
So many ways of living this lifestyle.

So, if you opened up the floor where individually those folks can congregate and discuss specific topics, that may entice the lurkers to want to participate.

And then, there's many that are coming from TMMO/ERE/MMM ways of life, paying off debt, preparing for retirement or early retirement. So, that in many ways may bring a person to living more simply, so they can earmark more $ to achieve those goals.

[IshbelRobertson]

We also need to remember that, although we are small in number, some of us live outwith the USA and Canada!


On an unrelated topic: I hate that my ipad doesn't recognise the good Scots term of 'outwith' and keeps making it two words!

[try2bfrugal]

I wouldn't worry about the meta-tag keywords. They have been abused to death by SEOs and spammers so Google pretty much ignores them, except to maybe give your site a penalty if it looks like it is over-optimized for the search engines. You can actually sign up any site for webmaster tools in Bing and Google and they will give you feedback on if your site has any crawl errors or meta-tags that need improving. You could also use Google analytics for the forum if that isn't already being done now which would provide additional usage and ranking data.

[Spartana]

there have been a lot of threads recently about internet privacy and some posters were appalled to discover that threads here can turn up in search engines. It surprised me that that surprised people, but it's something to keep in mind.

Kara

It's funny you mentioned that because I occasionally google my "real" name (an unusual one) to see what comes up (and it's always surprising!) but I just googled my screen name "Spartana" and there was nothing about this board. However, when I went to "images" lo and behold there were some photos I had put up on this site. One of my current house, one of me on my motorcycle, some from the coast guard, and several others...there was even one of Alan's avatar there because he had responded to a post from me. When I clicked on the photos they all took me to this website and into the original thread the photo was posted in. I always delete my photos after the thread has run out of steam, however they apparently remain in cyberspace forever more. Not a big deal to me but something other's may want to be aware of.

[Gregg]

I always delete my photos after the thread has run out of steam, however they apparently remain in cyberspace forever more. Not a big deal to me but something other's may want to be aware of.

That is a notion we've worked very hard to instill in our teenage daughter.

[Spartana]

That is a notion we've worked very hard to instill in our teenage daughter.

Yeah it's scary! While I don't mind so much if photos I posted online - here or elsewhere - get out there, what I do mind is when friends post photos of me with my name and THOSE get out there. I can imagine with teenagers that kind of thing happens all the time. So not only do they have to watch out for what they post, but watch out what they send to other people and not to be in...er... compromising positions other people's photos! Scary!

As for bringing new members here maybe there is some way to have an opening pages, or pages, about simple living and it's various aspects. Sort of like you had on the old forums when you would log on. I always enjoyed reading the newsletter but enjoyed the "front page" thing just as much. However that would mean more work for someone to write something every month or so and keep it fresh. Probably too much work. I personally love the NRMF and read their stuff, but it's more YMOYL based rather than the self-sufficancy, off the grid kind of stuff many people here (not me!!) seem to be looking for. OK so I'm no help :-)!