Why Do You Think This Contest Is Going So Poorly?

[sacredhoops]

I am just wondering what others might have to say of why this contest is going so poorly, and even Tyler clearly states it on his blog at http://www.tylercruz.com/enormous-publisherforumscom-contest/

Maybe I am wording it wrong, but the bottom line is that this contest is not seeming to work or stir up anything at all!

[profitline]

I guess his reviewme purchase were not very targeted, they were mostly copy and paste information, i suggest tyler buys some banners ads from some other sites like john chow,cash quest, courtneytuttle, for me my ads banner are sold out otherwise you can purchase from me as well.

[Trusttec]

I think tyler needs to be more active on these forums. I havent seen any staff members post and there is no leadership on the forums in my opinions. Dont get me wrong I think Tyler does a great job with everything he touches but to get this forum rolling I think he needs to spend more time with it while the contest is running.

[Tyler]

The general consensus seems to be that it's a result of either (or both):

1. My lack of participation in the forum
2. The webmaster forum niche being far too saturated

Now, under other circumstances I would agree that both these things contribute to some of the slowness, but I am still perplexed as to why the contest isn't receiving more action.

I doubt people aren't participating in the contest because I haven't been posting, nor because there are many other webmaster forums out there to choose from... it must be something with the prizes or the eligibility requirements...

Nevertheless, there appears to be a strong voice that, contest or no contest, people think I should be posting more. I totally agree.

I'm not purposely avoiding not posting here, I just find myself very busy with all of my projects; e-mails and my blog take up so much of my time it isn't funny.

That being said, I'm going to try to put in a greater effort on participating here more. I am, actually, the 3rd top-poster here so it isn't like I never post here... :)

Regarding profitline's comment - I certainly could purchase banners and reviews on sites like John Chow and Shoemoney, but then I'd be spending literally thousands of dollars, and I can't afford to do that. Advertising on large webmaster blogs is extremely expensive.

However, I did learn something from my ReviewMe reviews which may help the next time I purchase paid reviews. I also finally found out how to sign up as an advertiser for PPP, so next time I would use PPP as well which would help.

[profitline]

Tyler, I am sure you have learned much through your reviewme lessons and also how to be an advertiser on PPP.

I have review your forum (http://www.etienneteo.com/2007/11/publisherforums-splashes-over-3600.html) though on my blog and i had attracted 2 of my buddies here, just hope they start posting actively.

[Tyler]

Hey, thanks a lot for the plug - I appreciate it.

Feel free to edit the post and insert your referral URL there!

[camuk19]

2. The webmaster forum niche being far too saturated

I'd say its mainly this factor, although with a competition this big, it should be attracting more interest.

[CyberBoy]

I'm also quite surprise at the results of this contest. :confused:

Possibly if you can work out a lot on SEO with this website, then it can help you gain a lot of good traffic. Usually a lot members finds new forums when searching for something on search engines and that's some good traffic you need there.

[trigatch4]

Tyler... I think you hit upon all the reasons but I think your lack of posting plays a larger part of it than you think. Your blog has a huge RSS readership and these people know "TYLER CRUZ"... you are a "brand" and seeing your active participation can get people jazzed up. Because even if you don't know anyone else on the forum, people feel like they know you because they've read your blog for so long.

This personal connection to a product is the reason many people buy what they do. They are familiar with it. And in your case, people look up to you because you make websites and earn a living off of it... that's what many others are HOPING to reach. So maybe they want your guidance. They want to hear your opinions. They want to see what you think.

And yeah, I understand that your blog is a place for that, too and it gets a lot of your attention. But I think you need to treat this forum like your blog comments... I mean in a way, that's exactly what they are.

Extend your personal experience from your blog to the forum in more of a discussion manner. Say things on the forum that you don't mention in your blog. I think this site has a lot of potential but you have to be willing to put in more time and also... put the "brand" of Tyler Cruz into, adding a level and dimension not discussed on your blog.

Just MHO

[CyberBoy]

This can help but you mainly need to focus on your forum at start. After you can mantain over 100 members online in a day, then you can start fading away. Staying in your forums is always a good thing but you can slowly fade away.

Don't you think if Shawn Hogan stopped posting on his forum (Digital Point) for two weeks that his traffic would decrease? I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't.

Tyler... I think you hit upon all the reasons but I think your lack of posting plays a larger part of it than you think. Your blog has a huge RSS readership and these people know "TYLER CRUZ"... you are a "brand" and seeing your active participation can get people jazzed up. Because even if you don't know anyone else on the forum, people feel like they know you because they've read your blog for so long.

This personal connection to a product is the reason many people buy what they do. They are familiar with it. And in your case, people look up to you because you make websites and earn a living off of it... that's what many others are HOPING to reach. So maybe they want your guidance. They want to hear your opinions. They want to see what you think.

And yeah, I understand that your blog is a place for that, too and it gets a lot of your attention. But I think you need to treat this forum like your blog comments... I mean in a way, that's exactly what they are.

Extend your personal experience from your blog to the forum in more of a discussion manner. Say things on the forum that you don't mention in your blog. I think this site has a lot of potential but you have to be willing to put in more time and also... put the "brand" of Tyler Cruz into, adding a level and dimension not discussed on your blog.

Just MHO

[Trusttec]

Tyler where can we find our refferal link?

[BottomUpSites]

My biggest reason for not posting so much is because of the lack of active members.

Why would I try to sell my site or ask questions here, when I can go to Digital Point and reach a much larger audience.

Although, I have been trying to come here more, mainly because I want to win some prizes.

[Tyler]

Tyler where can we find our refferal link?

Your referral link can be found on http://www.publisherforums.com/referrers.php at the top of the page.

[Tyler]

My biggest reason for not posting so much is because of the lack of active members.

Why would I try to sell my site or ask questions here, when I can go to Digital Point and reach a much larger audience...

I certainly understand that, and myself post on other webmaster forums when I want to sell a domain or site, and sometimes ask questions.

However, the major thing that is missing from the vast majority of webmaster forums these days, with the exception of Sitepoint (which is slowly starting to crumble as well unfortunately) is the quality of responses.

DigitalPoint is a great example. You'll certainly receive a page or two of responses to your thread at DigitalPoint, but nearly every reply will be 1-2 sentences at best.

My hope and intention for PublisherForums is to provide more in-depth and sophisticaed discussion and responses.

Now, does the forum do that now? That's debatable, but I think our average post's quality is fairly high...

[Trusttec]

Your referral link can be found on http://www.publisherforums.com/referrers.php at the top of the page.

Thanks I couldnt find this for some reason! I reffered a few people how long does it take to show up should it be instantly?

[profitline]

Trusttec, it does show up almost immediately and you can track the number of post they have made already in the forum.

[Trusttec]

I tried to reffer the users barry and mklaif that i know of for sure and they havent yet been added to the page. Maybe its delayed a bit

[BottomUpSites]

Ok, so we need 350 posts to qualify for most posts. I am number 3 in the last month with 33. Contest ends December 3 which is 18 days away.

I would need to make about 20 posts a day to get to 350. Considering I will be gone for at least a week with limited internet use, I will be way behind.

I guess I need to start posting now.

[Trusttec]

As the forum is getting more and more active every day it shouldnt be a problem, however I am concered about the users that are going to leave as multiple people have stated "I saw the contest so I signed up so I can win" or something along those lines!

We need to keep going in the direction we are going after the contest is over!

[profitline]

Apparrently, only submerge,tyler,trusttec,bottomupsite,trigatch4 and me is talking for now....Now who else is talking?

[sacredhoops]

I talk sometimes too! But like you said it's very frustrated to come and continue to see posts with out replies. I am just sort of glad that people have continued to talk some about this one. I think a lot of people running contest could learn form this. Maybe even turn it into a case study I don't know!

[profitline]

Sacrehoops, at least one replied back who is talking as well. It seems tyler have to do something about it.

[Trusttec]

The forum needs an active staff base who can attract new members with good posts maybe?

[profitline]

There is no revenue sharing program and i think people likes programs like this to boost their own income?

[Trusttec]

Yeah I dont think we currently have enough members to need a revenue sharing program. But its a good idea and could be worth a shot. I am going to make a list of new topics to write and hopefully we can get some replys!

[Tyler]

How much do people actually make on revenue-sharing forums like DigitalPoint?

[Trusttec]

In all honesty,

I am guessing 10 to 20 cents per week depending on how much they post?

[profitline]

Depends on how much you post really, the thread starter will make money on the forum, these are just some ways to get the forum working, i am not sure whether it will work, but all these are worth trying.

[TWTCommish]

There are probably many reasons, most of which have been touched on. Here's a corny (but true) reason: people can tell when a site is loved. They can tell whether or not someone is dedicated to it and is putting their creative efforts into it, and when that happens, they respond. Genuine enthusiasm is infectuous; and so is the lack of same.

In other words, there's no quick fix. Building a community is a long, slow process (with very few exceptions) that requires dedication and attention. If people sense that either is lacking, they won't stay. Why would they? Communities are about relationships more than incentives, and relationships take time to build. Cheezy, but true.

Whatever a community is, it attracts more of the same. If spam is left up, more will follow. If trolls aren't dealt with, they'll attract more trolls. The good news is that this works in reverse: intelligent discussion attracts more intelligent discussion. So, that said, it should come as no surprise that mercenary efforts (of which this would be one) would yield mercenary members.

Communities snowball, which is why someone has to be at the helm constantly, for those times when they start snowballing in the wrong direction.

[cpvr]

That's because nobody is promoting the contest, nor posting quality threads or threads that'll get people talking.

[Arthur07]

2 points really...

1) I was really interested in the competition, but I just forgot about it.

2) As, someone else mentioned in the thread. Sometimes I come to the site and there are no new posts to respond to (just due to the lack of members).

Although I would love another competition :D