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Post by Josh on Jul 27, 2011 11:52:51 GMT -8
Does anyone have any fresh ideas on how to encourage more activity on the forums? We've seen dips and spikes over the years, and I've tried a few different strategies, but I'd like to continue to encourage new members and different points of view.
Tim gave me a great idea I'm mulling over. Anyone others?
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Post by michelle on Jul 27, 2011 21:21:44 GMT -8
Create more hours in the day.  |
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Post by christopher on Jul 28, 2011 11:31:51 GMT -8
What's the target and how far from it are you?  I'm actually quite pleased with the level of activity on the forum. People feel free to come and go as they are willing and able (take me for instance, it's been awhile since I've posted anything), and it doesn't seem to get to overwhelming to keep up with everything (but I'm still reading) as some forums are. I think there is a good healthy balance of dips and spikes from my perspective. |
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Post by christopher on Jul 28, 2011 11:37:36 GMT -8
Create more hours in the day. Yes, if you can pull that off, I promise to use it to post more on the forums ;D |
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Post by Josh on Jul 29, 2011 8:39:35 GMT -8
Who?
Well, I'd like to hear more from folks who aren't Christians. This fits part of the original goal of the forums.
I'd also like to encourage people who aren't super tech savvy or "discussion board" savvy to feel comfortable to post a comment or question from time to time.
I'd also like to increase the global presence on the forums. I'm a big believer in the global kingdom of God coming together through technology, and I'd love to see that happen here. We've had some success along these lines (Costa Rica, UK, Germany)- I'd like to see that expand.
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Post by christopher on Jul 29, 2011 16:38:51 GMT -8
So, what was Tim's idea?
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Post by stevekimes on Jul 29, 2011 19:16:39 GMT -8
I think that if you want more believers from other countries, go to their websites, make friends and if something is pertinent, then refer them here. If you want more non-Christians, you'd have to post something they're interested in. I'd say sex, but there's plenty of sites about that that might be more interesting to them But you could post on more philosophical ideas instead of theological ones. |
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Post by stevekimes on Jul 29, 2011 19:17:33 GMT -8
Or do more posts on movies and "secular" music. I started a movie blog a few months ago and it's got almost 5000 hits.
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Post by Josh on Jul 29, 2011 20:05:12 GMT -8
Interestingly, that was how we got some of our international contributors. Perhaps it time for some more investment into that.
I try to use facebook for that, but facebookers seem to have a hard time coming here for longer, in-depth discussions.
The Questions about Christianity sub-forum is intended to be along these lines, but perhaps it's not as accessable as I'd hoped....
Thanks so much for the input!
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Post by Josh on Jul 30, 2011 8:58:45 GMT -8
This was Tim's idea. What do you think?
Just some feedback for the Aletheia forum. Try to come up with the extra money somehow to do this. It would probably turn the reward from a $5 monthly expense to a $20 expense (or so). If you can come up with an extra $15 monthly to support this endeavor then I think it would be well worth it.
The idea is to instead of giving a coffee gift card away, give away a book chosen by the winner, up to $20 in value, on the subject of God, apologetics, etc. You could buy the books from a variety of online sources to find a cheap price (CBD sometimes is cheaper than used books on Amazon.) With the winning announcement you email you could include a list of recommended reading if they don't have a particular book in mind at the time.
This would (number one) GET PEOPLE READING MORE, which would in turn, GET PEOPLE POSTING MORE because they would have these new thoughts fresh in their head. You would basically be paying about $15 a month more from your church budget to buy more activity on the forums.
I think people really see a new book they've been wanting to get as a real motivation to post. A coffee card? Maybe, but maybe not. Plus, it reinforces the central idea of the forum's existence, whereas coffee is just kind of a fun treat.
Also, if people participate over the years (and why wouldn't they? They're not going anywhere!) they may accumulate a nice little collection of books! This in itself may lead to the love of book collecting, which may lead to being better informed.
Also, maybe you could also allow the purchase of lectures, debates, whatever, from different ministries (RTB comes to mind since you like them!)
I think the best thing to do would be to say that you HIGHLY RECOMMEND people getting an e-book version of their book. Most people have laptops or smartphones, not to mention the ever-increasing ubiquity of e-readers themselves. The huge advantage of collecting e-books is that once the winner reads the book, they can freely share it with another who is interested without having to mail it from person to person. They could give a time limit. The owner could loan it out 2 weeks at a time. Anyway, this would all lead to many people reading one book without the hassle and expense of mailing. Plus, e-books are only going to become more and more 'the standard' as time goes on. I'm actually reading Antony Flew's book "There Is a God" on my computer right now instead of a hard copy. And if I can do it so can anyone. :-)
I just think it's a really good idea to stir things up in your forums. Maybe you could not just make the winner totally random every time. Maybe you could rotate with most posts, most responses, random person, most interesting point, etc. every month to make it something to look forward to - "I wonder what the criteria is this month!".
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Post by Josh on Aug 14, 2011 19:45:42 GMT -8
Aside from the financial aspects involved (paying for the books), what do you guys think about Tim's idea in general?
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Post by stevekimes on Aug 14, 2011 21:04:02 GMT -8
I think that unless there are new people drawn to the site, extra expense is just extra reward for being on the forum already.
(BTW, josh, I'm right now listening to "Changeless" by TST on A Briefing for the Ascent. Do you know that solo effort?)
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Post by Josh on Aug 14, 2011 22:07:30 GMT -8
(BTW, josh, I'm right now listening to "Changeless" by TST on A Briefing for the Ascent. Do you know that solo effort?) I know many songs off of it, but only from other collections. |
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Post by Josh on Sept 1, 2011 18:08:31 GMT -8
How about this idea?
The winner of the monthly contest gets $15 for the charity of their choice?
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Post by christopher on Sept 1, 2011 22:31:32 GMT -8
Go for it.
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Post by robin on Sept 2, 2011 7:24:59 GMT -8
I second that! |
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