We are now over 2700 members!!!
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to increase our membership?
It would be great to hit 3000 within the next year, but is that overly ambitious?
You can't get there from here, because when you get there you're still here and here is now there. Yes i agree with Helen that competitions do increase the users. Also there you could put in some monthly challenges, where in the the users of this site will decide winner. We already have poetry pics or story pics but this is for a specific topic which one of the mods would choose that the start and then winner could give his/her own challenge for the next week. This would attract more users. also why not reinstate the chatroom facility, since here most of the member are came from the redsite so it would be best to have that chatroom facility, also they could create there own chatroom and chat. And one more way is to suggest people you meet to join this site, i always suggest this site when i find people who interested in writing. I pretty much persuaded them to join too lol. If i get some more Ideas on how to u=increase the user base i will edit it. Hope it reaches 3k soon. Kudos to all the mods and Special the developer Mr Gav.
We could have a 30 day New Member drive, ie month of July? An idea could be to have some sort of referral reward to the member who brought in the most new members. What that reward would be I have no idea. An Amazon card? A Gold membership? A Broadway play with DirtyMartini? A week on Nicola's yacht? Anyways, the strongest resource SS has is its existing members. If every member just brought in one new member we could double in size. Just a thought.
You also might want to address the site turnout rate, figure out why people chose to deactivate their accounts, why people are sometimes driven away. That would help with not only gaining and retaining members but finding out what displeases current members. What can be added or changed, or what's causing issues. Having active members join is one thing, keeping members is entirely another.
I think the problem we have on the site isn't that we're not getting enough members, because there is a steady flow of new members, but more an issue of how to have members who actually contribute actively and regularly. I would also love to see us hit the 3000 mark, but not if there will still only be the same few regulars who actually log on daily.
I think a better question would be how we can draw in more readers to the site. The reason a lot of members don't stay is because no one ever reads or comments on their stories.
And like Rebs said, if there are things that are driving members away, feel free to message me about any gripes you may have. I'm happy to listen and help in any way I can.
“Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing.”
I agree that the most current disappointment right now is the lack of participation by existing members. I will include myself in that group as well. Interest ebbs and flows depending on the ambiance and atmosphere of the site. I would suggest that maybe an updated look with more colors, graphics, etc, a review and modification of site guidelines, a more transparent moderator/member process, and maybe even a member populated "neighborhood watch" group to recognize issues and suggest mitigations in a more immediate manner, rather than let a situation drag on for months like recently experienced.
Concurrently, new members would bring in new ideas and new energy. We still should focus on a new member drive.
Here are just some numbers, personal to me. I have 101 friends at present. That's nice. Of those, 47 have not been on the site for over a month. A significant portion have not been here this year, or even for years. I have seen it happen often. A person comes over from another site, sets up an account, adds a few friends, and then they are not seen very much any more. In some cases they are newbies who set up accounts, post a story or two, and seem to lose interest and disappear. Attracting members is not as difficult as keeping them active. Sherzahd is perfectly correct in her analysis.
Being a member is not necessary to reading our work if that is what people are interested in doing. Being a member means one wants to be more than just a reader. One wishes to participate. And that is such a personal decision. I haven't a clue how to resolve that problem.
Hmm, I agree. I have seen alot of member come, go, and just not come back. What I am getting at it is that keeping the interest of the current member is difficult. It is sad to say I am starting to feel the same way. I do love this site and all the members. It is just after stuff happening back then, I don't feel welcomed anymore and I don't think that will change.
Put it out on social media. I like what Galatian said about it being clunky. Maybe some nice backgrounds would be helpful. Larry Nigh posts some very good points as well.
Find a good algorithm to what actually works and then use the results exponentially?
There may be more modern forum templates to use from elsewhere?
Just one comment for tonight. I've tried to get friends and family to come to the site. I was hoping my being here would give them some interest in joining and being a part of the storiesspace. However, I've decided I can't suggest the site anymore to many of those same people. I had expectations of teens, young adults, and their parents I interact with in the arts coming by to read my work and that of others. But the tone of the site has changed. Erotica is creeping in more and more often. I will no longer be comfortable pointing anyone towards this site.
By my count, this will make at least 5 separate times I've commented on this topic either in the forum or in a PM to admin. And nothing has changed. Not a single thing. So I'm not sure what the point of the query is anymore. Be that as it may, I shall venture once more into the light and express my thoughts.
Common ground. That's what creates stability in an environment. We need to find a way for members to feel valued enough to participate in processes that encourage regular visits to SS. Inspiration is a fickle dynamic that can come from the simplest endeavor. A new site design. Colors and graphics. Update the look. A more interactive site enabling members to "pimp their page" and express themselves in a more eclectic style. Modify the genres to be more flexible to authors. Provide a live active chat box in lower right screen. Black boxes are onerous. It is much more desirable to chat while reading or writing concurrently.
As LarryfNigh said, his "friends list" is merely a tote board of what used to be. IMHO a friends list can be as divisive as it is inclusive. It becomes cliquish and dilutes the relationships that might otherwise develop. I would suggest doing away with the friends list and replace it with SS member groups, ie, discussion groups, writer groups, resource groups, etc. Each members page can show what groups they are a part of and who is in that group. Being a part of a relevant group will often stimulate further involvement. Besides, friends already know who they are.
Lastly, we need to recognize our differences and be flexible enough to allow for them. Young.. old.. writer.. or reader.. we all have a place here.
It seems to me that it is harder to keep members on this site. It is all well and good to make a profile but sticking around seems to be harder than gaining members. I know a lot of people from the other side who have an account on this side and have not visited SS in months. As people have said before me, part of that would be the traffic for stories/poems. Views on this site don't seem to be as high as other fiction, poetry, stories etc. websites. With views not being as high there would not be that incentive to write for this site.
Everyone likes a fun competition so maybe advertising more competitions on this side? Or perhaps more incentives for people to earn badges? A little competition and bringing out the competitive nature in people could help.
More categories for people to submit stories? More forum topics? (That one is easily remedied by people creating new topics all the time, but it comes back to the traffic and views issue on this site. Why create a forum thread when a.) the same people would see it over and over again and b.) there would be little promise of multiple pages and traffic to the thread.) This is just my silly opinion anyway but I do agree with what people have said before me.
Just an observation. I'm beginning to wonder if this site is even going to be around much longer.
Money. Running anything successfully costs money, so more advertising would be a good idea. Not advertising on the site, but advertising the site elsewhere. I only knew about this place when I stumbled upon a comment in a thread at the other place. That's poor advertising, and just proves that word of mouth doesn't really work. Just check the thread "how did you discover Stories Space?" and you'll see that most people are here from there.
It's not exactly the quantity of members that matter, it's the quality, anyway. You've got people like me, who really don't post much any more, due to life, but we make the occasional appearance. Then there are the ones who just sign up and don't bother at all. There are regulars, who never seem to stop posting. What I'm getting at here, is that no matter how many members there are, there's always going to be the same situation. And let's not forget, as much as we want to, the recent blight.
So, bottom line, more money and a more proactive leadership style would really benefit the site.
I like we should hold another competition and I do like what Deamcatcher suggested about seeing which member can bring in the most new ones. The other thing is also need to find some ways to keep the current member we have now. You know what Rebs said. Either way, Lets have some fun with this. 
Yea that is true. I have seen some very good writers that come and go because of that and a few that tells me that is the reason they just don't write anymore. It should be encourage to look at everyone work but the problem is that past things that happens. It will take a little longer for things to get back to the groove or something must be done.
