Forum secrets, fess up.

Fleakitten · Post by **Fleakitten** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:23 am

What's the secret to getting peeps to leave a comment or two on forums...or even the shoutbox..?

Black Sparrow · Post by **Black Sparrow** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:27 am

The big secret is.........

...have a large fanbase.

Really, that's it. Something like 10% of your fanbase will leave a comment on a shoutbox when it's posted on the front page. Even less will be a big enough fan to go and sign up for a forum account. You can try to bribe readers to go to the forums by placing some forums-only content in there, but they won't stick around if you don't have the fanbase.

EDIT: btw, you might benefit by making navigation on your site more consistant. Like, taking the navigation bar on the front page and putting it on every page.

TheSuburbanLetdown · Post by **TheSuburbanLetdown** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:58 am

Make a good comic, then make the forum interesting. I've seen good comics with dead forums.

Turnsky · Post by **Turnsky** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:04 am

theSuburbanLetdown wrote:Make a good comic, then make the forum interesting. I've seen good comics with dead forums.

or like the forum i have, whose entire user base is interested in pretty much only one comic on there, and no-one elses...

Fleakitten · Post by **Fleakitten** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:27 am

Hmm...I see. Good advise. Thanks.

CaptainClaude · Post by **CaptainClaude** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:45 am

from some experiences I've seen, an active fanbase isn't always that great...

Geekblather · Post by **Geekblather** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:35 am

Hm. Probably to be a participant yourself, at least until they get the ball rolling. I have a few people on my forum, and I try to post on their fairly often as well, so that the space doesn't feel neglected. I do the same with my Chatbox, and just generally try to encourage people to say hello.

The Neko · Post by **The Neko** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:53 am

ryclaude wrote:from some experiences I've seen, an active fanbase isn't always that great...

Damnit! Fans ruin everything.

VIIStar · Post by **VIIStar** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:03 pm

... more of a 'be careful what you wish for', then...

Yeahduff · Post by **Yeahduff** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:13 pm

Quit now, go to business school instead.

CaptainClaude · Post by **CaptainClaude** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:53 pm

Climb trees, much more fun.

Joel Fagin · Post by **Joel Fagin** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:47 pm

This should help.

- Joel Fagin

Sincerely · Post by **Sincerely** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:30 pm

Damn you, Fagin! You said exactly the sort of thing I intended to say!

Black Sparrow · Post by **Black Sparrow** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:48 pm

sincerely wrote:Damn you, Fagin! You said exactly the sort of thing I intended to say!

Just more concisely and more thoroughly.

Ataraxia · Post by **Ataraxia** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:18 pm

...and here I thought this thread was going to be along the lines of "Yes, I too sometimes post to ComicGenesis while naked"...

Very good article, Joel. Most of my stories don't match the pattern you reccomended for generating feedback, but then again many of my favorite webcomics don't either. This means I have to do two things. First, I need to work on my adventure/drama skills and keep your advice in mind. Second, I need to write fan letters to all the non-dramatic webcomics that I read to make sure their creators know that they're loved.

TheSuburbanLetdown · Post by **TheSuburbanLetdown** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:39 pm

ataraxia wrote:...and here I thought this thread was going to be along the lines of "Yes, I too sometimes post to ComicGenesis while naked"...

Me too. We've had threads like that before.

Prettydragoon · Post by **Prettydragoon** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:46 pm

ataraxia wrote:...and here I thought this thread was going to be along the lines of "Yes, I too sometimes post to ComicGenesis while naked"...

But doesn't everybody? ... Uh, I mean, that sort of thread would be better in Off Topic.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 2:16 am

The breeze,,, so refreshing...

Jameslong · Post by **Jameslong** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:39 am

My secret? I sacrifice a toy poodle doused in Warcheshire sauce to Zarkon the Space God at least once per week. It is a pleasing odor to Zarkon.

My secret for getting people to post on my shoutbox? ...hrm, I don't really have one. Logic dictates the following 2 things:

1. have an audience
2. give them something to talk about

it also helps to have RL buddies that come by and get conversations started.

Joel Fagin · Post by **Joel Fagin** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:51 am

jameslong wrote:My secret? I sacrifice a toy poodle doused in Warcheshire sauce...

Worcestershire.

Shessh.

- Joel Fagin