Why should I stick around your community?

[wedgar]

OMG that's a BIG dog.

That may be an understatement!

 

[xIsabel38]

We have a 25 dollar minimal/ max dollar amount. Members buy presents for one another based off of "hint" threads that members leave around the Site or on their profile pages. We manage who has who then supply each member with their SS 's address on where to mail the gift. and that's about it. Is quite the pain but they like it.

Interesting concept. Don't think I've seen that on a forum before.

That may be an understatement!

Right? That thing would knock me over.

 

[tommydamic68]

Interesting concept. Don't think I've seen that on a forum before.

Exactly.

 

[FredC]

I need one for mine…Have one that fits?

Spoiler: Warning: Large Animal

View attachment 68501

Absolutely 3 out of 5 of our sponsors provide custom work so size is never an issue.

We also do contests with prizes a few times a year as well as a Secret Santa that members truly look forward to. The contests are based around photo contests during the main holiday seasons.

We do a Secret Santa to and its hugely popular... Contests also all revolve around pictures as its the simplest way to engage members and get newer members gabbing about their fur friend..

Oh we once also did an online dog show that we took up in the name of a national Doberman rescue organization Somehow or another that thing went viral in the Doberman world and registrations went through the roof that month.. And even better yet we raised some very good money for a lucky Rescue organization..

 

[dvsDave]

From FeverBee.com

Here are 20 to get you started:

1. What is your favourite ………. ? Asking members about their favourite anything will stimulate a response. Try it.
2. What is your average day like? People love to talk about themselves. Ask them what their average day is like and they’ll tell you. They’ll also compare it with anyone else that answers.
3. What do you think about ………? Giving opinions is human nature. When you ask for opinions you’ll get a lot.
4. What advice would you give to the person above you?Careful about these. Can stimulate a lot of activity, can also get way out of hand. Useful for a light-hearted touch to your community efforts.
5. Can anyone recommend …..? People like to be helpful and show off knowledge. Asking for recommendations will solicit knowledge and engagement from users.
6. What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you whilst ….. ? Self explanatory. Let members share their stories. It’ll almost certainly boost activity and return visits. Members will slowly get to know and like each other.
7. Can anyone fix …… ? Present a difficult problem, let members try to suggest ways to fix it.
8. What is the best/worst …………….. ? Opinions, opinions, opinions. Solicit them in as many different ways as possible. Pick a sub-category and ask people for their best/worst suggestions.
9. Who do you most admire? Pick someone in your niche you most admire and tell others why.
10. Is {x} really better than {y}? Make it controversial. Pick an issue members will be split on – but not divisively so. Ask questions about it. Let people take sides.
11. If you weren’t ……….., would you ………….. ? Create a hypothetical situation in which all members can give their opinion on something radical.
12. Who/What are your top 5 …………… ? Ranking is addictive. Ask people to rank their top 5 anything and then try to create an overall ranking based upon the community.
13. How would you handle {topical issue}? If your members in charge, how would they handle a topical issue in your sector?
14. What …… do you use? Relevant in almost all online communities, ask people to compare what relevant products/services they use. Companies love this information too.
15. Does anyone know how to ………….. ? Does anyone know provokes interest, the how to can be broad or specific. People are likely to participate.
16. Has anyone tried…………….. ? Again, has anyone is all-encompassing and people are likely to share their experiences.
17. Is …….. right about ………. ? Take someone’s stance on a topical issue and throw it open to comment by the entire community.
18. What would you do if ……. ? Create a hypothetical situation, perhaps a problem lots of people face, and ask members what they would do. Life problems work well here.
19. What should every newcomer know about ….? Well, what should every newcomer know about something relevant in your sector? It’s great advice – perfect for a sticky-thread.
20. Share your pictures/top tips here. Sharing advice and pictures can be an easy win for stimulating activity. Try it. I suspect you will find it easy to gain lots of valuable insights.

The more open-ended the question, the more everyone can participate. When you post a question, try prodding a few members to reply and get the activity started.

 

[wedgar]

Thanks for sharing this list. Gives some good food for thought!

 

[tajhay]

I run a rugby league (american football without pads) site for a team i support.

besides the usual, we offer:
1) a far more upto date and relevant player profile section (using showcase) than that is on the official website or wikipedia.
2) stats on each game, and player individual stats that are linked to the player profile (only for advanced member group i.e. 50 posts or more or been a member over a year). Additionally we have a stats section for last years games where the user can query anything and everything
3) ability to rate players per match out of 10...can also look back at previous games and graphs show how a player performs as how you rated that player vrs the rest of the forum.
4) we have insiders from the club who visit. coaches, players, club officials who often leak the inside word. We also have a list of reputable sources who are able to post information 'anonymously'. We are the site to get the latest info on the team.
5) match gallery, arcade, pickem, sportsbook etc with prizes. last year we gave out signed player jerseys courtesty of the club to the highest pickem players and sportsbook punters.
6) chatroom to keep low quality posts off the site and to bring a social stance to the site. the forums are for quality posts only. no 'lol i agree' posts are tolerated.
7) Automation of forum activities ie pre game thread starts as soon as team is named, and closed when the game starts when another thread about post game discussion is started.

Obviously using a lot of resources and around 70-80 addons(quite a few of them custom) last checked.

 

[tommydamic68]

From FeverBee.com

Here are 20 to get you started:

1. What is your favourite ………. ? Asking members about their favourite anything will stimulate a response. Try it.
2. What is your average day like? People love to talk about themselves. Ask them what their average day is like and they’ll tell you. They’ll also compare it with anyone else that answers.
3. What do you think about ………? Giving opinions is human nature. When you ask for opinions you’ll get a lot.
4. What advice would you give to the person above you?Careful about these. Can stimulate a lot of activity, can also get way out of hand. Useful for a light-hearted touch to your community efforts.
5. Can anyone recommend …..? People like to be helpful and show off knowledge. Asking for recommendations will solicit knowledge and engagement from users.
6. What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you whilst ….. ? Self explanatory. Let members share their stories. It’ll almost certainly boost activity and return visits. Members will slowly get to know and like each other.
7. Can anyone fix …… ? Present a difficult problem, let members try to suggest ways to fix it.
8. What is the best/worst …………….. ? Opinions, opinions, opinions. Solicit them in as many different ways as possible. Pick a sub-category and ask people for their best/worst suggestions.
9. Who do you most admire? Pick someone in your niche you most admire and tell others why.
10. Is {x} really better than {y}? Make it controversial. Pick an issue members will be split on – but not divisively so. Ask questions about it. Let people take sides.
11. If you weren’t ……….., would you ………….. ? Create a hypothetical situation in which all members can give their opinion on something radical.
12. Who/What are your top 5 …………… ? Ranking is addictive. Ask people to rank their top 5 anything and then try to create an overall ranking based upon the community.
13. How would you handle {topical issue}? If your members in charge, how would they handle a topical issue in your sector?
14. What …… do you use? Relevant in almost all online communities, ask people to compare what relevant products/services they use. Companies love this information too.
15. Does anyone know how to ………….. ? Does anyone know provokes interest, the how to can be broad or specific. People are likely to participate.
16. Has anyone tried…………….. ? Again, has anyone is all-encompassing and people are likely to share their experiences.
17. Is …….. right about ………. ? Take someone’s stance on a topical issue and throw it open to comment by the entire community.
18. What would you do if ……. ? Create a hypothetical situation, perhaps a problem lots of people face, and ask members what they would do. Life problems work well here.
19. What should every newcomer know about ….? Well, what should every newcomer know about something relevant in your sector? It’s great advice – perfect for a sticky-thread.
20. Share your pictures/top tips here. Sharing advice and pictures can be an easy win for stimulating activity. Try it. I suspect you will find it easy to gain lots of valuable insights.

The more open-ended the question, the more everyone can participate. When you post a question, try prodding a few members to reply and get the activity started.

This is great for a forum just starting out especially. Thanks!