I'm in very early--no need to respond until next week--and I'll kick it off with a selfish question. What advice would you give me for growing this site / community, on a very limited budget? Unlike Burl, I don't have a physical "product" to sell. I prefer natural, organic growth . . . so far most members have been personally invited by me. But that obvious hits a limit at some point. I'm currently into developing mutually beneficial relationships--I'll be pitching Cardhoud on a couple of podcasts next month, and of course will be glad to share those podcasts on the site. Win win is my style. But that seems maybe too "slow." Maybe not? Suggestions welcome!
I think your approach is great! I love the expert forum, as it drives engagement and quality conversation, which is what a forum is built on. You have a budget - it just may not be monetary. It's effort, creativity, relationships and expertise - those are tremendously valuable, and spending those resources on the forum will help make it a place people want to visit and even build a community.
I think additional things would be useful like having get-togethers at big shows to help members build in-person relationships.
@burlssports good stuff thanks. I do think I underestimate my "investments" of time and knowledge / skills / education etc. I think we all probably do because whatever our best strengths are they probably come fairly "naturally" and so we lose appreciation of their "value." I've been teaching writing for 25 years and so I do "forget" that not everyone can communicate well enough to pull off something like this, for example. And 40 years of "hobby knowledge" hasn't really felt like "work" at all but it is indeed valued / valuable. Appreciate the response.
Hey Matt, I could totally see how things may appear to not be growing as quickly as you imagined with something like this but, I don’t think you really can put a timetable on it expectation wise. I think like building a house, it all starts with a rock solid foundation. I think the way your are growing things by invites and word of mouth is a great step towards building that foundation. As the site gets more established and more collectors realize that it is collector focused then I think the growth will be there for you. Possibly some threads on Net54, Blowout, and some other forums might help too ? Cheers, Steve
Yeah I'm not sure of the etiquette of advertising one Forum on another... I will guess it's frowned upon haha. I wouldn't say I'm frustrated at all..
I think it has been a very solid first 6 weeks especially since the first couple weeks were basically spent troubleshooting with a handful of people. I do think we have a foundation in place both in terms of the site architecture itself and the membership. I don't mind slow and steady one bit... But I do need always be thinking forward to new ideas in terms of promotion.
