Org Promotion

[edyzmedieval]

I am rather concerned with the lack of activity around the Org - granted, it's been the summer months, less activity as expected, but the place is rather empty.

Is there any way that the Org can do some sort of promotion on other websites, on the internet, or something similar? Perhaps some adverts (advert bartering or just adverts) on other websites, some cross promotion with other entities...?

It's a little concerning to see the place so empty when the rest of the TW fora are going on rather well, even if their own traffic may have dwindled.

Thoughts?

[edyzmedieval]

Going to reply to my own post with some ideas, as perhaps the original post should stay the way it is.

Promotion ideas for the Org:

• Cross-promotion with other websites (Warhammer websites for example, other websites such as strategy game fora)
• Advertising bartering (with other websites for example)
• Advertising (this would require a budget)
• BRING BACK CA TO THE ORG - yes, CA has not posted in quite a while over here. we need to have them back. (idea - have them make a Rally Point with the communities of TW)
• Newsletter to the current members (announcing some special event - perhaps an AAR competition or who has the TW video or screenshot gets a 10 pound Amazon gift card - we did this before!!)
• Other competitions (Writing Competition AGAIN, AAR, Org forum games...)

Others to come.

Thoughts?

[Axalon]

...So you actually want to help the site?

The best (and most obvious) place to start is to scrap the entire site index and give back the individual full sections to each TW-game, and let all mods be sorted under the games they are made for - like have them in the same section again. Hosted mods and their individual sections move over to their games, and they keep their current subsections on the index, now sorted under the relevant games. After all, this place should really take care of the few surviving/remaining mods that are still around here somehow... Imagine that...

Also, lose the misplaced and unwarranted focus on the latest TW-game - its ridiculous and discriminating too. And it is clearly not doing this place any favors. Some 5 years of this stupid and misguided strategy have shown that it will not deliver any of the gains that it was aiming for. It has instead failed, over and over. Neither the attempt with STW2, and then RTW2, then Attila or finally Warhammer has made any positive difference. It has repeatedly failed regardless, four times over and the traffic levels have not increased - they have just dwindled instead.

Obviously, the administration needs to wake up, and seriously rethink their actual priorities for this entire site - to continue catering to their own personal preference and whims (or whatever it is) does not cut it for the survival of this site - the traffic levels show this with extreme clarity. The rational path forward is to restore the focus back to what originally made and built this site in the first place - a fansite that explicitly deals in TW-games and this in great detail, regardless the game. Much as it was prior to 2010's. However this time it should also include and properly support mods/alterations/conversions too, as these do deliver invaluable content, and pull/draw for the site at large. The very stuff this site has essentially failed at before, and still fails at. All that has too change drastically. Otherwise, it will lose future content, posts and traffic...

The entire notion that this site needs a small index in order to be attractive, is ridiculous, unfounded and destructive to this site - the record have universally shown this beyond any doubt for several years in a row now. It is essentially killing the site because it does not allow us the space, detail and focus on the games we like (on the index) - the very reason to come here in the first place is to meet around, discuss and exchange information about our various fave games. And everything starts with the index... Nah, only the games the Administrations likes is provided any serious coverage and space as it is - which constantly translates to the latest TW-game and little else. Everything else is mashed together, as to "save space on the index". I mean, its just unreal in its reckless stupidity. A short index is not something this place can afford, or something that will ever benefit this site - the last 5 years have shown that mercilessly. In fact, the damned (current) index is a major part of the problem and until it is changed for the better, it will only continue to damage this place further, much in the same way it has continuously done for the last 5 years. It will never benefit this site somehow, it will (more likely) kill it...

The index, that's the place to start...

- A

[edyzmedieval]

Yes, indeed, I actually want to help the Org! It's been a virtual home for me for over a decade and I want to see it going strong.

As for your proposals, yes, I do agree with some of them. I think the current index is a bit too detailed, it needs some refining in my view and we need to have the individual sections back. It was useful, it worked, and during the heyday of the RTW - M2TW era everyone was working with it quite well without any major problems.

That being said, I think we should start working on the front page as well - add announcements and keep them always updated, like TWC does.

Thoughts from mods?

[Montmorency]

Leave out your fantasies and look back at what we have noted as actually being missing from the userbase. The discussion in the nearby thread already indicates why no changes will magically create traffic for this site as a Total War site.

[Hooahguy]

I will be candid here.

I am skeptical that an index restructuring would do any real good. The current indexing was done because it was so hard to find specific subforums for mods and stuff, so I dont think it can be blamed for our declining user base.

We have tried competitions and stuff to bring in people, it gave us a bit of a spike but it went away. We tried bringing CA back, they didnt see us as a priority so we were put on the backburner. We have linked to other sites and they linked back, but no real help. Money is tight for advertising, not that I think it would do much good because most people use things like Adblock. We tried bringing modders here but they have no reason to because the TWC is a big home for them. The fact is that what we offer can be offered by much larger communities like Reddit, the official forums, and TWC. So what would keep people here? For me, its the people. I have made a lot of real life friends on this place, and have even met a bunch of them. Thats why I stay.

Point is, its going to take something massive to grow our membership and I just dont know what that would be.