Any interest in a site like this one? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Any interest in a site like this one? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Gmbeard
02-14-06, 02:25 PM The fellows of Mythgar is a site dedicated to D&D and Guild Wars. We have a writer who blogs our campaigns and we have info on our characters with animated pics and so on. The site is only a month old and we have had nearly 1,000 vistors, but I think most of those have been for Guild Wars.

Is a D&D site that follows an ongoing campaign worth the trouble? Or, are most people soley intersted in their own campaigns?

The site is http://www.fellowsofmythgar.com/index.html
Board_Rider
02-14-06, 02:39 PM I went to that website the last time you posted. Pretty cool. But after viewing it a couple of times people simply move on.

I wish I had fellow gamers around me that dedicated.
Gmbeard
02-14-06, 03:03 PM Thanks for the input Board Rider. That makes sense. I wonder if we added a place for gamers to give a short summary of what happened in their last game? Hmmm, I guess one problem would be varying skill levels in writing. But, if they were short enough it might be fun to see what other D&D games are like.

There has got to be a way to give other D&Ders a reason to keep coming.

However, I am more interested in their actual game not so much new characters, skills, spells...blah blah blah. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Telperion
02-14-06, 03:17 PM I thought about creating a site for my campaign, but then thought better of it.

Too much trouble for not that much gain.

Basically you got a good site, especially since someone went through the trouble of setting up a standard issue messaging board. So, yeah, it looks and feels good, but there's just not that much to hold the occasional web-surfers interest, is there?

Even if you are clocking hits on a daily basis that only means someone is checking you out, but is anyone coming back? I would suggest putting together a small script, which queries the visitor's cookies on whether or not we are talking about a new visitor or someone coming back to check you out again.

Give it a couple of weeks, and you should have a good idea about what everyone thinks about your site.
Gmbeard
02-14-06, 03:45 PM More good advice, thanks. I actually like that it won't hold the average websurfer's attention. I like the "story" of playing D&D (or any game for that matter) and the quick clicking websurfer probably won't stay with what's there and that's fine by me. You may have noted there are no ads on the site and it will stay that way as far as I'm concerned (except for maybe my bud who owns a collectibles/comic book store).

Nope, trying to reach a chord with story teller in each of us that play for more than just killing monsters and gaining treasure. These are the people I really want to reach.

BTW: My stat reports give me traffic by IP address and lets me know how many return and how many have the site bookmarked. The site is new but off to a good start but I know that it can be better.
Board_Rider
02-14-06, 03:56 PM I would offer that the best way to keep D&Ders coming is to simply wait awhile and post mor e on these boards while displaying the link in your sig. Secondly you can try contests and reviews of books too. It would seem that you have some good writers there so the latter should not be a problem.

I would recommend reformatting the forums as it seems that the forums are "crowded" by the grey menu on the left of the screen.

Lastly see if you can do some "optimizing". This may take some research. Basically what this will do is make your forum come to page 1 of search engines when typing in stuff like "D&D reviews" or "D&D boards". This is similar to what forums like this and ENWorld have and thats why they get tons of users.

Good luck.
Gmbeard
02-14-06, 04:19 PM Now see, there is something I didn't know. Excellent! This thread has paid off already. My thanks.
Telperion
02-15-06, 03:34 AM BTW: My stat reports give me traffic by IP address and lets me know how many return and how many have the site bookmarked. The site is new but off to a good start but I know that it can be better.

Yeah, that was my first thought too, but with so many people using dynamic IP address providers I tend to discount this approach.
Torack
02-15-06, 04:32 AM Is a D&D site that follows an ongoing campaign worth the trouble? Or, are most people soley intersted in their own campaigns?

It's called a story hour and enworld.org has an entire board dedicated to campaign stories of alot of its members.

So yeah, I'd say there's a definite interest, if done right and the story is worth the read. (and ofcourse proper advertisements are placed.)

Either way, I'm bookmarking the site. It looks interesting.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gmbeard 02-14-06, 02:25 PM	The fellows of Mythgar is a site dedicated to D&D and Guild Wars. We have a writer who blogs our campaigns and we have info on our characters with animated pics and so on. The site is only a month old and we have had nearly 1,000 vistors, but I think most of those have been for Guild Wars. Is a D&D site that follows an ongoing campaign worth the trouble? Or, are most people soley intersted in their own campaigns? The site is http://www.fellowsofmythgar.com/index.html
Board_Rider 02-14-06, 02:39 PM	I went to that website the last time you posted. Pretty cool. But after viewing it a couple of times people simply move on. I wish I had fellow gamers around me that dedicated.
Gmbeard 02-14-06, 03:03 PM	Thanks for the input Board Rider. That makes sense. I wonder if we added a place for gamers to give a short summary of what happened in their last game? Hmmm, I guess one problem would be varying skill levels in writing. But, if they were short enough it might be fun to see what other D&D games are like. There has got to be a way to give other D&Ders a reason to keep coming. However, I am more interested in their actual game not so much new characters, skills, spells...blah blah blah. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Telperion 02-14-06, 03:17 PM	I thought about creating a site for my campaign, but then thought better of it. Too much trouble for not that much gain. Basically you got a good site, especially since someone went through the trouble of setting up a standard issue messaging board. So, yeah, it looks and feels good, but there's just not that much to hold the occasional web-surfers interest, is there? Even if you are clocking hits on a daily basis that only means someone is checking you out, but is anyone coming back? I would suggest putting together a small script, which queries the visitor's cookies on whether or not we are talking about a new visitor or someone coming back to check you out again. Give it a couple of weeks, and you should have a good idea about what everyone thinks about your site.
Gmbeard 02-14-06, 03:45 PM	More good advice, thanks. I actually like that it won't hold the average websurfer's attention. I like the "story" of playing D&D (or any game for that matter) and the quick clicking websurfer probably won't stay with what's there and that's fine by me. You may have noted there are no ads on the site and it will stay that way as far as I'm concerned (except for maybe my bud who owns a collectibles/comic book store). Nope, trying to reach a chord with story teller in each of us that play for more than just killing monsters and gaining treasure. These are the people I really want to reach. BTW: My stat reports give me traffic by IP address and lets me know how many return and how many have the site bookmarked. The site is new but off to a good start but I know that it can be better.
Board_Rider 02-14-06, 03:56 PM	I would offer that the best way to keep D&Ders coming is to simply wait awhile and post mor e on these boards while displaying the link in your sig. Secondly you can try contests and reviews of books too. It would seem that you have some good writers there so the latter should not be a problem. I would recommend reformatting the forums as it seems that the forums are "crowded" by the grey menu on the left of the screen. Lastly see if you can do some "optimizing". This may take some research. Basically what this will do is make your forum come to page 1 of search engines when typing in stuff like "D&D reviews" or "D&D boards". This is similar to what forums like this and ENWorld have and thats why they get tons of users. Good luck.
Gmbeard 02-14-06, 04:19 PM	Now see, there is something I didn't know. Excellent! This thread has paid off already. My thanks.
Telperion 02-15-06, 03:34 AM	BTW: My stat reports give me traffic by IP address and lets me know how many return and how many have the site bookmarked. The site is new but off to a good start but I know that it can be better. Yeah, that was my first thought too, but with so many people using dynamic IP address providers I tend to discount this approach.
Torack 02-15-06, 04:32 AM	Is a D&D site that follows an ongoing campaign worth the trouble? Or, are most people soley intersted in their own campaigns? It's called a story hour and enworld.org has an entire board dedicated to campaign stories of alot of its members. So yeah, I'd say there's a definite interest, if done right and the story is worth the read. (and ofcourse proper advertisements are placed.) Either way, I'm bookmarking the site. It looks interesting.