* Use the Advertising and Recruitment forum!
Of course!Tip: Make sure all the information a prospective player needs is readily available and/or that you're available to add information or the answers to questions in your first posts so other people can find the answers easily.
* Use the Character Pool feature!
The players of these characters are actively looking for a game to play in! Read over the offered bios, making sure that the genre(s)/rating level they select fits your game, and send them a well-worded and welcoming invitation.Tip: Make certain you give them whatever they need to know to make their joining your game easy. Provide them a link to your game. If they need to do some edits to their bio, let them know. Be willing to answer any questions they have.
* Use the "full-featured" rpg system.
You may prefer to use our forums to play your game, but don't discount that the full-featured rpg system is a great advertising method. The various search options mean that more players will be able to find your game.Tip: A good icon and title will go a long way here. Try to find something attention-grabbing for your icon (though any icon is better than the default!) and avoid the urge to 'decorate' your title. Mods will likely remove unnecessary "decoration".
* Use tags wisely.
Using good, pertinent tags on your game (whether you are using the full-featured system or the forums) is a sure way to make sure it's easily found by those interested the type of game you're running.
* Write a great introduction.
Don't skimp here and write something lifeless and dull. This is an area where what you say will truly influence whether or not people are excited by your game. What is the potential for your game world? Is it an epic battle between factions? A terrible game of cat and mouse? Does your game offer zany hijinx or romance? If your game were a movie, how would it be described?Tip: Don't be tempted to go overboard here, though. If you put too much information here, it may intimidate people who are looking for something that's easy to pick up and understand. Also - don't forget to use good formatting so people can read the information easily! Huge blocks of text are hard to read!
* Use your signature in the forums (and encourage players in your game to use them too).
Advertise your game in your signature! If you have a banner, that would be even better! And if you're active in the forums, more people will see your link or banner and might check it out.Tip: As tempting as it may be, you probably don't want to require that your players advertise your game. Some people would rather use their signatures for other things. However, offering in-game bonuses for players who advertise for you might be a good compromise. And if you're using a banner - make sure it's a good one and consider changing it every so often.
* Greet newbies and help out in the Mentoring forum.
New users to any site are usually very grateful to people who are helpful and pleasant to them when they first start out. Even if a game you're running right now isn't to their tastes, they may remember you and think to send people your way. Or maybe your next game will be up their alley and they'll be happy to join. If you've got a good signature advertisement for your game, you won't even have to point out that you're running a game - they'll probably check it out on their own.Tip: Unless they ask if you're running a game or outright say they are seeking a game like what you're running, it's probably better to let your signature and your profile do the work for you. If you give them the impression that the only reason you're chatting with them is to advertise your game, they may not be so keen on joining.
* Recruit your friends/people you've roleplayed with to the site.
Now, you may be thinking, "But my friends don't want to play the type of game I need players for - that's why I need players." But don't forget the viral effect of bringing more people to the site. Maybe friends-of-friends would be interested in your game.Tip: Don't annoy your friends with constantly trying to get them here. The last thing you want is for your friends to gripe to their friends about it - it might put the friends-of-friends off looking into the site and sabotage the effort you were making in the first place.
* Advertise your game on game listing services and communities.
There are various communities out there entirely for advertising your games to get other players. Check out places like LiveJournal or roleplay discussion forums that have no roleplaying areas of their own.Tip: Make certain, of course, that you are operating within the rules of the other site! Last thing you want to do is get banned from another site because you didn't check their rules!
* Make sure your game is active.
This is especially important! Active games advertise themselves. Most of the RP listing categories actually sort by activity - or sort out those games that are inactive.
Most people are leery of joining a game if it doesn't seem active. Why put all that effort into researching the game and writing up a bio if the game dies by the time they get in? If you can't post every day, try to make sure your players can be active enough to help carry the game.Tip: Make sure any activity requirements you have are reasonable. People who might otherwise be interested in your game may pass it over if they feel like they'll be ejected from the game if they get busy with work/school/family or go out with friends on a whim.
* Get Featured!
There are two ways to go about this.
The easiest way, of course is to donate. Just throw some money at us to keep the site alive and self-sufficient and your game will land on the rotating banner up top, shown to everyone on the site in traffic-heavy areas. No hassle. Just straight to the top.
The second way is to build a darn good game and hope the staff pick it.