Help Contribute by Getting New Members Here at ATS!

I know that there are a few of us dedicated members here at ATS that take the time to encourage people on sites like YouTube & Google Video to come join in the discussion at ATS when they post a Video that is relevant to discussions and topics taking place here on the forums. I try to do this as much as possible as it is always nice to see new members here with information, evidence and/or insights to offer our community.

I have noticed that in general new member encouragement usually only takes place when someone posts a UFO video on another site and then one of our members either private messages the Poster or leaves a comment inviting them to AboveTopSecret.Com
While this is a great idea and one that I myself practice I say why not step it up a notch and try to get this place booming with new members on a daily basis?

So here’s what I was thinking...

I would like to use this thread that I have started to get all of your input and suggestions on the matter described above. I would also like fine tune a few of those suggestions posted by all of you and myself and in the end we will all (hopefully) be able to apply the best suggestions in our quest to help AboveTopSecret.Com keep growing into not only the best forum on the Internet, but the biggest.

So here’s my first Idea, I think that instead of inviting potential members on sites like YouTube after they have posted a relevant Video that we come up with a good signature or message that we can all attach to the bottom of any post that we make on a site like YouTube that encourages anyone that reads it to come and join us at ATS.


=================================================

(Body of Message)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


~Anathema777(Put your ATS member name here)

Come join us at AboveTopSecret,Com
The Best Conspiracy & UFO Discussion Forum on the Net!
Registration is free and new members are always welcome.

=================================================


Now if we were all posting messages like this on every relevant site or forum we went to, and being that there are 1000's of ATS members that I'm sure go to many other websites then it's safe to say that this would be a great start to getting more new members here at ATS. This way not only does the Original Poster get an invitation to ATS, but every single person that reads your message now has the seed planted in their mind to come join us in our discussions. I have a few other good ideas but I will leave it at this for now and wait to see what you all think and hopefully we can develop this further into a full blown volunteer base campaign to get this place bumpin with new members, fresh insights and more people that can potentially provide good evidence, sightings and relevant information in our hunt for truth and our denial of ignorance.

I'm looking forward to see what you all think.

~Anathema

(Please flag this thread so that we can get as many members as possible involved in getting this plan into action, thank you)

[edit on 5/11/2007 by anathema777]

I think what you've just suggested would violate the terms and conditions on other web sites that would prohibit advertising. I don't know of any site that would tolerate that kind of fishing expedition. I'm in the process of building a web site of my own, so I'm developing a new respect for such things.

We certainly appreciate what your intentions, but as Justin stated, this would likely violate the T&C of other collaborative sites. ATS prohibits such advertising as well.

I too appreciate the sentiment but that's not the way to do it (see Justin's reponse).

With millions of people coming to ATS each month and over 100,000 registered members we are doing very well.

Springer...

You can just tell people you know about this site, like I do. No need for spamming other boards.

[edit on 12/5/2007 by enjoies05]

Word of mouth works very well.

Since I've been a member my husband was curious, and then joined about a year later. I also told my brother about the site, and now he has an acct. that he uses occasionally.

I was also just talking to a friend the other day about ATS, I'm not sure if she has signed up yet, but she showed a keen interest in the site.

So spread the word amongst your friends and family, once they've seen the quality of these boards it's one small step to them becoming a member.

Originally posted by anxietydisorder
Word of mouth works very well.

Since I've been a member my husband was curious, and then joined about a year later. I also told my brother about the site, and now he has an acct. that he uses occasionally.

I was also just talking to a friend the other day about ATS, I'm not sure if she has signed up yet, but she showed a keen interest in the site.

So spread the word amongst your friends and family, once they've seen the quality of these boards it's one small step to them becoming a member.

Yup, that's how I got to know about ATS, a co-worker. My wife and son also got interested after I showed them.

Google found me here.

You may notice the occassional 1000ish spike whenever I add ATS thread links to the end of certain blog posts.

I proudly advertise ATS by donning my custom made Klingon outfit and a tinfoil hat to work, those that dare to enquire are directed to ATS.

This action has attracted many a quality poster.......

One more suggestion to help spread the site through word of mouth:

We all have people we contact through e-mail on a daily basis, friends, family, and co-workers. We know the types of things that interest them, and I'm sure everyone sees threads on the boards we'd like to share with them.

Why not send them a link.....

At the top of every thread you see these three buttons:



Just click "send to friend", fill in their e-mail address and a short note, and a link to the thread is sent to them. It increases their exposure to ATS, and can be a topic of conversation next time you see each other.


Spread the word folks, we've got a good thing going here that we should be proud to share with others.

One other thing you can do..

Buy ATS clothes and wear them around, I mean not everyone who takes the time to read it will
visit the site, but it's not like no one will either.

That's what I do, either where my ATS T-shirt or hoodie.

I guess I overlooked all of this, my intentions were honorable. I by all means don't think spamming is a good idea and that is also why I thought my idea was just a start and wanted to develop and come up with other ideas that you all might have for a good, non spamming way we can all do are part in recruiting new members when relevent.

When ever I find a good UFO video on YouTube I ask the OP to come join us but more offten then not will just add what I typed above to my signature so whoever is interested in the relevent topic can come join in as well. If this isn't acceptable to ATS T&C then by all means I will stop doing this immedietly.

Again I don't think senseless spamming for ATS is a good idea and that is NOT what I was going for. Time and time again while perusing the internet I will find a video or article and someone will post a comment with a signature that points me towards a relvent sight to come and continue the topics discussion and that is all I was suggesting as and idea, and as I originally intended for this thread to develop other ideas or work off the one I posted it worked in one respect as many of you posted that my idea is not a good one, but have failed to induldge me in any good ideas for recruiting new members other then letting google do all the work.

Again I would have liked to come up with a good approach to finding new members when relevent to our discussions here but its obviously a moot point, so I will conceed.

Thabks for all your input.

~Anathema

Simon & Springer,

Thank you for responding in kind. I appreciate your good words and appologize if I jumped the gun on an unneeded service. I just thought it was a good idea at the time and then went ahead and put together the thread and posted it.

I will try to think a little but more before I leap in the future so as not to post irrelevent threads.

iori_komei,

That's a fantastic idea. I will most definetly have to purchase some clothes to hand out to my friends. When ever they are over here they always see me browsing the website and start asking wat it's all about. I have gotten many of them interested and then eventually signed up here just by them looking over my shoulder and asking questions, that's how interesting this site is.

Justin Oldham,

If I could count the endless amount of signatures I have seen with a small comment and website linked....
I was just trying to start the thread off with an idea or better yet a motivator to get people thinking in the same direction as me as far as getting new members here is concerned. I think I didn't do to good of a job at inspiring new idea, instead I got a lecture on T&C and how getting new members is not my concern, which it is not I might add, was just trying to contribute to the site.


~Anathema


[edit on 5/12/2007 by anathema777]

It's not a problem. There's a LOT to learn about this kind of thing.

Sheesh, you should see my business plan. so many red lines.

I here ya on that one buddy. I just love aseeing new members. Its even better when they bring lots of evidence and good insight.

~Anathema