After the MNS meeting the other night, I got into a lengthy discussion with one of the committee, about things like aging members dropping off the perch (three recently deceased, a great loss), lack of interest by young people, and so on.
Apparently ACF's existence is a well-kept secret. Which got me thinking about cross-promotion between the forum and clubs.
What I have in mind is to produce a PDF from some of our better threads, to highlight the value of being part of this fantastic group (and AJ and Trout too, but that's another story :dodgy:). Some appropriate promotional text and graphics for a front page, and instructions on how to join us. The target would be something more than a flyer, less than a book, with pretty pictures that come up well in monochrome. It should be small enough to be emailable, say a couple of megs max, and say 3 or 4 double-sided sheets printed. It could even be the start of a series, sort of like the Tasmanian Numismatist, but with all content coming direct out of the forum.
What do people think? Assuming we want new people, this could boost our numbers, especially if we each printed out a few copies and left them on the counter of our favourite coin shop.
Then the other side of the cross-promotion angle would be to encourage everyone here to at least visit a coin club, and to join if at all possible. Discussions and pretty pictures are great, but nothing replaces having something in your hand, and that's where clubs come in. Besides, they need our money, as most are awash in red ink.
Yes and No, yes a few new member might be ok but then I don't want CCF and really very happy with the way things are ATM..it will grow in time :winkextra:
HAHAHA you take me and I'll join a coin club, for us bush people this is our coin club :P
Oh and PM on it's way, love ya :P
Quote from: 'ausjack' pid='41724' dateline='1392441435'Oh and PM on it's way, love ya :P
:heart: ;)
When I saw the title of the thread I assumed that you had been promoted to chief shit stirrer :angel:
Just kidding Mate.:)
I would love to join a coin club but there isn't one within 500 ks of me :dash1:
Like AJ said ACF is the closest thing to a club for us "Bushies".
The only way I can promote numismatics is to contribute on the forum as best I can and give to odd coin away to collectors from time to time to help out a wee bit.
A great idea tho Mate, I am certain that there is a wealth of knowledge and expertise out there that are blissfully unaware of the forums existence.
I have tried to get Sel to sign up but he won't because of his loyalty to CCF:-/
Anyway more is better especially if we can get some of the old guard aboard along with the new guard :yahoo:
I imagine that you had better run this past Mark , PPH and the rest of the crew to get approval.
I wish you well in this endeavor , Once again Bloody good idea Mate :good:
He's taken a different .... route . r
what is the MNS?
Quote from: 'robbiegal' pid='41756' dateline='1392449698'what is the MNS?
I assume that Fulvio is referring to the Melbourne Numismatic Society :)
oh ta
If we don't grow we might disappear, my interest in decimal coinage is starting to wane,
so less post's from me in the future,, (stop cheering!!)
But I would hate it to get hijacked by the wrong people.
All off topic posts removed. There's a thread in the Chit Chat forum to discuss Kel's problems.
I was at a coin shop today and was thinking about asking them if I could leave some flyers promoting the forum.
I think this would be good for everybody.
What so you all think?
What coin shop?
I came here from silver stackers which is very active, I think part of what makes it so popular is its buy and sell sections. You can normally get a cheaper deal for bullion and nummis then ebay or dealers. They also have bullion dealers that sponsor it and offer cheaper sales through the site. This forum could perhaps expand its sell and buy section? or maybe entice dealers to list things at forum member prices? Just a thought and not sure if anyone wants to go that way, Im thinking sales drive traffic.
I was at IS Wright in Sydney.
Does the shop make much difference to the idea?
I could also visit other Sydney shops as well.
I see this forum as both a coin forum for information and then as a medium for a national and international coin community forum
both professional dealers and hobbyist sellers promote their wares here and sell some things at members rates i.e. the maccas for 2014 is a great example
I would not like to see this forum being top heavy on the selling
It would no longer then be a coin forum but a selling and buying venue for - what was that term "sales drive traffic"
guess it is matter of ones' personal vested interest in and experiences within this forum
Fair call, was a suggestion to attract new members, and like I said Im new here, not trying to rock the boat. What I do like about this forum is it has more of a community feel to it then ss.
I just had a quick peek at silver stackers .. first time I have seen that site
I just posted my thoughts in response to your post
no one is right or wrong
and all suggestions get comment/discussion around here which is another great way that this forum ticks
very inclusive (until mark puts his foot down!! ha ha)
just as ozcoins suggested having a flyer, new ideas are always welcomed by Mark and PP
I think that with the separation of areas more posting in any area (such as the selling areas, since selling has been mentioned) should not affect other areas in a bad way.
Sometimes it's a little quiet around here, so I think some more (good) members would be good.
People who go into a coin shop may well turn out to be good members.
Quote from: 'Ozcoins' pid='44922' dateline='1395837828'People who go into a coin shop may well turn out to be good members.
Quite. As can be said for clubs, other forums, or even FeePay!
Much of the resistance to change comes from historical considerations. Many of the people in this forum have been together for a very long time, through several previous incarnations. Those previous forums, and some of the people in them, were less than healthy, and there is some fear that cancers may return and spread.
That said, I've never met a bad person here yet. Even a couple of the "problem" people aren't really bad as such... confused, misunderstood, perhaps slightly off-balance or on morally shaky ground, but not out and out crooks or evil people. Even one who has two sacks of my dollars didn't intend to rob me... circumstances dropped him in it, and I was collateral damage.
Personally, I think that promoting and building interactions is a good thing. Whether its ACF, clubs, or even commercial services and dealers, more participation by more people serves to broaden and improve the experience for all. And anyway, its fun!
I would like to see more real-world interaction between forum members. While we're spread all over the country (and the world), with some of the more active people in truly remote nooks and crannies (and hence with more time on their hands to be active I guess), we do have a fair concentration in capital cities.
So why not do some things locally? Perhaps regular meetups, or swap meets, or localised offers? It costs a fortune to ship stuff around the country, and its not getting any cheaper. So if I have something or want something that isn't very expensive, the cost of moving it from A to B can be many times its value. But what if I could take it to a place where other members were, and simply exchange it in person? Wouldn't that be a good thing? And wouldn't having more people provide a bigger pool to build such with?
I get that we don't want to be CCF. I seldom go there because I much prefer the community feel here, and the people who matter are on both anyway. But there are a lot of good people out there who have yet to hear about us, and I don't see how reaching out to them could be a bad thing. Bigger doesn't necessarily mean worse.
We currently have 312 members registered.
big forum means more lurkers and more trouble so honestly I like it small and I can tell you that I wouldn't post like i do as I didn't on CCF and as for me talking about my problems..wouldn't hsappen and I bet my balls there's a lot of others that would be the same, I think a lot of the community feel comes from me and me letting my guard down but as soon as this becomes big I'm out, I can't handle lots of people as it stresses me out and I'm sure there's others here like me..just look at the comments from when I first started to open up and that was to try and stop people 1 pickin on me and 2 puttin me pic up to show I'm not full of shit and these things have really happened to me so I just wanted to also warn people that you entire life can change in a blink of an eye and not for the better..so I like small and friendly like it is ATM..end rant for now but reserve the right to spit again :D
Yes Rg, 312 but how many actually post :( I'd say there's between 20/30 regulars posters so we have heaps of lurkers that we need to get involved more and not worry so much about making it big as it will get there in time and in it's own way and it doesn't need any help as I think it's doing really well for such a young forum and if we had a huge population I would expect it would grow even quicker..I might have to get Mark to make me my own forum :winkextra:
And as for SS, well I had a look and it looks like a typical sepo site that's just there to make the owner money so it didn't really interest or impress me sorry..but each to there own ;)
It's very typical for <20% of members to be the entire active population on a forum so I really wouldn't get too fixated on that.
I don't see a problem with the way things are going as you have to take into account it really is still a baby so to have so many good posters makes me very happy and yes it has it's slow days but then we all can't be on 24/7 and I think it's going better than ccf but that's just me :)
So come on, clap along :laugh2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM
Quote from: 'markn' pid='45059' dateline='1395958301'It's very typical for <20% of members to be the entire active population on a forum so I really wouldn't get too fixated on that.
Not even that. I think across the board, all the groups, forums and lists I've been on would average maybe 10%. We're actually doing rather well here in terms of participation rates. And fantastically well in terms of interaction, both quality of responses and breadth of topics.
And AJ, don't stress about CCF. We'll never be like them. Even if every one of us went out and hyped ACF up to everyone we meet, I don't reckon we'd more than double our membership, and add maybe a couple dozen active posters. So nothing would really change. Well, apart from more people getting to experience some ACF awesomeness that is. :angel:
Another example of the 80/20 rule.
20 of the members make 80% of the posts.
Quote from: 'JeffH' pid='45094' dateline='1395968720'Another example of the 80/20 rule.
20 of the members make 80% of the posts.
ROFL! I'll pay that one! :angel:
And AJ, don't stress about CCF
Nah mate couldn't give a rats about ccf any more and been ages as I hate adds and it was getting worse were they even put adds in between post so next thing it will be in the post LOL. I should put it to them to get paid per post or at least get a commission..works for me :laugh2:
From what I have seen here, more members are wanted.
1-to share in discussions, give input, bring up new topics
2- No matter which way you do it you will get bad with the good and the quiet with loud
3- I think Flyers and some promotions are required if this is to achieved but bottom line is someone has to make it happen
- wether its the moderators who invest and go it or up to the community to unite and donate where we can to make it happen
4- So a plan is needed and a driving force to make an effort and go out and seek the help required, which ever way is decided to go, INHOUSE/COMMUNITY/NOT AT ALL?
here is what I think would be a good start
-Create the BUY/SELL to only be used on one night a week to start with (I would advise a Monday night as the most users was the 9/6/14) a Monday night. The idea behind that is to get new users here on MONDAY night AUCTIONS a special night? So if users come to buy, they come Monday night and drift off again, the bonus is to get the louder people to stay during the week.
-Get some flyers printed, Vistaprint around 2000 for $100, post them out to shops and members to distribute
- Then when you get the traffic through you can sell a bit of advertisement but not overboard like I heard about (CCF) just enough to sustain your objectives
Anything can happen, if its desired enough, it will be made
Cheers OCC
"Our members have made a total of 52,752 posts in 2,649 threads.
We currently have 344 members registered."
then there is the question of whether this is a coin community forum
or a sellers forum and as well, there is a fair amount of selling and trading that does take place anyways
if it is a selling site then the forum section will soon disappear
there are a few coin selling groups on facebook and they are being quite effective in private sales,
I know a couple of people who use them and that they move a heck of a lot of coin sales dollars
but managing the sales is the part that worries me about those groups so I don't use them at all
Personally I think it's a good mix of everything. More info than you can poke a stick at (ie: photography, grading, releases, slabbing, noodling and events). Recent releases and finds are well covered. Members letting others know of stuff they're letting go of. Followed up by a caring bunch of coiniacs, who at times are quite funny ........ and don't forget the music! (In the absence of our resident conductor Jeff).
PS: Pedro ........ See my baby jive!!!!
If you are a coin collector then the obvious move would be to "Dance with the Dolly with the hole in her pocket".!! :angel:
Close as I could get Robster! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF31dJSGsvI)