Advertising, the first step to ruling the world

[kamome]

Harvey made a good point in another email: how do you advertise F*ed Gaijin to the world? I noticed that JapanToday.com has tons of people posting pretty interesting comments in response to the news. Maybe there's a way we can somehow get them to visit F*ed Gaijin for some REAL fun?

[ultragaijin]

Harvey made a good point in another email: how do you advertise F*ed Gaijin to the world? I noticed that JapanToday.com has tons of people posting pretty interesting comments in response to the news. Maybe there's a way we can somehow get them to visit F*ed Gaijin for some REAL fun?

(a note: on the Forum, we call emails "posts") :roll:

For this site, I like to subscribe to the theory of "If you build it they will come." Of course, there's a bit of a chicken and the egg problem with that.

Anyway, along those lines, my goals are to provide frequently updated, intersting stories on the main site (btw, everyone can submit stories for the main site) and encourage thoughful and rowdy, out-of-control discussions on the Forums. And hopefully, the general discussion will cover a much broader range of topics than just the news stories.

To get started, I want to go with word of mouth...friends of friends, co-workers, etc. We need people who are interested and inclined to actively participate. The Forum won't succeed without a solid membership of regular posters.

I've already sent off an ad to Metropolis, but I'm not sure if they'll print it. Hopefully, they won't see FG as competing with them. I think we actually complement their publication and online sites. We're a perfect fit for a certain segement of their readership. And FG is definitely not a business (Do you see any stupid banner ads?).

I really would like to get the word out to the Japan Today discussion board crowd, I think they would be a great source of active members. If anyone knows people that post there, please let them know about the FG Forum.

Advertising is okay, but engaging, new content is the thing that brings people back. And that's really up to YOU, the members.

Spread the word! Spam your friends! Link to us, or mention us on other sites which might have some interested readers. Print up postcards and drop them at cafes all over town! Wear your FG T-shirt everywhere you go (it's a great conversation starter)! You get the idea.

[Harvey]

If you notice any good advertising venue's, let me know!

Hey, letsjapan.org is kind of related to your site, maybe they'll link exchagne with ya. Or, anyway, they have a board, might be a good place to stealth plug your site.

[ultragaijin]

I already did in a non-stealth way. It seemed like a pretty low-key site, so I just posted "Hey, check out our new site."

YMMV with that type of approach, depending on what type of a site it is. I guess I'll shoot off an email about an "official link."