How Would You Like To See racketboy.com grow?

Post by **racketboy** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:23 pm

I would love to see the site grow in some new and interesting ways (not just writing) while keeping the close-knit and niche feel.

Any ideas?

Post by **retrogamer** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:28 pm

Contests and giveaways would be fun where one could earn raffle tickets by submitting things to the site, and where additional raffle tickets can be purchased through Paypal for extra chances to win something. Some other sites I visit give away Wii's, DS's, PS3's etc and the site owner makes a profit too which helps to offset the costs of running the site, pay for the prize, etc... Just a suggestion which would draw in new members and keep them coming back.

Post by **racketboy** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:38 pm

retrogamer wrote:Contests and giveaways would be fun where one could earn raffle tickets by submitting things to the site, and where additional raffle tickets can be purchased through Paypal for extra chances to win something. Some other sites I visit give away Wii's, DS's, PS3's etc and the site owner makes a profit too which helps to offset the costs of running the site, pay for the prize, etc... Just a suggestion which would draw in new members and keep them coming back.

Hmm --- Pretty interesting... might have to build the member base a bit more to make it work. But maybe we could start with retro consoles or games that would be a bit more affordable to start out.

Post by **Cerulean** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:12 am

or maybe another color format for the site. it kinda hurts my eyes.

Post by **racketboy** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:59 am

Cerulean wrote:or maybe another color format for the site. it kinda hurts my eyes.

You mean the forum or the whole site?

Post by **retrogamer** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:32 am

Cerulean wrote:or maybe another color format for the site. it kinda hurts my eyes.

That is a good point also. The rest of the site is fine but the forum is very hard to see with the black and dark blue color scheme.

Post by **retrogamer** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:34 am

racketboy wrote:
retrogamer wrote:Contests and giveaways would be fun where one could earn raffle tickets by submitting things to the site, and where additional raffle tickets can be purchased through Paypal for extra chances to win something. Some other sites I visit give away Wii's, DS's, PS3's etc and the site owner makes a profit too which helps to offset the costs of running the site, pay for the prize, etc... Just a suggestion which would draw in new members and keep them coming back.
Hmm --- Pretty interesting... might have to build the member base a bit more to make it work. But maybe we could start with retro consoles or games that would be a bit more affordable to start out.

Here is a link to the other site which does this so you can see how he has it set up: http://www.gametraderworld.com/monthlygiveaway0207.php

Post by **racketboy** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:48 am

The forum color scheme is on my to-do list, but I have some functional features to add to the site before that.

Post by **marurun** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 1:54 pm

Well, I kinda like the site colors. It's kinda relaxing on the eyes. I've always liked dark backgrounds and light colored text. Less harsh due to less light emission.

As for features, I'd like to see a forum area designed specifically for your postings in the retro blog. That way people can discuss your blog posts without digging up the topic from varying forum areas.

I think I would like to see more guest submissions as well. I know you've done one or two and maybe the real problem is a lack of people submitting materials.

I also think maybe implementing polls, or using them more, in the preparation of Hidden Gems like articles, allowing us input before going live with it, might also be nice. I know you solicit comments through this forum, but polls might simplify parts of the process, too.

I like seeing video with some of your posts, so maybe more links to video related to the articles, or possibly specially made videos solicited from the forums might be nice as well.

Post by **racketboy** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:38 pm

Well, there is a comments section on the blog and a number of people post comments in there.
And usually, my bigger post I do post a topic in the forum for discussion.
In the case of the Gems series, I did have a topic for each console well ahead of time for input. In fact, I ran a contest for it as well

I will try to integrate it a bit more though.

I would love to have more guest submissions as well. If anybody wants to contribute anything (articles, reviews, etc), they can either email me, pm me, or post it here in the forums.

As for videos, do you guys like the embedded Youtube clips, or would you rather see just a link to the video?