Wow! Did ya'll notice???

We have had 565 new members sign up this month! That is only 20 off our all-time record month (last summer) when we were growing by leaps and bounds!!! Now we just need to come up with some ways to get more of these members to sign up and become full-fledged DG'ers.

I had a couple ideas I passed to Dave a while back, but I'll bounce them off ya'll for input before I bring them back up to him:

1. A two-week "gift subscription" for all new members, either automatically starting when they sign up, or maybe do a mass two-week open period when everybody who's signed up recently can particpate in the forums and chat; and

2. Automatically sign up every new member for the daily newsletter, which they can always turn off later. But I think the daily stats speak for themselves, and would arouse my curiosity as to what those DG people talk about all the time :)

So what are your ideas for encouraging more signups? Let's let Dave hear from us so DG can truly become the largest community of gardeners (we're already the best if not the biggest, right????)

I like both ideas. The Newsletter would be more than enough to get me to join - too nebby I'd have to know what's happening in there.

Terry,

Maybe combine #1 and #2. As new folks sign up, they get a 2 week complimentary membership. For all the folks who have signed up in the past year, send them an email inviting them to take advantage of a 2 week complimentary membership.

Even those folks who were "members" but chose not to pay the $15.00 subscription fee...it might be a way to get them back.

~Carla

Great Ideas

Paul

go_vols... As a long-time Sales and Marketing Manager, I found that giving away a little (but with some glitz) nets a whole lot in return. Therefore, I'd think that to give all new members a comp. 2 week subscription, right when they sign up (as obviously gardening was on their mind at the moment or they wouldn't have been here) might be a good idea. I'd also include the newsletter in that 2 week freebie.

As for as those who have become, or will become, members but not full-fledged DG'ers... I might run a promotion at the beginning of every early spring gardening season, and again in early summer, when everyone has gardening foremost on their minds... but will have to think if just a 2 week subscription/newsletter promotion might be enough of a hook...

Hmmmm.... Maybe Dave needs to require their birthday when they sign up, and then sending a creative birthday greeting along with the 2 week freebie might do the trick. I know it would require some additional programming on Dave's part.... but, hey, didn't he say he was making this a full time job since he started charging $$?? Besides, if it garners more paying and participating members.... might well worth his time because he only has to write the program once, and it will be like the Ever-Ready pink bunny.... keeps on working!

I don't think I like the idea of requiring birthdays. Some folks don't want messages for that sent their way.

Also - if the newsletter comes right away, some folks might chalk it up to junk mail, and delete it right away without reading it. Anytime I get a membership (trial or otherwise), and email starts rolling in, I start deleting it all over the place.

my opinion, of course,
-Jennifer

I'm not sure if I understand this right. Can you still sign up for Daves garden and become a member without being a paying member? If that's the way it is, I didn't realize that and was thinking that all the new members were paying members.

If all the new members aren't paying members, then I think it would be nice if Dave could program something into the subscription process that gives them free time to the entire site, then after a time period of Daves choice, they would have to pay the subscription fee to access the parts they can't without a subscription. If they don't get access to the whole site right away, then they might never subscribe because they won't know what they are missing.

I'm thinking along the same way I dicipline my children. LOL! I find it much more effective to take away something they already have and enjoy, than to tell them they can't get something they've never had and gotten attached to.

i brought up the idea of a trial membership a while ago. i guess dave didnt like the idea. http://davesgarden.com/showthread/139179.html
jen

A open time for all might work but if you gave every new member an automatic free period some would just keep coming back as "new" under different names over and over. But a single Day or week set aside as open house where total access is possible might indeed boost subcription rates. But the programming to do this may be more work than it is worth (not understanding programming I do not know what it might entail)

I do not like the idea of sending the newsletter out unless it is requested. That is the sort of thing that tends to aggrevate me. I enjoy our newsletter, but it was my choice to recieve it. Unsubscribing to un asked for email is a real pain in the....!

I agree about the automated email. If I get one from somewhere I have accessed, I immediately unsubscribe without even checking it out and have now taken to adding it to my blocked senders list. I know I may miss some things this way, but about two months ago I was getting so much junk email (jobs on line, meet mates, and other worse trash) that I was afraid I would lose real msgs. because of lack of room if I did not check it twice a day. It was a nightmare. I am sure others do the same. Not good p.r., but just my opinion.
ozarksue

I think both ideas are great. If I had to pick one of the two, I would go with #1. vic

It'd be pretty sad for someone to sign up with different usernames, ya know? I mean, the big thing about membership for me is the social aspect here. I love the relationships the forum has brought to Howie and me. Someone signing up repeatedly would not be able to enjoy this because s/he would have to be careful not to say too much and give herself/himself away.

I like the trial idea, if there was a way to keep that kind of thing from happening without it being a huge chore to manually watch out for those who took advantage in that way. It could be a real time-sucker for Dave, you know? But it'd be great if it could be managed automatically somehow.

I think #1 would be a good idea (even if it isn't for two wks but a shorter time). Like others, I don't care for receiving newsletters unless I ask for them so would tend to shy away from automatically sending out DG newsletter.

Number 1 would also be a great way to let people send a "gift subscription" to their friends they think might be interested in DG. Perhaps an email form that says, "_____ has just given you a two-wk gift subscription to DavsGarden. Please feel free to sign in at the following link and participate in our DG Family." And then a bit more info would follow telling of the site and all the cool stuff that goes on here.

Okay, I know this is a very creative group, so will everybody please put on your thinking caps (just not too tight!) and throw out your ideas on how we can convert more of those new members into subscribers?

(JoanJ, you described it correctly - it is still possible to sign up as a member of DG without subscribing. And if you look a the member list you can see that a lot of folks are new members, but not subscribers.)

As to automatically sending the newsletter, I have mixed feelings on it too. But I've subscribed to several forums that send an unsolicited newsletter; admittedly it can be annoying, but effective: it does exactly what they intend for it to do, which is to periodically remind me that I've joined their forum or website. And occasionally, something in a newsletter catches my attention, and I'll go look around and see what's new. (And yes, a few of them have irritated me enough to unsubscribe.)

When the public broadcast stations run their fundraisers, they offer a choice of gifts for people who join, the choice being determined by the amount paid as a donation. Maybe DG could offer assorted seeds, donated by the members of each zone, or plants for postage if the new member chooses. Some of the businesses in GWD might agree to give discounts to new members if asked. We might put together a DG collection of best garden tips, to be sent only to new members who subscribe.

Aimee, those are great ideas. You put your thinking cap on just right, didn't you? :)

I'm not especially fond of the newsletter idea, either. I get enough stuff in my "in-box" as it is and I'd probably just delete it, too.

This idea would require some programming on Dave's part, but it might also work. As new members sign up (and it could be offered for those of us who are already members), they check off a list of things that they are interested in (which happen to correspond to each of the forums). Whether they sign up or not, as specific messages are posted (relating to the topics they identified as being interested in) a message can be sent to them, such as: "If you're interested in "--------------", then take a look at this! Then provide a hyperlink in the email message to that particular thread.

These are all interesting thoughts and proposals...

My concern with giving a 2-week trial period to all new members is, the potential for abuse. Properly executed, a lot of abuse can be prevented, but I am not sure it can be 100% cleanly done. I am giving this a lot of thought, however.

Newsletter? That's also a tough one, for all the reasons already expressed here. I don't want to get into any kind of a 'spam factor', but I think that can be solved by carefully wording the newsletter and responding quickly and efficiently to all messages received as a result of the newsletter.

Lastly... and here's something that hasn't been brought up yet: The subscription itself. Is the process too difficult? Am I making it too lengthy of a process? Would streamlining the subscription process potentially increase the subscribers?

Dave

Good points, Dave.
Too lengthy a process? As in giving a two wk freebie? (If so, maybe a two-hr freebie would be enuff of a peek. And the two hrs could be used by the "number of minutes-of-logon" time...you may have this program already set up for the yearly subscription folks, complete with an automated "notice of renewal" message. That would save extra programming on your part. I think(?))
I also agree with you...the auto-email newsletter does seem a bit too much like spam. And I also see the potential for abuse regarding the two wk trial. (Or even the above-mentioned two-hr trial.) Guess you'd have to rely on cookies to be able to block someone from abusing the system (if that is how it works...you know me, I'm not computer minded).
I would suggest also that if someone DOES get a freebie trial subscription that they would not have the ability to offer one to a friend (as I had previously suggested in my other post above.) Course now, as I ramble on and have re-read my above post concerning members offering trial gift subscriptions...bad idea. I now think only DG staff (you or Trish) should be able to offer anything in the form of a gift or a trial. Perhaps this will cut down on a lot of potential abuse.
At this point, I think I'm "stymied"! But will keep thinking about it and reading everyone's input.

Have you ever thought about setting up a mentor program for newbies? Sometimes it helps to have your special person you can depend on to answer questions or offer suggestions until you get your legs under you. If I came here as a total stranger, I might wonder about some of the responses and inside jokes between seasoned DGers. Heck, after several months, I still do sometimes. So a person visiting might be paired with someone who has been here long enough to be familiar with the details. Many people don't crash parties well, and this might seem almost like a private party when you're new. After they feel more like members, they are more likely to want the whole pie instead of a little appetizer.

Aimee... I have been here nearly a year, and still feel like an 'outsider'... and yes, I don't crash parties well. Maybe a newbie might feel the same way, sponsor/mentor or not. Don't have a suggestion as to how to prevent that... probably just our basic personalities working....

I've been crashing this party for about 6 months and I did feel somewhat intimitated for awhile because I didn't know everyone and didn't know what they were referring to and such. Plus, I came here after a particularily bad round at the OTHER site, so I was cautious. I'm getting to feel much better about it, but perseverence has always been one of my strong points. LOL!

I don't know what the answer is for newbies, but if they are coming from the OTHER site, they will need some encouragement. They will need to know that they are welcome and wanted before they will speak out.

Amen! The other site was almost enough to make me stay away from any other, (I got sent to Disney and never went back) and had it not been for Imaseedpicker, aka Rebecca, I would never have come here. (I had visited when it was just Dave's little project for his use and I think he was going to TOS, that other site.) Some people will always be more reticent, and that's fine, but for those who are waiting on the fringes to see if it's a place they will like, an established member could take the initiative and help them find their niche.

I like the mentor idea...because...believe it or not...I am a shy person......until I get to know you. Perhaps we could volunteer to be a "mentor" to "newbies", then have our names placed on a roster. When a new person joins, the one at the top of the roster would be assigned to that person...We would email them (through DG) a hearty "Welcome aboard", tell them a little about our self, explain some of the workings of DG, and just be available to answer their questions, and encourage them to subscribe. Jo

Good idea Jo - from time to time I've tried to watch the member list and email the newest members with a personal "welcome" message; it's easy to do, and could be done informally by any of us. It's also nice to start a thread in the Welcome Mat for each newbie...again, this can be done by any of us at any time. (hint, hint - come on, all you extroverts! ;0)