One area that needs to be revisited every so often, is the “welcome” to new members. The early days when someone first joins are when habits, tone and value of the community culture, loyalty and stickiness are going to be set. So don’t miss an opportunity to welcome your new member, give them positive values to adhere to and things to do.
While I think this is the best online community signup ever, there’s more that you can do to make it easy for Visitors to move to Newcomers in the social network membership cycle. And registrations are important for identity in online communities. In fact one of the flaws of blogs is that they do not encourage sustainable identities thus leaving no “report card” of activity if the member turns out to be a troll. Note the last paragraph on identity and registration in online communities how Japan has moved from anonymous communities like 2CH to totally closed, invitation only, fully registered ones like Mixi. It’s really no surprise as mass social network audiences learn what really suits them.
Welcome Emails:
EMAILS: Signup emails that simply say “here’s your password” or only have “please click the verification link” are a wasted opportunity to connect. Why not list off the things they could do? Or once a month, update the welcome email with a campaign (competition or event that month) and some “did you know” statistics and facts for the members that join that month. Otherwise the answer to “what do I do here” might very well be “I dunno” and they wander off to another online community.
What to do next:
LANDING PAGE: This is where your FAQ, Tutorial or Welcome to Newcomers area shines. They get tips on “First 3 things to do on this site” or “The most popular subjects today are” and so on. Leading newcomers down a path a little is fine – but don’t do too much or they slip into passive reading, not active contributing mode. The first few connections a new person makes on a community dictates how they behave and sets their (mis) conceptions for how the community is run.
The Ravelry social network getting started page doesn’t have to be on your own community site, lots of Facebook pages also have “newcomer landing pages”.
Note, this Facebook page for Supre doesn’t appear to NON-newcomers, only those who are visitors and not yet “liking” the Facebook fan page. Of course it doesn’t work for engagement – it looks like the front page of a (passive) magazine cover, rather than a “come inside and meet the family” community fan page. Still, fashion is a bit more about the Cover than the Inside, no? 
Visitors vs Newcomers
A visitor hasn’t yet signed up, and should be in “read only” mode. Newcomers have signed up and are in “contribute mode” but also “I’m scared I’m going to make the oldtimers cross” mode. And that’s pretty easy to do. Giving them special areas and making it clear that “stupid questions” are allowed, keeps the Elders from being too grumpy with seeing “how do I…” for the 10 millionth time.
What other things could we do to make newcomers feel welcome on forums and online communities? Without excommunicating them from the hurly burly online? Any ideas out there? :p
@AylinAhmet Do you mean this link? http://bit.ly/9NzQmP Welcoming New Members to Your Online Community?
@SilkCharm – woopsie… and here is the link guys http://bit.ly/9NzQmP
RT @SilkCharm Welcoming New Members to your Online Community http://bit.ly/c92sKv
RT @blaisegv: RT @SilkCharm Welcoming New Members to your Online Community http://bit.ly/c92sKv
Great practical tips for building an active online community RT @SilkCharm Welcoming New Members http://bit.ly/c92sKv
Welcoming New Members to your Online Community | Laurel Papworth – http://goo.gl/0XIk
It’s used more often with games than community websites, tho linkedin also does it: leading a newcomer through an active tutorial-type-thing step by step with pop up boxes or a side panel where they have points or a progress bar as each step is completed before a new suggestion is made. At any time the user can get rid of it and do things in their own order, but most people would probably go along for the ride at introduction stage, and even feel a slight compulsion to ‘fill in all the boxes’ to complete the tasks suggested. Depending on the type of community, that might be too much hand holding, but there could be more subtle ways of doing it, such as one suggestion per visit.
Completely agree that welcome should be optional not forced.
I usually offer:
- video for ppl who like visuals, not reading
- FAQs for people who like dot point lists (quick grab)
- Did you know (brief facts on 3 things you can do)
- links to a forum or group for newcomers
YouTube has a special landing page with
Get started using YouTube
Customize your channel page
Upload and share your video
Set your account preferences
I checked Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/gettingstarted.php
Add friends, find friends, profile info, profile picture.
Facebook has a variety of tools – including a box that you can click close when you first log in (top, under status).
Google blogspot has a “first things” too.
I don’t see welcome info used enough in games as they assume some level of game playing and techiness, but usually quite well in sites that have a less techy audience, an older audience or a less “developer” audience. however, while games may not have the Help info up front and center (welcome screen) they do usually have a good ecosystem of help forums and FAQs. YMMV
(have to admit, the big sites usually employ a team of writers to get their documentation support messages out ASAP – smaller sites can’t afford to and can’t afford not to…).
RT @SilkCharm Welcoming New Members to your Online Community http://bit.ly/c92sKv
Nice idea about the welcome emails. Most welcome emails would just give you a link to activate account or something. So why not really try to jazz it up and grab it as an opportunity to let your members know more about the community, encourage activity and participation or update them of things that are happening. It i something new and I think it will work.
our site since the beginning elect new members annually to become apart of a welcome committee… it is one of our greatest compliments the love shown from day one.. including from myself the site creator… I welcome every new member.
Welcoming New Members to your Online Community http://bit.ly/c92sKv
Welcoming New Members to your Online Community by Laurel Papworth (@SilkCharm): http://bit.ly/atCMyt
Welcoming New Members to your Online Community by Laurel Papworth (@SilkCharm): http://bit.ly/atCMyt #cmnl
Hey–thanks for the link love!
This comment was originally posted onBlaise Grimes-Viort
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