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How to Create a Great Topic
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#1
24-01-2014
There’s a rule of thumb that 1% of the members of an online community create new posts, 10% make comments and the rest lurk.
If you are one of the creators, thank you. Your content is what makes the internet such an interesting place. When you do post a new discussion, here are some tips on how to make it a great one:
1. Make the discussion title descriptive.
A good discussion title is a short preview of your post and is what gets people to click and read. A well written title is also going to help search engines better index your post which will bring more people into the discussion. For example, instead of ‘The worst movie ever’, try ‘The Internship is by far the worst movie of 2013’ or instead of ‘Build mode doesn’t work’ try ‘Help, problems getting into build mode in Sims2.’
2. Proof read.
Spelling mistakes, typos, and bad grammar will distract readers from the point you’re trying to make. If you’re writing a long post, save it as a draft and come back to it after a few minutes or as long as it takes your brain to forget what you had written.
3. Use minimal formatting.
Overly formatted posts can also distract from the message and it encourages others to do likewise and you end up with a hard to read thread.
4. Put your post in the right category.
The right category can be the one that has a relevant category name or it can be a category where this kind of post is often made. If there is no appropriate category, then mention that in the post that you could not find the right place.
5. If you want responses, ask for them.
In marketing this is called a ‘call to action’. If you want others to comment, you can encourage them by asking them to do so. If your post is just an FYI then don’t.
6. Mention others.
Credit other members if you are building off their previous comments or if you want to draw them into the discussion.
7. Take ownership of the discussions that you have created.
Respond to comments promptly and thoughtfully. Thank others for commenting on your discussion.
CREDITS: Vanilla Forums Developers
If you are one of the creators, thank you. Your content is what makes the internet such an interesting place. When you do post a new discussion, here are some tips on how to make it a great one:
1. Make the discussion title descriptive.
A good discussion title is a short preview of your post and is what gets people to click and read. A well written title is also going to help search engines better index your post which will bring more people into the discussion. For example, instead of ‘The worst movie ever’, try ‘The Internship is by far the worst movie of 2013’ or instead of ‘Build mode doesn’t work’ try ‘Help, problems getting into build mode in Sims2.’
2. Proof read.
Spelling mistakes, typos, and bad grammar will distract readers from the point you’re trying to make. If you’re writing a long post, save it as a draft and come back to it after a few minutes or as long as it takes your brain to forget what you had written.
3. Use minimal formatting.
Overly formatted posts can also distract from the message and it encourages others to do likewise and you end up with a hard to read thread.
4. Put your post in the right category.
The right category can be the one that has a relevant category name or it can be a category where this kind of post is often made. If there is no appropriate category, then mention that in the post that you could not find the right place.
5. If you want responses, ask for them.
In marketing this is called a ‘call to action’. If you want others to comment, you can encourage them by asking them to do so. If your post is just an FYI then don’t.
6. Mention others.
Credit other members if you are building off their previous comments or if you want to draw them into the discussion.
7. Take ownership of the discussions that you have created.
Respond to comments promptly and thoughtfully. Thank others for commenting on your discussion.
CREDITS: Vanilla Forums Developers
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