User blog:Algorithmz/Deeper Into Promoting Your Wiki

Although there are many topics about Promoting a Wiki on Fandom, there is not one that you will find that will go as in-depth as this one will go. In this blog, I will be discussion how to promote your wiki, where to promote your wiki, what to say when promoting your wiki, etc. Promoting your wiki is not only important to the fans, but it is important to staff and other users who would like to see Fandom grow and prosper with a reasonable amount of income and revenue.

What platforms should I use to promote my wiki?

 * Blogs - Blogs are great ways to communicate with fans. Many people love to peruse around blogs because typically, they are enjoyable and they give useful information to the audience. Making your blog interesting and putting your own "pizzazz" into it allows users to actually feel welcomed and want to actually join your wiki. sentences long that . Usually, fans are interested in reading something that could actually entice them. They like things that would attract attention and interest not only you, but them.

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 * Forum Post/Discussions - Forum Posts/Discussions are another great way to community with the fans of a certain topic. Many fans (definitely from my experience) usually hang out in different thread and talk areas (such as forum boards/discussions, comments section, and message walls). With this, a lot of traffic is there and it would be great for promoting your wiki.

Where should I promote my wiki?
Dependant on what platform (such as blog or forum post) that you use to promote your wiki depends on where you should post it. For example, if you are planning on creating a blog to promote your wiki, promote your wiki here (the Community Central) or on a wiki related to it such as Disney Pixar's "Finding Dory" on the Disney or Pixar Wiki. Do not, however, promote a blog for Disney Pixar's "Finding Dory" on the Star Wars or Runescape Wiki. This is an off-topic discussion and will most likely result into the removal of your blog/forum, warning, or even worse, a block.

What should I include when promoting?
Some methods (which are obviously useful) can help you when promoting your wiki:
 * The name and link of your wiki
 * What is your wiki about? What is it's main topic?
 * Why might fans want to join your community?
 * How is your community different?
 * How is your community "fun"?
 * What are your plans for the future?
 * How could others help out?

What not to do

 * Promising user rights - Promising user rights are the best way for trolls, vandalizers, spammers, and abusive users to destroy communities. This is also a way to give users (who really have no interest or know nothing about the content) power to your wiki.
 * Bugging users - Bugging users quickly pushes people away from you and makes them not interested in the community. There is a fine line between promoting your wiki and annoying users.

How should I promote your wiki?
There are five basic elements to promoting your wiki that are key to grabbing a user's attention while also informing the user and making them want to join your wiki:
 * Diction: Word choice is a key component for the success of you promoting your wiki. Using words like "stuff" and "things" makes fans and users think that you are not fit to lead a wiki or that you have a lack of knowledge to be a wiki editor. This also draws people away from your wiki.
 * Organization: Organization is another key component that contributes to the success of you promoting your wiki. Being unorganized in your blog, forum post, etc. shows that the potential of you having lack of organization on your wiki is very high resulting in people not wanting to join.
 * Personality: The way you write tells everything about you. Adding your personality is key in writing and tells more than you could ever tell about yourself. Which one would you rather read: "Superman ran across the yard and saved the girl." vs. "ZOOM! Superman bolted across the yard and rescue the little girl from falling!". Most likely, you would rather read the second one because I added more "personality" and "life" to make it better.
 * Photos/Images: Including visual aids and representations in your forum or blog post can act as a tool that matches with your blog. Having no images, whatsoever usually bores people (especially when it is extremely long).
 * The Wiki: This (in my opinion) is the most IMPORTANT component that can make-or-break the success of you promoting your wiki. Appearance, structure, layout, and portability are important when trying to attract viewers. Would you rather go to a wiki like this: Screenshot_2017-02-24_at_10.12.10_PM.png or would you rather go to a wiki like this: Screenshot_2017-02-24_at_10.10.38_PM.png? These aspects will allow you to attract much more visitors and promotion will be much more successful. :D

The Importance of Promotion
Promotion sometimes can be frustrating (definitely when people deny joining your wiki) and sometimes can be "too much work", but if done correctly and efficiently, your wiki will bloom with editors and users that are actually interested in the content. Promotion is something that is key to the growth of your wiki and the Fandom Network. Promoting your wiki will, in return, improve your wiki.