Let's bring in some new members!

[Chantilly]

It seems to me that if you want to attract new members, you need to include some of the topics that might interest newcomers, even if those topics are old and familiar (and thus no longer interesting) to you. If you've been raising goats for 20 years, a thread on goat herding/tending (or whatever you call it) might not offer something new, but it could be very helpful to someone who wants to start raising goats. The same is true for raising other domestic livestock, gardening, canning, sewing, remodeling, making your own biofuels or whatever other household projects you do yourself.

There are probably other issues that you could explore or discuss, too. Can a person become self-sufficient in the city or suburbs or does it require a plot of land in the country? If so, how does one DO that? If you're making a change, how do you convince your kids to go along with the program, especially teens? If you are living on an isolated farm somewhere, how do you establish or maintain a sense of community with the people around you? How do you meet people? Where do you socialize? Is it harder to make friends in the community if you don't belong to a church or if you home-school your children? What sacrifices are required for you to live a self-sufficient lifestyle? What positive things do you get in return? How do you find the time or money to take a vacation? Who cares for all the animals while you are gone? Are you tied to the farm during lambing season or when the garden needs to be harvested because you have to be there to can your produce? Is it really cheaper to raise your own chickens than to just buy eggs and meat when you need them? Which activities and projects are worth your time, effort and money because of what they provide in return? And which ones have you concluded just aren't worth it for you?

 

[Joel_BC]

It seems to me that if you want to attract new members, you need to include some of the topics that might interest newcomers, even if those topics are old and familiar (and thus no longer interesting) to you. If you've been raising goats for 20 years, a thread on goat herding/tending (or whatever you call it) might not offer something new, but it could be very helpful to someone who wants to start raising goats. The same is true for raising other domestic livestock, gardening, canning, sewing, remodeling, making your own biofuels or whatever other household projects you do yourself.

Hi, Chantilly. Glad to have you with us. There is a lot of useful information in posts that are archived in each of the subforums. Some of the things you mentioned as topics of interest to new people are discussed in the archived threads. Those subforums are easy to browse through.

I believe people here will respond helpfully if you ask about some aspect or angle on a topic that you've not been able to find info about.

While many topics about raising livestock may be basic and well-answered or discussed in existing theads, there seem to be a lot of new and emerging ideas concerning raising food plants in gardens, greenhouses, and other sites. It's a "hot" field of widespread interest again these days.

Much has been changing and emerging in regards to design, construction, remodelling, and retrofitting of buildings, too. So there's room here, in my opinion, for posts discussing info (and questions & answers) for this aspect of DIY and homesteading. Same with home or homestead technologies like shop tools, small engines, and that sort of thing.

I'm less aware of what may be new with respect to kitchen-type stuff. But I do know that people here tend to share interesting recipes, not to mention food preservation methods.

 

[ORChick]

Chantilly, as Joel has pointed out there are lots of things in older threads that might interest you, and others. The search feature here is pretty good. Also, if you haven't done so already, you might want to check out the sister forums - check down at the very bottom of any page - for info on chickens, other livestock, and gardening. And, again as pointed out by Joel, asking about specific topics will usually provide either an answer, or a push in the right direction on where to find an answer from another member. We are a pretty friendly bunch, for the most part .

 

[the funny farm6]

maybe we could have a "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) where people can look at questions others have had like how to do the searches and post pictures and things. and/or a "welcome to sufficient self". and the faq could be there as a sub catagory. then we can field questions from newcomers and help them feel more welcome.

just a thought. i was kinda shy at first. and was embarased to ask how to do things here.

 

[Nifty]

Hmmm... we don't really have a "new member introduction" section. Maybe we should! It could be a new section or added to "Me & My Self Sufficient Family"?

We usually direct people to introduction sections when they join... but I don't remember what we say in our SS welcome email. Any new members have a copy?

 

[Joel_BC]

Hmmm... we don't really have a "new member introduction" section. Maybe we should! It could be a new section or added to "Me & My Self Sufficient Family"?

We usually direct people to introduction sections when they join... but I don't remember what we say in our SS welcome email. Any new members have a copy?

I like the idea of an introduction section, but... Am I right in thinking that adding new sections is tricky? I remember when I lobbied for adding a Shop subforum a bit over a year ago, we had to search through all the old posts and figure out which ones had something to do with shop processes, equipment, etc - so they could be moved into that section.

 

[Nifty]

Nope, it's not difficult adding a new section, and we don't really need to move old posts... that process just helps keep the section from looking totally empty.

 

[hqueen13]

What about having a sticky post at the top of each section that has some links directly to threads in that section that are really relevant?
To continue on the goat theme... the livestock section could have a sticky in it with links to posts on a couple different kinds of livestock in general to help get people started.
I, personally, am probably lazy and wouldn't likely search deeply if I were new. Often newbies don't take the time to figure out how the search feature works, they sort of plunge in and land where they are. The simpler the better for a newbie to help get them to the right section and the right info. But I like talking, and sometimes start talking before I've figured out all the details

 

[Nifty]

Great idea! It's often hard to pick "best" threads, but maybe a few of some of the good / popular threads might be helpful.

One feature that other forums have that I'd love to have here is "related threads" widget that automatically shows other threads at the bottom of each thread.

 

[txcanoegirl]

I'm going to throw my 2 cents in...and that's about all it's worth!

I think the forum is nicely set up, and the categories are well-defined. To some, that may be a plus. For me, it is somewhat of a negative. There are so many categories that I have to search and scroll just trying to figure out where to post a new thread or where to read up on a topic of interest. In my opinion (for what it's worth), that's too many categories. Even though I can go to a specific section to find topics, the result is that I don't read as many threads. If there were fewer categories, I might read through more of the threads, or at least skim them, even the ones that don't apply to me. I'm a member of a few forums that have as few as 1-3 categories. The one with only one category is a little too encompassing, but the ones with only a few categories seem to work well. You can see post topics at a glance, and click on the ones of interest. If you're looking for something specific, a good search engine works wonders. I think you'd have more people posting than lurking if you had more people reading more of the posts and replies. This answer sort of belongs in the lurkers thread, but I put in here because of the discussion of additional sections.

Jill