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Description
Running a Group 101

Hello Everyone!

I have noticed, that there hasn't really been a running a group guide yet, so I wnated to put this together. Feedback would be awesome! As you send them to me, I will edit this. (Please me otherwise I may not get your info!).

So here we go!

This Guide is meant for all Beginners to Advanced!

=TimberClipse (me) has been part of the groups system from the start and has Founded groups along with being a Co-Founder and Contributor for many other groups

1. Basics: So let's start out easy. Information. It is one aspect of groups that are often overlooked. There are up to 10 new members on dA every MINUTE! These are all people who could join your group! But... You have to know how to get them interested, and how when they join your group, give them information to stay active!
Here are some tips:

- Welcome new members: Give a welcome message. Whether it is automated and given out by a contributor or personal for each new person. This makes a difference since it makes people feel welcomed and since it gives them information! (Make sure to include information of how to submit, make journals etc.)

- Give your members incentive: Give members incentive to stay active (i.e. contests) and give incentive to get new members (i.e. mini contests etc.). These types of things can be made into contests or other such group projects.

- Keep your group focused - Make sure not to say you are -for example- a "Animal Photo Group" and then accept images that are emotes. This discourages members and makes them not as interested in joining.

- Your Front Page - This is what your members and potential members see every day and first. Keep it looking good! Use easy-to-read fonts (not "sub" or "sup"!) and try using custom user boxes -Super groups only- such as ones from !Commander-Luminaire . These can make your front page appealing AND make it more likely for people to join!

- If members decide to leave, try to keep them - Ask them why they left. See if you can fix whatever they were unhappy with.

2. Intermediate: Lets now go to a little more advanced. This is for groups that are above about 200+ members.

- Contests - Once you have started your group up, maybe 2-4 months into your group, get a contest going! Make it large, ask your friends, neighbors, affiliates and.. of course dogs to contribute prizes! This is a great way to get members! A well made contest can grab up to 100 new members within the first few days!

- Advertising - At this point in your group you want to try to start advertising. Try going to affiliates and see if they will make an "Affiliate blog" that will advertise you. Feature your own affiliates and ask them to do the same! etc. These will all help your group AND your affiliates plus grow trust between your groups!

- Galleries v. Faves and Submissions - So Faves or Galleries? 5 Submissions a day or 500?! These are very important questions and ones you should always think about! Consider some of these points:

Your Group Size Changes A Lot - Consider your group size. Some groups are small (50-200 members) and this type of group should certainly take advantage of BOTH Galleries (For Submissions from Members) and Faves (For Submissions from everyone!). Try accepting all images into the gallery so that your members feel the group is active.
If your group is medium size (500-1000 members) try using just the gallery or faves so that you do not overload members. Try only submitting a few images a day so they are appreciated more (Take your average number of submissions and divide by 30, round up and set that number of submissions per day)
If your group is large 1000+ Try not using the gallery for anything EXCEPT the best. And then accept a limited amount into faves, and maybe 10-20 a week to the gallery selected from faves.

3. Advanced: This section is meant for those with large groups and experience.

- My group is up and running but there is nothing new to do! - VERY untrue! This is your groups prime! Start pushing your groups ideas more! For example if your group is Animal Photography, then go through the gallery and announce some new rules to make your galleries better. Start accepting only certain art that is material that is featureable or even DD material!

- Feature - You can take your group and make members incredibly happy with a simple feature in a news article or a journal! Try doing this once a month, and maybe a best of once every quarter.

- Blogs - A lot of groups do not take advantage of this feature. Many members have news and stuff to give. Again if your about Animal Photography, I can promise you your group has someone who is more knowledgeable than most and wants to share their talent! Find them!!! Ask them to make a Tutorial or a Blog for your group! This will help both you, and the author as he/she will be noticed more and will get to do something they love!

4. Wrapping Up: Although this is far from all you can do, try thinking outside the box! People like the same thing often, but something new can really catch peoples eyes!

If you haven't started a group yet, make sure to start a group that hasn't been addressed yet! For example my group was the first of it's kind. (It's goal is to feature peoples art that may have been missed!). Other groups do similar things but it is still NEW!

was also a fresh idea, never seen before.

Thank you for reading, have a great group!

Resources

Don't forget about your resources! These can really help you out with questions and problems!

• Making a Group
• Group FAQ
• Groups Page

(Image above is from the Groups page at deviantArt)

Description
Running a Group 101

Hello Everyone!

I have noticed, that there hasn't really been a running a group guide yet, so I wnated to put this together. Feedback would be awesome! As you send them to me, I will edit this. (Please me otherwise I may not get your info!).

So here we go!

This Guide is meant for all Beginners to Advanced!

=TimberClipse (me) has been part of the groups system from the start and has Founded groups along with being a Co-Founder and Contributor for many other groups

1. Basics: So let's start out easy. Information. It is one aspect of groups that are often overlooked. There are up to 10 new members on dA every MINUTE! These are all people who could join your group! But... You have to know how to get them interested, and how when they join your group, give them information to stay active!
Here are some tips:

- Welcome new members: Give a welcome message. Whether it is automated and given out by a contributor or personal for each new person. This makes a difference since it makes people feel welcomed and since it gives them information! (Make sure to include information of how to submit, make journals etc.)

- Give your members incentive: Give members incentive to stay active (i.e. contests) and give incentive to get new members (i.e. mini contests etc.). These types of things can be made into contests or other such group projects.

- Keep your group focused - Make sure not to say you are -for example- a "Animal Photo Group" and then accept images that are emotes. This discourages members and makes them not as interested in joining.

- Your Front Page - This is what your members and potential members see every day and first. Keep it looking good! Use easy-to-read fonts (not "sub" or "sup"!) and try using custom user boxes -Super groups only- such as ones from !Commander-Luminaire . These can make your front page appealing AND make it more likely for people to join!

- If members decide to leave, try to keep them - Ask them why they left. See if you can fix whatever they were unhappy with.

2. Intermediate: Lets now go to a little more advanced. This is for groups that are above about 200+ members.

- Contests - Once you have started your group up, maybe 2-4 months into your group, get a contest going! Make it large, ask your friends, neighbors, affiliates and.. of course dogs to contribute prizes! This is a great way to get members! A well made contest can grab up to 100 new members within the first few days!

- Advertising - At this point in your group you want to try to start advertising. Try going to affiliates and see if they will make an "Affiliate blog" that will advertise you. Feature your own affiliates and ask them to do the same! etc. These will all help your group AND your affiliates plus grow trust between your groups!

- Galleries v. Faves and Submissions - So Faves or Galleries? 5 Submissions a day or 500?! These are very important questions and ones you should always think about! Consider some of these points:

Your Group Size Changes A Lot - Consider your group size. Some groups are small (50-200 members) and this type of group should certainly take advantage of BOTH Galleries (For Submissions from Members) and Faves (For Submissions from everyone!). Try accepting all images into the gallery so that your members feel the group is active.
If your group is medium size (500-1000 members) try using just the gallery or faves so that you do not overload members. Try only submitting a few images a day so they are appreciated more (Take your average number of submissions and divide by 30, round up and set that number of submissions per day)
If your group is large 1000+ Try not using the gallery for anything EXCEPT the best. And then accept a limited amount into faves, and maybe 10-20 a week to the gallery selected from faves.

3. Advanced: This section is meant for those with large groups and experience.

- My group is up and running but there is nothing new to do! - VERY untrue! This is your groups prime! Start pushing your groups ideas more! For example if your group is Animal Photography, then go through the gallery and announce some new rules to make your galleries better. Start accepting only certain art that is material that is featureable or even DD material!

- Feature - You can take your group and make members incredibly happy with a simple feature in a news article or a journal! Try doing this once a month, and maybe a best of once every quarter.

- Blogs - A lot of groups do not take advantage of this feature. Many members have news and stuff to give. Again if your about Animal Photography, I can promise you your group has someone who is more knowledgeable than most and wants to share their talent! Find them!!! Ask them to make a Tutorial or a Blog for your group! This will help both you, and the author as he/she will be noticed more and will get to do something they love!

4. Wrapping Up: Although this is far from all you can do, try thinking outside the box! People like the same thing often, but something new can really catch peoples eyes!

If you haven't started a group yet, make sure to start a group that hasn't been addressed yet! For example my group was the first of it's kind. (It's goal is to feature peoples art that may have been missed!). Other groups do similar things but it is still NEW!

was also a fresh idea, never seen before.

Thank you for reading, have a great group!

Resources

Don't forget about your resources! These can really help you out with questions and problems!

• Making a Group
• Group FAQ
• Groups Page

(Image above is from the Groups page at deviantArt)