...the main problem being getting people to join in!!
Last week (not closed yet) nobody at all left a link, which looks really bad and may just discourage other people too, so it becomes a vicious circle.
I don't want to abandon the idea of the papercraft challenge too soon, so I am hoping that maybe we can change things a little bit, at least temporarily.
I know some of you have asked about joining in with a link on your "week off", which I don't want you to feel obliged to do (but please feel free if you would like to). But I thought if anyone has made two cards/layouts, perhaps you could join in (on "your" week) by showing off your second project. I usually make it live mid-morning on the Wednesday (UK time) - is that evening in the US & Canada? Linking as soon as possible would be great, to encourage others to join in! Perhaps if it made a difference I could schedule it for very early on Wednesday - let me know if that would help you.
Again, don't feel obliged. I have blogged about the problem here so if you have any other ideas or opinions, please shout up!
Also, I haven't forgotten the issue of comments on blogs linking up to the challenge - it doesn't seem an urgent problem at the moment as there is nothing to comment on! We can see how we go on this first.
Thank you to all of you. I'm thrilled with the professionalism of your projects so far!
19 comments:
that sounds good to me will try and get a post up on Wednesday happy crafting to you all
Hi Wendy, I sent you an email about suggestions before I saw this post... anyway I have extra HH projects, if I link them at the other weeks challenge is it ok if I just mention "DT - not eligible for prize" in my blog? Also, Would you like me to link cards I make with other companies images to your challenges? not sure how you felt about that, let me know.
Thank you Rachel - that is appreciated x
Laura, thanks for the email (brilliant!) have emailed back. Yes, you can mention you are on the DT (if you say not eligible for prize that's OK, because it reinforces that there is a prize). I am OK at the moment with linking cards from other companies, because spreading the word is the most important thing right now. Thanks Laura!
Yes, most other blogs I've seen (or am on) let people throw their cards in with other stamp companies' images on them; definitely let them do that. And I'll enter other projects I've done, too, just to get the quantity of entries up. We can do this, girls; the images are so cute, and we HAVE to get the word out!
OK, I added a couple "fun" cards just to get some entries on there. I'll spread the word to my other designer friends, too.
Thank you Valerie - that's a lovely response! x
I will absolutely link my extra projects to weeks I am not scheduled! Here are some of my thoughts to get more players: the more "Challenge List" sites we can get listed on the better and I have found that offering a "blinky" for their blogs like "I was a Top Three Pick" at Handmade Harbour REALLY helps to generate interest as well as keeping the categories really general. Also, I think asking players who use one of the HH digis to list that in their title would be good advertising too, and people can see quickly who made something with an HH digi. Anyone using an HH digi would be elligible for the free stuff, but maybe ANYONE can be elligible for one of the top three's and get a blinky for their blog... just a suggestion... people love to have bragging rights! PS: I LOVE all the images I have gotten to play with so far and I think we just need to give it a little time!
PS Wendy for Sept 18th would you like to use the extra card I posted as part of the team blog or would you rather I linked it up as a player... Just let me know before the 18th!
I've just popped on the challenge blog and noticed the following
The current challenge is not linked in the tabs at the top - its still on last weeks
Card crafters can be fussy and don't like to scroll around to find a challenge - so maybe see its last weeks and finished - then maybe just leave
I feel you should tempt peeps to play by offering anyone the chance to win a digi - but if they use a HH digi they go into the pot twice!
I'll have another think what else could help too
Zoe x
Yes, Lynne - doing it as a link would be super, thank you x
Zoe - thought I had changed that. Thanks for pointing it out! Yes, I agree other prizes will be good. Thank you x
Great suggestions. Mine would be to maybe start making Christmas cards as this is one of the main items that people on other blogs are offering and putting up as challenges. Also Halloween so maybe do alternate weeks and we can all join in the challenge on either weeks to show off any work we have done.
This is very new to your blog Wendy so it just needs time to build up a following.
I like everyone's comments on here. I also think it would be good to have a separate heading for the Wednesday papercraft challenge, like you do for the monday linky party. I am one of those people who really dislike having to search all over a blog to find soemthing that I would expect to have its own heading. I think having all the papercraft parties on their own page would be more useful than having them randomly through the hh blog.
Ii read lots of the comments on the HH Monday blog yesterday (and commented too). The main consensus is that is a great idea for the WPC challenge, but that it is only new and it does take time for things to take off.
Also, it is a busy time of year for lots of people, with Halloween (in the US) and Christmas fast approaching - people are often caught up in many things towards the end of the year. When I was on the DT at the LSBS we found that the forum and cybercrop participation always slacked off towards the end of the year, as school holidays, christmas etc were approaching.
Sorry I am not more involved. I have been getting kids ready for school and now sports is taking over. I think there are many others that are finding life is taking over. They will come out and play. I love the badge idea. You could also consider a Guest Design Team spot. Building up a following will take a little time. have you considered a FB group for the Design Team? I find that I communicate better when I have a news feed. lol. A FB page for Handmade Harbour would be nice to advertise, show DT work and spotlight entries.
I LOVE the idea of a private Facebook site for the design team! (just saying!) but that will only work if we are ALL already on facebook...
Haha, I wondered when Facebook would get a mention. I have spent the last few years telling myself I really need to get over my dislike/fear/phobia/lack of understanding of Facebook. Maybe now is the time!!!
Seriously, thank you all for all your help and support. You are amazing - it makes such a difference!
I'm off to the hospital with Mum and Dad today so may be out of touch for a while.
Please don't take this as a criticism... but I was thinking that the challenge themes are kind of vague and that might deter people from playing along. when it's too vague a lot of people have a hard time thinking of something that fits and don't play.
I noticed that people like playing challenges when there is a specific theme that's not OVERLY specific...
another thing that helps spread the word is for the DT to enter their creations in other challenges. it drives traffic to our own websites and if the challenge is the same, a lot of people who comment on your card will also hop over and enter in the HH challenge as well. I try to do this for all my DT cards (although sometimes they just don't fit into any other themes!!)
just my 2cents... hope we can get it sorted soon!
lovies, =o) kel
I agree with your comments Kel, maybe a wee bit more specific in a general kind of way (grin), like friends or family/ flowers, something like that would really open it up. I am also trying to find challenges to enter my HH creations into .. Can anyone recommend a GOOD site that lists challenges? If you can I would LOVE YOU forever!! Because I won't even try to tell you the craziness I have been going through trying to narrow down the challenge sites! i have a card Lready to go to link up tomorrow.. i can't wait to see how it goes this week... We just need to be patient, I think.
Thanks all for the comments - everything helps even if it is later discarded as I need to think this through carefully.
kel, that sounds really useful. I had been thinking along those lines and thought I had got them resonably specific with room for movement but maybe I do need to look at them again.
Yes please ladies, do enter them into other challenges! x
@lynne - paperplayful.blogspot.com
we're listed there (i went through the database to make sure of it!) and there are other places that lists challenges but i think this is the most comprehensive. being their dt calls/blog candy coordinator, i may be a bit biased though! lol.
@wendy - another thing i thought of - you wanted us to link to the store in our posts... but we're already linking to the store by linking to the image we use in our projects. how about linking to the blog instead?? that way people can go straight to the papercraft party instead of having to click through the store (although i understand why you want to direct traffic through the store)
and i know you want the DT's links to their direct post, but you don't need to publish them to get the permalinks (it's super simple to schedule a post in advance and grab the permalink if anyone doesn't know how). if someone on the DT posts their project before the challenge goes live then people who hop through the links won't be able to play along and will most likely not come back to play later.
just a thought.
lovies, =o) kel
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