Build Your Booksie House

Tips for House Founders

Congratulations! You have created a House. You have now staked a claim to your own piece of community on the Internet. Houses are self-contained websites on Booksie so how the House goes is totally up to you. But simply creating a House will not make it successful. Like anything, it requires a bit of work and persistence on your part to really make your House thrive.

Any why should you care? Because not only is it fun, but having a Booksie House is proof that you can build communities online, and in this day and age, having that as a skill is something you can take to the bank. In fact, if you grow your House to over 250 members and keep it active, you become eligible to earn awards and prizes from Booksie.

Below are some tips on what you can do to grow your House and keep it active.

Make Your House Inviting

First, you have to set the stage and make your House an inviting place for those who visit:

• Place a Welcome thread in the message boards and invite new members to introduce themselves.
• Post interesting topic conversation starters in the forum. This could be about some writing topic, a good book or television show you have watched, a new feature you’d like to see. Make it engaging and relevant to the content of your House.
• Post some initial content to the House.
• Post a writing prompt.
• Start a writing challenge or a contest.

The worst thing is to have an empty House. Users who visit will think the House is dead and not bother to join. Keep the content relevant and up-to-date. This may take some work at the beginning, but once you get the House going, it will become easier and easier.

Bring Visitors to Your House

Once you have your House in good shape, start bringing members and non-members to your House.

• Find members on Booksie who fit the profile of your House and politely invite them to join.
• Share your House on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
• If you have a Blog, put a link to it from your Blog or website.
• If you are running contests or special events on the House, share those on social media.

Get Help

House are set up to allow Founders to recruit other Moderators. Recruit other members, friends, or family who you think can you help you. Moderators, like Founders, have full control over the House and can delete threads, content, and members. Brainstorm with the other moderators on the best programs to run and the best ways to attract more visitors. Every House is different so it may require a bit of experimentation.

If you have other tips, feel free to share them below.