Site Management Incentives For Staff Members

[Cory]

Aside from real currency, what are some good incentives to offer staff members for being a staff member on your board?

 

[Nomad]

Free banner advertising, free signature advertising, free marketplace access, free VIP access, free or discounted services like posting packages are some of the incentives you can give your staff members. If the site has posting credits enabled and if the credits have some sort of value, you can also give 2X credits to your staff.

 

[Debashis]

Free banner advertising, free signature advertising, free marketplace access, free VIP access, free or discounted services like posting packages are some of the incentives you can give your staff members. If the site has posting credits enabled and if the credits have some sort of value, you can also give 2X credits to your staff.

What if the staff member doesn't own a site of his own? 😄

 

[Smokey]

I guess it would be cool if it was a gaming site/forum and maybe if your staff was really dedicated, you could give em gift cards to the online store of their choosing/preference say a Steam key/gift card, xbox gift card, etc.

 

[Nomad]

What if the staff member doesn't own a site of his own? 😄

If the staff doesn't have a website, he can still promote his social media page, affiliate link, etc. The staff can use the free marketing offered by the forum to promote someone else's website and make money out of it. let's say you do not have a website and you are a staff here. You can use the signature advertising for promoting someone else's website and make money out of it.

 

[joelr]

free VIP access

This is an aside, but I have a real question

Out of all of the forums that you've visited, how many actually have a useful VIP section? I see a lot of forum webmaster boards that promote a special VIP section, but it's rarely used and rarely posted in. The majority of VIP don't actually subscribe for that special VIP section.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I think giving gift cards could be a good gift to give to your staff. Heck if it's a gaming website, you could give your staff a game of their choice, depending on your budget of course.

 

[Darth Cognus]

Gift cards are nice to incentivize producers for a gaming site. Having persistent appreciation, sticking up for them when the going is tough, building rapport are all neat things that might not necessarily be 'incentives' in the way this thread expresses. For volunteers in my experience at least, the reward in part is giving back to the community in the first place and they're not doing it for whatever incentives, they're nice one offs. Making them comfortable and appreciated for what they do, ever seeking to tone down the sharp edges that come with moderating, writing whatever can go a long long way.

 

[Nomad]

This is an aside, but I have a real question

Out of all of the forums that you've visited, how many actually have a useful VIP section? I see a lot of forum webmaster boards that promote a special VIP section, but it's rarely used and rarely posted in. The majority of VIP don't actually subscribe for that special VIP section.

I think VIP sections on most forums do not have any real use case. Out of all forums I have used only few had a useful VIP sections. On Bizdustry, a VIP member could withdraw forum credits and also have full access to marketplace section. After the last update, when paid posting was disabled, VIP membership does not have any value. On Index Forum, before Cam acquired it, VIP members were earning more credits per posts and they were also exempted form seeing ads. On Discussion Bucks, upgraded members can withdraw forum credits in crypto.

 

[Cory]

Great ideas, everyone!

If the site has posting credits enabled and if the credits have some sort of value, you can also give 2X credits to your staff.

I could also award the staff a payout of X credits a month for being an active, contributing staff member.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I think allowing the staff member to invest in the forum might be a great benefit for their services.

They don't pay to invest, but they reach a certain threshold of activity and commitment to become eligible to invest.

This would really cater to those monetizing their forum. Somehow, keep track of their activity and commitment and pay them dividends at the end of the year.

Many times, a monetized forum relies on activity to continue making money. Share the wealth with those who commit.

 

[Henrywrites]

I guess it would be cool if it was a gaming site/forum and maybe if your staff was really dedicated, you could give em gift cards to the online store of their choosing/preference say a Steam key/gift card, xbox gift card, etc.

I once won a gaming card for being a staff on one of the top gaming forums around. It was really a happy day for me as I enjoyed getting such a gift.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I think a token of appreciate every holiday season could also be helpful.

The owner of a forum promotion forum shot all the staff a $10 amazon gift card one year. That was very decent of them to do that. $10 isn't much but a gift card during the holidays is very thoughtful regardless of the amount IMO.

I used to have a weather-related forum and bought a lapel pin for everyone that had to do with the niche. I sent it out and they were all really happy about their unexpected gift.

I asked for addresses to send Christmas cards.

 

[joelr]

If you're a staff member on Admin Junkies ...