Here is one I've not seen discussed. How many of you provide perks to your forum staff members? I generally try to provide a bit of something to show my moderators my appreciation for the service they provide. On three of my forums, I like to take the mods out for dinner. Which is actually a pleasure for me, since they all live in Scotland! :lol: I've sent gift cards in the past. On one forum, I had polo shirts embroidered for the staff members. We were a rather rebellious group, so I had shirts made to reflect that. How do you reward your staff members?
I try to do what I can while remaining cost-effective. When you have five moderators, it quickly becomes expensive to get anything that's really of worth. For starters, I give them just about unlimited features on the board (attachment space, PM space, etc.) and an e-mail address for my domain ([email protected]). I feel bad for not giving them anything materialistic, but I do always thank them and encourage them. They really appreciate my words and it just makes them much happier to work with me. This is only our second year of existence, so I think it's about time I invest in something nice for them.
I offer my staff members a customized hosting package (whether it be a regular shared or reseller account) that will fit their exacting requirements. As the majority of them are also web-savvy, I have offered domains in addition to the hosting. The perfect combination!
My offers is different depending on what forum is it. But if i do offer stuff it is mostly like more space for avatars, profile picture, album storage, pm storage and i also give them an email ([email protected]) if they want it.
Like mentioned above, I try and give them almost unlimited access to the forum. I've been trying to send them some t-shirts, but that shit is way too expensive to print :S
I'm actually thinking of offering them a selection of coffee cups with the forum logo embedded on the side.
Some great ideas here! I'm going to be doing something this year for my folks. I like some of these ideas.
These coffee cups could also be an excellent method to use when it comes to subliminal messaging. Think: every time he/she takes a sip from the mug, they will be presented with the forum's logo and therefore, become excited to post even more.
Man, you guys are all very generous. I always give them unlimited forum access and permissions (PM storage, custom usertitle, etc). In the past I have also offered to host them with me if they need it. But other than that, I've never really done anything spectacular. I think the reason for this is because on the forum I am referring to, members would kill to be of moderator status. So just the position is enough to keep the ecstatically happy for the lifetime of the forum.
My staff have unlimited access to the forum with uploads, PM's and forums etc. But most my staff have not really been there long enough for me to feel I should start sending them gifts. However when I feel the time is right I would love to send them some gift cards or something.
Well on Setsou Design there's only one administrator. I send her money for Christmas and her Birthday via Paypal, plus, when I make graphics, I give a little something. On Bird is the word, there's only two other administrators. One administrator is the back end administrator and he's paid and the other one is a friend who gets money from me on Christmas and his Birthday. I try to be generous.
I have sent my admins cards and gifts, but other than that the only compensation they receive is status in the eyes of the community. (And I mean both online and off... it's an insular little world.)
the staff dont see the adverts, and on one forum i send them all cards and presents on their birthdays and christmas
I don't make any money on my forum yet (5 years later ) so can't afford to reward theme except with public appreciations posts.
Wonderful idea... My site is just now creating some fund and it a great idea to get them a gift from the site with the logo... Hmmm... I got a few idea now thank you all!
