sterling 1,996 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 League Requires Recruitment Boost With the Season 44 VHL Entry Draft being the smallest draft class ever in my memory, it is evident that the VHL needs a renewed interest in recruitment and retainment. To me, it seems far easier to identify this area as a problem than it does to come up with a viable solution. Exactly where and whom do you target to bring here? Sim hockey leagues are certainly a niche market which means not many regular day people will decide to pick this up as a hobby. With that said, I do think a league like the VHL can provide a lot of cheap, easy entertainment and a really unique social setting for people. It’s clear the league has a lot to offer, but branding such is what we need to do. We need to get our message out to the masses. In the past I tried Facebook advertisements, but this didn’t seem to work well and I never renewed it past the trial period. Other options included Google ads, random forums, Reddit and the like. Who knows what the best option is? What I do know is that the simply spamming of other message boards which at one time was fruitful is now more or less seen as a general nuisance to online communities. Imagine if that occurred here, which at times it does. People don’t usually react in kind to that intrusion. I’ve long thought that perhaps we could look into VHL merchandise such as stickers or T-shirts. Even well placed posters in individual’s communities or colleges might attract new members to the scene. If we could create sharp looking clothing with some words on the back referring curious bystanders to the site, we may have success. It is these types of creative recruitment ideas that are required. I really think we need to tap into new markets of people that haven’t experience sim leagues before. The aforementioned Reddit is apparently a good source of paid advertisement. I’m not sure of the logistics of such a move, but it sounds like something worth moving on. There are countless other sites on the internet and especially other message boards with high numbers of traffic that we could advertise on. We certainly have the cash flow, but alas I’m not going to put the effort in to mobilize the effort, I’ll simply pay for it. It will be key to find new members as their energy is what keeps the VHL going. I can’t stand seeing such a small draft class in a league that has seen some incredible recruitment periods in its history. In less than a month, we will be celebrating our 8th anniversary which is quite an amazing feat in the world of online simulation hockey forums. It hasn’t come without trials and tribulations, but we’ve always made it through clear. It seems to me that the league is as strong now as ever before. We have a number of dedicated admin staff that are making good decisions to strengthen the core of the league. My one complaint would be that we obviously need an increased focus on bringing in new members, especially with creative ideas. There’s no harm, for instance, in paying people TPE to come up with recruitments or recruitment ideas. I hope people will see the need for an improved focus on this area. eaglesfan036 and DollarAndADream 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregreg 930 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Maybe try some kind of tpe giveaway? like if you create a player this off-season you get a free 20TPE to add to your player. That might also get some older members back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOOM 8,662 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Why was my idea of paying a chinese hacker to DDOS all the other sim hockey leagues never implemented? Drastic times..... Sixersfan594 and sterling 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOOM 8,662 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 And yes, I might be slightly racist. I just think Chinese hackers would be quite good at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevo 778 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 And yes, I might be slightly racist. I just think Chinese hackers would be quite good at it. heard 'em from North Korea are better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corco 1,176 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Or maybe, just not that many people are into online sports LARPing? Corco 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoop 3,384 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Or maybe, just not that many people are into online sports LARPing? Except it's not LARPing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molholt 2,185 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 (There may be one that I just don't know about) But I think if there was a canned explanation/post of what the VHL is, more people would post it in other places. Some times it can be tough to fully encompass what a simulation league is and make it sound fun and not taxing. If there was something members could copy and paste to their favorite forums and message boards, I'd bet more would. [in b4 you tell me there already is one somewhere] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smarch 3,100 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 You can have all the people they fired here today as recruits as they have tons of time on their hands now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamond_ace 3,107 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Why was my idea of paying a chinese hacker to DDOS all the other sim hockey leagues never implemented? Drastic times..... We couldn't find Anderson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling 1,996 Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 You can have all the people they fired here today as recruits as they have tons of time on their hands now Fired for what? Surfing the VHL at work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smarch 3,100 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 hahaha restructure time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesfan036 4,595 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 VICTORY HOCKEY LEAGUETHE WORLD'S FINEST SIMULATION LEAGUE The Victory Hockey League (VHL) is a player simulation league where you are able to create a unique player of your own and compete with/against other members of the VHL (100% human). Creating a player is as easy as filling out a template, which takes you about two minutes (maybe up to five minutes if you have difficulty deciding on a player name, country, or position). After you post your player's template to our forum, you have a full career experience including drafts, minor leagues, trades, and free agency. By doing weekly writing/graphics tasks, you are able to build your player's attributes. In doing so, you can dictate what type of player you create (power forward, sniper, defensive defenseman etc.). These point tasks are as fun as you make them out to be, but they usually take no more than 45 minutes per week to get full credit. For the first thirty seasons of its history, the VHL featured eight teams - four in the North America Conference and four in European Conference. After Season 31, the league expanded to ten teams, meaning five teams in each hemisphere. VHL franchises vary from the Toronto Legion and New York Americans to the Cologne Express and HC Davos Dynamo. Did we mention all VHL logos are designed by our own members? They're all incredibly impressive and the league is worth checking out for that reason alone. All in all, to give the VHL a summation: we are an incredibly active organization that has continued discussion surrounding every day topics, whether that involves sports, school, or work. The league is successful because of its incredibly dedicated administration, its stunningly strong member base, and the will to make every day in this league fun. Below are some details surrounding what makes the league so impressive:Quick Facts about the VHL: We have been running for 42 seasons, or over 7 real yearsAll players in the league are members who have created players. There are no CPU's.There are 10 teams in the league, 6 playoff teams.We have unique logos for each team, designed by our membersWe have a portal to keep track of statistics so your records will never be lost Truth be told, there's never been a better time to join the league. We have seen over 100 players created over the past two seasons, and already have 45 signed up for next season's draft. If you spend a small amount of time on your point tasks, your player will have a very successful career. Join the Victory Hockey League today to get your career started! Please say you were recruited by eaglesfan036 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrick 4,741 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Well for one that is too long. People don't want to read so we need to shorten it up and update it and not put Eaglesfan at the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molholt 2,185 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I think the league history in terms of team stuff might not be necessary but I think the rest is pretty clear and nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DollarAndADream 3,356 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Content: 3/3 - I think people on this website can unanimously agree about this. The website also seems more dead than usual right now, but maybe because it's summer. Although, I don't really think that to be a great reason. I'm not entirely sure where to go about advertising this. It would probably be best on hockey related websites like HF or NHL.com, maybe places where EA NHL fans go? It's hard to say as like you said, online communities start to see advertising like this as annoying more than anything. I'm sure the SHL tries recruiting sometimes in the same places that the VHL does as well, so people could get confused.Grammar: 2/2 - Nothing.Appearance: 1/1 - Great.Overall: 6/6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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