I hope to only make a simple point here. I belong to and in many cases admin many Ning networks. This means I get broadcast messages from MANY ning networks. Some ning networks I get MANY MANY-far too many- broadcast messages, all with titles like "Exciting News from ..." or "Not To Be Missed..." over and over and over. NCs we must remember that sending broadcast messages (not digests) every single day to our members can have the opposite effect from which they were intended. The truth is, every day simply can not be exciting in an online community. As such,when you overload your members' email accounts with Exciting Garbage, the community will suffer when the day comes when something exciting and engaging really does actually happen. Sadly, you have, as a result, blinded your community from reading about anything fairly unlikely for many to be jumping in until they rediscover you on their own.
I love good news as much as the next guy, and I am pleased when we as creators reach milestones, but if you feel like you have to remind me every single time a new page is added, it kinda takes the fun out of returning on my own accord and discovering (what i hoped for) something i didn't expect, thus appreciate- something new. Real members can remind you of pages you had forgotten all about. They don't need to be reminded of what's new because they SAW IT ON THE SITE while you were building broadcast templates. Ask yourself this:
Am I a broadcast news reporter on a news program about the latest news related to the News Channel?
Or
Am I simply a facilitator of a precious type of communication, potentially shared and hopefully engaged with by an uncountable number of people sharing a common interest- people you will most likely never meet face to face. People who exist on the internet.
Take it from me- Your Network is Not ALWAYS Exciting. I truly wish it was. As it turns out, we can't all be 50 Cent. I learned it the hard way back in 2008-9. My gift to you...
Gonna blow your mind here
I send broadcast messages at a maximum of 2 per MONTH. Granted, this may be more for other niches, but if you are sending out broadcast messages more than once per week and on special occasions, you are KILLING your engagement. Those who are doing this know who they are. Please exercise discretion when sending out that next "Holy Shit Look At How Exciting My Network is Today" messages, because I no longer read them and my guess is your members do not either.
Love you guys...let's sharpen up!
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agreed. LinkedIn pisses me right off.
+1 Linked in network update emails are very annoying I almost feel like writing them and complaining because they are so frequent, every day in fact.
Something we call can agree on.
thanks man...glad you agree
nice
Well spoken. I never send out broadcast messages as a rule of thumb, I simply send out check out emails to specific friends who may be interested in such content. I learned that the most active networks happen by member engagement, specifically content ending with an open ended question for members to respond to. I do not go out to bling anyone and hit the same old crap you can find anywhere that is meaningless and generally does not explain anything.
If members need anything they know they can always ask an admin, for that is why they exist, to help out and moderate site events. Those who blindly try to put ego first before allowing breathing room as far as email messages goes, well you find that already you become too overwhelmed, more rather, if you simply allow the best content to be shared with a select few, it is then that things become interesting if you share new things with different people so that everyone gets a unique slice of the pie they can more or less always find available so long as it is still there when they click on it. That is what makes people come back, especially if you as a network creator can simply sit back and watch your network grow while you and your admins take care of other affairs.
your so right i was on 1 ning site they sent out 2 or 3 or 5 broadcast messages...a day! stuff like im reading a book and its raining
mmm muffins
the final straw was when nassa was going to impact a crater with a chunk of metal to look for signs of water vapor in the dustcloud he sent out a broadcast message
they are bombing the moon thats it i declare war on the us government
i sent him a message you realize u just declared war on the government and sent that out to 10 thousand people you dont know? how long before the feds arrest ya shal we take bets?
the site had twice as many members as mine..but zero activity..none never more then 1 person in chat if that no forum oposts no nothing
ok a fww comments on profiles that was it nothing more
i think the last boadcast message i sent out was 4 months ago
Is there a line?
:)
Personally, I find that I always have news. It may not be exciting, but my network is progressing rapidly. One day, I've added a new feature, the next day, I've had an online meeting with Hong Kong, the next, a phone call from Nikon, the next day, another business skype call with shoutem for a special request, the next day, feature release, day after that, contest with $100 is ending, next day, contest over, judging commencing, next day, new feature, next day, new tutorial videos for the store system... I could keep going.
If that guy's declarin war on the States, and worrying about a little piece of metal hitting the moon for scientific research, as well as sending out broadcast messages saying mmmm muffins, then he never truly dedicated to his network, and thought it was a get rich quick scheme... which some likely think that's what ning is. Nope!
I just wonder, because I send out frequent broadcast messages. However they contain important updates, new features, and useful information. I've been told that my broadcast messages are great, and my members look forward to them.
Perhaps I don't need to announce everything as it comes, but I'm very transparent on my network. My members know how much I spend a month to let them have AP. They know I do it on my own with some help from other pro web developers. They know I've made mistakes and messed up the site on occasion. They also constantly send me new ideas for new features, improvements, and news. For instance, google is changing the way photos are searched now, no more lightbox, people who click an image right from Google search, will go right to the website the image is hosted on, no more lightbox. :) That's great news for a photography network like mine! One of my members sent me the article, I had no idea.
I think it depends on your network,
I don't know how hard you guys work on your networks, maybe you just maintain it now? My network is just reaching a year old, still have a lot of excitement within me, a HUGE list of ideas and new features for the future, I'm organizing deals on the phone and via skype with Shoutem, Artsnow (hong kong) AliPress (hong Kong) and Kizoa (france) and that's just the start. I've just release my press kit, awaiting publication and radio broadcasts! (http://addictapic.com/page/ap-press-kit)
So, most networks may not ALWAYS be exciting, but mine is exciting MOST of the time, and I always have worthy news for my members.
I may not have a lot of members, but the members I do have, appreciate the site, and come back all the time. They are the kind of members that would ask me to stop sending pointless messages... haven't heard that yet.
Personally, and in my humble opinion, I feel it depends on you, your network, and your members. IF you do it right, a DAILY broadcast message can be accomplished, and actually benefit your cause... IF, being the operative word there.
Just my opinion, if you're gonna broadcast, make it worth it.
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