I always like to bring in a few staff members early on when starting a new forum. The thinking is not that there is a lot of moderating that needs to be done, but that it will help to grow and shape the community. I want to share a few of the benefits of bringing on committed staff members early on in your forum development.
1. You ensure a few active daily participants which is very much needed early on.
2. You have helpers and leadership of the community on the site at different times of the day.
3. The different personalities help to shape the face of the community which should be diverse.
4. You can delegate different jobs / tasks giving you needed help to generate more content and tools.
These are just a few of the reasons I think bringing on a few staff members will be a help to you. Building a community from scratch is something that would prove very difficult for you to do on your own and alone. Somewhere between 2-5 staff members is a good start in the early stages as to many can be counter productive.
At Trip Boards we brought on our first staff member yesterday and plan to bring on an additional staff member today.
This whole series is great, thanks for doing it.
Question: Where do you recruit these people? What’s the job description? Are they full time or part time?
I have the same question. It seems that forum moderator is not something that most people have on their resume.
Stormy,
Glad to see you replying here! Please clarify your question for me…
Thanks,
Lee
I think she’s echoing my question. Forum moderator is not a typical job title featured on someone’s resume. How do you recruit people that are good at it, and how much do you pay them?
Derek & Stormy,
I recruit moderators by talking with active / committed members already on the site. I don’t want to bring in any outsiders unless they are friends or family. Watch who is active and offers good knowledge on the topic and invite them to be a moderator. Also, I never pay, never. This is volunteer work only.
Thanks!
I agree with your comment Jedi.
Also I would like to add that this is more like a reward to these members, and in any case must not be seen as a job.
The point is to make your members more loyal to your community.
Do you agree?