Treasure Classifieds Forum

Ok, guys, new contest is here. Lemme give you the rundown...

This contest will begin today, 1/11/2015, and will end on Friday, 2/27/2015. This is a straight referral deal. Whichever member refers the MOST NEW FORUM MEMBERS by the above date, will win the prize below. The only string attached is this...

Each of the newly referred members MUST each have a minimum of no less than 10 posts made by the end of the contest to be valid. So, for example, if you happen to refer 9 new members, but only 7 of them have the minimum requirement of 10 posts, the other 2 entries WILL NOT count. Of those 10 posts, one of them MUST be an introductory post in the Introduce Yourself section, and the other 9 MUST be NEW THREADS, started by the new members themselves. Simply replying to posts WILL NOT count. After meeting these requirements, the new members can post however they wish, moving forward. So, how will we track referrals, you ask?

If you go into your user control panel, you will now see a Member Referral pane. In it, there will be a link which is individual to each user. You just need to copy this link, and then provide it to your referrals when they join our community. You MUST provide this link to your referrals, OR YOUR ENTRIES CANNOT BE TRACKED. I will be able to see EXACTLY how many people someone has referred, as well as how many/what types of posts they have made. Additionally, we will be making this info public by tomorrow, so everyone can see what everyone else is doing. This is to ensure everything is above board in nature.

I will update this post throughout the day, to help simplify the whole process, though, as you can see, it's pretty straightforward, as is. Now for the prizes...

GRAND PRIZE - The participant who refers the MOST new members, all of whom meet the requirements above, will win a $150 Visa Gift Card. You can use this however you wish. It can be used for transactions online or in brick & mortar stores.

RUNNER UP PRIZE - The participant who refers the MOST ACTIVE new member by the close of the contest, will receive a $50 Visa Gift Card. Remember, the FIRST 10 posts need to be NEW THREADS, one of which is an introduction. After this, the new member can reply to posts, start new threads, or however they would like. And yes...

It will be possible for the same participant to win BOTH prizes, provided they meet all of the requirements mentioned above

***This contest needs to be done FAIR. DO NOT post your link on other metal detecting forums looking to steal members! This is NOT cool, and if we see any of your referrals have been posted in this manner, you will be barred from the contest. Additionally, as we always do, we will be vigorously tracking the ip addresses. So, ANY attempts at creating fake accounts, multiple accounts & other such nonsense WILL be easily detected, and you will be barred.***

The great majority of us have AT LEAST a few friends in the hobby. Pass along the link to them. We also have a few dealers on here, with a list of customers, or customers they are friendly with. Pass along the link to them. If you meet, or have met, other hunters while out detecting, again, pass along that link. Make a YouTube video and include it in there. Put it on YOUR Facebook or Twitter pages, blog, etc. Get creative!!!

Any questions or issues, please put it in this thread!

Best of luck TO ALL!!!

Joe

So just to get this right we can post a link on our facebook page? And on our own website but not others websites.

(01-11-2015 03:26 PM)Steveo Wrote: [ -> ]So just to get this right we can post a link on our facebook page? And on our own website but not others websites.

Yes. You can also post on other websites, too, as long as they aren't competitors. Here's the reason...

If you go in and post that link on treasurenet for example, it will easily be viewed as spam, and look like you're trying steal their members. Same thing for ANY metal detecting forum. Blogs I don't think would be a problem, but, just use common sense.

Imagine if someone came here from Findmall, and posted a link to a contest they are having for new members. This would obviously be deleted, as they are trying to siphon our members.

This is why I am stressing to use your own properties (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) when doing this.

I do everything above board. Period. There are a MILLION ways to get referrals and win this. It's all about being creative.

I had a dealer that occasionally posts here that PM'd me a little while ago, and said he will email his customer list within the next few days about our forum. This is perfectly acceptable, no issues, obviously.

We just don't want to get into sabotaging competitor sites. Users coming from those sources will automatically be banned, and the member who posted it will be struck from participating in the contest.

Now, let's say you share the link on Facebook or something, and a member on another forum posts it themselves on their home community, this is obviously not your fault. We can easily do some leg work and find out the sources. Quite simply...

Keep it legit, be fair & don't do anything crazy.

Joe

as soon as I get a chance I will start on this project/ sounds like a challange

(01-11-2015 08:55 PM)Steveo Wrote: [ -> ]as soon as I get a chance I will start on this project/ sounds like a challange

That's the spirit, Steve!!! I would love nothing more than to put that $200 in your hand

***Everyone will see their unique referral link in their User Control Panel, right under the avatar. This is what you need to give to potential new members. They MUST use only this link when joining our community. Please note, if you or the person you refer do not use this link, you CANNOT be credited for the referral***

You will also see a new box/pane towards the bottom of the forum, which says; TOP REFERRERS. This will list what each individual members referral count is. So, if you see your name, and there's a 4 next to it, this means 4 people you gave your referral link to joined our site. Additionally...

You can see your referrals screen names in your User Control Panel.

Joe

Getting new members isnt the hard part, getting someone to post 10 times in a month is going to be tricky, most members here, that have been here don`t post 10 times in a month ... gonna be tough ...

(01-12-2015 08:57 PM)IndianaBones Wrote: [ -> ]Getting new members isnt the hard part, getting someone to post 10 times in a month is going to be tricky, most members here, that have been here don`t post 10 times in a month ... gonna be tough ...

They have to post 10 new threads. You gotta get real forumers. Like us addicts.

(01-12-2015 08:57 PM)IndianaBones Wrote: [ -> ]Getting new members isnt the hard part, getting someone to post 10 times in a month is going to be tricky, most members here, that have been here don`t post 10 times in a month ... gonna be tough ...

It's actually a bit more than a month, Bones. Further, if requiring someone to make 2 or 3 posts per week is asking too much, I'd have to question their true interest in our site, anyways. Remember, it can't be easy, it's a contest. Most importantly...

The reason for the posting requirement is, we don't want quick hitters who swoop in & then out to help someone win something. Getting someone to break the ice with a few posts will (hopefully) help spur activity, make them feel comfortable, and provide incentive for them to stick around.

Joe

True, and i understand the reasoning , there are only a handful of members now that post 3 - 4 times in a week .. and they are die hard detectorists ...
do the posts have to be in the finds section i see it states they can post however they wish .. what is to stop new referals from just posting a bunch of nonsense ( detecting related or not ) to help there refering member ... we post stuff like TV shows that are not detecting related.
if they can post that way its kinda like cheating to gain points as well ...

( that darned Bones Guy ) .. can`t he just roll with it ...
just wondering what is exceptable for new posts ...

(01-12-2015 09:39 PM)IndianaBones Wrote: [ -> ]True, and i understand the reasoning , there are only a handful of members now that post 3 - 4 times in a week .. and they are die hard detectorists ...
do the posts have to be in the finds section. if not what is to stop new referals from just posting a bunch of nonsense ( detecting related or not ) to help there refering member ... we post stuff like TV shows that are not detecting related.
if they can post that way its kinda like cheating to gain points as well ...

( that darned Bones Guy ) .. can`t he just roll with it ...
just wondering what is exceptable for new posts ...

Lol. Well, nothing wrong with understanding the rules, as others might be wondering the same things

As long as one post is an introduction, it doesn't matter where their remaining threads are. At the end of the day...

It IS a contest, and being a competitive person myself, I know I'd want to win at all costs, however, I think all participants also need to consider the integrity of our community, too. I would hope that all who take on this challenge can appropriately "sell" others on our community. Talk it up. Give others a compelling reason to join us. Instead of...

"Hey, come sign-up so I can win a contest."

Remember, we are a team. A unit. We are all responsible to some extent for the upkeep & growth of our house. With that in mind, don't just think about winning some quick cash. Think about doing your part to help lift us further. If someone wins the contest, and all of their referrals mysteriously disappear after the completion, it's really telling, and not much of a true win, at the end of the day.

Integrity.

Joe