Presentation of your interest check, how much does it matter?

Durandal

Fatum Iustum Stultorum
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. Multiple posts per day
  2. 1-3 posts per day
  3. One post per day
  4. 1-3 posts per week
  5. One post per week
Online Availability
Western Mountain Time
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Primarily Prefer Male
Genres
Medieval Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance, horror.
Is there a guide to how to present your interest check in a way that actually gets people to take a look? Be interested?

What in your experience draws people in?
 
It matters, imo. You don't really have to use fancy coding, but some good fonts and a couple eye-grabbing pictures will go a long way.

How it's written also matters. People tend to be more interested if you have a good hook, especially if you write it like a synopsis (you know, the ones you typically find on book jackets).

I'm pretty sure Kuno is working on a guide for this, though. It's not up yet, but when it gets posted, you'll find it in this subforum.
 
I can neither confirm nor deny the impending existence of an alleged interest guide rumored by Ardent. Snitches get stitches. But what I can give you is my own rough formula for setting up interest checks! I tend to follow the same format regardless of what the rp is:

  • First things first, I make sure that I a) have a rp title and b) it's not too clunky. It's ok to state what genre it is, but I try not to pack too many details in the subject line. People can click for that good, needed info, ya feel me?
  • I agree with the sentiment that interest checks are more a synopsis than the real deal. Think of it as the movie trailer for your rp. Give people the gist of what your rp is all about. Tease the story however you like, but try not to be so vague and abstract that they have to ask you basic questions like: what the heck is the plot for this rp? But you post the 6 page entirety of your story, plot, and lore in your interest check, that wall of text is gonna scare people away. Save all that good stuff for your official sign-ups!
  • Lastly, I just end with my player expectations. Example: I'll mention how many players I'm looking for, what the posting speed is, etc. Just a quick list of things a player skimming through would like to know before they think about committing to it.

That's pretty much it for how I do it. Aesthetic-wise, I say do whatever! Just make sure if you do go the fancy code route that everything is legible. I've seen some pretty codes that are woefully wasted on lighter Iwaku color schemes. Pictures are a great bonus too! We love us some visual aids.
 
  • Like
Reactions: neptune
To add to what Kina said about legibility, remember that there are people with old eyeballs or ADHD who struggle with reading big blocks of text. Break it up a little bit, and you'll have our hearts!
 
To add to what Kina said about legibility, remember that there are people with old eyeballs or ADHD who struggle with reading big blocks of text. Break it up a little bit, and you'll have our hearts!
I hate big walls of text so I feel you on that
 
For me, I don't need a lot of coding to be interested in an RP. In fact, too much coding and I get intimidated and click away. The best searches, for me, are where the text is broken up and easy to follow. There's a section for the plots and brief a section for the expectations and the intro. I will click away when there is just too much to read so keeping things concise is key.
 
  • Sympathy & Compassion
Reactions: Ardent