Eng:How do I get my projects to become popular?

Remember, Safety First!!! Appropriately advertising is one of the best ways. This includes a topic in the Show and Tell forum, and a link and/or banner in your signature. Click Learn more for more methods.

This is a guide on how a user can get more views and love-its, as well as getting the user more well-known. Always remember, that popularity is not an important aspect of the Scratch community, and that learning to program, expressing creativeness, and helping others is more significant.

Advertising in Forums
The forums are a very good way of getting one's projects well known. It is estimated that 3.5% of active users (users who have posted at least 1 project or comment) have posted at least once on the forums, amounting to about 700 forum posters. Although it is far easier to get known there than in the Scratch Website, it is still only a small percentage. Some Scratchers create forum threads to advertise their projects, because they would like to give it a small boost in attention.

Show and Tell
The Show and Tell forum is a forum specifically for advertising projects and studios. The downside is that a lot of forum users do not view the forum.

To start off, one needs a good title for the topic. A title that demands a user to view it and is written completely with caps lock can make people less likely to read the topic. Instead, make the title relevant to the project itself, and not too demanding. A good example of a title is, "Chattery, an advanced Chatbot." This title does not go too far and say that it is the best Chatbot ever, yet it is not bland. It also is a good example because it's short, captures the idea, and isn't taking the name too far.

Next comes the content of the post. One will need to give information about the project, such as what it is, what one does, and why people should play it (e.g. what makes it different to other projects of the same type). As in the title, this should be described in a modest, interesting way. A good example would be:

"Please check out my new project, __________. It is a flight simulator. Unlike most flight simulators on Scratch, you can see what the plane sees and turn it up and down.

I'd like to hear some feedback on the following, so I will know what to improve on:


 * How good was the flying?
 * How good were the graphics?
 * How good were the controls?
 * Was it realistic?

Thanks!"

Have an image of the project. A user can upload a screenshot of the project to one of Scratch's approved image hosting websites and use the BBCode [img] tags to put the image in your post or they can go to My Stuff, right click on the project they want the image of, click on "Copy image location", paste the url into a forum post and use the BBCode [img] tags. The post will now contain an image of the project thumbnail.

Here is a helpful checklist:
 * Create an interesting title.
 * Make it exciting for people.
 * Do not make it too aggressive.
 * Have good content.
 * Use proper grammar and spelling.
 * Include a link to the project, using the [url] BBCode tags.
 * Have an image of the project.
 * Give useful information about the project
 * What it is about?
 * Why it is different from others?
 * Ask for feedback on specific points.
 * Do not aggressively respond or take offense to negative feedback.

Signature
Perhaps a more effective way of advertising it to do it in one's forum signature. As long as one is an active forum user (without spamming), then many people will view it.

With signatures, the same basic things apply as with the forum topic advert. However having just text will make it rather bland, and people will be less likely to click on it.

Having a picture advert is a great way of getting people interested. There are many request topics for custom-made signatures/adverts on the Scratch Forums. This should include a picture that represents the project in a fun way, and a catchy slogan always helps. You may also want to combine this to the forum topic in Show and Tell, and provide a link to the topic.

Here's a checklist of what helps:
 * An image of the project
 * Could be a screenshot, or just a cool design
 * Presents the project in an exciting way
 * Includes title
 * Text (either within the image or not)
 * Has a catchy slogan
 * Uses good grammar
 * Gives some idea of what the project is about
 * Linked to the project

Followers
Having a lot of followers helps, as they see the project in the Projects by Scratchers I'm Following section on the Front Page. Scratchers will also see the project in Projects Loved by Scratchers I'm Following, so it helps to be followed by a well-known user (although you should never beg for followers, even if you have "less than normal").

Getting Friends
To make friends, you should find someone with similar interests. Offering nice and helpful comments is also a good way for making friends. Rather than simply saying that a project is "good", "nice", or "cool", providing experienced and full comments with feedback about the project is advised.

Do not be afraid to ask a question about how a user did something. Most users are happy to help other Scratchers, and they usually will remember you.

Here's another checklist that could help with getting your projects more viewed:
 * Present yourself well
 * Be polite and kind
 * Use good grammar
 * Do not be a "know-it-all" or argue with others
 * Leave helpful comments
 * Show that you tried the project
 * Offer constructive criticism
 * Say what was good about the project
 * If necessary, ask a question about it

Your Projects
There are a number of things that one can do to one's projects that will help.

Adding relevant tags helps. Also, spelling is important when you tag a project, because, for example, someone will more likely search with the keyword "computer" than "compyutr".

The quality of the project must be good. There are lots of tutorials on the Scratch Wiki that may help. It is not advised to slap together projects simply to gain popularity, but to rise to the challenge. Also note that it is against the community guidelines to copy someone else's project and not give any credit to them.

Making the project look nice in its thumbnail is important. You can make a thumbnail in the Scratch editor or in an external image editing program, or just keep a good part of the game on when saving your project. People are more likely to view a project that has a picture of an exciting looking title screen on it, than a project that just says "Game Over" in its thumbnail, as most thumbnails tend to do since Scratchers often play the game through right before uploading. If your project draws or renders something, make sure it is fully rendered before you upload it.

Make sure the project notes and instructions are interesting and worth reading. Putting useless and irrelevant information such as "I love ponies" will annoy viewers. Adding information on your inspiration, who helped you, and how it works will instantly improve the look of your project. Good and comprehensive instructions are necessary. Some users have found that not using the instructions panel (which removes it from view of other users) clears up the interface and encourages more people to read the notes, therefore adding more ease of use to the project.

If your project uses complex programming ideas or mathematical concepts, it is useful to write a short tutorial or explanation and post it on the forums or the project notes. This also helps other Scratchers learn.

Some curators also accept requests or suggestions, so it is a great way to get exposure. However, some curators take offense by requests or have plans laid, so one must be respectful to the curator they are suggesting their project to.

Teasers/Trailers
Before releasing your project, one can upload a teaser or trailer. A teaser is a demo version of the project. A trailer is an advertisement for it. These help generate suspense and a bit more excitement for the release of your new project and can trigger more constructive criticism.

Typically, teasers and trailers lead up to big projects. If your final project is not considerably larger than your teaser or trailer, users may feel ripped off or disappointed, causing a decrease in loves and overall attention.

Other
Here is a list of other things you can do:

Studios
Make sure there is a genuine reason for putting the project in the studio, and that it fits in with the studio's theme. Do not be too aggressive when asking if your project can be put in. Provide information about why it should be added. A good example of a studio is the Scratch Design Studio, because the project will appear on the Front Page. But, the Scratch Design Studio row only shows a random 20 projects from the studio, so your project won't show up every time. If you want to find your project in that row, then you can refresh your page until it shows up in the row. As the Scratch Design Studio theme gets older your project may get viewed less though because there will be lots of new projects also being shown.

In addition, you can add your project to an Add Everything studio, which welcomes all projects and encourages any project to be added, but some Scratchers consider them spam.

Collaborate
Joining a collaboration is a great way to get well known (although your individual projects are less likely to become famous). However, please note that the best companies are often ones of the highest standard, so whatever skills you have to offer will have to be good enough.