Some advice for the new RPGBA members

When I woke up this morning I was amazed to see that the number of member sites with the RPG Blog Alliance almost doubled since yesterday. It’s good to have you, guys!

And aside from a few minor hiccups everything worked great so far. But one of the issues is that the RPGBA Announcements from the official forums don’t appear in the feed yet. That’s why I use my blog to share some tips and advice with you. I’ll put this post into the forums later, also.

So, let’s get to business:

  • Site logo
    You definitely should create at least two logos for your blog: a 80×80 pixels one that is shown with your posts at the RPGBA main page and a 150×50 pixels one that is shown in the banner rotation on the right of the RPGBA site. If the sizes are a bit off, the site software automatically makes sure the logo fits, but sometimes this leads to weird results.
  • Sign up at the forums
    We have decided to use the RPG Table Talk forums for the official RPGBA forums. Registering there is not mandatory for members of the RPGBA, but it’s highly recommended. You can not only discuss with other RPGBA members there, but it’s also the place where you can post your tech support requests or ideas how we can improve the site.
  • Link back from your site to the RPGBA
    Support the RPGBA and your fellow members by linking back from your blog to the RPGBA main site. If you wish, you can make use of the official RPGBA logo we created for that purpose.
  • Follow @RPGBlogAlliance on Twitter
    If you are on Twitter, you can subscribe to the RPGBA feed by following us on Twitter. All the new posts from member blogs will be announced there.
  • Get involved in the community
    In my opinion a blog community shall be more than just a glorified RSS aggregator. Check out your fellow members’ blogs, follow them on Twitter, start discussions with them on the official forums and be an active part of the community. Again, I cannot force anyone to do so, but trust me, it really helps you and your blog. Making friends in the RPG blog community is one of the best ways to attract new readers and isn’t there anything better than sharing your hobby with friends all over the world?

By the way, we have set up a wiki which is meant as a place where you can share blog and podcasting advice. If you have the time, make sure you check it out. The wiki is still under construction, so some things may be a bit rough around the edges, but there’s already some great information there if you want to start a new blog/podcast or learn a few new tricks.