Welcome Our "Guests" As "Members"

by Insurance Maze » Sat Feb 07, 2009 02:47 pm

We value the questions and concerns of those who stop by this insurance community and we will always do our best to help them in a non-professional way.

Many times I have posted a reply to a thread without logging in (far too many times) and when I hit the ole' "Submit" button the post appears as a "Guest".

Think about this for a moment - I could sit at my computer all day long and constantly submit posts to different forums without logging in. This would appear we have many guests making comments - right? But the truth is, I was responsible for all the posts (one person).

I suggest that we totally remove the entire "Guest" capability to make a post to any thread in any forum.

If a question or concern is truly important to the one asking, why would anyone have a problem with "logging in" as a Member? There are many professional forums on the internet and most of them require that a person be "logged in" to make a post.

Only our members are obligated to adhere to the Terms of Service for this community. People just "stopping by" are not.

If we are to help solve problems and answer insurance related questions, the we just need to know who we're talking to.

That's My Story, And I'm Sticking To It! :lol:

Total Comments: 59

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 01:54 am Post Subject:

How can you ban someone from this community who constantly posts ridiculous material as a guest?

I request it and get it done all the time (well not all the time, but when it's warranted)...just because they don't register, doesn't mean that the admins...can't find or have access to their address and ban that computer.

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:21 am Post Subject:

Maze, I see your point & it seems pretty justified to me as well. However, when I was responding to your post I was thinking on behalf of the visitors, who may not want to go though the hassle of registering themselves with the site but still need the help.

In other words, if the forums aren't where we want them to be, we must do something different. If we continue to do the same things, in the same manner, the results will be the same.



We certainly would, but that shouldn't be in the line of restricting people from participating, rather we need to devise something that would route more visitors to this community. Can someone suggest one? How about letting the friend and family or colleagues know more about it?

Maze, if one chooses to post his/her query though the ‘ask a question' option the site offers it to get registered with it. Now, the poster may or may not choose to participate by registering, purely his decision.

One may also feel that there is a cost involved with registration or he/she might start getting promotional sales call if they share their personal information with this community.

We are no closer to the top of Google than we were this time last year and I am not saying this is because of our guests. What I am saying is that if nothing changes, everything will stay the same.



I certainly support your viewpoint. Lakemen may like to share with us how is he visualizing the growth path of ampminsure?

Regards,
Juanita

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 12:39 pm Post Subject:

I thought about starting a new thread on "Suggestions For Improving AmPmInsure", but maybe it's appropriate here.

I will get off the "guest" thing and even though I think removing that capability would lend more credibility and professionalism to the site, it is obvious that this situation will not change.

We need to accomplish two things:

(1) Get some of the 4,000 registered members who do not participate back to the community.

(2) Attract more insurance professionals.

How do we do these things?

Not too long ago, one of the prior Lakemen and I spent many hours on the phone discussing ways to improve. We came up with some good ideas, but unfortunately, he is no longer an administrator and none of our "good ideas" were ever implemented.

One idea was a Community Newsletter. We could reach over 4,000 members with one newsletter, welcome them back to the community and make them aware of changes that have taken place here. Our "guests" could sign up for a free newsletter and stay current on insurance information. It was a mistake to "can" the newsletter.

We might possibly attract more insurance professionals by letting insurance agents and agencies know that they can not only get free advertising for their agency, but also can build a free professional insurance blog.

We are in a rut and seem to be totally satisfied with things as they are, but I personally think that we should come up with some new ideas and "think outside the box".

Any ideas?

Maze

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 02:48 pm Post Subject:

I think you are on the right track when suggesting the news letter. That would have been a great way to draw members back to the community. I know I am not a professional but I can not tell you how many times I was researching a topic and found a great page with alot of info. Sometimes though I forget to bookmark sites or add them to my favorites.
When going back to try and refind a certain site it can be frustrating becuase you have to weed through all the less equal sites. By doing this newsletter and sending them out frequently it could lead others directly back to the site and increase traffic here.
I can only see good things coming out of sending a news letter. The time and effort would pay off.

Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 05:44 am Post Subject:

Hi,

I do not have the time to research all the posts from our "guests", but I would say that the majority of them are "one liners", which do not give enough detail to submit an intelligent response.



Its quite true that the one-liners do not offer you enough materials..but I guess there lies our challenge to get to the bottom of problems and solve them. It is there that the power of a 'forum' lies in its being a strong platform wherein an inexplicable concern could be analyzed with open ended questions, thus breaking it up and trying to resolve it with so many views.

Thanks, ArindamSenIndies

Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 02:35 pm Post Subject:

I think you are on the right track when suggesting the news letter. That would have been a great way to draw members back to the community.



I think it could help. If we get back only 5%, that is over 200 and would certainly be worth the effort. Everyone likes to feel needed and appreciated.

By doing this newsletter and sending them out frequently it could lead others directly back to the site and increase traffic here.



The newsletter could highlight important insurance topics of interest and you're right, link right back to the article.

I certainly support your viewpoint. Lakemen may like to share with us how is he visualizing the growth path of ampminsure?



Juanita, I am glad to know that there is someone out there who sees a need for change in this community. I look forward to learning and trying to understand the Administrators' vision for the growth of ampminsure.
When could we expect that?

Maze

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Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 09:00 pm Post Subject: Brand-new Member

Hello Everybody
My name is Jellybean. I thank you all for making me feel welcome and I'm thrilled to be part of this large and growing forum of great folks. I've just joined now. I'll be delighted to offer advice where feasible and help others that need it. I additionally hope to find out new things with reference to Loans. I've been bitten by the affiliate marketing bug and I relish it very much. I did the majority of my promoting off line so as to market my merchandise and I would like to learn new ideas on interrnet marketing.

Thank you for having me and God Bless.

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