Turkey Contest -Here and Now-and Then.
03-22-2017, 03:52 PM
#11
Super Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Indiana
Posts: 7,182
I have also been a part of the contest for many seasons standing beside JW along the way. Believe it or not its not easy running the contest. We all acknowledge the decline and lack of interest. I have met quite a few fellow turkey hunters and made friends through out the years. I myself do not want to see the contest go away. I look forward to it every year. Superstrutter joined JW and myself running the contest 3 years ago and has also busted his butt handling the scores. My hats off to both JW and superstrutter. To all the contestants who love doing this, you have my respect and hope someday I can hunt with each and everyone of you. Stay safe my friends. Good lord willing we will all be here again next year to see the contest regain its strength once again.
Arrowmaster (AKA The Turkey Wizard)
Arrowmaster (AKA The Turkey Wizard)
03-23-2017, 02:44 AM
#12
Fork Horn
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: lutz, Fl
Posts: 363
Here is an idea I have seen on another forum.
This is to generate interest to the site and to keep hunters coming back and checking in.
You said you have been offered prizes to give away, but want to keep the contest for fun or bragging rights.( I agree)
If you had a thread to give away these prizes, it would spark interest and incourage hunters to check in more often.
You would explian what the prize/give away would be. Give hunters a week to sign up, usually just post that you are intersted. Then on any day after the sign up has ended, pick a winner.
Wait a week or 2 and start all over.
I am sure there are some good call makers on here that could donate some call, maybe even other donations.
Just an idea to get more traffic. We are not trying to steal or copy , be like another site.
But, even businesses will use things that work for others to be more successful.
This is to generate interest to the site and to keep hunters coming back and checking in.
You said you have been offered prizes to give away, but want to keep the contest for fun or bragging rights.( I agree)
If you had a thread to give away these prizes, it would spark interest and incourage hunters to check in more often.
You would explian what the prize/give away would be. Give hunters a week to sign up, usually just post that you are intersted. Then on any day after the sign up has ended, pick a winner.
Wait a week or 2 and start all over.
I am sure there are some good call makers on here that could donate some call, maybe even other donations.
Just an idea to get more traffic. We are not trying to steal or copy , be like another site.
But, even businesses will use things that work for others to be more successful.
03-23-2017, 03:32 AM
#13
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: PA
Posts: 470
I think this is the trend on a lot of these forums, sites thet used to have contests aren't doing it anymore. It's a shame, but don't knwo what can be done to turn it around. Like others have said, probably due to Facebook.
04-10-2017, 03:52 AM
#14
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Western Massachusetts
Posts: 7,168
I always enjoyed participating in this contest... as well as the bow hunting deer season contest. I never got registered in this contest this year as the bowhunting deer contest never went anywhere...
Always a fun time regardless. There used to be so many more teams!
Always a fun time regardless. There used to be so many more teams!
04-13-2017, 10:14 PM
#15
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: between azle and Boyd
Posts: 198
I didn't join the deer hunting contest but did read all the crap about causing poaching and cheating but don't agree , I think poachers try to avoid publicity . I joined the sight to learn and share my knowedge of the sport I love . I joined the turkey contest and have been out smarter so far but I'm still at it and not for a prize , just to win and have fun doin it . Thanks to all those who put in the hard work so we can communicate and share something we love, just for fun
04-18-2017, 12:55 PM
#16
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Maine
Posts: 12,563
Maybe try to have a few more teams only smaller and if enough do not check in the team can be split up to add to other teams. Then the teams may end up with nine or eight members on them but they will have an even amount of hunters on them..
04-27-2017, 08:25 AM
#17
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW Michigan
Posts: 1,906
I've also been on this board for ~15 years now, including the 'big crash' in 2003 that sent everyone back to 0 posts and eliminated their 'rack status'. What a helluva ruckus that caused, you would think that some people lost limbs...
Anyway, I study various aspects of education and one of the current 'buzz topics' is information overload. The amount of information we have access to is staggering and has exploded, especially in the last 5 years. I don't have statistics, but my guess is that everyone that cruises hunting sites on the internet either has a smart phone, tablet, computer or (like me) all of the above. One can literally access anything at almost any time. The big point here is that more people now act in introverted manners, and shy away from human interaction, moreso than at any other point in human history. Thus, there are more people sharing stories and such, but not necessarily more interest in actually bonding with people as friends. Thus, many people are 'hit-n-run' on the internet and visit many similar sites within a few minutes.
The questions we need to answer are: how do you attract more people to HN AND get them to stay longer?
To even think about tackling this we need to consider the evolution of the web. When I joined HN, there were only a few places on the internet that openly supported hunting and forums. HN was, to me, one of the best for all types of hunting - and also one of the top 2 sites listed in any search engine. On the other hand, if you now search Google for 'Turkey hunting forums' you get 1.26 million hits, and there are 10 different sites listed on the first page of results. HN is now #5 - which means if I'm unfamiliar with any of the sites - I'm probably going to 4 other sites before I even make it to HN.
With the evolution of the web there are larger turkey-specific forums (like Oldgobbler and GobblerNation). I don't think we can say that HN is better than many of the other sites - different, yes, but not necessarily better...
There are now very popular hunting forums/websites for each state. For me personally, I'm much more active in the MI Sportsman site because the information I get there is much more relevant and useful to my specific hunting situation - I can literally compare notes with somebody hunting in the same county, compared to HN where we may be comparing notes from hunts in MI, NY, TX, LA, etc - which are fun but many times somewhat pointless.
So how do you improve? In the digital age, the only way to do that is to increase your profile to bring your website more traffic. More traffic = more interest = more contestants = bigger contestant pool.
1) As someone else said, the mobile version of this site is clunky. Improving the mobile platform would be the first step to increase traffic. HN developers - any thoughts about building a specific HN app and offering it on both the App/Android store? I would personally spend $1-2 for a mobile-friendly HN app that worked well on my iPhone...
2) Reducing the information on the site would - IMO - actually help. When HN started it was simple and concise - there are so many layers now that it's more complex than needed, and this is especially true on the mobile version. Thus, I would recommend a redesign to make it more user friendly.
3) Giveaways. To be honest, if I can enter a contest for bragging rights and enter a contest for giveaways, I'm more likely to enter and check-in more often to the site where I may win something. It's just human nature - we win, we want a trophy
Anyway, I study various aspects of education and one of the current 'buzz topics' is information overload. The amount of information we have access to is staggering and has exploded, especially in the last 5 years. I don't have statistics, but my guess is that everyone that cruises hunting sites on the internet either has a smart phone, tablet, computer or (like me) all of the above. One can literally access anything at almost any time. The big point here is that more people now act in introverted manners, and shy away from human interaction, moreso than at any other point in human history. Thus, there are more people sharing stories and such, but not necessarily more interest in actually bonding with people as friends. Thus, many people are 'hit-n-run' on the internet and visit many similar sites within a few minutes.
The questions we need to answer are: how do you attract more people to HN AND get them to stay longer?
To even think about tackling this we need to consider the evolution of the web. When I joined HN, there were only a few places on the internet that openly supported hunting and forums. HN was, to me, one of the best for all types of hunting - and also one of the top 2 sites listed in any search engine. On the other hand, if you now search Google for 'Turkey hunting forums' you get 1.26 million hits, and there are 10 different sites listed on the first page of results. HN is now #5 - which means if I'm unfamiliar with any of the sites - I'm probably going to 4 other sites before I even make it to HN.
With the evolution of the web there are larger turkey-specific forums (like Oldgobbler and GobblerNation). I don't think we can say that HN is better than many of the other sites - different, yes, but not necessarily better...
There are now very popular hunting forums/websites for each state. For me personally, I'm much more active in the MI Sportsman site because the information I get there is much more relevant and useful to my specific hunting situation - I can literally compare notes with somebody hunting in the same county, compared to HN where we may be comparing notes from hunts in MI, NY, TX, LA, etc - which are fun but many times somewhat pointless.
So how do you improve? In the digital age, the only way to do that is to increase your profile to bring your website more traffic. More traffic = more interest = more contestants = bigger contestant pool.
1) As someone else said, the mobile version of this site is clunky. Improving the mobile platform would be the first step to increase traffic. HN developers - any thoughts about building a specific HN app and offering it on both the App/Android store? I would personally spend $1-2 for a mobile-friendly HN app that worked well on my iPhone...
2) Reducing the information on the site would - IMO - actually help. When HN started it was simple and concise - there are so many layers now that it's more complex than needed, and this is especially true on the mobile version. Thus, I would recommend a redesign to make it more user friendly.
3) Giveaways. To be honest, if I can enter a contest for bragging rights and enter a contest for giveaways, I'm more likely to enter and check-in more often to the site where I may win something. It's just human nature - we win, we want a trophy
05-23-2017, 05:09 AM
#18
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW Michigan
Posts: 1,906
Just as a follow-up...
There is a turkey hunting contest on the Michigan Sportsman site. There are almost 20 teams, each team has 6 members. So just in the state of Michigan we have ~120 people entered in the contest, whereas HN has ~40...
This year's HN turkey contest has been exciting, but...
Moving forward, I propose the committee consider reducing the number of members on each team. This will increase the number of teams and therefore increase the number of posts to the forum.
Also, I wonder if contestants would be interested in forming teams for specific reasons - e.g., maybe Team 1 has members hunting multiple states, Team 2 are primarily bowhunting, Team 3 are those members hunting the month of May, Team 4 are veterans, etc. It would simply require getting some background information at the beginning of the contest and then sorting out the different variables of each member...
I like the random teams, but it's also nice to group people together that have common challenges and problems, I think this tends to open up more discussion - which generates more interest, which increases the number of posts...
There is a turkey hunting contest on the Michigan Sportsman site. There are almost 20 teams, each team has 6 members. So just in the state of Michigan we have ~120 people entered in the contest, whereas HN has ~40...
This year's HN turkey contest has been exciting, but...
Moving forward, I propose the committee consider reducing the number of members on each team. This will increase the number of teams and therefore increase the number of posts to the forum.
Also, I wonder if contestants would be interested in forming teams for specific reasons - e.g., maybe Team 1 has members hunting multiple states, Team 2 are primarily bowhunting, Team 3 are those members hunting the month of May, Team 4 are veterans, etc. It would simply require getting some background information at the beginning of the contest and then sorting out the different variables of each member...
I like the random teams, but it's also nice to group people together that have common challenges and problems, I think this tends to open up more discussion - which generates more interest, which increases the number of posts...
05-23-2017, 05:29 AM
#19
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Onslow County, NC
Posts: 1,856
I don't normally participate in these team contests due to personal reasons, but I do follow along with the teams and their posts.
My personal reasons are that I don't have time to contribute to a team endeavor. About all you may get from me for most of the season and year is "didn't get out this past week" or "saw nothing". It's not that I don't want to hunt, it's that I am also coaching baseball the same time turkey season is active. So several days in the week are taking by practice and Saturdays are game days.
Now a contest (leader-board contest) without teams I would probably join as I have done plenty of those. If I don't get out hunting then it doesn't affect any team only myself, but when I do, than I am able to join into the festivities.
My personal reasons are that I don't have time to contribute to a team endeavor. About all you may get from me for most of the season and year is "didn't get out this past week" or "saw nothing". It's not that I don't want to hunt, it's that I am also coaching baseball the same time turkey season is active. So several days in the week are taking by practice and Saturdays are game days.
Now a contest (leader-board contest) without teams I would probably join as I have done plenty of those. If I don't get out hunting then it doesn't affect any team only myself, but when I do, than I am able to join into the festivities.
