How to make the popular reel

How to get on the popular reel

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ZaphodX
Retired Moderator
Level 70 : Legendary Warrior
Posted 08/03/12 12:02:08 pm , last updated: 08/05/12 3:52:25 pm
08/03/12

These days I play Supreme Commander, which is probably the greatest RTS you've never heard of!

I do daily uploads of gameplays, replays and tutorials - check out my videos you might like them :)

Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ZaphodX1

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How to make the popular reel

Ever wished you could make the popular reel? Read on for my tips and tricks I have picked up since joining PMC.

I think I've covered all the major tips and tricks, but if you have some good ideas, please leave them in the comments!

Intro

Now, this submission could just as easily be called 'How to get more subscribers' because the two are so closely linked. Having more subscribers increases your chances of making the popular reel, and making the popular reel increases the number of subscribers you have. This concept is incredibly important, and as you make more subscribers it gets easier and easier.

So, we want to make the popular reel and we also want to pick up more subscribers. Achieving this boils down to one thing: making high-quality content. If your content is high quality, it is more likely to make the popular reel and get you subscribers. Also, if you concentrate on ONLY making high-quality submissions then people are more likely to subscribe because you are consistently making great submissions.

So, how to make high quality submissions then? There is no magic way to explain how to make good stuff, but you can follow some general guidelines.

General Tips

Spoiler

Follow these general guidelines to improve the quality of your submission and increase the chance of making the popular reel.

Diamonds

Making the popular reel is dependent on a combination of diamonds/favourites/comments/views/downloads within a short amount of time (2-3 days). The main thing to concentrate on is the number of diamonds you get, as everything else follows on from there. Now of course, don't ever try any underhand methods to force, bribe or otherwise coerce people into diamonding, but there is no harm in reminding people "If you like this submission, please give it a diamond!".

Drafting your submission

Make a draft of your submission before you make it! Start a draft submission by unticking the 'publish live' box. Now you can edit the view/layout to get your submission looking perfect before you release it.

Be original

More than anything, don't just copy or modify someone else's design or idea. Something that isn't very original or different isn't very exciting and won't capture the attention of people viewing your submission. Having a unique build/style/idea/method makes you stand out, it gives you a 'selling point' that makes your submission interesting and is far more likely to impress people. Try your best to think outside the box!

Don't just make small things

Make something that has had a decent amount of time and effort put into it. When you think it's finished, go over it again and try to tweak and polish it to improve the overall submission. Putting effort into the submission will really show through, increasing the chance you will get diamonds and increasing the chance people will want to subscribe to you.

Don't post unfinished work

People do this a lot and it's a grave error. Just think about it - what is more likely to get lots of views and diamonds:

1. A well polished, finished product

2. An unfinished product that doesn't have everything added and still needs improvements

Difficulty - Stay realistic

Be aware that some reels are far easier to get on:

Mods are very easy to get on the popular reel.

Skins and Blogs are quite easy to get on the popular reel.

Texture Packs can be somewhat difficult.

Getting on the Projects reel is very hard and competition is very fierce.

Bear this in mind when aiming for the popular reel, projects must be really high-quality to have a chance of making the project reel.

Youtube advertising

If possible/relevant make a youtube video on your submission. The benefit you gain from this can vary but it will inevitably drive some extra traffic to your submission.

Updating

Remember first of all the update log is for major changes to the submission to reflect new additions that would cause people to want to see the updated changes. Added pictures, fixed spelling mistakes, 'going to add this soon' etc are all update log abuse and you will be punished for it.

You are usually on the popular reel for 2 days, and really popular submissions can stay for up to 3 days.

A method I often use is providing a legitimate major update to the submission after 2 days. This gives me a small but useful boost in views and diamonds to keep me on the reel longer for the 3rd day.

Presentation

Spoiler

This is unbelievably important and definitely deserves it's own section. First of all, putting effort into the presentation and description of your submission shows that you take pride in your work, and that lots of effort has been put into it. Also, a well-presented submission makes people far more likely to download and try it, which increases the submission's popularity score for making the popular reel.

It is also very worth making the point that a lot of people will see a submission and diamond it because they like the look of it or they like the unique idea/concept. This means that many people diamond the submission without actually trying it, meaning how well you present the project is what will influence them.

Pictures

Also make sure you put extra effort into the main display image. You don't have to Photoshop it into oblivion but at the very least make sure the picture is good, it is the right brightness, cropped properly, and the submission title is written there.

Put PLENTY of pictures showing different features/camera angles etc. Make sure to use a good texture pack/shaders mod/3D render.

Especially for blogs, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have a picture, it greatly increases the number of people that will be interested enough to click on the submission.

Description

Always make sure you put a decent description about the submission, the features, recipes, install instructions etc. Make sure everything is clearly laid out and easy to read. Also feel free to add in any other information like how long it took you and what problems you had. People like the personal touch behind how you made the submission.

Title

1. Firstly, you want to make a URL web address that is short, that clearly describes the submission and that people might want to click on. To do this, when you first create the submission, make sure the title is what you want the URL to be. Then you can change the title of the submission and the URL will remain the same.

Example:

http://www.planetminecraft.com/server/pvpcraft

looks much better than

http://www.planetminecraft.com/server/pvpcraft-247-nolag-factions-yogscasted-owned-by-notch-proguns-antiabortion-undecided-on-healthcare-freeop-plzdiamond-kthx

2. Secondly you want to make the actual submission title appealing - to persuade people to click it. I could have called this 'How to get subs and make good submissions' but it doesn't have a good ring to it and it doesn't sound that interesting. 'How to make the popular reel' is clear, concise and to the point and more importantly, people are much more likely to want to read about how to make the popular reel.

3. Finally, often putting [tags] can help improve the title,

e.g.

[SURVIVAL] maps,

[RANT] blogs,

[TUTORIAL] projects,

[GUIDE] blogs,

[GAME] redstone projects,

[COMIC] blogs,

[REALISTIC] texture packs

etc.

Releasing your submission

Spoiler

You've spent all your time making a great project, you've put love and care into making a great draft and now you are finally ready to release it. However, many people don't realise the importance of when you choose to release it.

Site traffic is signficantly higher Friday-Sunday from 5pm-2am GMT (midday-9pm EST). Carefully plan when you want to release it, as it can drastically affect the views you get. Don't be afraid of finishing the submission but waiting a few days for a peak time to release it!
On the whole, I try to release my submissions on a Friday at 5pm GMT. This is PMC's busiest time and means my submission can sit on the popular reel for 2-3 days during peak site traffic. I assure you this can make a difference of at least twice as many views compared to if you released it midweek during the morning. Twice as many views translates to potentially twice as many new subscribers.

NOTE: If you have no subscribers and your submission isn't really good then it may be better to submit midweek when you will have less competition against better submissions.

Check out what is also on the 'What's Hot' list. If you keep track of it a bit you can see when submissions are losing steam and are about to drop off the popular reel. Sometimes if you see a few very popular submissions it is beneficial to wait so that you aren't fighting against submissions you can't really compete against.

Example: Disco and inHaze both submit a project, just before you do. Now instead of competing to be one of 8 submissions on the popular reel, you are fighting to be in the remaining 6! This is a massive disadvantage!!!

Don't ever post a submission if you already have one of the same type on the popular reel. This means they are directly competing against each other for the popular reel and one will inevitably knock the other one off the popular reel earlier than it should have done.

Promoting your submission

Spoiler

I'm going to start by highlighting some common illegitimate methods you absolutely MUST NOT do.

DO NOT

Advertise on the forums

Advertise on other people's submissions - your submission WILL be deleted

Try any Diamond4diamond / sub4sub schemes

There are however a few legitimate ways to promote your stuff on PMC:

Chat promotion

I am a little loath to mention this but it is a useful tip, particularly if you don't have lots of followers yet. Promoting your submission in chat is a really valuable way of getting an additional boost to your views and diamonds early on. Don't beg for people to view and diamond the submissions you advertise, it just makes you look desperate and makes people less likely to diamond you. Also remember to only advertise once every 15 minutes!

Use your forum presence

Add submissions you want to promote into your forum signature, this helps get a bit of extra traffic. You can't advertise site submissions on the forums, but to help boost the views from your signature, be active on the forums to get the adverts in your signature a bit more exposure.

Advertise elsewhere

Advertise elsewhere on other minecraft sites and forums. Twitter and Facebook can also get you some extra views on top.

Selling your soul

Spoiler

I DO NOT recommend any of these methods, they are underhand and cheap. I've added this extra section to cater to those who aspire to become an utterly shameless SubHoar4Lyf.

Warning:

Be aware that utilising these methods can result in partial or complete loss of integrity, dignity, shame, honour and self-respect.

DISCLAIMER:

These methods are legitimate but are clearly trying to play the game. Although you are unlikely to get into trouble for using them, don't take it too far in the desperation to be noticed. Remember even if you aren't technically breaking any explicitly mentioned rules you can still be punished for trying to abuse the system. Basically, just don't push it.

Forum feedback

You can't advertise your submissions on the forums, but you can ask for feedback HERE. Don't abuse it by just advertising 'Give feedback, HERE is my project'.

Put some effort into it and you get a bit of extra exposure, as well as some useful feedback for updates you can make to improve your submission.

Example:

'Here is this submission I have made, I've done this and this...

... I think this is a little flawed here

... I would really appreciate feedback on this part

... anything you didn't like about the project?

... and anything else I could add to improve it?'

My Avatar

I'm pretty sure you can see where I'm going with this. I do this mainly to trick/prank/troll people, but you can guess the extra benefits you get from a female avatar with pony hair.

Being a spammy subhoar

You can remind people to subscribe if they want to see more e.g. in the submission description, your 'About me' member page, forum signature etc. Although you must be very aware that being obnoxious and spammy when asking for subs loses you a lot of integrity and can actually put off a lot of people from wanting to subscribe to you.

Subscribing to other people

If you will be in their top 8 highest levelled subscribers then you will appear on their member page, giving you a bit of extra advertising. Also, subscribing to people can get them to notice your content and subscribe back.

Once you've made it onto the popular reel you can relax, it is virtually impossible to be knocked off the reel once you get on it. Work on your next popular submission!

If you found this guide useful, a diamond/favourite would be much appreciated. If you want to see new stuff I release, then why not subscribe ^.^

Additional Details

Tags:

Tutorial, Making, Popular, Reel, Content, Submission, Guide, Diamonds, Favourites, Views

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Update #1 : 08/05/2012 3:52:25 pm8/05/12

Added an additional section with some more tips.

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How to make the popular reel

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Selling your soul

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