How To Get Your Projects Noticed - Some Helpful Tips

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(Please note: This topic is NOT for advertising your projects. Any advertising posts or spam will be reported! If you want to advertise your projects, make a new thread in the “Show And Tell” forums)


Here are some ways to get your projects noticed:

The Biggest Thing.

What is the secret to getting projects popular? There are many ways that add up, but the biggest one can be summed up in the saying “Quality over Quantity.” What does that mean? It means make good, inspiring projects instead of a large number of 2-minute projects. Basically, work very hard on a project and make it good. Like, really good. Spend weeks, or months in some cases. Which would you rather have: One or 2 projects with 500+ views, or 50 projects with 2 views? Using that logic, make good projects! Here is a description on what makes a good project:

Make it Original

Why should someone click or look at your project? Is it an exact remix or a clone of another popular project? Or is it an original idea that inspires others? Make things that no one has thought of to make on Scratch! Those projects are usually the ones that get featured!

Work Hard at Programming

Do you want to make an interactive project? Or making a score counter? Then try to code your own text engine. The “Say” blocks and variables get old when you see them on every project. What's the point? Spend time on the inside of your project. The more work you spend coding, the more it will show. Add tiny details that my add another 2 minute's work here and there. If you're advanced at programming, use your skills to make efficient, fast code. After all, Scratch is a coding language, first and foremost.

Make Great Art

This one is very important. Making good art is what will attract your project attention, even before others click on it. In Scratch, programming is nothing without art. If you go to the “Explore” tab, what can you tell about all the projects that are on the trending page? They all have very attractive artwork! It is important to learn how to make good art in Scratch. It can be difficult to do in Scratch at times, and not everyone (Myself included) is good at making art on the computer. For these reasons, I recommend learning Inkscape, a free Vector art tool.

Look Professional

After you finish your hard work, make it look like hard work. What do I mean? Don't add 300 tags that don't relate to your project, or have a title like “CliCk HeRe foR NEw PLatForMer 2.0!” Why not? This is unprofessional. Something like “Platformer 2.0” would look nice, professional, and attract more views. We'll touch more on this later, but you need to look simple, not silly. Why not? Ask yourself, would you rather click on the first title, or the second one?


The Show and Tell forums.

Here is a complete guide for making threads for advertising your projects in the Show and Tell forums:

How to make good forum advertisements.

A good advertisement thread has a good amount of things that Scratchers like. Be polite, kind, and be willing to feedback. Here are a couple of steps that might help you get more views on a topic.

A good Advertisement

The title of your thread is the only thing people will get to see before actually clicking into your thread. Don't create a title like this: “Click here for my best game!!!” People will just ignore that topic, because the title hints that the thread/project has very little effort put into it. You need to be specific, like: “Super Mario Bros. Demo” A topic with that title will likely get more clicks. It is human nature to judge a book by its cover. Be sure to be brief. Don't use uppercase letters. That will draw attention to your title, but it will look unprofessional. People might just take that as another rushed topic. Just use caps at the beginning of the words, like this: “Vacuum Cleaner Rush” The title can be one of the most important tools for your topic!

A Good Thread

You will need a good use of time to make a good thread. Be sure to put in a link to your project instead of just simply asking for people to search your project's name or to visit your profile. Links are very important. However, to many links will make people ignore all of them. So don't put in a mile long list of links. Just have one or two. A good thread has the project's name, what the project is about, and why you are advertising it. Use correct spelling and grammar too. A thread filled with spelling and grammar errors will be considered another 5-minute thread. Most computers will underline the misspelled words with a red line. Make sure to ask for suggestions. People love to give suggestions. Be sure to use Underlines, Bold letters, Italic letters, Big letters,and Small letters. That will give your topic a professional look. Be sure to use quotes, like this:

Quote

Most important of all, Be Kind and Friendly!

An Up To Date Thread

When someone asks you to add something or suggests something for your thread or project, try it. Be sure to update your thread regularly. Change things up often to make it so Scratchers will come back to your thread. It will also show that you are an active Scratcher. People like to see that Scratchers are active! If your thread has disappeared from the first page, comment ‘Bump’ in your thread comments. That will put your thread at the front again. Don't do it too often (once in every 24 hours), or it will be considered spam.

Here are some other ways to get projects noticed.

Studios Add your projects to studios. A lot of studios. Dump your projects into as many studios as you can. Be sure not to spam the studios though. Don't put your project in a studio that isn't a related theme, or it'll get deleted. See if you have a project that fits the description of one of the featured studios on the front page. Suggest your project for a studio on the front page. Be sure it fits the requirements though. You could try to curate some studios, like this one: https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/4267710/projects/

The SDS The SDS, or Scratch Design Studio, is a themed studio, featured on the front page, that is changed approximately every month. These themes can range from time travel to underwater scenes, sports, and much more. You could make a project for the SDS. The project you made will likely get a couple hundred views, quickly. You even have a small chance of getting that project on the front page, under “Scratch Design Studio”.

Followers The more followers you have, the more project views you will have. But how do you get followers? Here are some tips:

• Try giving people a lot of praise on projects, most of the time ones that have little or no views. They will likely want to be your friend, and follow you. Also try to follow a lot of people. They will want to thank you and follow you back. If you build up a reputation for being up building and kind, you will likely get more followers.
  
  
• If you have a suggestion for a project, don't give a rude comment, like: “You did a bad job! The motion is way to rough!” Make it up building and kind, like: “Great project! I have a tip for making the motion smoother…” Which comment do you think would earn you a follow, the rude one, or the kind suggestion?
  
  
• If one of your projects has a lot of views, try posting links of your best projects in the “Notes and Credits”. Don't link to many though. 2 or 3 links would likely get more attention. More than that would make other Scratchers just ignore all of the links.
  

If you want more on this topic, bubble103 made an excellent guide.

Thumbnail Make a thumbnail for your project. A thumbnail is the image a Scratcher sees before actually clicking on your project. Here is an example of a thumbnail:


To make a thumbnail, create a custom image featuring tiny details about your project. For my thumbnails, I usually include art, the project's title, and the main character. Remember how earlier that we mentioned that it is human nature to judge something by its looks? Well, it also applies here! So make your thumbnail unique!

Other Try putting your best project/studio in a directory, like this one. Directories are a more efficient way to advertise your projects.

FAQ

Here are the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What is a thread? A: For more information on threads, posts, and topics, click here.

Q: How do I make a new thread? A: Go to the “Discuss Scratch” page. Next, click on a category, such as “Show And Tell.” On the right side of the screen, almost at the top, you should see a blue “New Topic” button. Click the button to create a new thread.

Q: If advertising is against the Scratch rules, why is it encouraged here in the forums? A: The reason that we don't advertise on other's profile, projects, or threads because it often leads to spam, and that is something that annoys the Scratch community. The “Show And Tell” forums are the spot on Scratch where advertising is allowed. (Not on other's posts, but on new threads) For more information on advertising, go here. For more information on spamming, go here.

Q: How do I make a thumbnail? A: It's easy! Just make a picture featuring your project's top features. Make it look appealing! Also (this is important), make sure the picture covers your whole project canvas. Then, make the following script:

when green flag clicked
hide

But, before you finish, make the thumbnail visible and save your project.

Thanks for reading this. I hope it will prove helpful. Scratch on! (Shoutout to @legoloverboy )
-@Superatomsun

I’ve reported this to be stickied!

INFIN1TY wrote:

I’ve reported this to be stickied!

Reported to be stickied? Thanks. I hope this does. This topic should help a lot of Scratchers.

Superatomsun wrote:

Some of the best projects on Scratch don't have any views. What's wrong? Here are a couple of tips.

Here are some tips for in the forums.

A good topic has a good amount of things that Scratcher's like. Be polite, kind, and be willing to feedback on comments. Scratchers love that. Here are a couple of steps that might help you get more views on a topic.

A good Advertisement

The Title is the only thing people will get to see before actually clicking into your topic. Don't create a title like this: Click here for my best game!!! People will just ignore that topic. You need to be specific, like: Super Mario Bros. Demo A topic with that title will likely get more clicks. It is human nature to find interest in things with a interesting look. Be sure to be brief. Don't use uppercase letters. That will draw attention to your title, but it will look unprofessional. People might just take that as another rushed topic. Just use caps at the beginning of the words, like this: Vacuum Cleaner Rush The title can be one of the most important tools for your topic!

A Good Topic

You will need a good use of time to make a good topic. Be sure to put in a link to your project instead of just simply asking for people to search your project's name. That will likely bring other projects. Links are very important. To many links will make people ignore all of them. So don't put in a mile long list of links. Just have one or two. A good topic has the project name, what the project is about, and why you are advertising it. You could add some images of the game by taking screenshots. Use correct spelling too. A misspelled topic will be considered another 5-minute project. Most computers will underline the misspelled words with a red line. Make sure to ask for suggestions. People love to give suggestions. Be sure to use underlines, Bold letters, Italic letters, Big letters,and Small letters. That will give your topic a professional look. Be sure to use quotes, like this:

Quote

Most important of all, Be Kind and Friendly!

An Up To Date Topic

When someone asks you to add something or suggests something, try it. Be sure to update your topic regularly. Change things up often to make it so Scratchers will come back to your topic. It will also show that you are an active Scratcher. People like to see that Scratchers are active! If you got a lot of views and your project isn't on the front page, comment “Bump” in the comments. That will put your project at the front again. Don't do it too often (once in every 24 hours), or it will be considered spam.

Here are some other ways to get projects noticed.

There are lots of ways to get projects noticed other than in the forums. Here are some tips:

Studios Add your projects to studios. A lot of studios. Be sure not to spam the studios though. Suggest your project for a studio on the front page. Be sure it fits the requirements though. You could try to curate some studios, like this one: https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/4267710/projects/

Followers The more followers you have, the more project views you will have. But how do you get followers? Here are some tips:

1. Try F4F (Follow 4 Follow) Here is how. Put “I will F4F” in the “about me” section of your profile. People want followers just like you do. So if you do F4F, people will want to follow you, but you have to follow them back. Try it. I do it. It works! Also follow people that do F4F, like me! They'll follow you back. (If they're active.)

2. Try giving people a lot of praise on projects, most of the time ones that have little or no views. They will likely want to be your friend, and follow you. Also try to follow a lot of people. They will want to thank you and follow you back. If one of your projects has a lot of views, try posting links of your best projects in the “Notes and Credits”.

Thanks for reading this. I hope it will prove helpful. Scratch on!
-@Superatomsun

I don't think F4F is a good way to get more followers, because those followers aren't earned, asking for F4F might seem like you're just a wannabe and envious and lots of Scratchers don't like it, so they decline any of those offers.

Yeah, F4F is not necessarily a good way to get followers.
It's up to the person though.

I also think thumbnails are important because they persuade people to click on your projects.If u have a great thumbnail and not many views this could help.I hope everyone can keep safe,wash those hands and have a nice day.

PartyBalloonsYAY wrote:

I also think thumbnails are important because they persuade people to click on your projects.If u have a great thumbnail and not many views this could help.I hope everyone can keep safe,wash those hands and have a nice day.

OK! I added a part on thumbnails.

That makes sense. Thank you for the help!

cs1760724 wrote:

That makes sense. Thank you for the help!

You are welcome!

Thanks! This was really helpful!

eibgirl_901 wrote:

Thanks! This was really helpful!

You are welcome!

HI!

i um, i'm new here, so.. i don't know how to make forums and stuff…

but ways to get your projects noticed include catchy thumbnails (simple, not too much details), adding projects to studios, and getting them curated.

it also depends on luck of course. getting projects featured, etc.

and um….yeah hi everyone. i hope you're all doing well right now.

and um….yeah.

nice to meet you all. keep scratching!

- sofa

i um, i'm new here, so.. i don't know how to make forums and stuff…

but ways to get your projects noticed include catchy thumbnails (simple, not too much details), adding projects to studios, and getting them curated.

it also depends on luck of course. getting projects featured, etc.

and um….yeah hi everyone. i hope you're all doing well right now.

and um….yeah.

nice to meet you all. keep scratching!

- Sharkbitesnake

How do I create a thread?

mcnerdgirl wrote:

How do I create a thread?

Follow this link. In the right-hand corner, (somewhat at the top) you should see a button with “New Topic” on it. Click the button.

Excuse me…I have been on scratch for about three years, and I just started posting. Whenever I log out to see if my projects show up when I search for them, they never seem to show up. Is there a reason for this?
-Best Regards ~applelover19

Is this an old thing?

applelover19 wrote:

Excuse me…I have been on scratch for about three years, and I just started posting. Whenever I log out to see if my projects show up when I search for them, they never seem to show up. Is there a reason for this?
-Best Regards ~applelover19

That would be a question answered in the '“Questions About Scratch” section of the forums.

What's a thread?

Col_Cat228 wrote:

What's a thread?

To find out what a thread is, go here. I hope it will answer your question!