How Do You Promote Your Waymarking Category?

[+The Leprechauns]

What are other category managers doing, or thinking about doing, to promote their categories and create more interest in the community to mark and visit waymarks?

 

As an example, I sponsored two contests where lucky waymarkers won geocoins for being the first to find and mark 40 historic markers. A similar contest is now underway in Ohio.

 

Other contest ideas: best photo, best waymark page, most waymarks in one day, most different categories of waymarks in one month.

 

Other promotion ideas: I mention nearby waymarks on some of my cache pages, and if I log a find on a geocache I will mention if I also marked or visited a waymark in the area. I mention my Waymarking categories on my Geocaching.com profile.

 

Let's use this thread for category managers (and active waymarkers) to brainstorm on how to have FUN.

[+chstress53]

As a category manager for NJ Historical Markers I am planning on running something for Creators as well as for waymark visitors

I plan to say something like this for the waymark visitors:

To visit and photograph yourself and a mascot that you have created for this task with 25, 50, 100, 500 historical markers over one calendar year. If you start after April 1st (this date is not the start date just an example), you cannot backdate your visits to historical markers. At the end of 1 year from the start all participants who achieve ther 25,50 ,100, or the 500 visits would receive something of value for there effort. I have yet to decide on what.

 

 

For my art6 o mat category I am thinking of offering one of the $5 boxes of art that are sold in those machines. I just have not decided how many waymarks someone must create before sending off their art product.

Do these sound like good ideas?

[+The Leprechauns]

Those are all cool ideas. I like the idea of rewards for Waymarking activity over a sustained period of time, like X waymarks established during the course of a year.

 

In the past there was discussion by the site creators of the "bounty point" concept. It would be interesting to see how this would work in practice.

 

In general, I think that contests are fun and help to draw attention to a Waymarking category. As proof, I will note that my Pennsylvania Historic Markers category had 246 entries in it at the end of January when I announced two contests. Now, it has 443, just six weeks or so later! That is a lot more than just the 80 entries submitted by the two contest winners. It also triggered a lot more interest in establishing marker categories in other states and countries.

[dutchmaster]

To repeat what I just mentioned in another thread, how about the number of waymarks used as the (logable) stages of a multi cache?

 

dutchmaster

[+BruceS]

To repeat what I just mentioned in another thread, how about the number of waymarks used as the (logable) stages of a multi cache?

 

dutchmaster

 

Keep caching and Waymarking separate. Do not try to make caches out of waymarks that is not the intent.

[dutchmaster]

 

Keep caching and Waymarking separate. Do not try to make caches out of waymarks that is not the intent.

 

 

Ok, now flip that over to the other side. There's many multi caches that require one to get information from a nearby plaque or a website associated with a certain location and that location in most cases can also be logged as a waymark. Therefore why not link to the waymark which already has coords and use that as a stage for a multi where the final is at a separate location, not at the location of the waymark?

 

dutchmaster

[+BruceS]

 

Keep caching and Waymarking separate. Do not try to make caches out of waymarks that is not the intent.

 

 

Ok, now flip that over to the other side. There's many multi caches that require one to get information from a nearby plaque or a website associated with a certain location and that location in most cases can also be logged as a waymark. Therefore why not link to the waymark which already has coords and use that as a stage for a multi where the final is at a separate location, not at the location of the waymark?

 

dutchmaster

 

I see no problem using the coordinates of a waymark in a cache. I don't think having to log the waymark to get a smiley for a cache or log a cache to log a waymark is proper. Each should stand on its own. If on the cache page it mentions that a waymark is located here to would be fine as long as the logging requirements for the waymark are met.

[dutchmaster]

 

I see no problem using the coordinates of a waymark in a cache. I don't think having to log the waymark to get a smiley for a cache or log a cache to log a waymark is proper..............

 

You had it in the first sentence, then lost it again. 8-) I'm just leading the horse to water, I don't care if he drinks. I've mentioned in logs that waymarks are now active, "just click on the link" and had inquiries as to where the link was at. Dammit I'm just hoping to get the word out to the misguided masses. I already know that professional geocachers will appreciate a good waymark with relevant information that enhances their journey to the final cache and I needn't worry about whether they log the waymark or not. Probably more often than not.

I'm assuming "drive-uppers" couldn't be bothered, great, I'm not forcing anyone to log anything other than the traditional cache. A tad more information and elliminate the brass tags.

 

dutchmaster