Recently, just for the fun of it, I've tried different techniques to see if I can boost my gallery "hits." My most recent experiment is the gratuitous use of V3 breasts, not in the image itself, but simply in the thumbnail.

Other experiments include violence warnings (fairly effective) and sober warnings on drug use in the thumbnail (best response to date.) To check the response rate on various techniques I've employed, please visit my gallery. And feel free to use my techniques to boost your own hits. Please note, however, that "hits" do not translate into comments left behind, either positive or negative.

Message edited on: 07/05/2004 20:39

Use a female face in the thumbnail. I recently posted two pics, one with a genie and a dragon, and used a genie bottle for the thumbnail, the second was a follow-up, with the dragon replaced by a cat, and used the genie's face for the thumbnail. So far, the second one has more hits.;P

Another way is to complain about it in the forums. Breasts are #1 used, but not most effective. The title plays a very important role also.

another way to get lots of hits is to do something like this
or this

in truth hits don't really tell you much. you get them if the person likes the image (or even wanted to see that type of image) or not.

Why should we want to increase the hits in our gallery? I mean, is there a logical reason or is it just for the fun of it? Please don't think I'm making fun of your idea, I seriously want to know. France

Francemi, not sure if the reason is logical, but it certainly is a human response that when we post an image in the gallery, we want people to look at it. I think most people get a little "rush" of acknowledgement when one of their posted images garners a lot of hits or comments. The content of my images doesn't fall into the conventional areas that most Poser images do: my work is neither pin-up, goth, fantasy, horror, science fiction. My work is fictionalized autobiography, and I'd like to think that it's literary as well, not of huge interest to most Renderosity folk. Therefore, I find it fun to boost my usually low hit-rate (low in comparison to images that fit into the popular topic areas) by playing around with the thumbnails. Capishe?

Okay, your last comment made me curious, so I went to have a look, and I'm very glad I did. Wow. Definitely not your usual Poser fare, and some of your stuff is like a punch in the gut, emotionally (I mean that as a compliment, of course). Excellent work. bonni

I very rarely use nudity or violence in my images, but I do have a female face in my thumbnails and my last one thus far has over 1200 viewings (and a fair ammount of comments). I personally like thumbnails that are kinda vibrant. They tend to stand out in a sea of gothy color themes, and are almost always guaranteed to spark my interest....but..then again..thats just me :o) My other gallery (atom1972) did fairly well using the same technique. pretty face with vibrant color.

Message edited on: 07/05/2004 23:59

Thank you for replying pookah. Yes, I understand. It's just that I thought there was a more "practical?" reason. Of course it's fine to want to have your work seen by many people. After all you worked hard on these images and it is rewarding when you get nice comments on them. I wouldn't know because I am no artist. ;o) France

Let me get this straight... people put up "fake" thumbnails that have nothing to do with the content of their actual image so that they can make themselves feel good about watching the little numbers under the thumbnail go up? WTF? LOL! I'm still trying to get my head around how this can make an artist feel good about their work, but whatever floats your boat. I would take much greater satisfaction having 1 person, who asserted himself out of actual interest, viewing my work than 1000 people who I had "tricked" into looking at it. But that's just me.

Personally I'd rather have comments than hits... especially useful ones like "The lighting is good" or "her expression is just right" or even "Whoops, glowing nostrils!" - if it helps me know what I did right or wrong, then it's useful to me. If it just says "Hubba hubba!" then it's nice, but it's not so useful. Something that seems to help me get useful comments is to put in the text "Critique welcomed" or "Tell me what is right/wrong with this image" or similar. I think a lot of people are afraid to leave constructive comments after having their heads bitten off by people who don't want that :- The genre also affects what gets comments. One of my pin-ups has 468 views but just 4 comments, that's just 0.8%. However, my pic "Rage" has for the thumbnail a close-up of a fist, has 89 views and 3 comments, which is a ratio of 3%. A pic the the Vue gallery (Sunset in the Bullrushes) has 144 views and 22 comments - 15%!! So in short... tits may = hits, but not comments, and especially not constructive ones.

Quickly, I will ditto what maxxx said and add that being tricked usually gets my attention pointed at the artists name so I can remember never to look at their stuff again. Karen1573 has a good suggestion, ask for what you want directly. What good is data that is collected on false responses? It actually puts you in a worse position because then you can't trust the numbers that come in based on people knowing what your work really is about.

Just went to see your gallery. Yeah, you should really let your stuff stand on its own. Sure, your stuff is a little rough but it (as you said ) is personal and the time and effort you put into composition and giving your characters expressions puts you ahead of all the stale life-less faces that inhabit so many of the slicker images posted here. I will always check out your stuff from now on but I won't support your Madison Ave tactics. : )

Top 3 tips for boosting hits.

1. Breasts or a hint of lingerie in the thumbnail.
2. Include (Nudity) in the title as well as flagging it on the upload page.
3. Don't bother with naming your pic. A series of punctuation marks will double your hits. (Until they realise your not a 'member' of that particular clique.)

A thumbnail of a pair of hooters entitled (oYo) NUDITY!!!! should therefore theoretically get those little numbers whizzing round. :o)

bright colors, suggestive titles, boobs for noobs, etc., go figure..;)

maxxx, I notice you have no gallery images posted. I'd take your comment more to heart if you did post, as it would be coming from a person who puts their work on the line by allowing others to respond to it--or not. By the way, I'm not implying that you're not entitled to your opinion. Of course there are people here who do post, and do find my tactics contrived or deceptive. I would defend it by saying it's a completely harmless "marketing" ploy to get people to look at my work, which I believe is worth looking at. To those who I've annoyed by posting "deceptive" thumbnails--I offer my apologies. P.S. as my work gets more viewings, I will cease using these ploys, I suppose. Thanks to those of you who as a result of this forum post have marked me as a "favorite artist." I consider that a great compliment, and I will try to maintain your interest.

I used to try to get the numbers to go higher and then I lived on the ratings. What I would rather have would be comments on how to improve the pic and Ideas for another pic. You get so few constructive comments though I appreciate the time that people took to make a comment on a pic. Lots dont.

Ya maxxxmodelz 3 or 4 years ago some of the old timers- the original people who were here from the begining were debateing the value of 'selective' thumbnails. The conclusion most came to was that croping made the advertisement false. So.. most now say if the entire image isn't in the thumb they just pass it right by and don't look. Mostly (I try) to follow this rule myself in my thumbs (mostly)

Thumbnails are "tricks" to get you to see the image.

I've seen thumbnails that show part of the image and peaked my intrest but the image i could do without. I've seen thumbnails that show the whole image that look really good but the full size image didnt look good at all.

Titles are "tricks" to get you to see the image.

deceptive? or just not what you were thinking it ment.

Hits only tell you how many times it was seen. for new artists getting eyes is a big ego boost, you may get fans who didnt know about you or didnt think they would be intrested in your work. More established artist who are on lots of favorites lists know their work will be seen.

New artists are in need of (useful) comments. so instead of shunning people who use "tricks" to get hits, maybe we should be leaving useful comments about their work.

I do have a gallery, so I feel I can echo maxxxmodelz' comments (only kidding, not a flame...) You have no way of knowing what people thought if they don't leave a comment; and you may be laying yourself open to some negative ones, by the way. Mere hits without feedback are meaningless, in my opinion. While we're on my opinion, your art is strong enough to stand on its own feet. Seeing a blatantly fake thumbnail like that would normally be enough to make me skip that image. In particular, I have my preferences set to exclude nudity because I often browse at work; so I definitely wouldn't risk anything with a nude thumbnail. But... Out of the top 12 most viewed images, at least three have "manipulative" thumbnails/misleading titles, so I think that point has been made before... :)

I agree about comments being far more important than hits. But I confess I'm base enough to settle for hits, even without comments. I make it a practise to scan the Poser gallery in search of three images I can leave a constructive comment on. I don't leave mere "wows" or "kisses" or stuff like that. I leave the type of comment I like to get--honest, straightforward critique--though I'll take a "wow" over no comment at all. I do find it challenging, as I scan the thumbs, to find three images that lend themselves to critique, when the preponderance of thumbnails hint at V3s with large breasts and Kozaburo hair. No offense intended to those of you who do these images--they are just not of interest to me.

Meh call me weird but I don't see the big deal about doing this. I mean if you think about it you see it every day in advertising, in cologne commercials you see women flocking to men, or men flocking to women if they wear a certain perfume or clothes; we all know it's BS but it still gets us to buy the product. I mean that's what it's all about, getting us to buy the products, and if this technique by using different thumbnails gets us to click, so be it. Last time I checked we don't have to click ya know?

usmellthat, exactly my point.

Heh, this old subject comes around again. Well I've said it before and I'll say it again. Using bait and switch thumbnails to increase your image count is stupid and annoying. pookah69 so if you clicked on a thumbnail of M3 bare chested, with a title of 'Guys' and when the page displayed it was V3 wearing only Koz's hair, how would you feel? I'd harzard to guess you'd feel a little cheated, a little duped, a little bit like you're being made fun of?

Moonbiter, it may be an "old subject" but it obviously is something that continues to hold interest, given the amount of conversation it generated. As far as the guess you've hazarded: no, I would not feel a little cheated, a little duped. I would be amused and move on. Further, to characterize my "marketing devices" as deception is inaccurate--I invite you to look at my thumbnails and the accompanying images and then judge for yourself. In fact, the thumb in which I use a naked V3 flat states that there are no naked breasts in the image. The image in which I depict drug use has an accompanying thumb that states I don't condone drug use. Nothing deceptive there. Thanks for your input, moonbiter. I'll be interested to check out your gallery, and see how you represent your work in your thumbs!

I guess you could go through the Gallery, click on every picture, and leave a "wow, that's the best picture I ever saw" comment. Be sure to give it an excellent rating as well. This way, no matter how good or bad the picture really is, you are bound to get a good percentage of those folks to your gallery to leave a similar comment, just to show they are nice people too.

Well, my Thalia in the Mines vs. the Thalia WIP is an interesting one, as the WIP has a pretty female face, the final has a clip from the monster. My Indigo in the Catacombs uses a much brighter thumbnail because otherwise the render is too dark to make for a good thumb. I've tried a number of things, but I seem to be getting good responses (except for my latest render -- I need a better choice of lights for it).

shadownet...those who know me well know I would never compromise my integrity by providing critique that wasn't honest and helpful. I offer this input to anybody who can reciprocate in a like manner, and have had the privilege to meet folks here at Renderosity who can and do. Incidentally, has anybody ever mentioned to you that sarcasm is the protest of people who are weak?

Message edited on: 07/06/2004 15:45

Quite alright. I was being sarcastic, thought it was not meant to be directed at you. I just was noting how often the "wow, that is the best picture I ever saw, sort of comment, and similar rather empty platitudes get used. It sort of defeats the purpose of having a rating system or even a place to leave helpful feedback for those who do sincerely ask. I apologize if my remarks upset you.

" maxxx, I notice you have no gallery images posted. I'd take your comment more to heart if you did post, as it would be coming from a person who puts their work on the line by allowing others to respond to it--or not. By the way, I'm not implying that you're not entitled to your opinion."

Well, you're right. I don't have a gallery here. But in my own defense of that shortcoming, I have stated in previous threads on this board that the reason I don't post my work on this website has mostly to do with the fact that I do not completely agree with the TOS of this site, or the way it seems to enforce it sometimes, so therefore I do not post. Not that any of my work would be a violation of their TOS, but it has to do more on principle. Anyway, most of my stuff is lengthy animation, which doesn't seem well supported around here yet.

;-) Message edited on: 07/06/2004 16:00

My opinion... Yes, I would sometimes feel cheated if the thumb bore no resemblance to the render it was attached to. I say sometimes because I know enough of Pookah69's work to expect something like that from time to time. With pooka69's images, I think it's pretty cleverly done and at the least gives me a smile or two. I agree that it's better to get comments than a thousand hits and not one bit of feedback. As for the "Wow, great!" type of comments, I'm just as guilty as anyone for that. Sometimes there just isn't anything else to say. Even so, I wouldn't shy away from making a suggestion for improvement if I thought an image needed it, no matter who the artist was. As for getting hits, my own experience showed me that a current topic can work wonders. The most viewed and commented image in my gallery is "Bite Me". It's not my best image by any means, but it sure was popular. Conversely, one of the least commented and viewed images is "Flesh", which I happen to think is one of my best. Do I play the game? Not really. I'll generally put a face in the thumb but I don't particularly follow the tits=hits rule. Some of my thumbs have 'em, others don't. It's entirely coincidental.

shadownet, thanks for clarifying your meaning. And maxxx, no need to defend your not having a gallery. I was simply stating that it's most easy to understand the interest in getting hits if you have a gallery here and have experienced that singular--and not entirely pleasant-- feeling of posting your work into a "deafening silence." Yes, of course, comments are better than hits, and well-crafted critique is better than comments. But hits are better than silence, and I defy anybody to argue that point.

I dunno... I try to make my images as good as possible and I try to make my thumbs as good as possible. Preferably the thumbs should be representative of the images. Seems logical. Why should I do it any other way? I do a lot of beautiful (naked) women and such - that's what I enjoy doing. If someone likes my style I'm happy, if they don't I'm sure they'll find something else to look at. Since my thumbs indicate clearly what you're likely to see they can go elsewhere if they want to. No tricks, no leg pulling, no attitude. I don't have a arrogant attitude about people who render boobs or like to look at boobs or not, or people who are arty or not - I do my thing, they do theirs and that's all there is to it. So - back to Posing and making the best images (and thumbs lol) that I can. Period. Simple, isn't it? :] Fish

Why should we want to increase the hits in our gallery? I mean, is there a logical reason or is it just for the fun of it? It might be a bit of both. If you're new to computer art, you might want folks to tell you how you're doing, in an effort to learn (and comments other than "Oooooooh, that is wonderful, girlfriend!" are SO much more helpful!) The other reason is that, as is part of human nature, it gives some folks a sense of friendship and belonging, I guess. As for comments, I guess I am of the belief that the comments you DON'T try to solicit are the ones that mean the most. If someone you don't know takes the time to comment on your work without asking for it, it is a real pat on the back ... at least, to me it is. 8-)

LOL -- back when I used to have a gallery here, one of my highest rating pics showed a thumbnail of a silhouette of a nude woman against some horizontal blinds... but when you opened the image, there was her irate father, telling the little perv (i.e., you) to get the hell out. Only time here I got over a thousand hits on a single image.

I generally find that leaving thoughtful comments on the works of others generates thoughtful comments on my work. I would rather have 20 hits and 7 comments than 200,000 hits and 7 comments. Having bright colors or eyes tends to catch my attention. Someone who pays attention to how eyes are posed is more likely to pay attention to the pose itself rather than be using "V3 Pose Pack #454". Not that there's anything wrong with pose packs (except the prices on most. 12$ for 20 poses?), but many people buy them and use them without making them their own poses by fiddling with things, and usually leave the eyes staring blankly ahead at nothing. Last but not least? I won't comment on a picture that has a seriously misleading thumbnail unless there's some kind of /good/ twist to it.

well, some of us do images for the oure enjoyment of it, like i do, i not bothered about hits or comments, i do work that i feel like doing, boobs or not, fantasy horro, mostly depending what mood im in! i post my work on three sites, and to be honest i get more hots and comments whatever on a different site! but to me its not about all that its about the art work involved. as we all do, we have our favs to look at, but its always the newones that have that certain something that makes you want to look! thumbnails, yes they can be missleading, and sometimes it makes you look anyhoo, and sometimes it suprises you, ( for one instance a while back, there was an image called outragious curves, i had a look and it was freak in tight leather female clothes, which i found amuzing, but not missleading, lol) but anyhoo, i ten todo thumbs which is just a small section of the image, either capturing part of face or part of action. but to me, what i like is constuctive crit, i sometimes wish more peeps would do it, instead of saying "thats excellent" etc, a constuctive crit is a better way of making you think "yeah i see what you mean, and ill see if i can do it", but how oftern do peeps actually go back to an old image, which had a bad crit and re-do it, i know i havent yet, but who does?? also, its nice to see those who dont have a gallery to comment too, as it gets them involved and gives ideas, and also might give them an opertunity to go and try something similar, or hell, try and at least do something with either poser, vue, maya, photoshop, photography! im all for the little person who dont get many hits or comments, i just wish more peeps would see some of those little peeps works! anyhoo, im waffling, and i have a kitten trying to eat my leg!!

Me, I actually try to get thumbs in my thumbnail pics.....it don' get me any more hits, I don' tink, but they ARE literally thumbnail pics 8-) As fer comments; put WIP in the title if ya want critique. So sorry to hear 'bout yr leg, DarkStar :'(