How To Get People To Join Your Project

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While reading an article on the LifeHacker website about Asking Good Questions, the author quoted a Wikipedia article about the folk story Stone Soup. The quote was a summary of the lessons to be taken from the story and it is a brilliant insight into motivating group participation.

If you want to get people to do something, don’t tell them how desperately they are needed. Don’t try to appeal to their sympathy and kindness. Instead, create the impression that you are giving them the opportunity to be part of your success.

I have seen a number of websites being promoted recently that want visitors to contribute content to them. Interactive collaboration is one of the exciting potential applications of new Internet technology. The problem is that, while most of these sites are trying to generate advertising revenue from the traffic generated by this new content, several high profile sites have no intention of sharing any of the revenue with the content creators. Some even claim complete ownership of materials posted to their sites.

Following the lead of the Stone Soup story, there is a much better chance of success if you invite people to share in your success rather than beg and cajole them into participating. Make sure there is something valuable in it for them, and then make sure they are aware of what you are offering them.

I am working on several projects right now that will benefit from this kind of thinking and I’m grateful for the reminder to focus on inviting others to share the success. My approach to promoting the projects and recruiting helpers will be different.

The Go-To Guy

P.S. My wife wrote a children’s musical based on this story, you’d think I would have already learned this lesson!