⇔A Successful Adoption Agency⇔
⇔A guide for agency creators and adoptees alike.
⇔A guide for agency creators and adoptees alike.
[Mods: If you feel that this is better placed elsewhere, feel free to move it. c:]
- As cofounder of Pound of Hope, one of the many successful adoption agencies, I get asked quite often for advice on ways to improve smaller agencies. So often, in fact, that I often feel like I’m repeating myself, and it makes me feel bad. xD
I made this guide as that – a set of guidelines. These tips have worked for us, though they are not rules and can therefore be bent to the preferences of the creator. We were just lucky that we had multiple people pitching in ideas as we created the thread, including the ideas of a future graphic designer, several very-well-versed character adopters that have a ton of experience with agencies, and someone willing to play devil’s advocate and take the thread from a visitor’s point of view.
If you have any suggestions to add to any part of my guide/s, please post and let me know. C: I will be happy to edit them in and credit you for the idea.
Please be aware of the rules concerning Adoption Agencies.
Copy/pasting the written content from other agencies is not acceptable. You must write your own content yourself. Similarities are okay, but copying and pasting everything and replacing every mention of the original agency’s specific information with your own is not acceptable.
Stealing art is not acceptable. Please check the big pink banner at the top of CS’s art forums to read about what is art theft and what is not. If you have to ask if it’s art theft, chances are that it is, and that you shouldn’t do it.
⇔Table of Contents⇔
Organization.
Visual Appeal.
Character Selection.
Something Special.
Networking.
Organization.
Visual Appeal.
Character Selection.
Something Special.
Networking.
⇔Organization.
- Organization is a necessity when creating an adoption agency. The less organized an agency is, the more work someone has to go through to figure out what is going on before they can adopt a character, and the less likely they’ll put up with it enough to actually put in a form.
When creating POH, we separated the thread information from the form information, and separated even those from the kennels, critique request area, code drop, forms list and affiliates list. We wanted everything to be nice and clean-cut, because we were tired of seeing places all jumbled up and squished together. We also wanted the thread to be as informative as possible; my personal goal was to make it the best place to go, without needing any other threads for help. Tiikeria created banners marking each area as a separate place, and everything is set up in the same way for each character, separated even amongst themselves by quote boxes. This pattern continues into the code drop, bringing those elements together, even though they are technically separate.
The thread also flows from one place to the next. Think of it as a conversation:
“Hi, we’re Pound of Hope, where you can adopt homeless characters. These are the forms you might need, if you’re giving up or ready to adopt. Here’s all of the characters we have, and if you look here, these are the lucky ones that found homes, and the forms that won them. Here are the forms that we have in right now – these might be your competition, so be aware of them. We also have a crit staff on standby if you’re nervous about your form. Also, check out these other really cool places for more characters, art, or a website!”
My bad interpretation aside, it still has a nice flow to it that potential adoptees can understand.
Alongside physical organization is time management. Having code drops and closing forms should be done in a timely, regular manner, and the drop date should be posted somewhere it is noticeable – the first post is usually the best spot for it.
I can't emphasize how important being timely is. Taking a long time to judge, or putting off judging in favor of making more adoptables or accepting more breeding forms is generally looked down upon by the adopting community, and can become a sticky situation really quickly - especially if staff is called upon to check in!
⇔Visual appeal.
- Visual appeal is something that makes the entire place, even if it is just a shell without available characters, look nice. Color schemes other than eyeblinding rainbow make the vast majority of CS users more comfortable. I use Color Scheme Designer and various color palette sites to help me out, but experienced artists can also come up with their own schemes that still look absolutely amazing.
Something that always irks me, personally, is when people use Glittergraphics. The sparkles and dancing distract and annoy me, and it makes me turn away from an agency, even when I really like a character. I simply don’t want to look at the ugly sparklebanners to read what they’re trying to say. I recommend either making the graphics yourself using whatever art application you have (even if it’s MS Paint), or asking an artist to make a set of banners for you. Even if you have to pay for it, it’s a very good investment if you want a professional-looking agency.
Organization also ties into this; if everything is jumbled up, squished together and made into a crumpled-up virtual paper wad, it’s going to look terrible. Having everything nice and organized really makes the place look better. (It’s also why your parents ask for you to clean your room.)
⇔Character Selection.
- Pound of Hope and Freaks of Nature started off with ten characters each, mostly designed by me, and on separate threads. Everyone starts off somewhere, and you have to remember that success does not come overnight. For most of the characters, I looked around to see what was popular – I checked the species, the color schemes, the ideas that went into them, and I created a balance of unnaturally-colored and naturally-colored characters. While a couple of them never got adopted, there are still some that did, and, slowly, more and more people and donations came in.
Many agencies that are just starting off have only bright characters that rarely, if ever, find homes, even in large agencies like POH. These agencies usually fail because nobody wants these characters – they prefer the variety found elsewhere. Maintain a balance in your selection that seems to coincide with the trends of character creation and adoption, and don’t be afraid to make more to put in, if all you’re getting goes against the trends.
It is also a good idea to do revamps of characters that have not been adopted. Sometimes, it’s the art or pose that pulls a potential adopter away from going for the character, and all it needs is a new piece on display.
⇔Something Special.
- With so many character agencies around, there’s a lot of competition. One way that helps bring people in is to have something different, that no other has. Some agencies run little games and events that involve art, or a revamp competition (SCAA held one of these), while others offer valuable services, and sometimes staff will hold livestream sessions to create a friendly and creative atmosphere. Something that I, personally, do for Pound of Hope is hold a livestream session where I create characters with inspirations and comments from those watching me, and, in the end, I give a couple away to my viewers and donate the rest. These special events bring in potential adopters that have a harder time writing forms, which helps boost popularity.
⇔Networking.
- Networking is… essential to life, anymore. The world is based on who knows who, and spreading the word around. Getting affiliates is one of the quickest and easiest ways of getting attention. However, when you ask for others to advertise you, it is only polite to link to them somewhere on your own thread. Affiliates are usually the last post, so then people interested in looking at more can find their way to an art shop or another adoption agency can easily find them.