Lord Johnny, are you two doing stock BR? What edition? Which region? What part of the timeline?

I've seen a lot of branching out over the past few years, to new settings, frontier lands, or different timeline periods. In other words, a change-up of the standard storylines, something that several here have noted is a barrier to entry.

I like variations on the main storyline (different time periods and some differences in region), but I do love the setting itself and find it difficult to get enthusiastic about learning the lore of an entirely new setting -- much the same problem several commenters have noted with regards to getting new BR players.

It seems, too, like PBEMs have been dwindling over the past few years. I haven't been involved in one for maybe 2 years now due to Real Life demands. Occasionally feel the strong itch to do it again, though.

If the barriers to entry and sustaining domain level play are theoretically surmountable by rules improvements + easy-to-configure-and-use automation, the other barriers to entry regarding story/setting and advertising would need to be addressed, as well. Perhaps something that creatively combines a bit of "tabula rasa" or "rise to rule" gameplay options, where people wouldn't need to know anything about the setting at first and learn as they go, could help there.

Competing for attention is perhaps the hardest part of all, requiring either luck, truly outstanding gaming the goes viral, or a coordinated effort that may have to involve some money or at least artwork and dedicated volunteer effort.