Find at least 50 caches before ever thinking of hiding your own!
1) Seasoned Geocachers don't like looking for first finds of newbies with less
that 50 finds.
2) You'll have much more experience to properly hide it and also give a good
description for publishing once you've seen what others have done (attributes,
hints, etc).
3) You'll have a much better idea of ways to be creative without breaking the
rules.
4) You'll really know if you're committed to geocaching before committing to
the responsibility of maintaining a cache hide.
5) Try to find hides made by those with lots of finds - they are the ones who
know the game best. Start looking at who has hidden the ones you are finding.
You'll find some common names of cachers who have made several hides. And then
use their examples.
6) Also if you haven't already read it, there are guidelines for hiding your
first cache on geocaching.com. Go here.
Secondly, your cache must be at least a 10th of a mile away from other caches. Also, look for any puzzle caches or multi's in your area... you might have to figure those out before determining the area is vacant.
Remember, you must be willing to maintain your cache so don't put it too far away from your home base or where you travel a lot.
Make sure it's in a waterproof container. The game is suppose to be fun - finding a soggy cache isn't fun after spending all the time looking for it.
Unless it's in a park or a wooded area - no one likes to park in remote areas and cross dangerous streets in parts of towns they aren't familiar with.
Many families geocache with their kids or dogs so make sure it's safe. Look at the cache from the muggles point of view - did you place it in an area that geocaching is going to get a bad name because the cachers look too suspicious and the muggles are so frightened that the cops are always going to be called to the area? Also, not all cachers are clean cut family types.
And look at it from an environmentalists point of view - is the area going
to be damaged because of where you put your cache? Wetlands are suppose to be
mow free and that includes path free. Are you asking the cacher to step into
a landscaped area? Keep in mind that you know where the cache is, the ones looking
don't and will approach it from all angles - good and bad.
Reprinted and paraphrased from an email by TKO1235 and Tanner, Dog Scout