‘Making money’ selling digital RPG products is tough. It’s certainly possible, if approached properly, but if you want to see more than a token return on your products your best bet is to go print. The demand for digital RPG products is growing, but the digital side of the industry hasn’t matured fully. Yet.
Posts Tagged ‘marketing’
Who plays at their FLGS?
Saturday, July 25th, 2009Advertising: Don’t Leave Your Audience Guessing
Monday, June 8th, 2009I was watching TV with my wife the other night when I saw a commercial that, to me, epitomizes what is wrong with so much advertising. (more…)
Board Games (gamerati)
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
I asked a number of industry professionals to join me for an informal chat about board games. We talked about a number of things, from the apparent strength of the current board game market to ways all levels of the industry can help each other bring more games to more customers. (more…)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Using Twitter to time Promotions
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009I’ve been tracking various key words on Twitter for some months. My hope is that I can determine when chatter about certain topics spikes, so that I can better help promote the products and services of the companies I work with.
For instance, I have a new podcast coming out this week. It’s a show about game design and game mastering, for people who enjoy roleplaying games. I could announce the show at any time, but why not make the announcement at a time when people are most likely talking about RPGs and podcasts already? Furthermore, why not release each episode during that ‘sweet spot’, if one exists?
Let’s see if one does.
Mentions of the terms “rpg” or “roleplaying game” by day of the week:
Fridays are a good day for RPGs – with 20% more chatter than on Thursday. RPG discussion appears to taper off steadily thereafter, with a nice little spike on Wednesdays.
This makes a lot of sense. Most roleplaying happens on the weekends, when people have more free time. If I wanted to give them something to talk about, I might want to do it just before the weekend, so it’s fresh in their minds before they get together with friends or chat about their gaming experiences online.
I looked at what time of day people are talking about RPGs as well. 9 AM and 6 PM PST see definite spikes in RPG conversation. Whatever the reason, those are the times I need to remember when deciding when to talk about my RPG-related news.
Mentions of the terms “podcast” by day of the week:
Unlike RPGs, there doesn’t appear to be a definitive spike in chatty about podcasts on any given day of the week. The weekend is slightly more active, but the percentage of chatty on a day-to-day basis stays pretty consistent.
Likewise, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference in volume of chat during the day. Podcast discussions seem to be a little more popular in the morning than the evening, but not enough to make any real hard judgments.
The Verdict
I’ve decided that I’ll release my new show on Thursday afternoon. This will give people something to talk about on Friday, and it will be fresh in their minds as they go into the weekend. On Fridays, I’ll post on various forums and news sites about each episode, driving conversation about the show so I can take advantage of the Friday spike.
On the Wednesday before each episode releases, I’ll pre-promote the show on forums in a similar manner, riding the mid-week wave of RPG conversation to remind people that a new episode will be coming out the next day.
In Search of an Intern
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009I’m looking for an intern. Check out the stuff below and, if you’re interested, send me an email with the subject [INTERN].
What you’ll be doing (to various degrees)
- Contacting publishers to learn what products they plan to release this year.
- Contacting retailers to learn what products are selling.
- Helping design podcast shows, including format, pacing and tone.
- Managing data for existing marketing projects.
Requirements?
- Gamer.
- Have an interest in the business side of games.
- Not scared of numbers.
- Not scared of talking on the phone.
- Available at least 5 hours per week.
gamerati: BIG Jason Henderson
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
Jason Henderson is the world’s leading expert on search engine optimization for the Miva Merchant shopping cart. We spoke about landing page optimization and email marketing.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Online Banner Ads and ROI
Friday, February 20th, 2009It’s important to measure ROI when spending marking dollars. Tactics change (both in price and effectiveness) over time, so I regularly evaluate them to see if I can find the ones that will give my clients the greatest bang for their buck. (more…)
Taking Advantage of Opportunities
Saturday, December 13th, 2008A large part of marketing is taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. We’ve all heard the saying “at the right place, at the right time.” Unfortunately, most people seem to think that they are never the person at the right place, at the right time. They think some other person is always the lucky one.
That’s not the case. Opportunities are all around us. They present themselves to us every day. It’s not a question of whether you have opportunities, but rather whether you can recognize them and take advantage of them.
Recognizing Opportunities
It’s about mindset. They’re out there, but if you’re not looking for them then it’s the proverbial tree falling in a forest. Do you have a book coming out? Do you know anyone with a podcast or a blog? Opportunity. Does your mother’s best friend mention her company needs a better website? Do you know any programmers? Opportunity. Are you a song writer? Happen to meet a record producer? Opportunity.
Taking Advantage of Opportunities
Part of taking advantage of opportunity is biting the bullet. Get rid of your fear and jump in. Don’t worry about being perfect. Half the battle is showing up. Sure, your execution has to be worthy of praise, once you get the job… but get the job first. You won’t get anything if you don’t stand up.
For me, most of my problem comes from not having enough time to capitalize on opportunities. I’m so strung out with little projects that have little upside I oft times can’t capitalize on a juicy tibdit. Focus. Focus on completing something wholly and completely. Don’t get sidetracked with a chaotic mess of activities so that you can’t think about anything, much less do anything new. Keep your options open.
What’s the point? There are a lot of people out there that are looking for someone with your talents. Forget your fear. Become a recovering coward and take advantage of those opportunities.