Beyond attending conventions, posting actual play reports and exchanging adverts in the back of each other's books, do you think there is any merit in marketing or advertising? Does paying for adverts online have any use? How about paying to be in games catalogues or magazines?
I ask because Key20 are pestering me to pay $70 to go in their catalogue for 2007. Business sense and logic say I won't gain anything out of it, but I thought I'd throw the question open to you all in a more general sense.
Marketing...
Submitted by Matt on Thu, 25/01/2007 - 23:48.
I think any marketing that gets your game in the minds of genuine customers is good. I'm not sure a catalogue entry even comes close to that.
You want to have your game positioned somewhere that real buyers look for information to sway their purchasing habits. Forum presence is good, reviews by trusted sources are good, content that shows people your work is worth paying for is good.
Ultimately demos and AP work best because they show people exactly why the game is worth buying. Getting demo teams at Cons is probably an avenue to pursue.
There's web stuff you can do, but that's a whole other thread.
I think one of the few un-explored avenues of promotion for RPGs is in-store promo events. A roadshow where you turn up and run 15 minute demos all day would probably work. The store gets a special event to bring folks in, you get to sell your books, everybody wins.
-Matt
Realms Publishing
Advertising, for the volume
Submitted by Malcolm Craig on Mon, 29/01/2007 - 23:29.
Advertising, for the volume of games we are aiming to produce and sell, is not worth the money. Even at $70, it is, in all likelihood, going to have zero measureable influence on your sales.
Presence at cons and online, actual play, podcats mentions, hell, even flaming death threads on other fora (no names, no pack drill) may have a greater influence on sales. I say 'may have', as other than anecdotally looking at sales and saying "Well, there was a lot of chat about the game on Forum A and Podcast B last month and my sales for that month were 10 copies higher than my monthly average" we have not real stats to prove the theory right. I work in a marketing environment where everything has to be measureable (financial services, if you must know!), so the way we do things is pretty ephemeral and vague compared to big-budget, hardcore, really rather dull and boring marketing that companies carry out.
Then again, char, play and feedback DO actually seem to make a big difference in awareness and sales. Mutualism, positive AND critical feedback all serve to increase awareness and increase sales. Sticking adverts in the back of each others books is a good method of mutual promotion. It costs nothing and if we all do it, we all reap the benefits.
Cheers
Malcolm
Contested Ground Studios