looking for advice on RPG promotion

[sean2099]

Hi all,

I have tried to promote Divinity but I feel like I am not taking advantage of everything that is out there.  I have seen some good resources in the past but I have lost the links where these resources were.  To help tailor the responses: let me post my publishing goals.  I am going to post my musings about RPG promotion.  Hopefully, this helps the answers and helps anyone else with a similar question/goal.

Goal: to establish an internet presence, selling games via PDFs ("malls" and direct sales) and expanding into POD if the PDF sales are decent (I define "decent" as passing the break-even point). 

Promotion areas explored:

1.  The forum:  Participating in forums gives one a chance to speak to like-minded people.  Such places do not represent everyone but it is a good, free starting point.  Any traffic you get from your signature and postings is a bonus.

2.  Website link exchange:  Again, it is free and I found a good number of people willing to exchange links.  You can bolster your search engine rating a bit while helping someone else do.  Of course, you have to watch for link quality (i.e. no "link farms")  I have received a small amount of traffic from such exchanges.

3.  Review writing:  Another monetary-free activity but it can be a bit time consuming.  By helping someone else, you can help yourself a bit as well (a few readers of the reviewers might want to know about the writer as well as the product.)  I have only done this once but I was told the review increased traffic x4 to his site for 2-3 days after it was posted.  You can self-review but some people take those "with a grain of salt." 

4.  Article writing:  Similar to review writing in some ways.  You write a subject that will benefit the reader and with a good article, gain a moment of awareness from the reader.  Perhaps they will even visit your site.  I have not written articles and I need to do so.

5.  Banner Exchange/webring:  either free or nominal cost...people tend not to click but they might keep your game in the back of their mind.  I have used banner exchanges and webrings but I have not bothered to pay for such services.  I have found the webring to be slightly more helpful but perhaps the experiences of other people could be different. 

6.  Interviews, subject of article, etc.  I have not had the fortune of having such things done on my behalf.  I have submitted "news" to gaming report.com  That does increase traffic by a nice percentage for about 3 days.  I am sure submitting to other such sites would do the same thing.

7.  Giveaways:  I have experimented with this a bit.  I have posted items (free character sheets, previews, etc.) on free "storage sites"  but I used freebie sites that delete your material after x number of inactive days.  The giveaway without support (or easy access) does not help very much.  In addition, I would imagine you would have to keep adding new stuff at a brisk pace.

8.  Playtests:  A specialized listing where the account of actual game is posted.  I believe I had gained a small increase in traffic from posting my past PBP.  I have shown/played the game "offline" but I could not take good notes and run a good game at the same time.  A deficiency on my part.

Questions:

1.  What other avenues can I use for guerrilla based advertising?  Has anyone spent money (let's say more than $50 for sake of discussion) on promotion and how was such money spent?  How did the decision to spend on promotion come about, if you spent money on it?

2.  Are there any other forms of free advertising that I missing here?  I thought I have followed the promotion guides and avoided scam sites (buying web traffic, etc.) but I could easily be wrong. 

3.  If anyone wants to talk about paid adverstising...pros and cons...feel free since I have not paid for any promotion as of this posting.  Please also feel free to post questions I didn't think of.

Thanks,

Sean

http://www.lulu.com/content/414657 - a free beta for the Divinity RPG - a game where players are god-like, enemies are a fact of life, allies are a must and mortal approval is essential.

[Trevis Martin]

As far as I've seen, and I've heard a lot of the publishers around here say it, Actual Play threads are gold.  For example Paka (Judd) regularly posts actual play threads both here and at rpg.net.  People playing your game and talking about how it went is what will generate the most consistant interest.  When I'm thinking about a game I read actual play threads if I can find them.  In a similar vein, podcasts of people playing the game are also great for the same reason.  Matt Snyder has recordings of Nine Worlds which he played over Skype.  Paul Tevis and his group recorded their sessions of Ben Lehman's Polaris

Trevis

[TonyLB]

Is your game done?  I mean ... you're linking to a free beta, which is cool.  But I don't have any advice for promoting a game that doesn't exist yet.  I think that kind of unsubstantiated buzz is usually self-defeating.  Wait until the game is done and you have many more tools for letting people know exactly why they'll love it.

[sean2099]

I wanted to address a couple of questions.  The first one refers whether the game is done.  I suppose I should elaborate a bit.  My promotion efforts so far have been to say something, "Hey look I designing a game.  I need some help to finalize it."  So far as I am concerned, I have nothing to add to it.  I incorprated all of the suggestions that have been given to me over the past few months.  I am letting other people see it on a limited basis to make sure there are no holes in the game.  It's been through the editing process other than chosing not to use the cover I have for the beta, some grainy greyscale (I have read lulu.com has a problem with greyscale but that's another thread.) and a slightly off index...I think its ready for play. In terms of textual matters, I believe people could "open" it up and play without problems.

Now's here the crux of my problem.  I want to get people who are not connected to me in any way (or maybe met me once) to give Divinity a shot.  I suppose that I decided to ask questions and make statements about my limited promotion into this thread along with the idea that I want to have a plan laid out before I go down the path of promotion at ramming speed.

As for the actual play thread, perhaps I can go over the notes that I do have and see about piecing together an actual play thread or two.

Thanks,

Sean 

[TonyLB]

When you have an actual, completed book you can comp it to prominent reviewers.  Maybe they'll review it.  That's good for making some sales.

You can go to conventions and sell at a booth.  Which conventions you'll find most profitable depends on where in the world you're located.  If you're East Coast USA then I can sell you on some things here.  If you're elsewhere maybe someone else can give you advice.  Running demonstrations of your product and conveying your excitement in person is a big deal.

On Actual Play posts ... actual play from the author is okay.  Actual Play from people who are not the author is a much bigger deal.

[sean2099]

When you have an actual, completed book you can comp it to prominent reviewers.  Maybe they'll review it.  That's good for making some sales.

You can go to conventions and sell at a booth.  Which conventions you'll find most profitable depends on where in the world you're located.  If you're East Coast USA then I can sell you on some things here.  If you're elsewhere maybe someone else can give you advice.  Running demonstrations of your product and conveying your excitement in person is a big deal.

On Actual Play posts ... actual play from the author is okay.  Actual Play from people who are not the author is a much bigger deal.

Would you mind posting or at least PM'ing some names and/or sites?  I have some names but I have a nagging feeling that I don't have everyone listed.  Let me put to you this way, I live within reasonable driving distance to GenCon Indy:)  So, I guess that much figured out but if there are other ones in the Midwest, please me let know. 

I guess my main goal right now is to get some actual play threads on Divinity from other people.  An important task is to post what I have as well. 

Thanks again,

Sean