I've gotten only three web orders this month. This is the first month, and that bothers me.

I feel I need to do something to get people to the website, especially people in the anime.manga market I'm striving for. I still feel like I'm cut off from most of that market, which could really make me if I just had access to it.

How do I go about finding the right places to drop my name and get linked to?

well, chief, i know what you mean. three in one month doesn't seem so hot to you. okay. but you know, it's all what you make of it.

<advice, feel free to disregard>

stick with those three. be cool. ask 'em how it's going. send 'em character sheet pdfs or something. stick with 'em. when they ask questions, post errata on your site, and thank them. go for that community thing. they got friends. they know other gamers. word spreads fast. so cultivate -- that's the word -- cultivate these resources. three will be come nine, which will become twenty-seven, and so on.

also, go find yourself a manga forum. if you haven't already. and just post like a bastard, all damn day. don't mention your game. just hang out. talk. meet people. talk about manga and shoujo and japanese ninja girls from outer space and whatnot and then it will eventually work itself into a conversation. because the trick is not to sell your book by posing as a guy on this shoujo board or manga site or whatever. the trick is to be sincere. become part of that community.

it's like you got a garage metal band and you want some more shows. well, open for someone else. or don't even play, just go to other shows. maybe get a part-time job at a record store. help another band, be their roadie.

same principle here. i mean, you can't afford no ad on tv, and magazines are real pricey -- so use the free advertising available to you. pimp your game with pride, but do it with decorum. it's possible, believe me. it can be done.

just don't get discouraged and don't use phrases like "cut off" -- you're not cut off from the market. you just aren't part of it right now, and i think you might want to consider getting all up in it.

</advice>

Rafael's right on the target with his advice.

He's actually demonstrated it, too - go to RPG.net and look at Rafael's posts - he posts all day, and people love him. I've never seen him mention Dread, though, but when it goes on sale, I imagine he'll sale a huge amount because of the name recognition.

Hello, Michael,

One thing I recommend is to include a blurb and a link to your website in your signature for every forum you go to (game related or not).

I took a slightly different approach than Raf did, in that I plugged my game on forums. Granted, I would also get involved in lots of regular conversations too.

Anyway, I would often go to Rpg.net's search feature and type in, say, "Masters of the Universe". And if, for example, any of those threads asked what system is best for running MotU, I would pipe up with a comment about Cartoon Action Hour.

It may seem kinda tacky, but it worked wonders for my sales.

I hope this helps.

Cynthia Celeste Miller wrote: Hello, Michael,

I took a slightly different approach than Raf did, in that I plugged my game on forums. Granted, I would also get involved in lots of regular conversations too.

Thanks for the kind words, Raf. :)

You touched upon something that I have to avidly agree with. Reviews are great for promotion. Even bad reviews. Anything that puts a game into the mind of the gamers is an absolute plus (well, almost anything).

Whenever a new CAH review pops up on RPG.net, we get a sharp spike in sales. And it's a rather dramatic spike too.

I use the Cynthia method.
I do web searches for wrestling games all the time. In part I do it because I want to see if there is any buzz about Kayfabe; the rest of the time I'm searching for forums with people that play, or are looking for a wrestling game. If it's a forum about games or wrestling I'll plug my game. If it's not I might send an email to the owner of the web site.

The idea of posting a lot on forums is a good one, but I'm a member of a dozen wrestling forums (due to my game) and it would be insane for me to post continually on all of them.

getting someone to review your game on a popular web site is a big deal. I got a lot of early interest from the early reviews on RPG.net.

Don't wory so much about the slow online sales just yet. In the first couple months the Kayfabe PDF was available I think I sold around 5 or 6 copies. Since then, sales have gone up. It could be residual GenCon interest, but I sold 4 PDFs this Tuesday alone. Most of my online sales are from wrestling forums or web searches. Once the word starts spreading (and it could take a while) the orders will come.

One thing I have noticed is that the print version of Kayfabe hasn't been selling much online (which is a good thing, kind of, because I only have 3 copies left and no money to print more), but the PDFs are selling like hotcakes. Try putting a PDF up on your site at a lower price. The price cut might do you wonders and you can keep your print copies for distribution in stores. Plus, your profits on the PDF are a hell of a lot better even with a 50% cut in price.

,Matt Gwinn

Michael Hopcroft wrote: I've gotten only three web orders this month. This is the first month, and that bothers me.

....

How do I go about finding the right places to drop my name and get linked to?