[Kickstarter] The Coming of Winter, but let's talk about something else...

[Malrex]

I seriously loathe advertising.

Ok...let's back up a second. I know I'm supposed to be talking about our new Kickstarter--The Coming of Winter which has a pre-launch page here: The Coming of Winter and where you can find more info about it on our blog/website and also I'm happy to answer any questions about it....and truly, I am EXCITED about it....I love working with Del Tiegeler--I think he is an exceptional artist and it's one of my favorite parts of publishing is working with artists. And I feel we got some cool adventures for people in this Kickstarter.

But can we talk about how advertising sucks ass instead? I truly fucking hate it.

I don't understand how some other designers can just post something wherever and get 100's of people liking or asking questions or whatever. I think its a magic power--honestly. "Create a community" they say....but how can you create a community when no one asks questions or posts hardly anything on your blog or in response to a post on social media--and yes, I understand that I have to post something interesting first, but I don't really like doing that either... I enjoy vising forums, mainly here and Dragonsfoot. Sure, I could try to build an adventure on my blog with people, but I've seen that happen here for a bit then sorta deflate, same with contests.

This forum is great though because I enjoy talking about dungeon design or arguing/discussing about stuff, even though it gets a little slow/quiet around here. People are blunt and honest here....and that feels more real to me than social media--- And its a reason why I feel comfortable just posting this bullshit here to see what happens for a discussion.

At Dragonsfoot, I felt I really tried to become part of the community, and it's fun to talk about some stuff there, but it just seems like a wet noodle in support or interest except for a few (which is great!). I think they are just soooo deep into the old published stuff that they just dont care about the new stuff and that's ok....more power to them, but it just feels kinda deflating?

So far, after ranting to my fellow Merchants that I hate advertising and that I quit, I find myself, once again, trying to advertise (although, they set up a new website--so that's cool, and interested in streaming--which, is not really my thing, but whatever). So my only new plan so far is I have forced the Millennial of our D&D group to help out with social media and whatnot. Hoping the Millennial knows a few tricks. I don't like putting all my eggs in a Millennial basket (no offense).

So can someone tell me the secret or can we discuss how people do it? I've been reading up on SEO's and keywords and other BS that completely bores the shit out of me, but its just hard for me to do the whole social media jig where to me, it just feels sooo fake and people are asking dumbass questions or shock value just to get likes or a response...and I don't do fake, I like real. Now I also know, there are a few bloggers that write cool stuff and have formed a following--and that's cool--and I totally understand that, but again, Id rather spend that time designing adventures so would rather not have some big blog that I write at every week.

I've looked around to hire someone for social media marketing, but I feel like I need one that plays D&D and/or knows the community a bit. That's hard to find on Fiverr and shit. So, my questions are:

1. Does anyone know a social media marketing person that actually enjoys doing it and is in the D&D knowhow that wouldn't mind talking to me and giving me some tips or possibly for hire?

2. What do you do when you have to advertise but hate social media and just want to be a hermit and write/publish adventures and once in awhile hop on forums and argue about paladins and shit? Any thoughts? Is there any hope?

3. Like, how did Shadowdark do so amazing? I never heard of it until it blew up Kickstarter--so I didnt see the social media or advertising tricks or anything like that to learn from---seriously where was the advertising?. I honestly don't want to be THAT successful...I just don't want to keep stressing on if a kickstarter is going to fund or not so I can pay myself back for most of the art. Breaking even would be great!! And also--why don't these people write a book about how they did it? And if there is a book out there, can someone show me it--and something relatable to our hobby? It would also be cool if a certain reviewer wrote a book on adventure design too *cough* but perhaps that's another day's discussion.

4. I've tried other reviewers that are mostly on youtube or whatever, like what's his name and that other questing dude, but I send stuff and maybe it ends in the trash, I don't know. Honestly, my main reason was to get another few opinions so I can improve in design rather than a method to get the word out.

5. This is the second place I've "advertised" (although I did it a little differently at the other place, lol) and I know I have to hit it and feel like a schmuck and go through all the BS fakeness, but I'm seriously open to ideas and I think it would help others. I realize some ideas take time (like 'building a community'....) but is there any hope for myself and other 3rd party small publishers when it comes to advertising for a Kickstarter, especially those of us who hate social media? I feel like all the advice on the KS page doesn't really relate to our hobby much, but maybe I'm wrong and if that's the case, can I get your email so I can send you a weekly newsletter? *rolls eyes*

6. And finally, honestly not trying to get sympathy clicks here. I can tell my Merchants I've done my due diligence in 'advertising' here and you guys know my shit and if you like it and want to support it cool, and if not, that's cool too---but I AM looking more for some answers to these questions and this is the only place I feel comfortable in doing so--and again, I think it would help others.

And....ya...if you do have questions about The Coming of Winter, I'm also happy to answer questions about it too.

God Speed!

 

[The1True]

It would also be cool if a certain reviewer wrote a book on adventure design too *cough*

^^^THIS!

Hey man, you've got an artist. That's your advertising right there! Artists have Instagram, Deviant Art etc. Get them to pump up the project a bit. Also, when you advertise around the web; lead with the artwork! BOOM! You like this picture? Buy the book.

But yeah, it's a mystery to me. I get messages to come check out a Kickstarter. It's just started and it's already reached it's goals and the Early Bird is already sold out. There are like 2500 backers and I'm thinking "Who are all these people? Where did they come from?"

I've tried other reviewers

Have you tried 'donating' a hardcopy of your work? Although, caveat emptor. I've seen Prince mercilessly chop the legs off the writers of some of his 'sponsored content'. That's got to hurt a bit... Thilo Graf always seems to give a glowing review to his sponsors though. I've made the mistake of buying one or two of those books

People keep saying Discord is where it's at these days, but I have been too old and decrepit so far to figure out how to find/get invited to pertinent Discord communities. Ask your Millennial?

 

[Attronarch]

Listen, I hear your pain, but there is no silver bullet. You can't hire anyone to do this for you from ground up and still be profitable. There are very few shortcuts. Some of them include latching on popular systems and becoming part (ie a creator) in a thriving community already. But to do that requires sustained engagement. You can't just show up and say "hey, here is this new kickstarter, back it please!" I mean, you can, like you did on reddit OSR and then immediately get downvoted. You have to write posts, and chat with people, and talk with people at conferences, and ask them to buy your stuff and to RECOMMEND your stuff. You have to ask for it. Again, and again, and again. There is so much noise. You have to keep appearing again and again and again. I try to help creators as much as I can. I put their campaigns on my little blog, tell about them to my players and people I know. You want to reach hundreds of people like me, through whom you will reach thousands. But you don't get to hundred over night. Set a goal, maybe I want to develop a relationship with 12 people whom can recommend me on their blog or newsletter by end of 2023. And then 12 more by end let's say June 2024. And you keep going at it. Notice how that doesn't require you to be on SoMe or forums? But it does require you to be in touch with someone. Good luck.

 

[Attronarch]

And to add, I've backed two of your campaigns (usually at highest level I liked), and have 11 of your products on DTRPG. So far I used only one in my game (Kellerin's Rumble). If I remember correctly, I learned about your work from tenfootpole.org review. I remember some good discussions on Dragonsfoot as well; I think it was for the Zontani one.

 

[Avi]

Just went and read your blog entry...
Some very small comments:
a) Level ranges?
b) Organize entries by such levels
c) Some/stronger "connection" wording between the adventures
d) The same pointing at other adventures in your back catalogue

Unfortunately for you, I am not a "new" convert... Bought your other stuff and will probably by this as well ;-)

Good Luck!!

 

[squeen]

I haven't a clue. Honestly. Here are some guesses:

Go where the consumers are: Reddit probably.
Don't hate the process---it will show. Instead, enthusiasm is contagious.
You need to DM your products on-line so folks get the experience and pass the word.
Build on successes.

 

[Maynard]

I am excited for the kickstarter! Looks great I love that artist.

I have done social media advertising for work before, growing a twitter account from 0 to 20k followers, building a discord & youtube channel, etc. I don't think I have time (or the inclination) to do it all again but I'm happy to point you in the right direction if you need it. DM me.

 

[Beoric]

Well, for starters you need to cross-link everything. Your sig has one line connecting to your site, without even a description of what the site is. You could jazz that up, and include a blurb on the upcoming module, with links to the blog page, kickstarter, and whatever other social media you have.

Also looking at your website, why don't you have links to the reviews of your products? For that matter, why don't the images of your products link to where you can buy them? And if such a thing is possible, the product description on the DriveThru pages for your products should link back to your page, and to reviews. Like, if someone on a whim wants to find out more, you should make it easy for them.

Second, you do need to talk about it, and often, but it doesn't have to be fake. There is stuff you like about this module, right? Talk about that. Let yourself get enthused, and let your enthusiasm bleed onto the page/screen/whatever. What was your inspiration? What is your process? Who are the talented people involved, and where are they on social media? What are good resources out there that you follow or reference? Can you publish previews of the module that don't contain too many spoilers, maybe rumors, or boxed text? Publishing one rumor a day could give you daily content (and likely expand your rumor table). You could even repeat rumors in the voices of different townspeople. Write about regional history that would be known to the characters. Introduce key figures in the town, and rumors about them. Talk about the stuff you won't have room for in the module, but you think is cool. You get the idea.

Evocative language isn't limited to keyed entries; when you talk about your module, make it interesting, and keep in mind different things will appeal to players than DMs, and you should be marketing to both. Looking at your blog post from a player's perspective, you lack verbs. You will lose players at "Eons ago, in a battle of the gods...", but might get their attention with "Explore icy burrows leading to a hidden shrine!" What kinds of treasures can the players expect to find? Are there rumors of some forgotten artifact, or other particularly powerful magic item?

Likewise, what to DMs care about? They care that it is adaptable to their campaign, that is easy to use out of the box with minimal prep, and includes aids like NPC summaries to help them do that, that it is for a certain level range, that it has an estimated length (and is not another disguised one-encounter side trek), and what it has in store for their players.

On the "adaptable to their campaign" front, you should probably strip the description down to the essence. Does it matter who the Sun God, Ardennor, or the God of the Cryopteras is? Or will it still work if you strip it all away and just have frozen tunnels that ultimately lead to an imprisoned ice devil? DMs need to know what they have to keep, and what they can dump without fundamentally changing the module.

So, for players, something like:

What drives you to leave the warm comforts of Coppercore and brave the icy wastes, where packs of feral worgs and grim marauders roam? Is it desperation that has you plundering ancient burial mounds, under the noses of unforgiving descendants? Is it lust for power that has you exploring the frozen warrens of some forgotten creature, hoping to find artifacts of terrible magic before you succumb death's icy grasp? Does duty and honor drive you to track a feral monster back to its lair, hoping to rescue a kidnapped innocent from certain death, or worse? Pit yourselves against the frozen reaches of the Dragonback Mountains, and find riches, power, and glory for the intelligent and lucky ... or a swift and horrible death for the unwary or foolish!

And for DMs (I'm guessing at some of this), maybe something like:

Expand the frozen reaches of your world with this mini setting, set around an arctic copper-mining town. This adventure includes details of the town, the lands around it, and three dungeons within x days trek of the town, including:

• Town, regional and dungeon maps
• A town gazeteer designed to bring the town to life, and give the players plenty of opportunities to get themselves into trouble
• Rumor tables, patrons, and other hooks
• DM support for wilderness exploration
• Three dungeons set in the frozen wilderness:
  • a warren of icy tunnels leading to the prison of an ice devil
  • the cave lair of a frost giant
  • the burial mounds of a local indigenous tribe

All content is designed to support the DM with minimal prep time. An adventure for a to b characters of x to y level, adaptable to any standard OSR gaming system.

Also, what is the flavour of this thing, meaning what experience are the players going to have, and what are the stakes? Is it a funhouse? A heroic adventure? A lair assault? A heist? A survival horror? A Lovecraftian mind-fuck? A creepy body horror? A mystery? A paranoid body-swapping scenario, a la The Thing? How are the players going to feel as they go through this module, and how does the module help the DM achieve that effect?

 

[Malrex]

This is all very helpful guys! Just hearing that there isn't a silver bullet is helpful actually...makes me feel better. I also realized, I think I completely lack the writing skill for Players--like in Beoric's example. I just have a huge challenge writing like that--which may go hand in hand with my boring social media posts. I feel like I can do the DM section. So that was kind of eye opening for me--thanks.

The Millennial is on Discord I believe...and ya, I have donated several hard copies to other reviewers.

We will be streaming as we playtest Coppercore, but that may be a total shitshow. Don't think we will be like the typical streaming shows as we aren't as polite.

The new website has only been around for a month or so--and I realize it needs more work but I'm buried with KS stuff and Slyth Hive...I'll make some of those recommendations to my friends.

Anyways, maybe Ill write up a post after this KS to share my experience with the social media stuff and the paths I took in case something is helpful for others. It's just hard to do something you hate doing and would rather be creating or something instead, but its all important...unfortunately.

 

[Beoric]

We will be streaming as we playtest Coppercore, but that may be a total shitshow. Don't think we will be like the typical streaming shows as we aren't as polite.

Have you listened to some of the live play podcasts? Gg no re, for example, just sounds like a bunch of guys playing D&D (the later episodes are more polished and family friendly, but still). Here is the start of their run through Hommlet.

 

[Connor9120c1]

I feel like all the advice on the KS page doesn't really relate to our hobby much, but maybe I'm wrong and if that's the case, can I get your email so I can send you a weekly newsletter? *rolls eyes*

So you say this, but do you know what Ben Milton, Kevin Crawford and Kelsey Dione all have in common? Email Newsletters that they think are the most effective form of social media for staying in touch with customers: www.youtube.com/watch?v=psC6J_9Sekc (starts at 2 minutes, but the actual interview was interesting also imo). Apparently the people who continue to have success have built it partially via these newsletters.

Other than that, RPG sales are basically about branding of specific individuals or aesthetics. People own more adventures than they will ever ever ever play, and yet they buy more from people they like, or because the product is just too damn pretty or well regarded to miss out on. One of the major impactors I've seen are pre-built youtube community, like Ben, which takes engaging on youtube and building a following that then understands your design principles and trusts that your stuff is worth buying and just WANTS to support you.

The other way that seems to work is to make an intense statement about games and style, and make all of your aesthetic and engagement reinforce that. Yes, you are writing Adventures, but what are you trying to do to gaming culture at large with those adventures? Are you trying to push shock and awe like Raggi? Are you trying to bring Old School to 5e and vice versa like Kelsey? Are you trying to refine adventures to the razors edge of layout like Ben and Gavin? Are you trying to toy the edge of weird and purple like Patrick? How do you want what you guys do to impact what other people do? People love to support a movement, even a minor one like "Bullet points are superior!" or whatever.

Similarly, making your own little sub-genre/sub-culture of the game like WWN, Mork Bork, ItO, Goblin Laws, Knave can help define your product and pull customers with you to invest in your particular brand, but it is harder if you want to continue to create for standard TSR D&D and retros. Notice that a lot of the big players have their own version of a system that they release (and also release a free version of) that helps draw people into their web. I'll be honest, I've only been familiar with your stuff for about 9 months, but I'm not aware of any system books you've published. What does Merciless Merchants in-house B/X look like, and is it worth mocking together a free PDF and crowing about the values of your vision on Youtube? Probably!

The last thing that comes to mind is luxury branding. Physical RPG products, ESPESCIALLY OSR, are luxury items, with etched matte covers, dark aesthetics, way too many bookmarks, or all of the above. People have way too many adventures, and people have WAY too many systems, to ever play, and the PDFs are always cheaper. I have to want your book because it looks so goddamn cool that I have to have it on my shelf between The Dark of Hotsprings Island and Veins of the Earth. I have to want to take it out and open it and feel it in my hands and look through it even though I may never run it just because it is such a cool fucking book that owning it is empowering as a DM.

To that point, in my personal opinion, you need a secondary logo alongside the donkey. It took me a long time as a consumer to really focus on the donkey logo and take it all in and see how cool it really was (when I got my physical copy of Olden Wood and saw it full scale on the back). At all scales I saw it before that it just registered as a weird cartoon donkey before I moved on. I think it is a cool logo, and I think it has its place in your publications, but I think you also need some sort of sleeker re-brand logo that can be shrunk down to fit on the spine of a book and still be recognizable. I'm not an artist but I feel like a lot can be done stylistically with MM and even the silhouette of the Ass' head or something like that, I would stick with the circle shape, but I think you need at least one more cool looking “symbol” to stick absolutely everywhere.

Final point, DO NOT feel weird or embarrassed or self conscious about pushing your stuff and the content of those you are editing/publishing/etc. for! You have to truly believe in your guts that what you have to offer is fucking awesome and that you are doing a goddamn service by letting the world know about it, and for what it’s worth from what I’ve seen that’s true! Picture it as a blunt fact that any single person who might have been interested in your new adventures that you may have missed in your communication has been wronged by having missed out on what you have to offer. You ought to believe that you are making Referees lives easier and you are trying to spread the good word to do all you can. I currently have Red Prophet Rises and Elden Wood on my overland map, and I have no fucking clue if my players will ever actually end up grabbing those hooks, but just by making those possible you have saved me potentially hours and hours of work in a busy busy life. You have to be authentically aggressive because you believe that people need and deserve what you have to offer, and that no one else is going to give them quite what you are able to provide them. You have to push aside what you “enjoy” doing, and believe hundreds or thousands of other referees out there are counting on you to push your shit until you reach them, even if they don’t know it yet. Hone what you are providing, believe it in your gut, push it with such confidence that everyone else sees it too.

This ended up an essay longer than I intended, but I hope something in it is useful, and I look forward to the kickstarter.

 

[The1True]

Apparently the people who continue to have success have built it partially via these newsletters.

I can attest to this working on me as a consumer. Being contacted by the creator (and in some cases the publisher) with occasional updates and kickstarter hype has sold me a lot of books. Leveraging free or PWYW content on DTRPG to build up a mailing list is just sound business strategy.

The last thing that comes to mind is luxury branding. Physical RPG products, ESPESCIALLY OSR, are luxury items, with etched matte covers, dark aesthetics, way too many bookmarks, or all of the above. People have way too many adventures, and people have WAY too many systems, to ever play, and the PDFs are always cheaper. I have to want your book because it looks so goddamn cool that I have to have it on my shelf between The Dark of Hotsprings Island and Veins of the Earth. I have to want to take it out and open it and feel it in my hands and look through it even though I may never run it just because it is such a cool fucking book that owning it is empowering as a DM.

I'm pretty sure this is where the money (what little there is) is. If there are any creators out there who can refute this, I would welcome the information. But yeah, those bespoke hardcovers on Lulu are fucking catnip. If it's a choice on a Kickstarter between a fancy slipcase or some eventual POD trade paperback on DTRPG, I'm going to pay the extra $20 for the fancy bookmarks and glossy illustrations. I'm saving up, and one of these days Anthony Huso is going to get ALL of my money...
Dude, that right between the Hotsprings and the Veins line hit me right in gut! Get out of my gaming room!

 

[Malrex]

So you say this, but do you know what Ben Milton, Kevin Crawford and Kelsey Dione all have in common? Email Newsletters that they think are the most effective form of social media for staying in touch with customers: www.youtube.com/watch?v=psC6J_9Sekc (starts at 2 minutes, but the actual interview was interesting also imo). Apparently the people who continue to have success have built it partially via these newsletters.

Other than that, RPG sales are basically about branding of specific individuals or aesthetics. People own more adventures than they will ever ever ever play, and yet they buy more from people they like, or because the product is just too damn pretty or well regarded to miss out on. One of the major impactors I've seen are pre-built youtube community, like Ben, which takes engaging on youtube and building a following that then understands your design principles and trusts that your stuff is worth buying and just WANTS to support you.

The other way that seems to work is to make an intense statement about games and style, and make all of your aesthetic and engagement reinforce that. Yes, you are writing Adventures, but what are you trying to do to gaming culture at large with those adventures? Are you trying to push shock and awe like Raggi? Are you trying to bring Old School to 5e and vice versa like Kelsey? Are you trying to refine adventures to the razors edge of layout like Ben and Gavin? Are you trying to toy the edge of weird and purple like Patrick? How do you want what you guys do to impact what other people do? People love to support a movement, even a minor one like "Bullet points are superior!" or whatever.

Similarly, making your own little sub-genre/sub-culture of the game like WWN, Mork Bork, ItO, Goblin Laws, Knave can help define your product and pull customers with you to invest in your particular brand, but it is harder if you want to continue to create for standard TSR D&D and retros. Notice that a lot of the big players have their own version of a system that they release (and also release a free version of) that helps draw people into their web. I'll be honest, I've only been familiar with your stuff for about 9 months, but I'm not aware of any system books you've published. What does Merciless Merchants in-house B/X look like, and is it worth mocking together a free PDF and crowing about the values of your vision on Youtube? Probably!

The last thing that comes to mind is luxury branding. Physical RPG products, ESPESCIALLY OSR, are luxury items, with etched matte covers, dark aesthetics, way too many bookmarks, or all of the above. People have way too many adventures, and people have WAY too many systems, to ever play, and the PDFs are always cheaper. I have to want your book because it looks so goddamn cool that I have to have it on my shelf between The Dark of Hotsprings Island and Veins of the Earth. I have to want to take it out and open it and feel it in my hands and look through it even though I may never run it just because it is such a cool fucking book that owning it is empowering as a DM.

To that point, in my personal opinion, you need a secondary logo alongside the donkey. It took me a long time as a consumer to really focus on the donkey logo and take it all in and see how cool it really was (when I got my physical copy of Olden Wood and saw it full scale on the back). At all scales I saw it before that it just registered as a weird cartoon donkey before I moved on. I think it is a cool logo, and I think it has its place in your publications, but I think you also need some sort of sleeker re-brand logo that can be shrunk down to fit on the spine of a book and still be recognizable. I'm not an artist but I feel like a lot can be done stylistically with MM and even the silhouette of the Ass' head or something like that, I would stick with the circle shape, but I think you need at least one more cool looking “symbol” to stick absolutely everywhere.

Final point, DO NOT feel weird or embarrassed or self conscious about pushing your stuff and the content of those you are editing/publishing/etc. for! You have to truly believe in your guts that what you have to offer is fucking awesome and that you are doing a goddamn service by letting the world know about it, and for what it’s worth from what I’ve seen that’s true! Picture it as a blunt fact that any single person who might have been interested in your new adventures that you may have missed in your communication has been wronged by having missed out on what you have to offer. You ought to believe that you are making Referees lives easier and you are trying to spread the good word to do all you can. I currently have Red Prophet Rises and Elden Wood on my overland map, and I have no fucking clue if my players will ever actually end up grabbing those hooks, but just by making those possible you have saved me potentially hours and hours of work in a busy busy life. You have to be authentically aggressive because you believe that people need and deserve what you have to offer, and that no one else is going to give them quite what you are able to provide them. You have to push aside what you “enjoy” doing, and believe hundreds or thousands of other referees out there are counting on you to push your shit until you reach them, even if they don’t know it yet. Hone what you are providing, believe it in your gut, push it with such confidence that everyone else sees it too.

This ended up an essay longer than I intended, but I hope something in it is useful, and I look forward to the kickstarter.

The only way I can easily get emails is from Kickstarter which I believe forbids doing anything with them except for sending product and DrivethruRPG which I can't link anywhere else. I think I got 2 people signed up on the webpage.

I just try to do adventures different. Goblin cave? ok, what can be different about it or new. Ill think on that.

The luxury branding--while I agree with you, that's another step to learn. I delved into it on my first failed kickstarter but it gets in risky territory. Kickstarters are risky territory..so just one step at a time. If I was able to not have to stress if a KS funds then I would definitely learn the next step. I know...no risk, no reward, but I just dont feel confident in taking that leap yet.

TOTALLY agree about a second logo...Ive been hitting pushback from the other Merchants about it for about 2 years now.

We do have our own system. It's sitting in Private setting on DrivethruRPG so we can have our own personal books at our own table. All I hear on forums is--We don't need another retroclone. Ours is...like a retroclone of For Gold & Glory--more like additional, optional rules. We may release it later. Im just not really happy with it because I personally don't think its 'finished' as I have to pull and pull and pull all the info from my DM and he doesn't realize people can't read his mind.

I LOVE the fact that you spent time writing this. Thank you! It has fired me up to go on attack beast mode. I need another week to get my job in order, finish Slyth Hive, and then will attempt the ads and 'campaign' for the KS. Nov. 13th is the start date, so got a little time.

 

[The1True]

The only way I can easily get emails is from Kickstarter which I believe forbids doing anything with them except for sending product and DrivethruRPG which I can't link anywhere else. I think I got 2 people signed up on the webpage.

Sorry, maybe I'm misunderstanding this? Does DTRPG not give you a list of past customers? Or at least a means to blind-contact past customers? For sure I haven't signed up for further notifications from some of the creators I've purchased from. I still get their spam nonetheless...

 

[The1True]

The luxury branding--while I agree with you, that's another step to learn. I delved into it on my first failed kickstarter but it gets in risky territory.

Yeah, the risk is a huge outlay of your own cash and then a basement (or expensive warehouse space) full of books. Your caution is definitely not unwarranted! I believe in the cheap downloads driving up demand for a prestige print-copy model (but what the hell do I know )...

All I hear on forums is--We don't need another retroclone.

Yeah, probably the only part of Connor's advice I disagreed with. We really REALLY don't need another retroclone. A short, free download with your personal houserules/homebrew (especially if it's an integral part of your writing) is a good way of driving traffic to your website though...

 

[squeen]

So much of what I see in RPGs right now is consumerism run rampant. Folks get excited about getting excited and throw money at the next hot thing. They just want to buy something. I'm not sure it's rational.

If you get insert yourself into what's trending (influencersand all that garbage), then you are golden.

 

[EOTB]

I seriously loathe advertising.


6. And finally, honestly not trying to get sympathy clicks here. I can tell my Merchants I've done my due diligence in 'advertising' here and you guys know my shit and if you like it and want to support it cool, and if not, that's cool too---but I AM looking more for some answers to these questions and this is the only place I feel comfortable in doing so--and again, I think it would help others.

Loathing it is fine but the simple reality is, that people buy from those who they feel they get to know on RPG social media. If you want to emulate the success of other kickstarters, you'll have to reach out to people who run OSR youtubes, do the interview rounds, etc. Ask yourself "How many people know Merciless Merchants by name?" You'll get a certain percentage of those, and the percentage goes up the more those who know who you are see other people backing.


Most people who run successful kickstarters also have enough support in the can before they even launch, so they can blow past their goal the first day and generate "FOMO" on the part of people who may not know who they are but see other people are jumping on, so maybe it's good and if they don't back they could miss out.

Dragonsfoot is not the place to go in order to create a following of people who will support new things.

 

[Malrex]

Dragonsfoot is not the place to go in order to create a following of people who will support new things.

Ya, I hear that. I haven't really been going there much anymore. Not because I don't like the crowd, or because my main purpose was to get a following or whatever--- but because they talk about the same old stuff over and over. How many times can we talk about the Caves of Chaos? or the Village of Hommlet? Holy christ...

 

[Beoric]

Ya, I hear that. I haven't really been going there much anymore. Not because I don't like the crowd, or because my main purpose was to get a following or whatever--- but because they talk about the same old stuff over and over. How many times can we talk about the Caves of Chaos? or the Village of Hommlet? Holy christ...

Honestly, I have not yet hit my talking-about-Hommlet saturation point yet. I am fascinated by the seemingly infinite interpretations of it. Not long ago I went on a binge looking for T1 actual play podcasts, hoping to make a list of decent scenarios; sadly only one or two were any good.

 

[Malrex]

Honestly, I have not yet hit my talking-about-Hommlet saturation point yet. I am fascinated by the seemingly infinite interpretations of it. Not long ago I went on a binge looking for T1 actual play podcasts, hoping to make a list of decent scenarios; sadly only one or two were any good.

I will forgive you.