When the dust settles with F2P, it would be ideal to try paid advertising again.
I would recommend Facebook as the ideal spot to attempt it. You can get decent advertising for very cheap on there.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
GORTEOUS
TEVESHSZAT
Re: Advertising
03/12/2015 03:38 PM CDT
>>I would recommend Facebook as the ideal spot to attempt it. You can get decent advertising for very cheap on there.
IIRC, organic reach by fans of DR sharing posts made by DR does notably better for clickthrough than paid ads.
DR would be much better off with people who play DR sharing their posts than they would blasting out paid ads to certain demos.
Uzmam! The Chairman will NOT be pleased to know you're trying to build outside of approved zones. I'd hate for you to be charged the taxes needed to have this place re-zoned. Head for the manor if you're feeling creative.
IIRC, organic reach by fans of DR sharing posts made by DR does notably better for clickthrough than paid ads.
DR would be much better off with people who play DR sharing their posts than they would blasting out paid ads to certain demos.
Uzmam! The Chairman will NOT be pleased to know you're trying to build outside of approved zones. I'd hate for you to be charged the taxes needed to have this place re-zoned. Head for the manor if you're feeling creative.
JHALIASCLERIC
Re: Advertising
03/12/2015 07:31 PM CDT
/r/MUD has been kind of saturated for the week, but I think one of the best pulls is people posting stories/experiences. I was posting a weekly story prompt a while ago that had a smattering of contributors, but it'd be neat if some of the great DR writers submitting more stuff there!
DR-ZADRAES
Re: Advertising
03/13/2015 04:22 AM CDT
>IIRC, organic reach by fans of DR sharing posts made by DR does notably better for clickthrough than paid ads.
I've been hands on with some of the DR Facebook posts for a while, and while I can't speak to the paid ads part (higher up than me for that), but...
I can definitely say that these more recent posts about F2P where people engage with them (liking, sharing, commenting) has made a VERY noticeable impact in getting others engaged, including former players. I'm not a fan of FB thinking they know what I want to see or not, but posts that have high engagement do get "seen" more.
If you don't follow us on Facebook yet, please consider doing so. If/when you do, be a part of the community there! Even if it's just clicking like, it does provide a boost.
SGM Zadraes
Premium Lead
Trader Guild Advocate
I've been hands on with some of the DR Facebook posts for a while, and while I can't speak to the paid ads part (higher up than me for that), but...
I can definitely say that these more recent posts about F2P where people engage with them (liking, sharing, commenting) has made a VERY noticeable impact in getting others engaged, including former players. I'm not a fan of FB thinking they know what I want to see or not, but posts that have high engagement do get "seen" more.
If you don't follow us on Facebook yet, please consider doing so. If/when you do, be a part of the community there! Even if it's just clicking like, it does provide a boost.
SGM Zadraes
Premium Lead
Trader Guild Advocate
GORTEOUS
Re: Advertising
03/13/2015 06:26 PM CDT
>> IIRC, organic reach by fans of DR sharing posts made by DR does notably better for clickthrough than paid ads.
The numbers from Ben's limited advertising campaign for DR on FB would strongly disagree with this, but that's not really the point. F2P has increased the likelihood of luring potential subscribers to the game by several orders of magnitude.
>> DR would be much better off with people who play DR sharing their posts than they would blasting out paid ads to certain demos.
I disagree. The intention is to pull in new players, not old-timers. This is not to say that sharing posts is a bad thing, though.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
The numbers from Ben's limited advertising campaign for DR on FB would strongly disagree with this, but that's not really the point. F2P has increased the likelihood of luring potential subscribers to the game by several orders of magnitude.
>> DR would be much better off with people who play DR sharing their posts than they would blasting out paid ads to certain demos.
I disagree. The intention is to pull in new players, not old-timers. This is not to say that sharing posts is a bad thing, though.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
JHALIASCLERIC
Re: Advertising
03/14/2015 07:45 AM CDT
I'm rebooting this. Don't vote brigade, but please consider posting some of the awesome fiction we've seen posted around these fora!
http://www.reddit.com/r/MUD/comments/2yxhhb/story_prompt_its_back_313/
I'll try and post a prompt once a week, depending on if there are participants.
SHOOBS
Re: Advertising
03/18/2015 11:38 AM CDT
Players mentioning it on forums and in chat rooms that they may go to as well outside of DR/Play.net does more to attract players of like minds far more than paid advertising for small mud based community / for profit company like this. Word of Mouth is, and always has been, the best way to help companies like this.
GORTEOUS
Re: Advertising
03/18/2015 09:03 PM CDT
>> Players mentioning it on forums and in chat rooms that they may go to as well outside of DR/Play.net does more to attract players of like minds far more than paid advertising for small mud based community / for profit company like this. Word of Mouth is, and always has been, the best way to help companies like this.
While it certainly helps, word of mouth is not the best way to raise awareness of such a small game. Advertising can reach hundreds of thousands of people at virtually no cost. Having an actual income to devote to it really sets DR apart from other games. Now that it's free, there are no barriers turning people off to trying the game - this is a HUGE difference.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
While it certainly helps, word of mouth is not the best way to raise awareness of such a small game. Advertising can reach hundreds of thousands of people at virtually no cost. Having an actual income to devote to it really sets DR apart from other games. Now that it's free, there are no barriers turning people off to trying the game - this is a HUGE difference.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
SHOOBS
Re: Advertising
03/19/2015 11:30 AM CDT
You, apparently, have never worked in advertising. Advertising outside of Word of Mouth is never virtually no cost. Ever.
GORTEOUS
Re: Advertising
03/19/2015 03:40 PM CDT
>> You, apparently, have never worked in advertising. Advertising outside of Word of Mouth is never virtually no cost. Ever.
I'm sick of listening to people talk about things that they have no idea about.
Ben(Pucktin) paid 20$
Twenty. Dollars
for a 1 month DR Facebook advertisement.
99,552 people seen it.
52 clicked it. And that's not even telling of the people who seen it and typed 'Dragonrealms' into their browser.
That's ONE month of a low budget Facebook advertisement. Hell, "budget" isn't even the word - Simu probably pays more per-month in light-bulb maintenance.
I've included a screen-cap of the actual advertisement, located here:
http://postimg.org/image/8lmsuheer/
Afterwards, he contacted Simu about it. They told him that they had seen a sharp spike in subscribers that month.
Now, first-grader math aside, if every single player in-game right now(319) all posted to Facebook simultaneously, could that come anywhere close to 100k views? Do you think that this top-mud-site malarkey can come anywhere close to 100k? Hell, that site probably sees less than a tenth of that, per month.
The answer is as obvious as your apparent ignorance on the topic. It's pretty clear what Simu needs to be doing right now - with the p2p barrier gone, there is nothing stopping them from launching a budget advertising campaign. It doesn't have to be high-dollar or top-grade, but something is certainly better than nothing. And it will absolutely be better than anything being advocated or suggested here.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
I'm sick of listening to people talk about things that they have no idea about.
Ben(Pucktin) paid 20$
Twenty. Dollars
for a 1 month DR Facebook advertisement.
99,552 people seen it.
52 clicked it. And that's not even telling of the people who seen it and typed 'Dragonrealms' into their browser.
That's ONE month of a low budget Facebook advertisement. Hell, "budget" isn't even the word - Simu probably pays more per-month in light-bulb maintenance.
I've included a screen-cap of the actual advertisement, located here:
http://postimg.org/image/8lmsuheer/
Afterwards, he contacted Simu about it. They told him that they had seen a sharp spike in subscribers that month.
Now, first-grader math aside, if every single player in-game right now(319) all posted to Facebook simultaneously, could that come anywhere close to 100k views? Do you think that this top-mud-site malarkey can come anywhere close to 100k? Hell, that site probably sees less than a tenth of that, per month.
The answer is as obvious as your apparent ignorance on the topic. It's pretty clear what Simu needs to be doing right now - with the p2p barrier gone, there is nothing stopping them from launching a budget advertising campaign. It doesn't have to be high-dollar or top-grade, but something is certainly better than nothing. And it will absolutely be better than anything being advocated or suggested here.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
DR-ANNWYL
Re: Advertising ::NUDGE::
03/19/2015 06:08 PM CDT
You can discuss the topic without the snark at each other, I'm confident you can.
Annwyl
Message Board Supervisor
If you've questions or comments, take it to e-mail by writing me at DR-Annwyl@play.net.
TEVESHSZAT
Re: Advertising
03/19/2015 06:11 PM CDT
>>Ben(Pucktin) paid 20$
>>99,552 people seen it.
>>52 clicked it. And that's not even telling of the people who seen it and typed 'Dragonrealms' into their browser.
I'm kinda interested in what demographics Pucktin was targeting for a CPM of $0.20.
Uzmam! The Chairman will NOT be pleased to know you're trying to build outside of approved zones. I'd hate for you to be charged the taxes needed to have this place re-zoned. Head for the manor if you're feeling creative.
>>99,552 people seen it.
>>52 clicked it. And that's not even telling of the people who seen it and typed 'Dragonrealms' into their browser.
I'm kinda interested in what demographics Pucktin was targeting for a CPM of $0.20.
Uzmam! The Chairman will NOT be pleased to know you're trying to build outside of approved zones. I'd hate for you to be charged the taxes needed to have this place re-zoned. Head for the manor if you're feeling creative.
GORTEOUS
Re: Advertising
03/19/2015 08:08 PM CDT
>> I'm kinda interested in what demographics Pucktin was targeting for a CPM of $0.20.
From what I understand, Facebook has a 'per-click' where, rather than per-view, they charge you per-unique-click. You can enter a maximum $ amount and when that amount is reached, you can either add more to it or let it lapse.
If you are looking for exposure, it seems extremely convenient.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
From what I understand, Facebook has a 'per-click' where, rather than per-view, they charge you per-unique-click. You can enter a maximum $ amount and when that amount is reached, you can either add more to it or let it lapse.
If you are looking for exposure, it seems extremely convenient.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
TEVESHSZAT
Re: Advertising
03/19/2015 08:50 PM CDT
>>From what I understand, Facebook has a 'per-click' where, rather than per-view, they charge you per-unique-click. You can enter a maximum $ amount and when that amount is reached, you can either add more to it or let it lapse.
>>If you are looking for exposure, it seems extremely convenient.
Yeah, CPC is definitely another option, but a ~$.40 CPC is also pretty low. Still curious about the demographics targeted, I guess!
If it works, it works, so who can argue with that, but those are pretty low bids.
Uzmam! The Chairman will NOT be pleased to know you're trying to build outside of approved zones. I'd hate for you to be charged the taxes needed to have this place re-zoned. Head for the manor if you're feeling creative.
>>If you are looking for exposure, it seems extremely convenient.
Yeah, CPC is definitely another option, but a ~$.40 CPC is also pretty low. Still curious about the demographics targeted, I guess!
If it works, it works, so who can argue with that, but those are pretty low bids.
Uzmam! The Chairman will NOT be pleased to know you're trying to build outside of approved zones. I'd hate for you to be charged the taxes needed to have this place re-zoned. Head for the manor if you're feeling creative.
GORTEOUS
Re: Advertising
03/20/2015 04:20 PM CDT
>> Yeah, CPC is definitely another option, but a ~$.40 CPC is also pretty low. Still curious about the demographics targeted, I guess!
13-60. He said it was initially set at around $.57, but he called FB and negotiated it down to $.22-$.27. I would suspect he told them it was for a text-based game.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
13-60. He said it was initially set at around $.57, but he called FB and negotiated it down to $.22-$.27. I would suspect he told them it was for a text-based game.
IM: Dannyboy00001111
"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power of numbers."
TEVESHSZAT
Re: Advertising
03/20/2015 05:35 PM CDT
>>13-60. He said it was initially set at around $.57, but he called FB and negotiated it down to $.22-$.27. I would suspect he told them it was for a text-based game.
Interesting! I'm surprised that a blanket 13-60 (I assume there was something like also an interest in MMORPGs or something) had such a cheap CPC. Maybe other games aren't really putting much money into FB which keeps the bids low.
Uzmam! The Chairman will NOT be pleased to know you're trying to build outside of approved zones. I'd hate for you to be charged the taxes needed to have this place re-zoned. Head for the manor if you're feeling creative.
Interesting! I'm surprised that a blanket 13-60 (I assume there was something like also an interest in MMORPGs or something) had such a cheap CPC. Maybe other games aren't really putting much money into FB which keeps the bids low.
Uzmam! The Chairman will NOT be pleased to know you're trying to build outside of approved zones. I'd hate for you to be charged the taxes needed to have this place re-zoned. Head for the manor if you're feeling creative.
