Supporting advertisers at EN World (WARNING: Rant)

[Ed Cha]

The money you spend on advertising is lost. It won't be coming back. You won't recoup those losses. It is pure expense. If it is designed well, the advertising will generate buzz, which is what *actually* sells your product. If it is designed poorly, it'll just be another banner add for a product I don't need.

And yeah, the fact that you're marketing a Sci Fi product to a primarily Fantasy crowd doesn't help the situation, either.

It's not my money. Justin spent that money on the ads for Dawning Star. He's been a great supporter of IPR and I want Dawning Star to do well, but we did not buy the ads.

You've made some very good points though. Thanks.

 

[Napftor]

I'm not sure if I'm in the minority or not, but as an ENWorld user, I consider myself an "informed consumer." I don't need to click on ads because I already know what Dawning Star is just by association with the forums here.

For what it's worth, Ed, I also got a negative feeling from the original post. Being told that someone spent A LOT of money on a product doesn't make me want to buy it (especially when I'm lumped into a group you're "disappointed" with for not buying it yet). I spend a lot of time on my freelancing (a commodity right up there with dollars) but I don't give people that as a reason to buy my stuff.

Let me give you an analogy. ENWorld is like a long highway; its users are drivers on it. Drivers like nice cozy rest areas to stop at. They don't like big nasty detour signs telling them where to get off the highway. The point, of course, is to make your inter-forum ads more "driver friendly." Post some facts about the work (hell, even the table of contents would be useful) and let the drivers decide whether it's a place they'd like to rest a bit.

 

[IronWolf]

Thanks for that link. I did not notice it and it was nice to read a couple of very positive comments about my books. Posts like that make it worth publishing.

I'm not saying there hasn't been support. The messageboards are great. It's the advertising that hasn't worked out (which is unfortunate because it's advertising that leads to revenues for EN World). I have given money as an individual to EN World, but I also want to give as a rep for two companies.

I think Kamikaze Midget has a point in regards to advertising though. It is there to put the product at the front of ones mind when they are in the market for something. Your advertising could be having a small affect on keeping your products at the front of folks mind, even if they aren't clicking through and buying the product. Something to possibly keep in mind when you make your advertising decisions.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

Wow!

There are Banner Ads on ENWorld!

I've never noticed them before! (Really, I never have. I'm not joking. I have my resoultion jacked up to 1600 by 1200 & the banners are like a line 3 postage stamps end to end). I never pay that close of attetnion to the top of the screen where the little-itty-bitty ads I can barely read keep blinking at me.

Now that I know they exist, I'll check them out.

DrivethruRPG. Not interested. & What's with that 4 bucks thingy?

Vraille finding something new every day.

 

[Umbran]

I'm sorry the investment in ads here doesn't seem to bbe paying off. But it was an investment, and that means risk. Sometimes you lose on investments.

The things is, the whole "deserves the spotlight" thing is where you seem to go wrong. You make it sound like we, the public, are under some sort of obligation to act (either because the product or good, or because Justin spent a lot of money, depending on how you read it). When, in a free market, the public never owes you a darned thing.

That's the problem with Rants. If you really want your cause to succeed, you never rant about it in a place relevant to the cause. Rants are, by their nature, poorly designed to advance the cause they support. Rants are emotionally driven, and advertisign copy needs instead to be carefully crafted. It's like a barbarian doing dentistry while raging - not a pretty picture.

Walk away from the rant. The rant is not your friend. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and all that.

 

[I'm A Banana]

It's like a barbarian doing dentistry while raging - not a pretty picture.

"Krusk think you need braces..."
"But, Doctor Krusk, my teeth are perfectly --"
*SMASH*
"ARGH! OW! OH SWEET PELOR, MY JAW!"

 

[arwink]

I have never clicked on the dawningstar banner, but it's presence at the top of the page every time I logged into enworld was a big influence in my purchase of the product. While the banner add may not be great advertisement in and of itself, it's certainly a key aspect in the marketing - it got me familiar with the name, which gave me a context when I started to read reviews and threads about the product.

 

[BSF]

Hey Ed, speaking quite personally I can offer you a little feedback.

I saw the "buying next" thread. Normally Iwouldn't look at those types of threads. Just not enough time lately. But I did briefly glance at it because Phil Reed started it. I thought there might be a little more he was saying in it.

Anyway, I glanced through it. I agreed with a couple of potential purchases. disagreed with many more. Then I had to turn my attention back to work.

Still, I wouldn't list Dawning Star as an upcoming purchase. Why? I own itt!

It is a great setting. Someday I hope to be able to use it. I know the odds of using it are slim, but I bought it anyway. I hold out hope that I can, one day, run it or play in it. I appreciate seeing the ads, but I am a little disappointed in them. They just don't build excitement. That doesn't stop me from recommending the book when I can. But an ad with a little more build and draw would be great.

I do try to support the vendors that support EN World. I appreciate your efforts and I appreciate the limited interaction. It's nice to think of the people writing books for my hobby as real people. Sadly, I don't have the same time to post right now as I have had in the past. But life has crests and waves. At some point, I can be back here posting more often and pimping out my personal favorites.

 

[Ketjak]

"Krusk think you need braces..."
"But, Doctor Krusk, my teeth are perfectly --"
*SMASH*
"ARGH! OW! OH SWEET PELOR, MY JAW!"

<spits chips at monitor>

Quoted.

 

[Darkness]

Nevertheless, I've asked in Meta to delete this thread.

Alright, I'll close it.