What kind of Sales can you expect from PDF?

[ced1106]

Random comments:

* Provide a product that's not in print. The FLGS shelves are clogged with settings, adventures, and prestige classes. Create, say, game aids so lazy GMs can do their work. (Plugs for NPC Essentials and Ambient's Everyone Else.)

* PDFs are a bear to read. A PDF thread preferred PDFs that allowed you to prepare material ahead of time: reference sheets, DYI paper terrain, etc. No 100-page books!!! You can't read them on the screen **and** they're difficult to flip through after they're printed out.

* Take advantage of the electronic format (part 1). The most powerful -- yet simple -- advantage of a PDF is that you can print a single, individual page from your printer, without the degredation of an inconvenience of finding a copier.

* Take advantage of the electronic format (part 2). You have infinite sheets (sorta), so you can use whitespace effectively, rather than cramming in widows and orphans into your text. Plus you can use color!

* Take advantage of the electronic format (part 3). Create two copies, a high-end copy with color, and printer-friendly copy in b&w.

* Take advantage of the electronic format (part 4). If applicable, create a document the owner can fill in and save on his computer.


Good luck,


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^

 

[HellHound]

Sales over 100 copies is something to be proud of.

Honestly, breaking 200 sales makes you a "top 30" product on RPGnow.

Only about 6 products (maybe a few more) have ever sold more than 500 copies, not counting Monte Cook's products.

The Gaming PDF market is NOT an industry for making money.

 

[Bagpuss]

Kazaa and Morpheus do not involve friends. You don't put my PDF on those to send to your friend. You put them up there because you're an a**hole. (My apologies to Eric's gramma.)

I would second this plus since most PDF's are $6 or less you'ld have to be a real cheapskate to even think to use Kazaa or Morpheus to look for them.

 

[philreed]

I'll keep this in mind . . .

Sales over 100 copies is something to be proud of.

It's a target to aim for.

 

[Henry]

Two words: Kazaa, and Morpheus.

Someone made a good point - just to clarify, this is BY NO MEANS an endorsement of said sources; but they exist, and as such, they do affect the already limited sales of PDF's - because chances are that the same gamers who buy PDF's also know how to use these sources, sadly.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that their target audience being computer-savvy makes them MORE succeptible to piracy - doubly a shame because there are some darned fine small-press companies out there who produce very innovative material.

Fair Use, as described by Jmuchiello, however, would be fine - most DM's would not want to read something off a computer screen when examining it in detail. A better example would be to print off one copy and lend it to your DM for perusing, requiring that he give it back once he has approved or rejected your idea. One Print copy + PDF handles the "one copy + one copy for archival purposes" quite nicely.

 

[jmucchiello]

Someone made a good point - just to clarify, this is BY NO MEANS an endorsement of said sources; but they exist, and as such, they do affect the already limited sales of PDF's - because chances are that the same gamers who buy PDF's also know how to use these sources, sadly.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that their target audience being computer-savvy makes them MORE succeptible to piracy - doubly a shame because there are some darned fine small-press companies out there who produce very innovative material.

Just to clarify: I wasn't calling the downloaders names*. I was calling the uploader names. The uploader who thinks he's doing mankind a service, or that he's so L33T cause his wares drive has more Gigs than your wares drive, or that he's sticking it to the corporations, or whatever. That guy is the name I called him.

* Downloader can be try and buyers. There aren't a lot of these types but there are enough of them that I cannot lump them in the outright a**holes that are uploaders. People who download and use the stuff but don't pay for it are pathetic.

As for fair use, well, without the copy loaned to the DM, there's no way to use the material. Who wants to sell a useless product?

Joe

 

[MThibault]

[* Downloader can be try and buyers. There aren't a lot of these types but there are enough of them that I cannot lump them in the outright a**holes that are uploaders. People who download and use the stuff but don't pay for it are pathetic.
[/B]

I agree.

I know it is controversial, but I also don't really mind the downloaders who use it and don't pay. But *only* if they honestly can't purchase the product or it isn't available in their part of the world. I think that too many downloader's convince themselves that they can't afford something when they are just not willing to forgo some other purchase. But if some kid doesn't have a credit card and can't get my PDF, well, I'm not losing sales when he downloads it (he can't buy it anyway) and he's having his game supported until he is able to start spending more money on the hobby.

Again, I reiterate, these are special circumstances and not a general rule. If you are downloading, think long and hard about your motives and my hard work. Please.

Cheers.

 

[Turjan]

The last time that I had a look at Kazaa was quite a few months ago. The list of available pdf's looked like a copy of the "Top sales" list from rpgnow, mainly Monte's stuff, Librum Equitis, and so on. I found this astonishing, because I think it's rather unfair to screw some very small companies in this way.

My view is somewhat different with Wizards' ESD's, because they don't sell them to most European countries (I don't know why), so there is no real alternative.

 

[Bagpuss]

You can get the Wizards ESD from www.svgames.com even in the UK and the rest europe so there is no excuse with those either.

 

[Turjan]

Thanks for that info. Maybe this service is relatively recent? I have to admit that I haven't looked for their ESD's quite some time.