What kind of Sales can you expect from PDF?

[James Heard]

I think $35-50 might be putting a little too much faith in the buying power of the consumer who'd have to make a choice between a bundle of pdf products and a "real" dead tree print product. I don't think the average gaming consumer spends more than $50-100 each month on game products and forcing them to choose between the latest product from WOTC and your own product seems pretty futile. On the other hand, if you can get your hands on the rest of that $50...

 

[jezter6]

Re: Re: Cool...

Most publishers do provide you with a link right in the product description to examples/demos.

Is that hard to find? Should we make it a more standard button that is easliy seen and in a standard location at the top and try to require it for all products?

James

I do think that a nice colored button somewhere near the top of the page would definately go a long way to help promote those products.

 

[Fast Learner]

Well, the idea wouldn't be that there would be "free stuff" in it, just that the cost of material would be all bundled in a way that would make more sense to your average game store consumer. If Polyhedron dished out even a 15-20 dollar "annual with cd enhancement" I imagine that it would sell enough to justify it's cost increase just on the merits of "whoa..something different from Poly!"

That's certainly a valid idea, but I was tying it back to some of the earlier threads.

If you provided a nice sample of the free PDFs out there (thus directly benefitting Dragon/Dungeon readers) and in addition provided nice full-color covers, descriptions, tables of contents, maybe even sample pages, and possibly reviews from PDFs for sale then you'd potentially be opening up the market considerably. The free stuff, of course, would be stuff from publishers in exchange for the ad space, and could be things they're already giving away for free or, if they don't have such, perhaps a few pages from a pay PDF (a couple of PrCs or such).

Good for everyone, as I see it.

 

[jezter6]

/me screams "Add portable hole to ALL cd's ever created"

hehehe

 

[rpghost]

Re: Re: Re: Cool...

I do think that a nice colored button somewhere near the top of the page would definately go a long way to help promote those products.

Ok, consider it done. I added it and all publishers will have to update thier products to include a url to their demos, but eventually it'll look like this one:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=10&

A button at the top and one next to the BUY button at the bottom clearly link to a demo.

James

 

[jezter6]

Looks good, and if people comlain about not having free material after that...then they need to be shot.

Good job james.

 

[rpghost]

If you provided a nice sample of the free PDFs out there (thus directly benefitting Dragon/Dungeon readers) and in addition provided nice full-color covers, descriptions, tables of contents, maybe even sample pages, and possibly reviews from PDFs for sale then you'd potentially be opening up the market considerably.

Go idea in general... but to do a blow in for Dragon or Dungeon you have to do so for all issues printed. That's 50,000 issues for Dragon. Even at that quantity it's going to cost at least $15,000 to make the CDs and that's if Dragon agrees to blow it in for free. Just not doable.

Now if there was some sponsor (WOTC d20 Modern) or something like that out there that would join in to produce a CD then we'd be willing to try something like that. But we certainly can't afford the lion share of that price tag.

James

 

[Twin Rose]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Cool...

Ok, consider it done. I added it and all publishers will have to update thier products to include a url to their demos, but eventually it'll look like this one:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=10&

A button at the top and one next to the BUY button at the bottom clearly link to a demo.

James

Quick work - I was already able to add the 'demo' link for Campaign Suite's free trial.

I emailed you off the board about an idea I had concerning the demo, or demo software in general

 

[jezter6]

Well, I would think that it would be up to the publishers to foot the bill on that pricetag james. Even then, if divided in appropriate manner, most of the larger companies would probably willing to put in a grand or so to do this. With you guys putting in a little to be a sponsor (that way everyone who gets the CD knows to go to RPGNow to purchase PDF's) I think would be a great exposure...

Just depends on how much they want to do it, and how many publishers are willing to put in.

 

[jmucchiello]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Cool...

A button at the top and one next to the BUY button at the bottom clearly link to a demo.

Great. Now I have to go make a demo.

Joe