Lets Advertise...For real this time.

[Rhytania]

Code: Select all

Ad Package #1 

$25/mth - 5,000 ad banner impressions displayed in general rotation on all available TMC pages (page availability subject to involvement in exclusive campaigns - eg. front page is generally excluded from general rotation). 

Ad Package #2 

$50/mth - 10,000 ad banner impressions displayed in general rotation on all available TMC pages (page availability subject to involvement in exclusive campaigns - eg. front page is generally excluded from general rotation). 

Im willing to contribute $15/month for at least 2 months via paypal if the Admins are interested and want to do this. I have zero artistic ability so someone else will have to make the banner. Who else is with me?

[Pakur]

I'm with you, i'll contribute another $10/mo. However, I can't start in this endeaver until the 31st of this month, I'm broke until that date. <3 Rhy

[Eltsac]

We are a little broke lately, but I can help for the banner if admins are up for this.

El

[Bellayana]

I would be willing to pay 10 dollars a month.

[Raona]

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but if people are willing to put money in the pot, I don't think banner ads on TMC are the best buy. Google adwords around DnD or something on RPG Gateway (much more RP focused) might be better choices. I'm also a little nervous (and would guess I'm not alone) at some players offering money for the cause, too much like a campaign contribution. This is not to give the idea a thumbs-up or -down, I think that falls to the Imms, but I wanted to offer my opinion on targeting and the moral hazard all the same. (I'll throw into the pot too, wherever it goes, if this gets a green light.)

[Gwain]

I would prefer something like the old cafe express shop we used to have over donations for advertising. Contributing solely as a donnation to me, seems like a very overt form of desperation. Buying merchandize with the fk logo or brand seems a bit more rewarding. If the funds go to advertising or running costs, I'm alright with that.

On the other foot, I don't see the need or desperation for overt advertising to increase mud subscriptions, I don't know how many of the current top ten muds pay to advertise through tmc, or its effects on quality vs quantity of players.

I'm all for more players, but I think funds for promotions or adverts should come through shopping options and not through donnations.

[Rhytania]

Google Ad words - People are immune to them. Mud players a already ahead of the general population and are too saavy most of the time for adwords to really be effective.

TMC - People go to TMC for one reason. Muds. No other website has the pull that TMC does imo. If were looking for mud players then I say target their waterhole. RPG gateway is allright so lets advert there too.

Gwain - I really dont see how contributing (or advertising) is a form of desperation. We need to get the word out there, and best way to do that is to advertise. Ads cost money, so lets set something up where people could donate 5, 10, 15 dollars or w/e they are comfortable with to help with the burden of costs. Its not like we're selling dinnerplates for thousands of dollars here. I would say if there was a paypal link setup it would be totally anonymous no one would know except for Mask or whichever admin set it up.

Cafe Press - is cool the first couple of times you buy a crappy mug or cheap print screen tshirt. How many times would you do that though. Plus I think after a while you start to loose money on cafe press with their fees.

Statistics alone demand that with quantity comes quality. I say open the flood gates, take a gamble, and lets see what comes in. It wont hurt anything to get some fresh blood coming in. I mean if thats not the endstate here let me know and ill stop wasting my time pushing my advertising campaign and just continue to rp with the same 5 people for the rest of the time being.

[Selveem]

I agree with Rhytania, though to be honest I'ma be considered broke for at least a few months.

Adwords are alright, but I don't find them exceptionally useful. I see them, but unless they're explicitly relevant to my search (and sometimes even if they are), I ignore them.

TMC, I feel, IS the best option for advertising. I dunno if there's a way to increase visibility in zMUD/CMUD, but that's a thought.

My only concern would be increased suspicion of favoritism. It could be seen as donators are seen more valuable and thus likely to receive additional benefits (though _I_ wouldn't see it as that at this point). Especially, perhaps, to newer players coming in. Maybe if there was a way that all donations were made anonymously that they couldn't possibly make such claims?

In any case, I'm all for more visibility. We do have a devoted staff, regardless of whether I agree with some decisions. We've got a great playerbase who is very conscious of their affects on the MUD as a whole. We've got new players who are showing a nice measure of interest and enthusiasm. We've consistently got D&D-aligning changes that further increase our foothold on such a diverse group we want to attract.

In my opinion, FK deserves such visibility. Not out of desperation, but because it's that much better than our competitors (I feel, anyhow). Why not give it a shot?

[Bellayana]

I found Forgotten Kingdoms on TMC.

[Pakur]

I'd love to give it a try. Gwain brings up a good point though. Quality vs. Quantity of players. I would be glad to see a larger player base, but it would grieve me to see people running around saying, " lol so what r u guyz up to? asl? " However, IMHO the reward outweighs the risk. I just hope that if "we" are to advertise, that it's for the best.

[Raona]

I found Forgotten Kingdoms on TMC.

I believe I did as well - but we maintain a good ranking there and I think people interested in a game like ours, who are looking there, will give us a try without a banner ad. That's my logic, anyway. I might actually have been less inclined had I seen a banner ad for FK, as I was looking for a non-commercial site.

Frankly, I think the current population's super job of voting for us on TMC takes care of advertising there. But that's just my opinion! Would seeing an FK banner ad have worked for some of you who took longer to find us?

[Rhytania]

@Raona: I have clicked on banner ads on TMC if I found them to be witty or nicely done just to see what it was about. I have even connected to some of those muds just becuase.

@Pakur: They are out there I admit, but the its the good ones we are after. We can filter out the bad while welcoming the good at the same time.

[Harroghty]

We get the most bang for our buck from TMC ranking, but this could have value.

How would you orchestrate it?

(For clarity, my personal curiosity here should not be construed as staff/administrator approval.)

[Gwain]

If it were seen as a viable means of gaining members, I would suggest that it be completely anonymous, that even administrators have no idea who has donnated to a fund for advertising. This would keep it from being and issue of favouritism.

[Rhytania]

How would you orchestrate it?

Paypal account is setup and established by Admins. People can go to it and donate money as they wish to the account. The money would go to the advertising banners, adwords, whatever else pepole can come up with.

People can contribute as little as 1 dollar. The balance could be posted so people know when it is time to kick in a couple of bucks. The donations will be completely anonymous and the Admins will use those funds directly as they see fit.

Of course some legal statements of understanding and all of that will probably have to be tied to it so players know that once the money is released, its is FK's money and Mask/Admins are final authority on how it gets spent.

[Rhytania]

If it were seen as a viable means of gaining members, I would suggest that it be completely anonymous, that even administrators have no idea who has donnated to a fund for advertising. This would keep it from being and issue of favouritism.

Absolutely. You can set it up so that it is completely anonymous.

[Selveem]

Yeah, agreed.

That'd be hot.

[Brar]

Just one reminder.

We globaly use FR settings which is WOTC proprietary.

Faerun.com was closed 2 months after the owner at that time began to accept "donations".

I won't go into the details of that old case, but that should be taken into consideration.

Brar

[Selveem]

Court case reference please!

[Harroghty]

Good point, Brar. I consulted my legal counsel here in the living room and she confirmed that this could be a problem. If we accept money for something using WOTC's intellectual property then we would potentially have to pay them or work out some other arrangement with them.