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Post by wyvern on Nov 7, 2013 7:28:23 GMT -9
Your link is not working sir. That wasn't a link Endial, merely boldface type used for emphasis
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Post by endial on Nov 7, 2013 9:05:52 GMT -9
Your link is not working sir. That wasn't a link Endial, merely boldface type used for emphasis Ah, I see, I re-read it and now see that you were referring to the forum... My Mistake, Carry on good sir lol
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Post by Christopher Roe on Nov 9, 2013 12:20:45 GMT -9
Late to this thread (slammed at work, but just got 4 days off and finally catching up with news and site visits on the hobby front), but here goes. 1) Should I go with Picnic Adventures! as my publisher/business name, or reserve that specifically for the product line? I've another business name in mind that will allow me more flexibility to market items outside my main target audience, but the brand strength of PA I think would be stronger. My recommendation: leave yourself some room for growth/change of focus. Specific branding should be for product lines rather than the whole business. Back when I had the time to focus full-time on papercraft, the 30-35% cut that OBS takes off the top was highway robbery. After going part-time and then finally down to just a paying hobby that I get a few hours a week to deal with, the services that OBS offers is worth its weight in gold. In addition to that, the gradual shift towards an harmonized internet sales tax and the extra bookkeeping/technical fuss that entails makes ditching direct sales in favor of collecting royalties from third party marketplaces an even more appealing prospect in the future. Depends. If you're handling sales yourself off your own website, you need at least an email address for customer support and inquiries. A blog or something that can be updated regularly is nice to have, plus gives customers a point to interact with you on your website. A forum...kind of a double edged sword, if there's enough post traffic and you have the time/resources to stay on top of moderation and spam control, a forum allows you to build a community around your products. The flip side of that is it's yet another forum to keep track of and another account to register. Facebook and Twitter are handy if you have customers who prefer those channels, but mileage varies. Not sure if this comes too late, but I've had a pleasant experience with Kualo for over a decade now. They host all of my sites and their plans are pretty affordable.
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Post by glennwilliams on Nov 9, 2013 16:08:28 GMT -9
Chris is right. That 30% chunk OBS takes seems a lot, but I regard it as marketing costs. I am willing to pay to not have to maintain a store, a selling point system, and track purchases. Plus, there are internal marketing tools such as emails to customers after a new release.
BTW, Chris (Mel), how's it going? PM me.
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Post by okumarts on Nov 9, 2013 16:19:48 GMT -9
I think 30% is reasonable considering the fact that I have zero marketing budget. I've always had good luck dealing with OBS. I am considering expanding into the game book and comic book market and if I put things up on Apple or Kindle they would take the same.
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