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Post by squirmydad on Sept 16, 2014 17:29:46 GMT -9
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Post by niksantsurvivedendor on Sept 16, 2014 22:36:41 GMT -9
When I remember the times where i had the "only metal minis Rule" attitude, I would not have stopped for your covers only, at a con. Will you have some display models and things on your booth? I Like the covers...but I would know what i buy. In times of ultra uber miniatures and a lot of games with very pretty cover art maybe it is not that catchy?
No offense here I try to give an honest opinion. And its not regarding your minis (Like them!) I am just talking about the cover art. I thnik people need to see what and how much they can do with this to buy it.
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Post by Parduz on Sept 16, 2014 22:54:37 GMT -9
mh.... i have to be honest, i find them a bit ...dull? Not "bad", just unactractive. As example to explain myself better, while i "hate" how they alter the color of their products, WWG always had great images to showcase the products..... i always get the "BANG" effect (=immediatly look at what it is) from that images. Just trying to be useful as usual
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Post by wyvern on Sept 17, 2014 1:19:02 GMT -9
I agree with both sets of comments above. If these are simply the DVD covers, and aren't going to be among the main items on display, they'd be fine, but if this is all you're selling the DVDs by, they won't work. They're just too staid and, sorry, "lifeless". They need more "shouting from the rooftops" about them.
Think of the cover as a miniature piece of art, not a DVD box cover. Lose the single colour fade background and the thin red rings (add the word "DVD" before "Collection" if it's important to stress it's a DVD you're selling), and either add more figures from the sets, possibly a lot more, and show them in combat, or use a photo of the minis in action with paper model backgrounds and floors. You could easily add a small-print disclaimer on the cover about "model buildings not included", for instance. The models could work as display pieces on your stand too, so they'd not just be built for the photos. And maybe think about some printed posters for your stand to showcase these from a distance as well.
You've some great products here, so don't be shy about showing them in all their glory!
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Post by oldschooldm on Sept 17, 2014 6:10:08 GMT -9
This seems familiar... cardboard-warriors.proboards.com/thread/5844/forum-flyerNot the same, though. For $20 how many paper miniatures are there on one of these CDs? How will you bring that to the forefront? Cost/Mini is one way to market. So is storage space (in both senses - no space till printed, then store flat! One loose-leaf binder for all your minis!) "300 minis for only $20.00" - "It's reaping papermas!" - "Store 100s of minis in a single binder" - "No priming, no painting, no storage!" - "Customize with Gimp/Photoshop" etc.
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Post by squirmydad on Sept 17, 2014 6:13:28 GMT -9
Thanks for the comments, they're very helpful. -The red ring is just there for me doing the layout so I don't put important things outside the print area, won't be on the final product. -I will have a display case with minis on the shelves grouped by collection and a print catalog that has all of the product preview images to help customers understand what they're getting. -I'm working on a flashy banner for the booth to draw people over, not done with that yet. -My focus with the covers was to make them more informative than artistic, these are the labels that will be printed onto the discs, and I was concerned that big battle pictures might be distracting...? Maybe...I just thought of another way to present the info and have some fun cover art, not sure if I have time for something more elaborate though. Last year the biggest crowd stopper was my Spaceballs Eagle V Winnebago model so that will be on top of the display case and included as a bonus model on each disc. The convention has also asked for hourly door prizes from all of the vendors and I'll be giving them a printed version of the Eagle V for a giveaway.
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Post by Vermin King on Sept 17, 2014 9:08:08 GMT -9
I'm not sure how much space you have, but clearly each collection needs to be displayed. The point of stating the number of figures is a good one.
Also the Apocalypse Winnebago could go very well with the Mutant Apocalypse Collection
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Post by squirmydad on Oct 7, 2014 16:08:51 GMT -9
Senshi Con 2014 debriefing; The print house told me I needed to get the cd's in immediately or they wouldn't be ready for the convention so I went with the designs I had done. Then I caught a break and they finished the printing in less than 24 hours so I could've changed the art after all...ah well. CD's sold better than prints, sort of. I still had all of the prints from laat years debacle and I offered them for sale again alongside the cd's and sold quite a few this time. In fact, my convention income was almost evenly split between the two mediums. However, selling a print and selling a cd took almost the same amount of effort, and my profit margins are much better on the cd sales. Other lessons learned; -The Eagle V Winnebago model on top of my display case is still the best traffic stopper/lure I have. "That's included on all of the cd's, or it's free on-line at my site, have a bookmark." -Lots of bookmarks moved this year, yellow far outstripped blue in popularity. -Huge uptick in site traffic and some good on-line sales in the week following the convention so I believe the both worked as a good advertising tool. -Last year I was invisible, this year with better lighting for my area and better placement I had a lot of traffic. Lighting is essential. -Got interviewed by a group called Rats Radio, people dropped off business cards and invited me to come vend at other conventions. Lighting and booth placement, big difference over lat year. I was still in a hidden back alley, but at least I wasn't alone. -People come to conventions looking for, "That one big cool thing that I can only get here."...I don't have anything like that. It's on my list though. -"What game are these for?" Most often asked question both years. Before next year I want to have a PnP sewer crawl where VSF adventurers explore the subterranean maze of waterworks and crypts beneath Rome that have become the lair of alien automata and mutated experiments. Look for it in September of 2015! -People are also looking for something they can use right now, like the Fey princesses that I had on display ended up selling. -Catalogs don't draw in customers, nifty displays models and miniatures or pics of them in action do. The catalog is useful after you've hooked them into stopping so you can say, "There's far more available than is shown in this display." -Next time I will also offer fantasy sets on cd's. -Giving away stuff for free to nice people is fun. That's all for now.
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Post by Vermin King on Oct 7, 2014 17:43:18 GMT -9
So something like a mini-game that is only available at conventions, which directs towards a bigger game available online, with a set of convention-only mini's and a convention-only terrain piece would go over well. Or so it sounds.
These days I would say a One Monk App would go over better than a catalog.
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Post by emergencyoverride on Oct 8, 2014 8:27:27 GMT -9
That's great. Sounds like a much better time was had this year, and its always cool when that happens. It looks like you have just about hit the nail on the head as far as cons go.(Display models, give aways, good products at great prices, lighting) I know its a ways off, but if you need help testing and working on the pnp game just let me know. VSR completely rocks. I still have the test builds of the Sky ships from Sky Galleons of Mars that you made all those years ago that we worked on fine tuning, before you skinned them. Wow, that was a ways back. Those were the models and the game that turned me on to Litko (Flight bases) and World Works Games (Mars Station Tiles) for the first time. You did an after action report and I was hooked. Good Times!!
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Post by squirmydad on Oct 8, 2014 17:58:39 GMT -9
Thanks for the offer of help, I'll let you know when these actually take shape. Some of my convention advice comes from reading this article; Dead Men Tell No tales by James Mathe who has successfully run fourteen (!) kickstarters.
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Post by squirmydad on Oct 22, 2014 19:55:37 GMT -9
My interview is at about the two minute mark.
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Post by Vermin King on Oct 23, 2014 6:09:33 GMT -9
Uh, oh, 20 seconds into your interview, the video went away and I have an exclamation mark in a circle now. hmmm
After I posted, the video came back up. Very nice.
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Post by wyvern on Oct 23, 2014 11:33:53 GMT -9
Like the wandering monster at the four minute mark! Is that how the D&D clerics turning power works?
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Post by cowboyleland on Oct 23, 2014 14:14:27 GMT -9
You are pretty well dressed, for a set designer
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Oct 23, 2014 16:42:40 GMT -9
So, I don't know who this Eric Brown chump is, but I think it's pretty sad to not even let Squirmydad in on the interview given that he practically runs the show around here. I mean, look at this - what an obvious attempt to block him from even getting on camera: Pathetic, really. I expected better from this place.
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Post by squirmydad on Oct 23, 2014 18:31:22 GMT -9
LOL! That gives me an idea for a cardboard stand-up for next year.
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Post by squirmydad on Oct 23, 2014 20:45:41 GMT -9
You are pretty well dressed, for a set designer Is this better? That's about what I looked like for the five years that I was with the first children's theatre that I worked at. We were banging through twenty-four productions a year.
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Post by Cardstock Dane on Oct 24, 2014 3:33:09 GMT -9
My interview is at about the two minute mark. Wow, we have the same haircut!
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Post by Vermin King on Oct 24, 2014 4:50:10 GMT -9
My interview is at about the two minute mark. Wow, we have the same haircut! I'm getting there fast...
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Post by niksantsurvivedendor on Oct 24, 2014 10:49:05 GMT -9
As my avatar shows...I`m in the Club.
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Post by cowboyleland on Oct 24, 2014 18:58:03 GMT -9
My bald spot is at the back. It looks like I try to hide it with a pony tale, but honestly I started wearing the pony tale long before I started to go bald.
24 productions a year is crazy. I only got my company up to six shows (mostly re-mounts) in a ten month season before the actors rebelled.
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Post by Vermin King on Oct 25, 2014 6:21:53 GMT -9
I was pulling my hair out when I was doing three. None last year which is why I have time for the nursing home project.
Nice avatar, Eric
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Post by colonelshofer on Nov 1, 2014 2:50:09 GMT -9
Coolness CS
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Post by squirmydad on Nov 3, 2014 11:57:52 GMT -9
I was pulling my hair out when I was doing three. None last year which is why I have time for the nursing home project. Nice avatar, Eric When I first got the job as TD I was told there was only five in the season, Great! (I thought) Oh, but there's also these three school Intensives/Residencies that we do, Great! (I can make these work together.) Summertime came that first year, the company relocates to the other end of the university and does a summer academy of nine shows, not all at once, so it's okay; three advanced student shows, then a week later the other six shows in rotation through the three performance spaces. Then back to the regular season. The next year the regular season expanded to six shows, and two more residencies, and then also providing tech support for the annual 24-hour play festival, then omigosh is it summer again and working on the Renaissance fair then the nine shows of summer academy + a staff show this year as a fund raiser and demonstration of abilities, then the regular season with residencies only one extra added this year (along with previous five so that makes twelve in the regular season) then we got accepted to go to Australia and "Tour With the Torch" prior to the Olympics so we created an extra show to perform at the end of summer academy (still just nine student shows + one staff show) then go to Australia and tour through Sidney, Cowra, Sidney again, Newcastle, and back to Sidney for seventeen days finishing up on stage at the Opera House (I sang!) then back to Alaska as we needed to start our regular season with no new additions, oh wait, the arts department at the other end of campus has noticed our success and wants to perform on our stage and disrupt our schedule so we work or eleven productions around their three (slackers!) then is it summer again and we have a second camp going in another city six hours away and we're expanding the summer camp in town to two campuses so that added three shows to the summer schedule which makes for twelve coming out if the same shop but I did get an assistant to manage the tech needs of the satellite campus and we're a doing a fundraiser dinner show thingy at the end of summer after camp before the regular season okay and it's regular season and the arts department now wants to do a joint venture where they finance a big musical but we direct and host it and then shows, shows, shows wow there's little kids in my house that resemble me how long have they been here? Eight years? Huh. That was the old job. They were all wonderful sets too, except for two that were just meh. Working for the public schools I only do six shows per year + lots of little events like an evening with Bill Nye. "Oklahoma" opens this week and I'd have to say that only working on one show at a time, instead of trying to constantly dovetail and flip shows, feels like a vacation with pay.
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Post by Vermin King on Nov 3, 2014 14:01:12 GMT -9
Wow, I don't know how you coped with all that. Even with student helpers, that seems like an impossibility. I am very impressed
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Post by squirmydad on Dec 13, 2014 23:11:48 GMT -9
Last week I went to a Holiday Fundraiser Bazaar being put on by my old Theatre company and witnessed a curious phenomenon that reminded me of my convention experience; Most of the vendors at the bazaar weren't actually selling anything tangible, they were just taking orders for products. Very nice products, but you couldn't spend money and walk out with a Christmas gift for friends and family. Except for the handmade jewelry booth, exquisite craftsmanship, reasonable prices, the artist was very personable and ran the booth herself, and you were able to take your purchases home that very day. Guess which booth was jam-packed with excited customers and did a brisk business? Certainly wasn't those clowns taking doTerra orders...Tangible products sell, and that's what's necessary for success at a convention or bazaar environment.
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Post by aaron on Dec 14, 2014 7:04:10 GMT -9
Well If anything I have sent you will help toss it on a cd and sell it! and I do mean Anything!
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Post by emergencyoverride on Dec 14, 2014 14:28:46 GMT -9
Thats what the guy at the old local game store that closed here didn't understand. We would go into the store and the shelves would be practically empty. I would ask about products and he would say, "I can order you anything you want, you just have to wait a week or two for me to get it." I would answer, " If I wanted to wait I could order it myself and get it in 2 days...." He never picked up on the fact that most gamers and non gamers now that you mention it, want the product when they pay for it. The new store that opened recently stocks full lines of a bunch of games and does a super amount of business. They have to order every so often for something, but its a super niche item when they do. I love the advice the old store owner gave the new guys, "Dont get your hopes up. People in this town dont spend money on gaming....." The joke is on him. Edit: I live right by Ft. Campbell Army base home of the 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles). There are a ton of soldiers here that game and spend mucho duckies on that stuff. If you are a game store and go out of business here, you really tried hard to fail.
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Post by aaron on Dec 14, 2014 16:54:08 GMT -9
Thats what the guy at the old local game store that closed here didn't understand. We would go into the store and the shelves would be practically empty. I would ask about products and he would say, "I can order you anything you want, you just have to wait a week or two for me to get it." I would answer, " If I wanted to wait I could order it myself and get it in 2 days...." He never picked up on the fact that most gamers and non gamers now that you mention it, want the product when they pay for it. The new store that opened recently stocks full lines of a bunch of games and does a super amount of business. They have to order every so often for something, but its a super niche item when they do. I love the advice the old store owner gave the new guys, "Dont get your hopes up. People in this town dont spend money on gaming....." The joke is on him. Edit: I live right by Ft. Campbell Army base home of the 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles). There are a ton of soldiers here that game and spend mucho duckies on that stuff. If you are a game store and go out of business here, you really tried hard to fail. what I don't understand is how the people who run a local gaming store can think it's ok to be a complete butt head to people and expect return business. we had two stores here one was fully stocked and huge with lots of playing tables but the people who ran it just completely sucked! and then there was a smaller store that didn't have as much stuff (they had to order stuff a lot in the beginning )and was a pretty cramped with only a few tables. the big store didn't do so well and eventually went out of business because no one went there. the other store was fat packed all the time and you had to reserve a table.... Scott (the owner ) sold the store and moved to corpus christi to be close to family(he started another store down there but it doesn't help me LOL ) now we have nothing in this area. So customer service and attitude are everything IMHO
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