tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post7678679020477339762..comments2023-08-21T01:07:42.110-07:00Comments on Lick, Dont Bite: Some random musings about SL business...Annyka Bekkershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11870450286329773364noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-23408515262121165042008-06-28T07:19:00.000-07:002008-06-28T07:19:00.000-07:00I have always wondered how you can have a decent e...I have always wondered how you can have a decent economy, when many of it's citizens don't need food/housing, and can get almost everything for free. <BR/><BR/>Like Mouse I started early 2006 and freebies were rare and not usually high quality.<BR/><BR/>My 3 month old alt has great clothes, great skins, and I have not had to buy anything for her.<BR/><BR/>I suspect she still lives with me, but you never know what your alt does when your not looking :-)<BR/><BR/>Personally, it's time I had an upgrade so I'll drop by.Shockwave Plasmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09655169759399534885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-50973242061299742922008-06-24T14:56:00.000-07:002008-06-24T14:56:00.000-07:00Thanks Megan, I appreciate that :))Things are a bi...Thanks Megan, I appreciate that :))<BR/><BR/>Things are a bit better now. When I wrote this post, it was just after 2 absolutely horrific weeks saleswise and I was feeling pretty frustrated. But as Lex pointed out, it most likely had to do with the near daily asset server breakdowns more than anything else. Which still sucks, since they still don't seem to be able to fix it for good, but at least it's not just me.Annyka Bekkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11870450286329773364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-28745817350519094542008-06-24T07:12:00.000-07:002008-06-24T07:12:00.000-07:00Sorry, i'm a little behind on this one.. ok, like ...Sorry, i'm a little behind on this one.. ok, like a lot behind, but I just had to add that if it wasn't for the fact that you put your nekkid mellie at 0L, I probably would have never purchased all of the Tuesday skins that I did. I liked that the mellie was a skin I could actually wear out in public and get used to for a few days instead of trying a demo on in the store and not having time to really take it in. It was my intention to return and buy the mellie in some different makeup styles but I ended up going with the new release instead which ended up being better business for you in the end as well.. so don't get discouraged over freebies. They really do help, maybe just not immediately :)MeganK Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15395058183615610108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-58649807485235958292008-05-27T15:47:00.000-07:002008-05-27T15:47:00.000-07:00Thanks for the comments, QueenKellee and Gidge. :)...Thanks for the comments, QueenKellee and Gidge. :) Sorry for being an awful bloghost who doesn't reply to her own discussions :( Sorry, I've been distracted for the last week.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, QueenKellee, I agree about the production house model. It does make alot of business sense, and it would seem like a smarter way to work. Plus it would give people who might not be Photoshop experts or primwizards a chance to play a meaningful role in content creation. I wish there were more actual "jobs" in SL for non-creatives to do than the few there already are.<BR/><BR/>The thing is, I actually have some reservations about how such a system would probably work out in reality. I would hate to see a few big content companies emerge who dwarf the independents and can then control what gets on the shelves the way big publishers can control what books get on the shelves at the Barnes & Noble. <BR/><BR/>The big part of the charm in SL is that there are no gatekeepers of content. You don't have to convince anybody that your stuff is good enough to warrant getting published. Unfortunately, the price of that independence is having to handle all the peripheral stuff.<BR/><BR/>There's always partnerships, which lots of people do, but there are serious trust issues there, and you really need to have some sort of real-world relationship with someone to make it work out.Annyka Bekkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11870450286329773364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-64298870384816824672008-05-24T14:36:00.000-07:002008-05-24T14:36:00.000-07:00I think that the economy is hurting a lot of peopl...I think that the economy is hurting a lot of people. I can also say that the prolific amount of high quality freebies lately has been rather astounding.<BR/>But on the flip side - I can also say that if I pick up your freebie and like it - I'll be back.<BR/><BR/>With lindens in hand. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-1454059847820292782008-05-20T16:06:00.000-07:002008-05-20T16:06:00.000-07:00In general, thank you for writing a "businessy" po...In general, thank you for writing a "businessy" post -- As I'm struggling with bringing my own visions to reality and planning a store, I've been wanting to reach out to other content creators for advice, but besides the forum, there doesn't seem to be much out there in terms of open discussion.<BR/><BR/>As for the production house model, I think that's a great idea! I know for one, I would be willing to do the drudge work of packaging (which actually I don't find that drudge-y) to have an opportunity to work under a designer I admire, perhaps developing a classic apprenticeship/mentor relationship, even if just for the chance to once-in-awhile pick their brains or ask for advice!<BR/><BR/>Oh and just a chime in opinion on the Bare Rose vs. Stiletto Moody business models...I think one key component to BR is that she is constantly releasing, which keeps people coming back to her store over and over. I know myself I justify buying June's outfits even if I only like 1 item in them because they are so affordable! <BR/><BR/>One general shopping thing I have noticed about myself is that I will generally buy things I like but if it's over $300L I have a much harder time dropping the dough. (I'm really talking about clothes and accessories here, skins are kind of their own beast) Not sure why $300L is my "cut off" point, and I do buy things over $300L all the time, but I'm much more hesitant and it puts me in a different sort of shopping mode, instead of "get what I like", it's "pick the one I most want". But then strangely I will easily spend more $L in a store that has a bit more reasonable prices than one where prices are higher. In my head I call this the Wal-mart complex, where it's easy to go crazy and buy a bunch of things when they seem cheap but forget they do add up quickly to a lot of money!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-31594128693999765342008-05-19T18:38:00.000-07:002008-05-19T18:38:00.000-07:00*I had to delete the last comment in order to edit...*I had to delete the last comment in order to edit it. Stupid Blogger!*<BR/><BR/>Aw thanks, Mouse :) I'm now a little relieved that the lousy month has been probably been due to the crappy performance and daily warnings from LL to not buy anything. (How are you supposed to compete against THAT?) I had completely forgotten about that. At least its not me.<BR/><BR/>And youre stuff most definitely does not suck!<BR/><BR/>And speaking of drudgework production, I'm starting to think a publishing house model makes alot of sense. By that I mean where you split up the tasks, so you havean artist creating the textures and prims, a production artist assembling and packaging it, and maybe someone else doing marketing and promotion. Right now SL is like a cottage industry, and we're all forced to do all tasks ourselves. Its more personal, but its not really efficient. Armidi is leaning in that direction, and I imagine that sort of setup will become more and more common if SL ever starts actually working properly.Annyka Bekkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11870450286329773364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-32038292755077123372008-05-19T18:35:00.000-07:002008-05-19T18:35:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Annyka Bekkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11870450286329773364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-50489591440856361352008-05-19T17:39:00.000-07:002008-05-19T17:39:00.000-07:00This post just really got me! I know exactly what...This post just really got me! I know exactly what you mean, I feel this way a lot (especially the part about, maybe my sales are down cause my stuff just sucks). I started in SL in late 2006 and freebies were so rare, it was amazing. I'm afraid that they are now out of hand, and what to say but we've all had a hand in it! But at this point, I think that overall SL had a dip in April, due to the unreliability of the grid and the economy in the US. Oh and by the way, your skins are beautiful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-3265696191799719522008-05-19T13:21:00.000-07:002008-05-19T13:21:00.000-07:00I do think that the overwhelming amount of freebie...I do think that the overwhelming amount of freebies these days probably have made a lot more people less likely to impulse buy just to satisfy the 'want something new' urge. <BR/><BR/>The change in terms of available freebies just since last summer, when I started, is incredible. A free skin then was like the Holy Grail. Now, there have been free skins blogged that I have not bothered to pick up, and certainly lots of other freebies that I pass over.<BR/><BR/>I have no idea how typical or atypical I am, but I do know that I am pretty darn indecisive about shopping both in SL and RL, and one thing that will make me make up my mind instead of thinking 'eh, I can get it next week instead' is limited editions that are available only for a period of time.<BR/><BR/>Of course, with making limited edition items come even more of the drudgery work, so unless they really sell well its probably not worth it. <BR/><BR/>But I do think that promotion and marketing, whatever form it takes, will definitely become more and more important in SL as the market grows up. I've heard from several creators that their sales are down, and to me it looks like a few brands are managing to steal all the thunder on the basis of having been quicker to grasp the emerging importance of marketing.<BR/><BR/>Freyja NemethUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12021304563358865277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-56016142672050607322008-05-19T13:07:00.000-07:002008-05-19T13:07:00.000-07:00Great post! You are so right about SL Marketing be...Great post! You are so right about SL Marketing being a whole new world in many, many ways. In regards to the difference between Bare Rose and Stilleto Moody - I think you have marketing for both just like in RL there are markets for stores as different as Wal-Mart and Saks. <BR/><BR/>You wrote: "Thing is, while I do love creating skins, I really really dont like everything else involved with packaging them for sale."<BR/><BR/>I think that a ton of content creators would agree with you on this and I've actually opened a store to help new designers who either don't want to handle marketing and promotions for themselves or simply don't know how.<BR/><BR/>I may not be talented enough with photoshop or building to actually create content but I do know how to package, promote and sell it! :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-40925104046106448242008-05-19T11:44:00.000-07:002008-05-19T11:44:00.000-07:00oh yeah. I forgot all about the fun with the asset...oh yeah. I forgot all about the fun with the asset server. Funny how you can put unpleasantness like that completely out of mindAnnyka Bekkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11870450286329773364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864741811906687372.post-39005470825701907232008-05-19T11:34:00.000-07:002008-05-19T11:34:00.000-07:00As to your 30% reduction in sales... it might have...As to your 30% reduction in sales... it might have nothing to do with putting up the freebies. In fact, they might have been the reason you didn't have a worse decline in sales in April. Something snapped in the SL market during most of April, and sales seem to be down significantly for many vendors. I saw my all-time best month of sales in March, and then April came around and I suddenly dropped around 40%. <BR/><BR/>I think it had to do with all the downtime and failed deliveries. Customers just don't trust buying things in SL anymore, even if they're copyable and you're perfectly willing to redeliver failed purchases.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com