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wbcreighton
November 5th, 2013, 22:31
I thought I would start a thread to collect volunteers and strategies for promoting the next convention. We need a list of websites and threads that we should be hitting when the time comes, and who will be doing it.

wbcreighton
November 5th, 2013, 22:48
I guess the first order of business is for anyone who started a thread for FG-Con 3 is to go back and mention how the con worked out. I'll have to go through my notes to make sure I get back to all the threads I started. :)

damned
November 6th, 2013, 00:36
before you do that we should consider writing some good copy which sells the whole event and this can then be customised as required for your specific posts...

Grimtina
November 6th, 2013, 01:11
Yeah... you tube promo video anyone? ;)

Con went fine for me until the router gave out (6 cats, one open door, 1 husband not paying attention).

wbcreighton
November 6th, 2013, 20:05
Yeah... you tube promo video anyone? ;)

I'm not familiar with making promo videos but there must be someone out there who is.


Con went fine for me until the router gave out (6 cats, one open door, 1 husband not paying attention).

:D That's too funny. Just trying to picture how the cats got involved...

wbcreighton
November 6th, 2013, 20:07
before you do that we should consider writing some good copy which sells the whole event and this can then be customised as required for your specific posts...

Don't just consider it, write it for me ! :D
Good point, we won't rush out there until we are ready.

damned
November 6th, 2013, 21:46
i can just see a promo video in which Agnes ducks away from from a +2 cats paw only to get sucker punched by the black ninja cat.
her husband the paladin arrives too late to save the brave heroine but through his divine might manages to capture the foul felines.

wbcreighton
November 6th, 2013, 21:59
i can just see a promo video in which Agnes ducks away from from a +2 cats paw only to get sucker punched by the black ninja cat.
her husband the paladin arrives too late to save the brave heroine but through his divine might manages to capture the foul felines.
LOL from what I've heard that might have happened in one of her games !

Grimtina
November 7th, 2013, 15:52
Yeah when I play Cathulhu ;)

Basically, cats were fighting in the room the router was in. They can only be there when supervised. Husband was sorting loot from the game con we had been to.and didn't even notice. Pop goes the router.

We might wanna do polls on other sites, to see what people might wanna play and if they would try FG2 for it.

wbcreighton
November 7th, 2013, 19:09
Yeah when I play Cathulhu ;)
We might wanna do polls on other sites, to see what people might wanna play and if they would try FG2 for it.

Great idea.

jshauber
November 8th, 2013, 15:23
I have only been around a few months and FG-3 was my first VTT con so complete newbee perspective here.

I am wondering if reaching out to the various companies and asking about posting something on thier sites or maybe even having a banner put up for a month ahead of time has been considered or may have been done? I noticed that the vast majority of games were Pathfinder Society and don't remember seeing anything on Paizo's site about the Con. I know they tried to do a VTT day which didn't seem to go well on FG but maybe doing the reverse with them would bring in more people.

Same with Savage Worlds, Cthulu, Castles&Crusade, Star Wars, etc.

What about doing the same with DrivethruRPG and Adventure-a-Week since they sell modules for FG?

Reach out to some of the resource sites that are used alot by FG/VTTers like RPGmapshare and others.

I know there are some people that do podcasts/have blogs related to RPGing so maybe doing an inteview with them about the Con and how it works might be something to explore. They get some show content and you may reach some people that aren't aware of VTTs or are playing other VTTs and have never tried FG.

Just shooting out some ideas here and since I am not in anyway familiar with how banners work or how much stuff like that might cost or how difficult it would be to put together.

wbcreighton
November 8th, 2013, 19:51
I have only been around a few months and FG-3 was my first VTT con so complete newbie perspective here.

I am wondering if reaching out to the various companies and asking about posting something on their sites or maybe even having a banner put up for a month ahead of time has been considered or may have been done?

I think that any of the companies that sell their rulesets for FG should be approached and we should have something ready for them to put on their site as you suggest. It is quite possible they have no idea that we are running a con. I tried to post a thread on the community forums of the companies that support FG. Visitors have to visit the forum to see the thread of course.


I noticed that the vast majority of games were Pathfinder Society and don't remember seeing anything on Paizo's site about the Con. I know they tried to do a VTT day which didn't seem to go well on FG but maybe doing the reverse with them would bring in more people.

Same with Savage Worlds, Cthulu, Castles&Crusade, Star Wars, etc.


I think that paizo is an interesting case because they are working on a VTT. We did have posts on their forums to promote PFS games, and the regular PFS GMs had got together to organize when and which scenarios would be run during the con. Paizo supported the PFS as they would for any FTF con, and there were boons to be won. I have my doubts if they would promote the convention on their site, but we are free to promote it via the PFS and other threads in their forums.

Savage Worlds, Cthuhlu , C&S, Rolemaster, are games that are available as paid rulesets so the publisher has a business reason to advertise the con if they think it would result in more interest and sales of their games and rulesets. They should be approached, and they might offer up incentives to run a game at the con as well ( maybe a free pdf or something).

FFG is unlikely to formerly support the con because of copyright issues related to Star Wars IP being digitized. Lucas Arts didn't give FFG the license to do "paid for" digital material. They wouldn't directly benefit from a "Star Wars" ruleset for FG, and wouldn't be allowed to offer one up for sale.



What about doing the same with DrivethruRPG and Adventure-a-Week since they sell modules for FG?
I think it is a good idea. DTRPG provided support to Virtuacon 2 weeks previous to FG Con ( free pdfs ) they would probably do the same for us, especially now that we have a track record.



Reach out to some of the resource sites that are used alot by FG/VTTers like RPGmapshare and others.
Hadn't thought of those sites. Good idea.


I know there are some people that do podcasts/have blogs related to RPGing so maybe doing an interview with them about the Con and how it works might be something to explore. They get some show content and you may reach some people that aren't aware of VTTs or are playing other VTTs and have never tried FG.
I'm sure there are plenty of bloggers and podcasters that are looking for content. Add it to our list :)



Just shooting out some ideas here and since I am not in anyway familiar with how banners work or how much stuff like that might cost or how difficult it would be to put together.

We have some talented artists and programmers in this community who I'm sure have and will continue to step up to the plate.

Thanks for giving a newbie perspective, for those of us who have been involved for a while it is always good to get that different perspective.

I am going to put a list together of the Forums we need to use and everyone can add to it as we go.

seycyrus
November 8th, 2013, 22:53
You guys should definitely utilize Reddit.

wbcreighton
November 9th, 2013, 00:02
You guys should definitely utilize Reddit.
Never used it before, never been to the site until today. Are you willing to give us some tips on how we would use it ?

seycyrus
November 11th, 2013, 01:56
Certainly, I'll give what information I have.

I last brought this up when Michael Tumey (Gameprinter on this forum) launched his Mapping Tutorial Kickstarter. That thread can be found here,

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?19299-Kickstarter-guide-to-creating-RPG-maps-with-most-graphics-apps

On post #19, I gave a little rundown on what reddit is.

Reddit is driven by user submitted content. Since there is SO MUCH content posted (and re-posted) on an hourly basis, you have to make sure you submit your content to not only the appropriate subreddit, but also to a subreddit that has a decent amount of visibility. Taking gameprinter's kickstarter for example, he posted his advertisement on the worldbuilding subreddit, which would seem to be an appropriate place for it, BUT that subreddit *only* has 21K subscribers in it, with about 30 folks being online at any one time throughout the day. Compare that to the rpg subreddit which has 60K subscribers and, more importantly about 150 + people actively online at ALMOST ALL THE TIME throughout the day. The DnD subreddit has similar numbers.

Reddit has a user base that is worldwide and its use can be tracked (and is) by origin. The americans peak out, then go to sleep, then the australians come out in force, followed by the europeans etc.

As I mentioned before, a HUGE amount of content gets posted to reddit. Since the visibility of material is determined by upvotes and downvotes, a thread can quickly be buried to the casual user (you can always use the search function to find what you want).

To maximize exposure on reddit, one should sorta monitor which subreddits might be of interest (DnD,rpg,pathfinder, gurps), and watch the activity (subreddit stats are displayed on the right hand of the screen) of the subreddit during the course of 24 hours (or so) during the weekday and the weekends (different folks crawl out of the shadows on the weekends).

Now going back to gameprinter's KS. I saw that he posted once in r/worldbuilding, which is, as mentioned before, an appropriate place for it. But it is not hugely active. Over the course of the next few weeks of his KS, I posted links to his KS in the rpg,DnD,gaming etc. subreddits. I reposted them every now and then on a cyclical basis. I'm fairly certain that the spikes in his KS directly correlate to the advertisements on reddit. It can easily be checked.

That's how you should use it as an advertiser! As a user, maybe you should stay away :) Reddit is highly addictive (redditors scour the internet for information,stories,pictures that is of interest. Really interesting stuff gets upvoted to high visibility! Everything is only a mouse-click away.) It's like the muds of the 90s and WoW etc. People waste their lives there!

EDIT: Err, I just checked out r/gaming stats. There are 4 MILLION subscribers, with 13,000 people online!

Sunspoticus
November 28th, 2013, 20:37
Re: Getting the word out...

As soon as the dates get locked in I promise you I will promote it on our group's site, our facebook group & page, and wherever and whenever else I can.

I would suggest a FGCON Facebook PAGE (not a Group) so that interested parties can stay abreast of FGCON activies via "liking" page. If you create a FB Group, well, that would create some redundancy to the forums, which is why I suggested the PAGE. Furthermore, with a lil web magic, you can intergrate a FB page's content on to a website and vice-versa pretty easy. Twitter is too real-time me thinks to be an effective promotional vehicle this far out...

Maybe distribute (or otherwise make available) FGCon banners, signature banners, etc.

Like a conventional (nyuk, nyuk) con, maybe you should have committee meetings to discuss this kinda stuff. I for one, would be happy to contribute as I think FGCON is an utterly fantastic idea for the FG world.

Any assistance me or my group can provide, we'll be happy to.

damned
November 28th, 2013, 20:43
some good ideas there. I think we will probably lock in a date in the next month and then we can start to build up some awareness. weve been recruiting some more non-PFS GMs for the next event (nothing against the PFS GMs - you guys did a great job and we want to emulate some of your success). i will create 2 or 3 different banners once we have the date.

wbcreighton
November 28th, 2013, 20:49
we've been recruiting some more non-PFS GMs for the next event (nothing against the PFS GMs - you guys did a great job and we want to emulate some of your success). i will create 2 or 3 different banners once we have the date.

Just out of curiosity how is the recruiting happening ? Wasn't aware of it.

damned
November 28th, 2013, 20:55
ive cast a "summon all GM's" spell which i recently found in an notebook.
ive basically been looking up some active GMs in other rulesets and making contact via PMs.
i didnt need to cast the spell in your direction as you are already on the list.
feel free to ping me any names/emails/nicknames of anyone you would like me to summon :)

Sunspoticus
November 28th, 2013, 23:30
<<<----- non-PF GM... See? Magic is REAL!!!

sakmerlin37
December 2nd, 2013, 02:02
I'll help with what I can, as well. I returned your email & can help with some promotional material; both my wife and I have designed and implemented advertising across all media & she has been an artist for a major US advertising firm.

Grimtina
December 3rd, 2013, 15:32
From some questioning and polls it looks like FG2 is 3rd on the list of tabletop software used. So there really should be enough interest if promoted right.

Sunspoticus
December 3rd, 2013, 17:07
Ha. Me and my group now total 7 Full or Ultimate license holders now. I have solicited commitments to run games out of 4 of them, including myself. I'm working on the other 3.

Grimtina
December 4th, 2013, 13:23
For some reason I imagine you threatening them with the Vulcan nerve pinch...

damned
January 18th, 2014, 02:58
Hi GMs,

Ive sent out surveys to approx 75 GMs via email and PM. Im posting in a couple of threads to catch any other interested GMs.

If you are interested in running one or more sessions at Fantasy Grounds Virtual Con 4 please complete the following 3min survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VCFD6LN

If you know someone else who might like to GM and you arent sure if they got an invite please feel free to send the link to them:

Thank you everyone for your participation.

regards
Damian

damned
January 30th, 2014, 13:28
Ive made up a couple of quick new signatures. Will make up some others later.

Fantasy Themed
https://www.fg-con.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/fg-con-2014a.jpg (https://www.fg-con.com/)

Join us at FG Con 4 (https://www.fg-con.com/) - 100 hours of Virtual Table Top Gaming!


Space/Apocalyptic Themed
https://www.fg-con.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/fg-con-2014b.jpg (https://www.fg-con.com/)

Join us at FG Con 4 (https://www.fg-con.com/) - 4 Days of Virtual Table Top Gaming!

Pirate Themed
https://www.fg-con.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/fg-con-2014c.jpg (https://www.fg-con.com/)

Join us at FG Con 4 (https://www.fg-con.com/) - 100 hours of Virtual Table Top Gaming!

You can find them here because I cant seem to find out how to paste the sig codes without them displaying as signatures! (https://www.fg-con.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2014sigs.txt)