I didn't have a topic last week, maybe because I was actually sick as a dog. And had a lot I needed to do for some [wonderful] real world stuff. But I have a topic for this week that covers how entitlement affects us creators. I'm sure there are entitled creators too, but this week I'm going to concentrate on the other side, as it affects creators and creating.
But -I'm- special! or how to ruin the day of a creator over a couple of dollars.
This has never personally happened to me, but I can imagine how crushing it would be for me if it did, and also I do see what my fellow creatives say when it happens to them. I touched on this a little on my last two blog posts for this series, in the whole Gacha culture, and in the weird disconnect there is with real world equivalencies to the linden$. But it can get pretty harried for us when people get upset over being told 'no'.
Okay, let me step into the shoes of someone who really wants X. Let's define X as a pair of totally cool boots. I -really- want these boots, they have daggers on them, and people who know me know I adore sharp, pointy things [I have a lipstick dagger somewhere in a box]. I need these boots.
And hey, I have a blog, let's apply to be a blogger for the store, then I don't need to pay a couple bucks for the most awesome boots ever. So, I send in a query for being an official blogger so I can get the boots, and get told no. Maybe I was told no because they aren't looking for bloggers, or maybe its because I'm not really the best fashion blogger. But I was told no.
Now, there are two ways to deal with being told no. You can take it like an adult, or you can act like a petulant child and throw a tantrum. Now, honestly, I don't think an SL tantrum is the same as one a 3 year old would throw, but they strike me as being just as immature.
So, let's say I decide to throw a tantrum. First, I get all my friends to start pestering the creator of those boots, and trying to convince them that I'm special, that my blog is the most wonderful blog ever. Or I get the boots anyway, from MP, and decide to leave a horrific review. Real mature, right?
Let's go to something I -do- know, bad marketplace reviews. I've gotten two of those, I know how bad they make you feel. Some of them are just imformation, like 'I never got the item' and while the 1 star sucks, anyone reading that who knows about MP, knows that sometimes things don't get sent, you contact the merchant, they fix, no big deal.
But sometimes, the reviews are just hurtful; like when you used yourself as a model and people say it looks hideous. And sometimes, the reviews don't even make sense, either the review itself is positive with a low rating, or a high rating with a negative review. But the thing is, using reviews to basically throw a tantrum is just low.
So, back to those boots. If I get told 'I'm sorry but your just not what we want in a blogger', or 'I'm sorry, but we're not taking any bloggers', then to get mad and petulant about it is just plain silly. I'm sorry, but no isn't usually anything personal.
Or here's another one, and I guess that this one does cover creators with entitlement issues; I've applied to events, I think by now most creators with shops have. Four different events have told me no. In one case its because [I'm still working on this] I didn't have enough merchandise in my shop for one of the criteria [I thought I did, but I think skins with the same base count as recolours]. At least one time was because my main theme for the store didn't fit the event genre [I applied because I wanted to branch out a bit], and a third I think because I don't currently have stuff of the rating that the event covers [again, that is changing]. Not sure on the fourth, all I can figure is my application was over the limits for the event, so they had run out of room.
I -could- have gotten all petulant and pouty, but why? Especially now I'm on the other side of the event thing. You only have so much room, even if the event covers 12 sims or is a hunt. You can't always say yes to everyone. There are plenty of reasons not to accept every request.
Anyway, for those who get told no - think about why, take it in stride, and deal. And for those who have to tell someone no? Just remember the reason why you said no, and try not to let any tantrums ruin your day.
Showing posts with label creating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creating. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
From a Creator's PoV - Feb 4
There will be a blog post with pictures this week, I promise!
Last week I mentioned that I'd had this awesome idea for a blog post that I wanted to share, but then I'd forgotten it; until near the end of the one I did do. So, this week, the topic is just how much are you paying for items in Second Life, and is that really a fair price for the hard work of creators.
First off, yes, I know that things in Second Life are ephemeral, not as much as food maybe, but we also do not need to eat in SL, either. And SL might be less durable than WoW, but I'm sure people who bought extra costume packs in City of can tell you that even that can be an illusion. So, yes, its 'not' real, like a chair in Real Life, but its still something that exists, like an MP3, which is a virtual thing as well.
So, how much is a linden dollar actually worth? It varies, based on market fluctuations, but one l$ is worth [are you ready for it?] .4 cents. That's all. So that roughly, 1000 linden dollars is $4 USD. Or, to put it in terms of an outfit, you can get a decent wardrobe of stuff from top notch creators for about $10 USD or less. And you can effectively get plastic surgery [mesh body parts] for less than $15 dollars.
So, why do so many people complain about how much they spend in SL, then start rattling off these high linden dollar amounts? Is it because 20,000 lindens sounds like a huge sum? Well, okay, it might start going into large sum numbers, since it would be roughly $80 USD, but let's look at the creator's side of the equation before we start griping, shall we?
What goes into an item for SL
Okay, time for a breakdown on how creative work works [well, really any work - minimum wage in the US is somewhere around 10 an hour, unless you wait tables [that's still 2 something an hour + tips, last I heard]. Okay, so, on to the discussion at hand. Let's say I'm making some jewelry. I've made a fair bit of jewelry, even if its not all made it in world, so it might take me an hour or so to come up with my design, then another few hours to model, UV unwrap, texture, and make some lower definition meshes to cut down on the LI costs in SL. So, we're looking at about four or five hours of work so far. At minimum wage this would come to about 60 dollars, or 15000 l$ worth of work.
Then, of course, you need to upload your piece into Second Life, along with the textures. Let's say I'm going to offer four different metal textures and nine different gem textures. Okay, if I combined the entire mesh onto one texture, I can get the four metals onto the same textures as the gems, so nine textures and the mesh. This is roughly another 100 l$ in upload costs. Another hour or so in assembling either a hud, or the individual pieces in all combinations. Then packaging and taking images for the ads, which need to be uploaded as well, so if you -aren't- using a hud, that is another 360 l$ in upload fees for those, and another few hours in taking all those images.
We're up to nine or ten manhours of work for one necklace, and an additional potential of almost 500 l$ in additional costs. This means that one necklace costs roughly 25,500 l$ or over $100 USD to make. Some folks might work faster or slower, I figure I'm on the average side of work flow, especially on the assembling and image taking side of things.
Okay, I -know- that we can now sell as many copies of this necklace as people want to buy. Surely we'll make up that cost quickly, right? Well, in theory, yes. But let's say you are in a niche market. There are only so many goths, for example, or roleplayers, or faery types. Let's say I opted to do everything as a hud - that probably cuts out a good two hours of work, since I already have the basic hud setup done, and I'll only need to take a few pictures of the product to make my ads.
But there is only so much I can charge for my piece before people won't buy it, and I'm really niche, so that already cuts into how many folks will buy my stuff. So, I'm maybe charging 300 l$ for a piece that is effectively an uber fat pack. To make back the money spent making the item, I need to make sixty-nine sales. That's to break even.
That's break even assuming our time is worth the same as someone working at a fast food restaurant, though. Really, artists are skilled labour, we ought to be making twice that an hour. So, that means really we need to make one hundred and thirty seven sales to make what our time is conceivably worth.
I'm not putting this out there to discourage creators. Second Life is, among other things, a wonderful sandbox environment. It is a good place to learn how to model and work with others, and could lead to skills that are worth real money. If you enjoy it, then keep with it!
But before you complain next time about how much something costs, or how much you spend, think of how much it actually was, how much the creator is probably actually making, and then if you still think its too much, then complain away. But I somehow think most of you won't complain after all.
Because 5000 l$ really isn't much for cosmetic surgery after all.
Last week I mentioned that I'd had this awesome idea for a blog post that I wanted to share, but then I'd forgotten it; until near the end of the one I did do. So, this week, the topic is just how much are you paying for items in Second Life, and is that really a fair price for the hard work of creators.
First off, yes, I know that things in Second Life are ephemeral, not as much as food maybe, but we also do not need to eat in SL, either. And SL might be less durable than WoW, but I'm sure people who bought extra costume packs in City of can tell you that even that can be an illusion. So, yes, its 'not' real, like a chair in Real Life, but its still something that exists, like an MP3, which is a virtual thing as well.
So, how much is a linden dollar actually worth? It varies, based on market fluctuations, but one l$ is worth [are you ready for it?] .4 cents. That's all. So that roughly, 1000 linden dollars is $4 USD. Or, to put it in terms of an outfit, you can get a decent wardrobe of stuff from top notch creators for about $10 USD or less. And you can effectively get plastic surgery [mesh body parts] for less than $15 dollars.
So, why do so many people complain about how much they spend in SL, then start rattling off these high linden dollar amounts? Is it because 20,000 lindens sounds like a huge sum? Well, okay, it might start going into large sum numbers, since it would be roughly $80 USD, but let's look at the creator's side of the equation before we start griping, shall we?
What goes into an item for SL
Okay, time for a breakdown on how creative work works [well, really any work - minimum wage in the US is somewhere around 10 an hour, unless you wait tables [that's still 2 something an hour + tips, last I heard]. Okay, so, on to the discussion at hand. Let's say I'm making some jewelry. I've made a fair bit of jewelry, even if its not all made it in world, so it might take me an hour or so to come up with my design, then another few hours to model, UV unwrap, texture, and make some lower definition meshes to cut down on the LI costs in SL. So, we're looking at about four or five hours of work so far. At minimum wage this would come to about 60 dollars, or 15000 l$ worth of work.
Then, of course, you need to upload your piece into Second Life, along with the textures. Let's say I'm going to offer four different metal textures and nine different gem textures. Okay, if I combined the entire mesh onto one texture, I can get the four metals onto the same textures as the gems, so nine textures and the mesh. This is roughly another 100 l$ in upload costs. Another hour or so in assembling either a hud, or the individual pieces in all combinations. Then packaging and taking images for the ads, which need to be uploaded as well, so if you -aren't- using a hud, that is another 360 l$ in upload fees for those, and another few hours in taking all those images.
We're up to nine or ten manhours of work for one necklace, and an additional potential of almost 500 l$ in additional costs. This means that one necklace costs roughly 25,500 l$ or over $100 USD to make. Some folks might work faster or slower, I figure I'm on the average side of work flow, especially on the assembling and image taking side of things.
Okay, I -know- that we can now sell as many copies of this necklace as people want to buy. Surely we'll make up that cost quickly, right? Well, in theory, yes. But let's say you are in a niche market. There are only so many goths, for example, or roleplayers, or faery types. Let's say I opted to do everything as a hud - that probably cuts out a good two hours of work, since I already have the basic hud setup done, and I'll only need to take a few pictures of the product to make my ads.
But there is only so much I can charge for my piece before people won't buy it, and I'm really niche, so that already cuts into how many folks will buy my stuff. So, I'm maybe charging 300 l$ for a piece that is effectively an uber fat pack. To make back the money spent making the item, I need to make sixty-nine sales. That's to break even.
That's break even assuming our time is worth the same as someone working at a fast food restaurant, though. Really, artists are skilled labour, we ought to be making twice that an hour. So, that means really we need to make one hundred and thirty seven sales to make what our time is conceivably worth.
I'm not putting this out there to discourage creators. Second Life is, among other things, a wonderful sandbox environment. It is a good place to learn how to model and work with others, and could lead to skills that are worth real money. If you enjoy it, then keep with it!
But before you complain next time about how much something costs, or how much you spend, think of how much it actually was, how much the creator is probably actually making, and then if you still think its too much, then complain away. But I somehow think most of you won't complain after all.
Because 5000 l$ really isn't much for cosmetic surgery after all.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
From a Creator's PoV - Jan 29
Before we start on this week's topic, I wanted to clarify some thoughts on last week's topic, specifically Mod perms. There are certainly some very good exceptions, usually involving scripting that could very easily get broken unintentionally if the item is modded. I still think that allowing someone who is good at modding to receive a moddable version is a good thing, but then I've only made one vehicle in all my time in SL [that being where I heard the most exceptions to the modding bit], so its quite likely it just leads to too many headaches. So, consider this an addendum to last week. Some things need to remain no mod for sanity reasons.
Onward to this week's topic. I originally had this absolutely brilliant idea, but I forgot it, perhaps do to a kerfluffle on an a third party SL [and other things] forum about Gacha machines. So, since I'm thinking about them anyway, I figured I'd talk about how I feel about them as a creator and as a consumer.
First of all, the whole discussion that brought about this topic for this week is; Are Gacha machines gambling. Apparently, at least some people think it is, but... its not, unless buying a pack of CCG cards is gambling, or baseball cards, or using a gumball machine is gambling. Since, the last time I looked those were legal in states with gambling laws [outside of lotteries, gambling was illegal], I don't see how a similar mechanic that deals in pennies of Real World money would become gambling.
Now, you can have buying addictions; I've known people who had to buy just one more pack of Magic the Gathering cards, because the rare they wanted was in that next one. And there are folks who will put in thousands of lindens trying to get that rare from the gacha machines in world, too. But it doesn't make it gambling. Not gambling in the legal sense. You always get a prize unless something has gone wrong. Just like you make a 'gamble' that when you put your quarter into the machine to get a red gumball, you will get a gumball, it just might not be the colour you want.
So, random chance doesn't mean gambling, it means you have a chance of getting the specific thing you want, but you will always get a thing. Besides, as someone who's favorite colour is blue, I rarely want the rares anyway. I want a common, and I'm fine not getting the rare. Of course, you know, then we come to -set- gachas.
Set Gachas are probably a very profitable way to go. You put money in trying to get the whole set and of course, because of how the RNG works, you end up with 20 or so of one thing, because you don't just get what you haven't gotten before. I'd never do these myself, because I like to keep things as simple as possible, and this isn't my personal cup of tea. Still, if each item will work on its own? Its still ethical, and if there were some pieces I'd be happy with, I'd consider playing them, I just wouldn't be inclined to set up my own machines like this.
Now, my biggest problems with gachas personally is rezzables. I've gotten some freaking adorable items from gachas, early on; piggies in tea cups, lamps. But I won't rez them because SL eats things. So they sit in my inventory. I myself have always offered to trade out trans items for copy ones, once trading was done. I -know- that other creators do this too, which is a great thing to offer. After all, who wants to saddle someone with 20 black and white top hats that they could copy. Not good business practice, in my opinion anyway. But you know, they could trade those, then whoever ended up with them would have that option; trade it in for a copy version.
Something folks need to understand though. Some people might sell their gacha items individually [or in a collector's box], or give you one if they see you've spent a good $10 in real money on the machine and are inclined, HOWEVER, some gacha events have rules/agreements in place where you as a creator can't do that. And that's fine, there is a culture around those events to allow for a healthy resale market of these things. Its sort of like breedables, without the constant expense of food.
As a creator, the reason I do not mess with gachas much any more, its a rampaging pain in the arse. It really is. I'd say there is about twice as much work into setting up for a gacha, and that's with a supplied machine from the event. That's not including if you need to make some for yourself.
I won't go much beyond this, this week, since it starts going into a different topic.
And now, as I finish this, I remember my topic idea from the beginning of the week, and it will be something we do next week. But just a reminder to those who think spending 2k lindens on a gacha machine as being a scam? That is a whopping $8USD.
Onward to this week's topic. I originally had this absolutely brilliant idea, but I forgot it, perhaps do to a kerfluffle on an a third party SL [and other things] forum about Gacha machines. So, since I'm thinking about them anyway, I figured I'd talk about how I feel about them as a creator and as a consumer.
First of all, the whole discussion that brought about this topic for this week is; Are Gacha machines gambling. Apparently, at least some people think it is, but... its not, unless buying a pack of CCG cards is gambling, or baseball cards, or using a gumball machine is gambling. Since, the last time I looked those were legal in states with gambling laws [outside of lotteries, gambling was illegal], I don't see how a similar mechanic that deals in pennies of Real World money would become gambling.
Now, you can have buying addictions; I've known people who had to buy just one more pack of Magic the Gathering cards, because the rare they wanted was in that next one. And there are folks who will put in thousands of lindens trying to get that rare from the gacha machines in world, too. But it doesn't make it gambling. Not gambling in the legal sense. You always get a prize unless something has gone wrong. Just like you make a 'gamble' that when you put your quarter into the machine to get a red gumball, you will get a gumball, it just might not be the colour you want.
So, random chance doesn't mean gambling, it means you have a chance of getting the specific thing you want, but you will always get a thing. Besides, as someone who's favorite colour is blue, I rarely want the rares anyway. I want a common, and I'm fine not getting the rare. Of course, you know, then we come to -set- gachas.
Set Gachas are probably a very profitable way to go. You put money in trying to get the whole set and of course, because of how the RNG works, you end up with 20 or so of one thing, because you don't just get what you haven't gotten before. I'd never do these myself, because I like to keep things as simple as possible, and this isn't my personal cup of tea. Still, if each item will work on its own? Its still ethical, and if there were some pieces I'd be happy with, I'd consider playing them, I just wouldn't be inclined to set up my own machines like this.
Now, my biggest problems with gachas personally is rezzables. I've gotten some freaking adorable items from gachas, early on; piggies in tea cups, lamps. But I won't rez them because SL eats things. So they sit in my inventory. I myself have always offered to trade out trans items for copy ones, once trading was done. I -know- that other creators do this too, which is a great thing to offer. After all, who wants to saddle someone with 20 black and white top hats that they could copy. Not good business practice, in my opinion anyway. But you know, they could trade those, then whoever ended up with them would have that option; trade it in for a copy version.
Something folks need to understand though. Some people might sell their gacha items individually [or in a collector's box], or give you one if they see you've spent a good $10 in real money on the machine and are inclined, HOWEVER, some gacha events have rules/agreements in place where you as a creator can't do that. And that's fine, there is a culture around those events to allow for a healthy resale market of these things. Its sort of like breedables, without the constant expense of food.
As a creator, the reason I do not mess with gachas much any more, its a rampaging pain in the arse. It really is. I'd say there is about twice as much work into setting up for a gacha, and that's with a supplied machine from the event. That's not including if you need to make some for yourself.
I won't go much beyond this, this week, since it starts going into a different topic.
And now, as I finish this, I remember my topic idea from the beginning of the week, and it will be something we do next week. But just a reminder to those who think spending 2k lindens on a gacha machine as being a scam? That is a whopping $8USD.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
From a Creator's PoV - Jan 22
Hi guys, time for another edition of my new creator's pov series. This one addresses a creator's reactions to things other creators do. Again, I've seen others reacting in a similar faction, so I know its not just something that I think.
Labeling something as mod when its not actually mod, but simply has scripts.
[Or the Mod Debate]
No, this isn't mod, and when other creators do this, it makes others look bad. And why isn't it mod, anyway? Really, it doesn't stop people from copying your stuff, it really doesn't. Someone wants to, they will steal it. But saying something is mod and its not, but simply has scripts to make limited choices or resize? That is not mod. That is a nice feature, but it isn't mod.
Now, on the other hand, something might not show as mod, but its because of scripts inside that are no mod [really LL?] so if something says no mod in your inventory but is advertised as mod, edit and check the texture tab.
So, with rigged mesh, why would you need to mod it? You can't adjust the size or position. But, you can add materials, adjust tints, add additional scripts to do fun things like slowly shift colours over a day. So, if you have been making things no mod because it can't resize? Consider making it mod, please?
Customer Service or why didn't you read the <insert here>.
Look, for a good many of us creators, we work our arses off for basically the price of a cup of coffee or a tea. People will come and complain at us because we're 'overcharging' or that such and such doesn't work, because they didn't read the notecards, or the marketplace description before buying something for a specific avatar, then wonder why its not working. And I know we're people too, so its not like none of us will ever lose our patience. Trust me, I know. I worked in the service industry, long before SL existed. But...
But it is very important not to lose our tempers with customers, no matter how frustrated we are. Okay, someone is rude. Still, keep your cool, its called professionalism. Because one thing I have heard a lot in five years of selling my creations in SL, is that people are afraid to contact creators if they have a problem. Why? Because they got yelled at, or cussed out, or basically horrid CS. Thing is, most of us, I think, can give good customer service, want to help people actually get a good experience with their creations, and we can't if folks are afraid to contact us.
So if you are going to get mad at someone if there is a problem? Hire someone else to handle your CS, or just count to ten backwards, take a deep breath, and be courteous. They might not pay you much, but really, you decided to sell stuff.
Being Honest
Part of marketing is creating an illusion of quality. I get that, I really do. But it can be frustrating when people have these ads that promise so much, and yet deliver so little. And its hard sometimes to make sure the item being sold is obvious in those ads, while still giving context to it. But if you are selling something, it seems to me that ad images should have minimum editing, to give a reasonably honest view of the item. Ads shouldn't be of renders from a 3d program, because it just won't be accurate, for example.
Making sure customers are getting what they expect is good for all of us out there, on both sides of the creator/customer road. Especially if you don't include demos, make sure the ad is as good a representation as you can.
And this wraps up this week's PoV blog post. Until later, be safe and be well.
Labeling something as mod when its not actually mod, but simply has scripts.
[Or the Mod Debate]
No, this isn't mod, and when other creators do this, it makes others look bad. And why isn't it mod, anyway? Really, it doesn't stop people from copying your stuff, it really doesn't. Someone wants to, they will steal it. But saying something is mod and its not, but simply has scripts to make limited choices or resize? That is not mod. That is a nice feature, but it isn't mod.
Now, on the other hand, something might not show as mod, but its because of scripts inside that are no mod [really LL?] so if something says no mod in your inventory but is advertised as mod, edit and check the texture tab.
So, with rigged mesh, why would you need to mod it? You can't adjust the size or position. But, you can add materials, adjust tints, add additional scripts to do fun things like slowly shift colours over a day. So, if you have been making things no mod because it can't resize? Consider making it mod, please?
Customer Service or why didn't you read the <insert here>.
Look, for a good many of us creators, we work our arses off for basically the price of a cup of coffee or a tea. People will come and complain at us because we're 'overcharging' or that such and such doesn't work, because they didn't read the notecards, or the marketplace description before buying something for a specific avatar, then wonder why its not working. And I know we're people too, so its not like none of us will ever lose our patience. Trust me, I know. I worked in the service industry, long before SL existed. But...
But it is very important not to lose our tempers with customers, no matter how frustrated we are. Okay, someone is rude. Still, keep your cool, its called professionalism. Because one thing I have heard a lot in five years of selling my creations in SL, is that people are afraid to contact creators if they have a problem. Why? Because they got yelled at, or cussed out, or basically horrid CS. Thing is, most of us, I think, can give good customer service, want to help people actually get a good experience with their creations, and we can't if folks are afraid to contact us.
So if you are going to get mad at someone if there is a problem? Hire someone else to handle your CS, or just count to ten backwards, take a deep breath, and be courteous. They might not pay you much, but really, you decided to sell stuff.
Being Honest
Part of marketing is creating an illusion of quality. I get that, I really do. But it can be frustrating when people have these ads that promise so much, and yet deliver so little. And its hard sometimes to make sure the item being sold is obvious in those ads, while still giving context to it. But if you are selling something, it seems to me that ad images should have minimum editing, to give a reasonably honest view of the item. Ads shouldn't be of renders from a 3d program, because it just won't be accurate, for example.
Making sure customers are getting what they expect is good for all of us out there, on both sides of the creator/customer road. Especially if you don't include demos, make sure the ad is as good a representation as you can.
And this wraps up this week's PoV blog post. Until later, be safe and be well.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
From a Creator's PoV
I decided to start doing this once a week, since its something I can do even when in a hotel room, with my laptop, which just doesn't do pictures as well as my desktop. Its to be a collection of thoughts on creating in SL, personal experiences with the whole process, and observations of what other creators seem to also have dealings with. I'm going to try and keep these on theme, so it doesn't wander all over the place, and while sometimes there might be images, they're more likely to be of upload screens, or shots from blender or similar, rather than anything artistic. This first one will be one of trying to work out some things for my own main business, Atomic Faery, but also will include some basic thoughts on the Events vs Main Stores release debate. That's something that will probably be covered in more depth later, but we'll see. So, let's begin.
Last January, myself and one of my oldest and dearest friends decided to use our real world business stuff in SL. His health wasn't all that good, so we hadn't really gotten much done physically, and I was fairly sure that at least computer stuff wasn't beyond him yet. So, we make a shop alt [the things I learned with Faerycat Designs - store alts are your friend], we start doing events and such, and then he died. There was a lot of time last year where between grief and a suddenly very busy physical world schedule that I didn't do much, and didn't even really sit down and explore my options.
Atomic Faery was our thing together. We were going to do steampunk/sci-fi meets faery jewelry originally. In SL we were advised by a very smart lady, to pick a focus point, and since at the time Steampunk was still fairly common, and Faery stuff wasn't, to go with Faery. Besides, faery can be anywhen, and anywhere; in the long run that would have probably suited us best. But its been a year, and I think during this lull I need to puzzle through things.
There are reasons to keep the same name/concept/etc., like keeping the memory going, or because rebranding is a rampaging pain in the arse[ no, seriously - it stinks]. And I've a fair number of tools I want to work with, some of which are no longer available, that are licensed to the shop alt. if I rebrand, that would mean a new shop alt, and no longer using those items. And its a decent name with a nice logo that we chose together.
But there are reasons to start over too. It feels like I'm trying to fill in the shoes of two people, not just myself. And I don't like changing the things we worked on together [like the ad boards] or even to redo the ads he did, even when it needs to be done. And sometimes it feels like, since august, the store has pulled up an SEP field. Even as a sponsor, I don't get noticed at events, and that's with some good advertising from the organizers. I went from making moderate sales, to one really spectacular month to anywhere from a trickle to nothing at all.
I am not complaining, mind you. I am a creative, I make stuff, its what I do. Not making sales might mean that I'm having to spend a bit more of the fun budget, but its not like its a matter of having food on the table or for the cats, either. If it was, I'd shrink the club and put the shop just on MP. Right now I'm trying to analyze -why- I still sell prim and sculpt based items from Faerycat Designs, more than newer mesh and material enabled items.
Some of it seems to be the Ads themselves. Changes in my photography style might be making the original ad template colour choices harder to read for folks. Maybe its the store name, maybe I'm not handling it right? Anyway, whatever it is, I want to puzzle it out sooner rather than later. Enough of this. I'm sure I'm not the only creator who worries over things like this. And I mentioned a discussion on the Events vs Main Stores release debate.
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So, there are a LOT of events in SL these days. You can't swing an undead neko without hitting one. And really, that's how creators tend to make money anymore. It has gotten to the point where there are a vocal few who will loudly complain about events, about the lowered quality of stores in events, and how we need to release in our main stores. Except...
That doesn't work. The first round of A Tattered Page proved that. I don't mean for me, since all of fall was an abysmal failure for me [see above], but for everyone else. It was done main store and marketplace only, no central location. And no one made more than a few sales, at least as far as the event people can tell. And its a real shame. I'd love to do more with my main store. I think others would too. But its just not really feasible for most of us, because events are how money is made.
As for the claims that events are causing quality to go downhill? I suspect that's more burnout that would happen if they were doing store releases. Sometimes, we all need a break. Myself? I haven't noticed this at all because of events. I've seen and gotten some amazing things from them, and I don't think its events causing a decrease in quality at all.
Last January, myself and one of my oldest and dearest friends decided to use our real world business stuff in SL. His health wasn't all that good, so we hadn't really gotten much done physically, and I was fairly sure that at least computer stuff wasn't beyond him yet. So, we make a shop alt [the things I learned with Faerycat Designs - store alts are your friend], we start doing events and such, and then he died. There was a lot of time last year where between grief and a suddenly very busy physical world schedule that I didn't do much, and didn't even really sit down and explore my options.
Atomic Faery was our thing together. We were going to do steampunk/sci-fi meets faery jewelry originally. In SL we were advised by a very smart lady, to pick a focus point, and since at the time Steampunk was still fairly common, and Faery stuff wasn't, to go with Faery. Besides, faery can be anywhen, and anywhere; in the long run that would have probably suited us best. But its been a year, and I think during this lull I need to puzzle through things.
There are reasons to keep the same name/concept/etc., like keeping the memory going, or because rebranding is a rampaging pain in the arse[ no, seriously - it stinks]. And I've a fair number of tools I want to work with, some of which are no longer available, that are licensed to the shop alt. if I rebrand, that would mean a new shop alt, and no longer using those items. And its a decent name with a nice logo that we chose together.
But there are reasons to start over too. It feels like I'm trying to fill in the shoes of two people, not just myself. And I don't like changing the things we worked on together [like the ad boards] or even to redo the ads he did, even when it needs to be done. And sometimes it feels like, since august, the store has pulled up an SEP field. Even as a sponsor, I don't get noticed at events, and that's with some good advertising from the organizers. I went from making moderate sales, to one really spectacular month to anywhere from a trickle to nothing at all.
I am not complaining, mind you. I am a creative, I make stuff, its what I do. Not making sales might mean that I'm having to spend a bit more of the fun budget, but its not like its a matter of having food on the table or for the cats, either. If it was, I'd shrink the club and put the shop just on MP. Right now I'm trying to analyze -why- I still sell prim and sculpt based items from Faerycat Designs, more than newer mesh and material enabled items.
Some of it seems to be the Ads themselves. Changes in my photography style might be making the original ad template colour choices harder to read for folks. Maybe its the store name, maybe I'm not handling it right? Anyway, whatever it is, I want to puzzle it out sooner rather than later. Enough of this. I'm sure I'm not the only creator who worries over things like this. And I mentioned a discussion on the Events vs Main Stores release debate.
--------
So, there are a LOT of events in SL these days. You can't swing an undead neko without hitting one. And really, that's how creators tend to make money anymore. It has gotten to the point where there are a vocal few who will loudly complain about events, about the lowered quality of stores in events, and how we need to release in our main stores. Except...
That doesn't work. The first round of A Tattered Page proved that. I don't mean for me, since all of fall was an abysmal failure for me [see above], but for everyone else. It was done main store and marketplace only, no central location. And no one made more than a few sales, at least as far as the event people can tell. And its a real shame. I'd love to do more with my main store. I think others would too. But its just not really feasible for most of us, because events are how money is made.
As for the claims that events are causing quality to go downhill? I suspect that's more burnout that would happen if they were doing store releases. Sometimes, we all need a break. Myself? I haven't noticed this at all because of events. I've seen and gotten some amazing things from them, and I don't think its events causing a decrease in quality at all.
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