Linden Dollar days?

[amarock Amat]

 

 

Is anyone familer with this concept, 50L teusdays 25L fridays, those sorts of things?

 

How effective do you view them in getting a brand known, and efforts in making L , if your just starting out?

 

((oh and if good, what groups do you recommend?))

[Chelsea Malibu]

They work extremely well however, the problem is getting into them.  The large ones are very exclusive (or arrogant) and are hard to get into where the small ones, don't get any traffic as they are commonly disorganized.

I have been looking for one for home and garden as well as a home and garden expo which I have not had much luck with.  However, what I have seen that works the best is when a group of merchants gets together and creates their own.

[amarock Amat]

Hmm maybe your soultion would be to create your own then, and to invite folks, that have similer items, but not direct competiotions?

 

Myself, am looking for things that fall into three brackets...friendly to jewelry, friendly to someone just starting up , and maybe roleplay or mature roleplay based deals.

[Mylar]

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Chelsea Malibu wrote:

They work extremely well however, the problem is getting into them.  The large ones are very exclusive (or arrogant) and are hard to get into where the small ones, don't get any traffic as they are commonly disorganized.

I have been looking for one for home and garden as well as a home and garden expo which I have not had much luck with.  However, what I have seen that works the best is when a group of merchants gets together and creates their own.

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thppt if they turn their noses up at you, I'm not even going to try.

[Tari Landar]

I used to participate, heavily, as a buyer in a great many of them. That was until I started seeing their policies(or lack of) for allowing other merchants in. Some like to come across as "exclusive" but really aren't.

I've been looking around at(and have participated in), quite a few and to be honest I'm not too keen on the themed ones. Those ones seem overly arrogant-and the few that aren't, rarely allow new merchants. The ones that don't cater to a specific need(like for instance there are several geared toward Gorean stuff only) are few and far between. I really like those ones, that have all sorts of neat stuff and don't limit it to a certain number of merchants and that's it. I thoroughly enjoy the ones that promote builder supplies too-those can be very helpful. But over the years those too have gone down the tubes. There's only one group I am in now that's not a themed group, and still does "ok", but it's also starting to follow that pattern of some of the merchants using the exact same stuff from a few months(if even) ago, just changing the packaging(or worse, not doing so). But there are still some really great gems here and there in that group. Which is why i never left it, lol.

I'd love to see more of the groups form, with decent management, room for improvement and ran by folks who don't turn their noses up at anyone and everyone else(and likewise with participants, especially merchants, who don't do this either). I was thinking about starting one for new creators, new merchants, people who are less known to the grid. Because I think these groups can be VERY valuable in getting "the little guy's" name out there. Very valuable service for any new creator if you ask me. Even if their stuff is so awesome it sells itself. But I'm not so sure I'm prepared for that sort of deal right this second. It's still on the backburner at the moment, but I revisit the idea quite often.

[Chelsea Malibu]

I've had the same idea and wished I had time.  My career barely allows me time for my personal life much less as much time as I'd like in SL. 

I did do some hunts for a bit which turned out rather worthless and was just a way to get my traffic counts up.  I once made a floor light that took your avatar and made it part of the lamp holding up a globe.  I thought it was a cute idea and even had some kudos on a 3rd party site from a blogger on how cool it was. 

Shortly into this, I got a nasty Im from someone who got it and was furious as they thought this was some sort of evil joke.  She followed the notecard, put on the Marble skin and clicked the base.  She said she was stuck and couldn't get off the base and that I was evil for doing this to her.  When I told her she needed to click the blue tab on the bottom of her screen that said "Stand" she never replied.  I hope now at least she knows how to stand off an object.

I've stayed away from Hunts ever since but when you have dollar days, at least you attract people who can or will buy.

[Zanara Zenovka]

I've been doing Sixty Linden Weekends for over a year (on and off) and they're very good, but I don't think they're taking any new merchants atm.

Has definitely been good for business - got a lot of new people familiar with my work, led to repeat sales and good word of mouth. It's great exposure and if your stuff is good you can gain good customers. I've also found a lot of good shops from it as a customer too.

I've also done LOW (Letter of the Week) which is also well-run.

I'd recommend against being too touchy about perceived "arrogance". From my experience you want to be in a group which is very well organised, picky about who it takes, demands a certain standard of product and product graphics, and makes sure that all merchants do actually have original content and distribute the sales lists as expected, and warns/removes non-compliant stores. Keeping standards up is essential to the whole process but will lead to claims of elitism and persecution from those who just don't get it.

[amarock Amat]

lol Well, I am just starting business wise, So have to see if am allowed in or not. 

[Tari Landar]

Not all of the arrogance is perceived, in fact many of those group owners are quite open about their arrogance. There is a huge difference between wanting quality(let us not forget diversity as well, even amongst a themed group) and simply being a jerk to others because you can. The latter is what happens more often than not. They also rarely ever follow up, or even look into non-compliance. The whole "it's my group and I'll do what I want" mentality is, well, running just as rampant in sl as it does rl I've been part of a great many of them for a long time now. I've seen many come and go as well. They're are very few out there that, to be honest, I would ever want to be part of as a creator as I feel they eventually do more harm than good. Far too many of them simply don't give off that feel many are looking for in that type of group. That's why more and more crop up every year.

There are plenty of groups that cater to established merchants and their audiences. Though not nearly as much "new" business will come from them over time, it does taper off. Eventually you'll find a lot of the business you get is actually from your current customers, and their alts or the few friends they can bring in every now and then. What that particular area of interest lacks most, is groups that cater to the lesser known creators, brands and even hole in the wall type places. If you own such a group, denying any and all access to merchants you "don't know" is *not a wise move. It's far more than claims of elitism. If you've been part of other groups beyond 60L weekends(I'm also part of that group, just not as a merchant, and I have been for quite some time as well), you'd understand exactly what's being said about the existing groups.

[KittyCat Ninetails]

I have been doing the 60L sales for quite a while.  I have found that the group organizers are very helpful and consistant.  One thing they do that i adore is post all of the items to a web site for easy surfing.  They do charge every week to put stuff in the sale, but I think thats reasonable considering the work involved.

As for sales, i have tracked them for quite a while.  I find my sales from them make it worth doing, as in I sell more than the 120L it costs to have items in the sale, and that it appears to me to be good advertising.  I have had people tell me that they found me from the 60L list so I will continue to do them.

[Tari Landar]

I like the 60L weekends group(else I wouldn't have been in it this long, lol). But I have noticed that some of the merchants have been using the same stuff, more than once(and I don't mean like in a row, or due to their absence or anything like that). Sometimes the packaging is changed, but the item(s) offered were already offered not very long ago. But that's primarily on the full perm stuff, which is what I focus on mainly in that group these days. It's likely easier to come up with new outfits, or new products than it is new builder supplies sometimes. I'd love to see even *more merchants be able to join the group to be honest. That group could continue to grow and grow and it would be the perfect group to start bringing in some of the lesser known merchants with quality products. Because it's well established, people enjoy it, and it's organized in a way you'd expect. I know both myself and the others I've brought into that group don't buy nearly as much as we used to though, because sometimes it grows stagnate. The diversity dies down after a while, it has it's peak times too though. It's not a bad group, by far, it's one of the best ones still left. But it's not a good representation of what most of those groups are like. Most are subpar compared to it.

Groups catered to builders would be a great idea....for anyone wanting to create one, lol. Something like that would definitely peak interest and grow quickly. It's not a "niche" area, but it's something that people all across the grid(newbies and oldbies alike) can greatly benefit from. I know some of the creators in the full perm area of 60L weekends make a pretty decent penny. The day that NC comes out-and even into Saturday, some of those places fill up quickly with folks trying to get those deals. I run into a lot of other creators that way, too(and then I profile perv them, find out if they have a store, check it out, and usually save the LM...I'm weird that way)

[Chelsea Malibu]

I would love to be involved with this but I have not had any luck in finding who to talk to.  Can someone recommend me a contact?

[amarock Amat]

*tips his hat* well am happy to show off my prodcut and show off to folks.

[amarock Amat]

*reports* 

 

Did a 55L group, put down 100L to get my item listed, the day came around. Made 2k in sales from an item that normaly does not sale.Am very happy and very impressed with the group that came about, and more then happy to join other up and coming groups.

[Zanara Zenovka]

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amarock Amat wrote:

*reports* 

 

Did a 55L group, put down 100L to get my item listed, the day came around. Made 2k in sales from an item that normaly does not sale.Am very happy and very impressed with the group that came about, and more then happy to join other up and coming groups.

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Good to hear

One tip, if the group didn't mention it already, is to make sure your own subscription device is placed near your sales sign/items, so ppl who found your shop through the group can join your mail list to be notified of future deals/new products.