Curiosity is killing me

[funkilicous]

I have recently opened a club in SL and am trying to think of creative ways to advertise and get staff, but it seems that people in SL are very close minded ive asked for opinions,suggestion or ideas from everyone I see,to my dismay they are all the same, club any name does it this way,or club anywhere doesn't do it that way. People can play SL and fantasize about being fairy,imp,vampires and such but so closed minded in other areas. I understand clubs are money black holes I'm not wanting to be the #1 club on SL just something different then the norm been getting very discouraged lately. If your open minded and believe your an innovator please contact me. I don't mind putting out L$ for genuine ideas. But most clubs I go to are empty or gone the next week, I want to be the exception. Well this turned into a rant more then a question. But if you would like leave a response either if your a follower or a innovator all opinions matter to the person giving them.

 

                                                   Thanks

                                                    Funky

[Ceka Cianci]

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funkilicous wrote:

I have recently opened a club in SL and am trying to think of creative ways to advertise and get staff, but it seems that people in SL are very close minded ive asked for opinions,suggestion or ideas from everyone I see,to my dismay they are all the same, club any name does it this way,or club anywhere doesn't do it that way. People can play SL and fantasize about being fairy,imp,vampires and such but so closed minded in other areas. I understand clubs are money black holes I'm not wanting to be the #1 club on SL just something different then the norm been getting very discouraged lately. If your open minded and believe your an innovator please contact me. I don't mind putting out L$ for genuine ideas. But most clubs I go to are empty or gone the next week, I want to be the exception. Well this turned into a rant more then a question. But if you would like leave a response either if your a follower or a innovator all opinions matter to the person giving them.

 

                                                   Thanks

                                                    Funky

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Oo you seem to be wondering what everyone is doing but at the same time wondering why there are so many doing it this way and so many doing it that way..the reason for that is because they asked the same question you did..

the good clubs did it their way..not any way anyone else did..

that's why they are still around and others are just flashes in the pan.. they realized that a good club doesn't happen over night.. that using cheap tricks or tactics rather than  something that would be actually entertaining was not what worked if you wanted longevity..

a lot of clubs also die off because of lack of staff with experience..limiting themselves to a theme that won't hold up to the test of time..and pressure  to tip..things like that

advertising is pretty easy..and word of mouth spreads pretty fast if you have a place that is really kicking out some good music.. a nice build doesn't hurt either..

something about a prefab club just screams cheap lol

 

i guess it comes down to how much you are willing to dump into the hole and how much experience you have as a people person as to how well you can read what will happen...

people want to go out and have a good time or sit and make the place a conversational hangout..if you can get that going on in good numbers then you have a good place that could actually turn some profit at some point..in other ways..

clubs used to be the center piece to other things..

if you had cliques so into your club..chances are you could get a sim and expand to rental lands related to the club..

one club that is from back in 2006 is still doing it that way today..they started with a good quality club..then built off that to get another sim and before we knew it there were over 20 sims of rentals and industrial property..

lots of people from the club ended up moving into those rentals because it was the place to be..

that place hasn't changed much in it's traffic since back then..they will still crash the sim every now and then to see if they can do it from avatars showing up lol

the best advice is take it slow and be smart about the moves you make..and keep it about quality..too many are doing it the cheap fast and easy way and finding themselves talking about the club they used to own rather than building on more rentals hehehe *winks*

 

[Ann Otoole]

Pick a music niche. Specialize in it. Get "DJs" that know that niche. Get hosts that can entertain. Learn how to write ad copy for event ads. Let the fun begin.

 

[wiked Anton]

good luck on your new venture. I had a club too and they ARE black holes, do not expect any return. first of all live music draws the paopla, but you will find that your artist is the one that brings their followers. very few people will come to a club just because they like the club, they come for the music. Live music. a lot of owners seem to go for lots of light and fancy stuff, buy i based my "club" on and open air festival. It was all based on reality, i even did a light show for the stage performers. All the performers loved playing there because it was close to reality. However, Live performers are expensive, and the bigger the crowd the more expensive they usually are.you can advertise in the classifieds, and SL events calender (this is where every one looks up their favourite performer each week. expect to pay performers 5000 to 10000 L per performance (1 hour) and recieved maybe 1000L in donations if you have a donation jar. you have to make it fun for everybody. a sploder helps as well. you can also advertise in actual SL magazines (more expense) but there is no need, events calender and the artist will bring their own. as long as you can afford performers you will have a clulb (a club is not a club if no one is there) they come and go because they think they will make money, but that is far from the truth. i did it because i love music, only the downturn in RL work made it too expensive to continue unfortunately, but it was going for almost a year. i still have members in the group....lol.......IM me if you need anything, and hope your pockets are deep.

[JoJo Aurelia]

It doesn't matter what you do in SL, it all takes time and $$. 

[Amethyst Jetaime]

I've owned two clubs in SL at different times that were both quite successful.  I sold out my interest in both of them only because they were so demanding of my time.

Its important that you choose a genre that you personally like because you'll be putting a lot of time into a club if your going to make it a success and you need to have good knowledge of the genre.  Don't try to be all things to all people.  .  Don't allow the DJ's to just play what they want to play or even play requests that are outside of the genre..  The atmosphere of the club should match the kind of music your playing with a good build, different than other clubs of the genre.

Pay attention to lag. Having lots of flashy lights or special effects doesn't do you any good if they cause lag because people won't stay at a club if they are getting too much of it.

Once you pick a genre, continue to do some research by going to clubs that will be your competition,, not to copy them but to see how you can be different.  Identify who are potential patrons and ask them a lot of questions.  Don't ask open ended questions as you rarely get good answers.  Ask specifics, like "Do you like this or that?"

Make sure you have a well trained staff, particularly the hosts.  Make sure they don't slide by in their jobs just greeting people when they come in and playing gestures.  They should be hosts like a host in RL.  Making sure their guests have what they need, keeping the conversations flowing, and drawing shy or quiet people out.

Once your successful, don't sit back on your laurels.  You will need to constantly re-invent aspects  the club to keep it fresh and keep people interested, or they will just one day up and move on to the next 'big thing' out of boredom.

[Pussycat Catnap]

So I read your whole post and yet I have no idea what it is you want to do that is unique or even what has caused people to reject you.

Hard to offer any ideas if we don't know anything about you.

 

[Jo Yardley]

My club is small, dirty and hard to find.

We rarely have performers and lukewarm beer.

The barmaid (me) likes to criticise people and can get rude.

The music is out of date (everything is pre 1933).

There is a smelly cat that never catches mice.

The club is in a neighbourhood where poor people live, where you hear people fight and where you can get mugged now and then.

A golden formula, club has been doing well for about 3 years now.

[Princess Verwood]

There has already been a lot of great advice to take into consideration. To add to that here are some things in my opinion to be aware of/take into consideration:

- Do it how YOU like. Don't try to be all things at once.

- Events can be a good way to bring in people. But be prepared to shell out money for winner(s).  Consider building a rapport with different business owners who might be interested in sponsoring events. That is a good way to still allow people to win something from events, and a better way for you (or your staff) from not going broke by shelling out money for events, and a great way to get small business owners more business and known by letting them sponsor events.

- Just like in RL, finding the right employee can be trial & error. Talk to the people you want to hire. See what they are like and see how much experience they have had. Make sure you have something for them to follow, i.e.. rules for hosts, etc. so they can know what you expect from them.

- Talk to your friends about it. Tell them what your doing and ask them to join your group for your club (assuming you have one) and stop by sometime and bring some friends. Though be careful for sending mass TPs every single day. You might notice your list of friends getting shorter and shorter.

- Go out and meet people. I mean genuinely meet people. Let the conversation go where it may. If they are interested in you then they'll be asking about you and things you like to do. You can always tell them you own a club and that they should come by sometime. Don't let the fact that you're really wanting people to come to your club overtake the reason you should meet people. Meet others because you want to. You may come out with a few good friends from it!

- How is the build of your club? Is it entising? Interesting? What would make people want to stay apart form the music? Is it too cramped? Too laggy? The colors clash and not too friendly to look at? Bring a few friends to the club and ask them their opinion. This way you'll get different views about it or they all may say around the same thing, therefore letting you know what may needs to be changed.

-Check out the forums (search all forums) here a little more. See who else has asked questions about running a club. So you can get different insight.

[Tari Landar]

Your first mistake is asking for advice and then calling what you get(and the people who give it to you) close minded.

There is a reason why people tell you what does and does not work for others.

In the club scene if you attempt to go all off the wall right from the word go, without even having any butts in the seats(feet on the floor in this case), you're more likely to fail. You need people in your club to really get it advertised. Patrons will be your biggest asset, but not if you can't get them in there first. Offering something that is comfortable, inviting and FAMILIAR will at least draw them in. Offering something so off the wall different the day you open might temporarily draw them in, but then you'll have to work even harder to keep them(and also gain more). If you start with something people are naturally drawn to(again with that whole familiar thing), you can build upon it. If you start at the top of your idea ladder, you've got nowhere else to go. I suggest you start more in the middle. Use what works for others to your advantage, and leave what doesn't alone. Asking people what they think about something and then insulting them by saying it wasn't what you wanted to hear, or that they are somehow doing *you* a disservice, isn't likely to get you far.(sorry if that's blunt but it's quite true, never ask for advice if you don't really want to accept it). Find a few things you can do differently(but not so wildly different that people will wonder what you're smoking), but don't lose the familiar, comfortable feeling. You can always go up, get bigger, get better and improve upon it over time, as long as you don't aim to begin at the top of the ladder. That's been one of the biggest downfalls of every single "different" club I've ever seen in SL. They only draw a crowd for a short time because they've got nothing MORE to offer once they are on the floor. So why would people stay, they can get the same thing and more from places they love to visit elsewhere.

I can tell you some of the things that keep me from going to 99% of clubs in sl. Most club owners get offended when you tell them this though. Frankly I think some of them ought to take the advice of more of their patrons and they'd probably be even more successful(or heck even successful at all, for those that really aren't).

Gestures-Don't tell your staff to use them...EVER, they're annoying. It's bad enough when patrons use them. Staff using them is EXTREMELY non-personal, it's commercial, it's a turn off, plain and simple.(and the ones asking for tips, yeah that's going to guarantee you won't get a tip from me...ever). If your staff can't take the time to actually converse with their audience without using gestures, they may not be the best fit for the job. This is where training comes into play.I highly recommend you implement a no gesture policy. Very few people actually enjoy them in clubs.

Rules-If your venue has them ENFORCE them, and that goes double for ALL staff. If they can't follow the rules and lead by example, don't expect that all your patrons will either.

Events-If you intend to have them, make them worthwhile. I realize that it's sort of difficult to stray from the norms as far as club events are concerned(and some might tell you they are tired of the same old same old), you CAN actually pull off the same *type of events, and still make them different. Try it sometime. You can have a "best in..." type of contest and not be the same as every other club on the block. They key is how creative you get with not only the contest, but the prize. Sure everyone loves lindens, and that can be a huge draw(if it's worth it) but try offering something others don't, or can't. Yes that means *you* need to get creative. Better yet, put your staff to work and let them get their creative juices flowing. They may mean contacting merchants in sl to see if they'd like to assist. It's great exposure for merchants, especially lesser known ones, as well as yourself and your club. It really is a win-win. But you can't simply IM merchants with "hey we havin a contest, you wanna help?"...no that won't really get you far either, lol. You need to be a bit more professional than that. Even if your club is going to be more casual, informal, etc.. you still need to treat it like it's a business in some ways(this would be one of them).

Staff-Hire people that are actually interested in both the industry and your venue, not just the money you're willing to pay them. Expect a lot of them, but be prepared to train them too. Don't simply hire anyone in off the street because that's exactly the kind of work you will get. Offer a probation type period for the first month. See how well they do with the tasks they're given and THEN decide if they'll work out as a permanent employee. I'm not saying you can't, or shouldn't hire newbies. In fact the club scene is where a lot of newbies get their first real "work" experience in sl, so it's actually not a bad idea at all. But you NEED to train them. Don't just toss them out on the floor with a notecard of what to say when, or what to do when. You're setting them, your club and yourself up for failure from the word go. Your staff will be key in keeping the mojo going in your club so it stands to reason you'd need them to be on their game at all times. I recommend having backups too. Real life happens sometimes and there may be times when your regular staff can't be there. Having someone on call elswhere in the world will guarantee that your show will go on(or event, whatever).

The build-Going overboard is a bad idea. Keep it simple. Tons of lights, flashing, particles, dance balls everywhere, spread out over a huge area with stores all over within 50m or so of the club...are all HORRID ideas(not the only ones, but some of the biggest, imo). Your build doesn't have to be overly unique to be special. In fact while the build can draw some in, it won't be what KEEPS them there. So putting a little less effort(and therefore prims, scripts, textures, etc...which contribute to client side lag...I'll get to that in a minute) in the actual build, and more into the atmosphere created by the staff, will likely hold an audience far longer than some magnificent build no one can move in.

Lag-Well this is sl and lag is a reality, especially in areas with multiple avs. You can't really control what people wear to your venue. You can set rules, and enforce them, but you need to realize that by doing so, you're also limiting your audience. So if you DO set rules, I recommend not making them too strict. Server lag is something that will affect all of your club goers. There are some things you can to tohelp prevent, or at least slow it down a bit. Making sure your objects don't use too much of the sim's resources is going to be your biggest help in that area. This is where keeping things simple comes into play. Client side lag is something you can't control as easily. Because it varies and it will only affect the person "feeling" it. But playing it off as if it's something you have absolutely no control over, isn't going to go over well, either. So if you have patrons complaining about lag, or issues, see what you can possibly do to aid them(again, staff training in this area is a plus). Know what things can and do create both server side and client side lag, teach these things to your staff and make sure all of you(including club goers) know ways to help aid this. Clubs are some of the worst lag pits in sl, and it's mostly because people go into it with little to no knowledge of what they can and cannot do(or should and should not do) to both prevent and cure it. Most clubs have far too many scripted objects in them. Scripted objects that don't need to be running 24/7, should be shut off/taken into inventory, whenever possible. Remember every move you, your staff and your attendees make, DOES have an effect on both the sim as well as other avs in the area. Be mindful of your footprint. If you are not on a full sim by yourself, you need to be even more mindful of the others also sharing your sim. There's a club on one of the sims I am on and it's HORRID as far as lag is concerned. Absolutely terrible, and they don't really care. I'm not certain they even know what they're doing to be honest. It's the third one that's been built there in the last 4 months, lol. It won't last long

I think that's long enough. Take what you will and leave the rest. But as someone who absolutely loathes most clubs in sl, but still frequently checks them out "just to see", I am quite certain that I know what I do and do not like. I know what I can SEE works and does not work, what can be improved upon and what is near perfection. When asked for advice, I give it honestly, but perhaps sometimes blunt. I don't think you need someone to sugar coat it for you. Just like you don't need someone to tell you how much it will cost, it's quite apparent and that's the first thing everyone and their mother will tell you anyway.