Marketing

Its all WOK here.

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Duke
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Marketing

Post by Duke » Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:29 pm

I am about to purchase 10.000 targeted visitors to our site. They will be U.S citizens and they will be intrested in games in general.

Dont ask me how it works, it is probably a scam but if it isnt then I guess we will have some increased walk in traffic after I hit the button.

This raises one question. Do we REALLY need a clan system now when we have online-wok. My suggestions is that clans are optional but that you automatically enter the shores of Kaomaris as a mercenary and it is up to the clanheads to recruit you.

This way it is possible to enter an online game, try it out and then form an opinion instead of going through some wierd trouble of enlisting in a clan.

It is up to the oldtimers to make the newbies welcome and we will need to keep our heads up for them and approach them accordingly.

Could Saladin put a HUGE FREAKING FLAG that says "enter the online game here" or something so we surely dont miss anyone that stumbles in?

Does anyone object to the core of this post, namely to buy that traffic to the page?
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Lord Fredo
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Re: Marketing

Post by Lord Fredo » Tue Oct 04, 2005 8:12 pm

Duke wrote:My suggestions is that clans are optional but that you automatically enter the shores of Kaomaris as a mercenary and it is up to the clanheads to recruit you.

This way it is possible to enter an online game, try it out and then form an opinion instead of going through some wierd trouble of enlisting in a clan.

It is up to the oldtimers to make the newbies welcome and we will need to keep our heads up for them and approach them accordingly.
Probably a good idea.

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Post by Dameon » Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:30 pm

The whole point of clans was to build a sense of community and give newbies somebody to turn to if they needed help with their first few games. Believe it or not, our retention rate of new players (the few that show up, anyway) is much better now than it was back in the pre-clan days; it's simply a matter of not having enough new applicants to try and keep recentely.

WOK-ON is easier to play, yes, but if a new player doesn't want to go through the hassle of joining a clan, at the very least they should have somebody friendly to turn to with questions or whatnot. GMs would be the obvious choice, so my suggestion is if we are going to do away with requiring a clan, we should at least pump up the GMs role in being a newbie-helper, especially with WOK-ON when the GM has less work overall.

Basically, I think the GM role can be revised to emphasize they are there mainly as newbie-helpers rather than "Masters of the Game", at least for WOK-ON. Any newbie who wants to stay will likely look for a clan on their own anyway, but if they don't, the GM can always point them to the clans webpage to encourage them. My only concern is that the GM is "clanless" (so as not to influence the newbies in any one direction, it's in our best interests for them to spread out between clans after all!), which isn't as hard as it might sound as most GMs go by their real names as GMs instead of their player names, and newbies wouldn't necessarily be able to connect the two without help.

Anyway those are my thoughts. I'm not totally sure what changes we'd need to make to implement them, but I'm very open to suggestions here. 8)
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Post by Duke » Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:20 am

Cant be that many changes. I'm guessing that it is only a written rule somewhere that needs altering.

Ok then. Now all we need to do is make more then the three of us read this post. :roll:
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Post by Egbert » Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:38 pm

I agree with Duke for the most part. As Dameon suggests, maybe the GM can point players to the clan page during the game. Perhaps we can even have a rule that a player cannot play a 2nd game without joining a clan first.

We should also open a waitlist called "Novice Game," or something like that.
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Post by Dameon » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:10 pm

Yeah, allowing them to join their first game without joining a clan wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but then having the GM help them find one before their next game would still help us keep that retention rate up.
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Post by bean » Fri Oct 07, 2005 4:43 pm

i think the crucial step is what duke already is about to do - advertise, attract the attention of potential new players. there are no people coming because they are not aware that this game exists. just try to search in google without entering wok or kaomaris. i myself never knew about pbem games until a friend mentioned he had to fill in his orders for next turn - and introduced me to the pbem world. then i was looking for his game but came upon... wok.

other than that, if you have more people visiting/interested in the game, there will be a number which would anyway decide to leave and a fraction that will stay. my opinion is that the site, rules, community is quite well organized and maintained - i don't think it needs much of a change.

and letting new people stay for a game without a clan will be a serious advantage - i'd say even two games. so that you don't have the pressure to make a step before you're sure. also, losing early in my first game could make me lose my interest - then why should i join a clan to start another one?

what you might also want to consider is creating a newbie clan which every new player joins for his first 1 or 2 games. the clanhead could be an experienced woker who guides you through the game. he can be also appointed on a rotational basis from each of the existing clans.

newbie games, where only new players are allowed, could be as well a very nice feature, although you'd need enough newbies to run that. and why not giving vps at the end - it probably gives you a great feeling winnig a point from your first game.

anyway, great idea, duke!

bean

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Post by Duke » Sat Oct 08, 2005 7:19 pm

FYI, I want Al to check if there is an increase in visitors to the site. He doesnt reply to my mails so i havent started the "thing" yet. They provide with stats but they could also fake them so I want Al's stats to compare with.

Does anyone else have access to that? Mullog, Sal?
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Post by korexus » Sat Oct 08, 2005 7:40 pm

I can dig them out for you, Duke.
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Post by Duke » Sat Oct 08, 2005 9:03 pm

Alrighty then. Im too tired now and I will be building on my summer house (yey!) tomorrow so I'll purchase those visitors on monday.

Please tidy up in here. We will be having some people over. 10.000 of them. All fat Americans :wink: (oh, and hide this post before they come will you?)
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Post by Mullog » Sun Oct 09, 2005 9:20 pm

We have the stats on the adminstration page, so don't worry about that... I would rather worry about the mess all those fat americans will make!

Good luck!
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Post by Saladin » Sun Oct 09, 2005 9:35 pm

I agree fully with what's being said here. I think it would be good to have new players being able to join their first one/two game(s) as a mercenary. Actually since the rules currently state that a player can become a mercenary when he's started in three games. I think we should simply do away with demanind a player join a clan.

We should however point out all the great advantages of joining a clan.

1. Learning more about the games and how to play.
2. Having a clan mate in the game to help you.
3. Being able to play in a clan war.
etc. etc.

Now normally to have a decision become official we put it up for a vote for the WSC. However since the WSC has been 'defunct' for quite some time now i think we can go ahead with this unless a majority of people here want to disagree. :)
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Post by Saladin » Sun Oct 09, 2005 9:40 pm

Now that i'm back what i plan to do this week is the following:

1. Create a new front page, that will help new players find their way to our game.

2. Start a mail campaign to get 'old' players back.

3. Set up the WSC again.

So Duke maybe it would best if you wait with the advertising till after the new front page is up. I think it will probably be Tuesday or Wednesday.
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Post by Duke » Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:32 am

I think it takes a day or two before it starts up anyway so I'll go ahead just to put some pressure on you Sal. :wink:

Who are on the WSC these days? Could we toss them and elect a new functioning WSC based upon the people that now are active?
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Post by Saladin » Mon Oct 10, 2005 10:13 am

I think that would be best. A number of people that were representatives of different clans aren't around at the moment. So we need new people as we do need the WSC to make sure that the changes we make are supported by the vast majority of the community.
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Post by Duke » Mon Oct 10, 2005 12:03 pm

Datum: 10 Oct 2005 05:01:40 -0700
Till: "Daniel Melin" <wokduke@yahoo.com>
Ämne: Your ad campaign with SafePartner.com
Från: "SafePartner.com" <no-reply@safepartner.com>


Dear Daniel,

We have received your order.

Your web page will be reviewed for approval within 48 hours on the next
business day.
Response times may vary during U.S. holiday periods.

You will be contacted by email as soon as we process your information,
verify your payment, and review your web site.
If you paid by check, eCheck payment will remain "Uncleared" until the
funds have cleared from your account, which usually takes 5 business
days.

Thank you for your decision to advertise your site with us.
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Duke
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Post by Duke » Mon Oct 10, 2005 12:38 pm

About the WSC, I checked that page and I have to say that a lot of the members are still active and around. Perhaps the chairperson isnt holding it together? *glances at Dameon*

I will email Nick and call for a vote on the issue of new arrivors (is that a word?) starting off as mercs.

Can I call for a vote as a long standing member? I cant remember if I am an active member or just a bystander like the Vatican in the UN (theres a comparison for you 8) )
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Duke
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Post by Duke » Mon Oct 10, 2005 12:39 pm

Btw:

Quantity: 1
Product ID:
Product Description:
Cart 12676 ($ 19.98 USD)

Total: $ 19.98 USD ( US Dollars )

The order was billed to:
Daniel Melin
wokduke@yahoo.com
4631407911
Aminogatan 18
Goteborg
431 53
Sweden
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Saladin
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Post by Saladin » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:01 pm

LOL Duke...you wish you were as powerful as the Vatican in the UN! :D

I'm not sure who has access to the wsc mailing list, but could they please add me to the mailinglist as well?

By the way Duke, thanks for being willing to even spend some serious money on getting WOK back to it's old glory. It's really appreciated! :worship:
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Post by Duke » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:35 pm

My next project will be to open up a Paypal account (or re-activate the one I had if that is possible) and then beg for a big chip-in so I can turn even more traffic this way. Perhaps purchasing some ad-space somewhere as well.

Although I wont pay for all of it. 8)
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