Newbie attack! Selling Things

Hey guys.

I've been in SL for a while and I would like to start selling fiction (specifically erotic fiction, as there seems to be a market). Is there an idiot's guide to doing something like this? I'll read up on permissions and so on, what I'm really looking for is things like how to go about presenting my work in SL as being for sale.

For instance, is it enough to splash out a few $L on a classified ad and ask customers to IM me if they want to buy a story in notecard form? Or would it be far better for me to have a shop somewhere so people can teleport there and buy them? Are there free/cheap places for new vendors to rent?

I don't mind investing a little bit of money in getting the L$ to set up, as long as there's a chance I can make it back through sales. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you were doing this, how would you start going about it?

I'm a real noob at all this so feel free to direct me towards a pre-existing idiot's guide that I've managed to miss.

Hi Ya Trav

Sounds like a good idea and im sure you would get people that want that type of thing .

I would NOT recomend that you supply your work using Notecards though as it can be quite easy for somone to copy past and redistribute it .

You might want to look at something like THiNC Book ...I have never used it myself but have seen it used for just this type of thing in the past .

Here is a SLURL that will take you to the store , The work involved may be just a little bit more than typing to a note card ... But im sure you will see right away that its a better way to sell your work .

http://slurl.com/secondlife/THINC/152/50/28

Any problems fell free to contact me in world

Lost


EDIT :

I just went and got the THiNC Book 2.0 and the print press just to try it out , So far looks like its easy to work out and easy to use .

Might be a good idea to get a little collection made up befor you think about investing in land or renting a place to hold your collection .

You will find plenty of places that have stores you can rent to place a vendor for this type of thing , No point pouring a load of cash into something that might not fly .

Make your collection .
Find a place that rents space to hold it .
Place a few ad's and maybe network with likeminded people ( you will find groups in search ) and build up slow untill you feel youwant to invest more .

I have no idea what erotic fiction even is ... But i would like to see some , Feel free to IM me so you can fill me in

Lost

trav-erotica?

i would suggest looking around at erotica stores i don't go to those places *ahem* but i'm sure they have quite a few cheap stalls where someone can place a low prim vendor.

Another thing you might like to do is get yourself a premium membership, this gets you a 512 plot on mainland with an initial cost of around 1500-2000L you'll not have to pay tier on that ever again but you will have to pay 9.95US a month to LL. with 117prims you could build a nice store there and if it doesn't work out you can always sell it off to get your initial $L's back

-Crunch

I was at a live music show once and directly after there was a woman reading erotic fiction from her book. (I guess she wrote it) neway.. Not at all my cup of tea but whatever..
Maybe this is something you would like to do as well.

Hey I never got my 512 plot the goverment said I would!

Well if you are speaking about on this account here that is probably due to the fact that the First Land program was gone by the time you signed up in July of 07. You can purchase a 512 plot and get that tier free for the 9.95/mo....or if you go larger then 512 the first 512 worth is tier free...but regardless, you still need to buy the land first.

trav, IM me inworld I have a project i'd like you to consider. I need just such a item in my line of "fetish" for my art gallery. read this post carefully to understand what i'm saying. If your good i'll buy a full story a month, maybe every week if its real good.

Ciera Spyker
The Preggo Goddess
POP Industries on Verona

Hi Travesty

I'd question as to whether there's a market given that there are sites like literotica.com which have thousands and thousands of stories for free but then if you can find the right approach I dare say there is an opportunity.

Please IM me in world (or I will you) because there *is* an opportunity that I think exists but it's hardly open for public debate and you have private messages here disabled.

Hi...
You need to get a shop, place a little add, and MOST important, have the shop in your picks.... Then people, who look at your profile can see, that you have the shop. But don't make the rookie mistake to think, that it's like this: 1: I rent a shop. 2: I put up my stuff. 3: I log in and collect a huge pile of money every week.
I've had more shops, than I can remember, and have a few now too, and I know for a fact, that you have to put an effort into it.... Be at your shop, spread the word and make sure to give a good service for your customers... Then they'll also tell it to their friends.
it was a very very good advice you got about making it in the book, if it's in a notecard, it'll be all over the place as a freebie in no time.

Then off course, I have to tell you, that I've just builded some small shops in Denmark Copenhagen, where you can get started for very few L$ IM me, if you're interested. We also have a sexarea in Denmark, where you might be able to get things going.

Please don't take this as suggesting this is wrong, it's not but it's not always a requirement to have a shop in order to sell things. The method of marketing and advertising is far more important.

I've sold stuff (not necessarily in SL) without ever placing an advert or having a shop for example. It's often who you know and how you approach it rather than just saying "i'll get a shop and people will come".

On my list, that would be the last thing on my agenda.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!

I have a couple of contacts now so I'll try maybe putting up a Classified ad and spreading the word a bit. I won't worry about a shop for the time being but I'll consider it a future expansion if things get that far.

Travesty.