I joined SL to advertize my novel -- but will it work to pay ppl L$ for advertizing?

Hi,
I am a newbie to SL. I wrote a book that is available exclusively on-line, so I figured SL is a great place to market it.

I want to pay people L$ to put up advertisements on their land (in populated areas or at least non-empty areas ONLY). I want to make a billboard that opens an Amazon window to my book and a small book that does likewise.

The question is -- how many people would want to get a free monthly income of L$ for this? Is 3,000 L$ a month for a billboard, or 1,500 a month for a book enough or am I thinking too low? Of course, I'm ready to pay much more to advertise on land that is regularly USED like this fishing spot I read about, and I'd gladly pay 10,000 L$ a month for someone to put a “book” on a table (visible area!) in a bar/lounge that is actually used on a regular basis, much more than a billboard in an empty-looking area.

But I don't want to buy fancy avatar looks and spend time learning scripting to make this advertising junk if this isn't going to work.

My question is -- do you guys think this will work? Would you want this stuff on YOUR land for L$ as stated above? If not, how much L$ would be enough for you?

I'm just a programmer in Real Life so i can't afforded to advertise in real life. I thought maybe SL would be cheaper. But I thought I'd ask in this forum before wasting time making these things just in case.
I want to talk to people on-line, and look at what people make, but I REALLY do not like customizing my avatar or buying clothes for him.... i'd rather be writing my next un-read book.

Honestly you could probably get people to "host" your ad for much lower than that.

Although it really depends, most populated places have malls and you can rent a space to advertise your work that way.

If you want to be in the center of all the hussle and bussle then yah, you may have to bribe the owner with a high price as from what i`ve seen most "vendor areas" are outside of the place of focus and they don`t want ads inside.

You may be able to find a club which has billboards inside, but then when you click those it gives out notecards and/or land marks, not a webpage. You could put your URL inside a notecard that gets despensed when someone clicks on it.

Theres also fashion blogs where you can pay to put up a small banner, maybe you could see if they`d let you advertise a book.

Thats about all i can think of.

I would be careful about paying people tp advertise for you here if you don't know them and their reputation. Hopefully you will not be talked into a spinning ad farm ad board, the result of which will be great anger among much of the community.

Also, you are missing the chance to do a little free advertising yourself. I checked your profile in world and it is blank. For 10L$ you can upload a picture and put it in your profile, you can link to your amazon page in there, list writing under your intrests. I could know all about your book by now, if that was filled out.

Rather than paying someone to sit out a book ar a sign (a type of advertising I am not sure would work too well here) you might consider hosting an event, or working with a writing or library group in world to hold a "reading" and discussion. Or, you could lead a small worshop for intrested writers here and include info about your work in your presentation.

What is your book about? Perhaps search for a "group" in-game that deals with the same subject matter and ask them if you can put an ad up in their gathering place.... probably cheap to.

These are all good ideas, i'm very new to SL, only logged on a couple of times to check it out. Thanks Nimue for your message -- i'm such a newbie i don't know how to respond it it except in this forum.

I realize people will cheet me, which is why i'm trying to make it a monthly fee (or maybe i'll make it bi-monthly) so i can check up on them every month, if they take the 2$ real life and run, that's a risk i'm willing to take, lol, L$ sounds like so much more!

Lol -- If you think my avatar profile is bad you should see my avatar. All i did was mess up the default Cybergoth look very badly. I need to go shopping for skins and clothing but something in me rebells at paying $ for pixels -- that AREN'T selling my book. Will do one of these days.

what's a "spinning ad farm ad board"? sounds frightening. I don't want to spam people. just advertize....

You could also talk to various "event area" landowners or literary clubs here about doing a free exerpt reading from your book, and enter the event in the EVENTS tab. Or hire a voice actor (another SL user with a particularly pleasant reading voice) if it is not something you'd be comfortable doing yourself.

In fact, hmm, I could almost see someone making a fulltime career doing book readings and other types of voicework now that Voice is enabled...

The ad farms refered to, have instead of a flat ad, a spinning cube with flashy colors. Very unpopular because they are so distracting, especially for people who own the nearby land parcels.

edit: oops Nimue already suggested the exact same thing, duh, I skipped to the end too fast ... sorry Nimue!

By the way, you can still look nice without paying a cent, but you might have to spend a lot of time digging through a lot of freebie bins before finding something acceptable. All my characters are based off free skins/hair/clothes and I am happy with them ( http://brashendeavors.net/sl/myavatars.jpg ) They may not win any SL fashion/beauty contests, but they at least no longer have that "I'm a noob" look to them...

you can host yoru first event in my little park. no charge. just give me some notice and i'll put some tables and chairs out.

I don't know what the "fishing spot" is that you're talking about, but I shudder to think about someone putting a billboard up to ruin it.

And if a neighbor of mine put up a billboard to take advantage of my guests just because my resort is busy, I'd be really pissed off. (By the way, "billboards" in SL are generally big ugly horrible spinning ad cubes that everybody hates -- they are rarely attractive or welcome).

My personal opinion ranges from indifference to disgust when I see real world advertising in Second Life. It feels like someone with no interest in the community whatsoever just wants to use it for all it's worth, and give nothing back. You yourself say you joined SL to advertize your novel. It sounds like you want to come take advantage of all the silly 3D gaming geeks, but heaven forbid you hang out with any of us.

Now, the book sitting on the table idea might be kinda cute. If you're going to do it, go that route!

None of the above is intended to offend. I just want to offer you honest thoughts from a Second-Lifer.

-Avion

huh, i was thinking of making a blinking add with (text -- pic -- text -- pic) but now that you mention spinning cubes are so hated i think i'll stay with flat text. Fine with me! no scripting!

See, you saved the world from some spinning cubes! Aren't you glad?

Well, maybe i should make something on it *glint* once in a while. I hope my ad text is outrageous enough to get the attention of my target audience by itself.

I won't want to put it next to any neighbors, lol, that would be just crass.

I'm not sure what the value would be of making my own land or something like that. Would take too much time and not get enough people -- i think i'd rather put some ads where there are people already than try and get people to come to some land i don't want to buy or build on. I'm having enough of a motivation issue customizing my avatar!

I don't know if i can make a reading work, but i'll definitly search out some groups and stuff and put some info in my avatar -- and get a decent avatar.

i think actaully having an event is the way to go. meet and greet. maybe sell one or two after 4-5 hours of fake smiling.

You could probably also find a younger SL artist/builder who for about $5USD or less, would make a nice looking free copyable 2-4 page "book exerpt" for you (perhaps using the real books cover art, and perhaps that offers a notecard with purchase info everytime it's "read" then find some places that would allow you to put out a free Take A Copy display.

Even non-readers might collect something like that simply to decorate their homes with, and then all of THEIR guests get a chance to see your book too ^_^

Wait, before I host a book party on my land, i need to know what the book is about?

3 ring -- i'll take you up on that! i'll have to log in first.

Avion Raymaker -- i kow how you feel. if i was a teenager, i'd feel the same way. you know what, i hate salesmen and i hate myself for having to be one. But you know what else, i spent 5 years of my life writing this bloody book. I gave up TV to have time to write. I gave up computer games -- which was NOT easy since i'm an addict. I gave up real-life socializing to write this book. It's not that long but it has 100 characters in it and it was a very hard book to write for a first-time book. I would come home from work, exhausted from sitting in front of a pc, and i would sit down in front of the PC and work on my book because if i can't do THAT, i'm nothing. I'd rather not be alive than not write.
Can you understand that?

And if i write and no one reads it -- that's like talking to a wall for five years. if I can get 200 people to read it, i'd be happy.

Now, Avion, tell me, now that i wrote a book that simply stands NO chance of being published in Dell Rey or a place like that (they only take 1 out of 1000 books, and mine has SEVERAL things about it that screem not-for-publication), tell me, what am i supposed to do with it now that it is available on-line only? How can i let people know about it? You think Operah will recomend MY book? My book makes fun of Positive Thinking. Not for Operah. You think I can have 4 sales-men sending out grab-bags of stuff to magazines full-time to induce them to review it, the way Middlesex was turned into a bestseller? No. I have only myself and i can't get any magazine to ever review my book. You tell me how i can get people to read it without ADVERTIZING and I will bloody thank you!

You notice that i'm not saying the name of my book here? that's because i don't want to abuse this forum as span.

My friend has bookshop she doesn't charge but ask for donations if you make sales.
The traffic not high. There is also groups for writers, even way to publish in world.
Message me in world and I connect you to my writer friends.

this is what it's about? a comedy?

Welcome to SL Null!

How large does the billboard have to be?
I have a few spots that might interest you.

I have a 'mini mall' in the corner of Almo Bay that could host a billboard directed outward,
a gallery with a lounge that a book could be placed in and a public boat launch in Corsica that seems to have pretty good traffic ... im me if you'd like a look around.

A dynamic scripted billboard could be nice.

Otherwise if you'd just like some places to snaz up your avi free or otherwise, just hollar.

3-ring, that is a very wize question. i'm trying to tell you what it is but it says i can't send private messages. I'll look you up on-line, i promise.

Writers of SL frequently hosts literary/book-related events. There is a Second Life Library group that has events as well - and probably scores of others I haven't run into. (I'm not in-world, so not sure of the exact name of the groups.)

Another idea might be to sponsor a class with some sort of tie-in to your book. (It need not be directly related - I've seen building classes for just about everything.) Or you could sponsor an event, as has been suggested, or a group that works with newbies in-world...

There really are a lot of possibilities, and not all of them involve a lot of money - but I think most of them involve an investment of time, to get to know the world you've ended up in.

Good luck!

P.S. Updating your profile, also suggested above, is another WONDERFUL idea!

Brash and FD, thank you.

Now if i figure out how to save this thread I can get to work on-line.

3-Ring -- i guess i'll tell you i was going for cynical satire sci-fi but i think i failed on the "satire" part. It is blasphemous so not appropriate to people with churches on their land, but first few chapters (what i'd do for a reading) can pass for (bad, really bad) douglas adams.

I like the idea of a take-home table where my ad can look *decorative* too. I can probably then make some sort of rocket-looking thing that works like an add if you click on it the right (wrong) way but works as decor as well. nothing like good old-fasioned sci-fi memorabilia!

i'm not really a sci-fi location, but i would be happy to put out a few fun devices to match the event. whatever you want. my land is jsut sitting there to be used and enjoyed.

now, i need to figure out where to click the button that lets me accept PM's from other forum members..... hmmmmmmmmmmmm

hmmmmm it's already clicked to accept private messages. try again?

i'll pop online and look you up.

There is a way to go back and see all the post you created via forum.
I am bit tired and absent minded today but I think if you click your name next to your post it will give you option to see your post history.
Yeah my friends I got 2 who have done books, one did reading on my friends land called Faeria Village. My friends and I have about 2 sims next to each other and are building a community there. I have been working on comic book series on the adventures and misadventures of my virtual friends and myself in the grid called Third Life

i would like to visit that some time, FD.

altimar, i'll be sure to check you out when i have a billboard. might take a while. blasted graphical c++ stuff....

I think i'll make tomorrow my Fix My Avatar Or Bust day.

billboard doesn't need to be big, and from what i gather, animations piss people off big-time. I just need some provacative words to appear where people can see them, is all.

Note, i still didn't MAKE any ads, and i'm glad i didn't, becausse it looks like scripting (which i don't want to do) would have an adverse effect after all that. But making some decorative objects which also function as ads (sci-fi memorabilia!!!) sounds like a better use of my time.

i think i need a week to get my Sh*t together at least before i start working in SL i'm that much of a newbie.

do i need to own/rent land to host events?

Nic Writer, thank you too. We're part of the same "family"