How to sell something nobody wants?

(This is gonna be a little abstract, to avoid promoting stuff. The specifics are easy enough to discover, but I *really* don't want to abuse this forum.)

A week ago, I finished up a little invention and showed it at Lummerland Show & Tell (every Sunday, 2pm Pacific -- a fabulously fun event). It was very well received there, and everybody to whom I've demo'd it has been pretty excited about what it does. And I think it serves a real purpose, *BUT* (and this is the point of the post), nobody knows they need one, because nobody knows this particular thing is possible.

Now, a while back I'd sorta decided never to try to sell any new products--just give them away to friends. But somehow I feel like this thing needs to be sold, so I put it on OnRez and SLX, and rezzed it in my little shop, and changed around the parcel title to match as best I can guess the words that might be used by folks searching for anything relevant to this.

Except... there really *isn't* anything relevant to this. And really, nobody's gonna go searching for something they have no idea exists.

I've given away some free copies to folks for whom I figure it might be extra useful (educational, mostly)... and kinda hope that might eventually help get the word out, but... well, "too soon to tell" about that approach, really.

So, my question is, should I try advertising in SL-related publications? Is that ever effective? Or... any other ideas how to sell that cursed thing that everybody needs but nobody knows they want?

let me guess is it a Real Life?

Qie,

You can make a notecard dispenser and place one in my shop or a vendor. I'll be happy to handle it for you free of charge. My area is starting to get quite a bit of traffic.

"CX"

I think advertising would be ideal. It sounds like the kind of product for which I'd never search, but would check out after seeing an ad in the Metaverse Messenger. You could also consider adding it to SLX's rotation of advertised products at the top of the screen -- there have been times when I've clicked on those items, even though I had gone to SLX for something else.

Well, without knowing anything about the product (LOL!), isn't there something that comes to mind that is somewhat close? Something that people _do_ search for? I would sell it in a shop where a complimentary product was sold. Give the shop owner a freebie, so they can appreciate it's usefulness, then offer to share the profits...

If it's something that's visible to others when it's in place (in use or waiting to be used) then give some out to some highly social people and let them advertise it by wearing it out in public.

Include an ad for it in the signature area for every forum that you are a member of. where such an add would be appropriate. Join sluniverse, calledon forums, nci forums, shelter forums, etc.

Join HelloTxt and set HelloTxt to broadcast to facebook, twitter, jaiku, pownce, plaxo, tumblr, meeml, and beemood and so on. Then discuss your product in short statements.

Put on a titler in SL with a product ad. Wear it all the time it wouldn't just be grossly inappropriate.

Wear a t-shirt with an ad on the front and back.

Blog about your product in a normal blog and post ads using things like FlipperPA's secondblogger.com.

Contact the writer of as many blogs as you can and see if you can get them to post about your product. Lots of blog writers are probably at a loss for stuff to write about at times and would find this a good thing.

Post the occaisional ad picture on Snapzilla.

Create an alt or use an accomplice. Go to crowded places. Have the alt or accomplice ask you about your product. After you explain, they can try one out. Or they could say they tried your product and love it but they have some questions.

i sujest a streaming viedo of it in action playing in our store,something like this needs multimedia coverage

Try asking the people at AOL. They have been doing this for years!

Now, what swine would sell a product so defective? And obsolete, too.

CX, thanks for the offer--I'll take you up on that. (There's a one-prim box that dispenses a free copy/transfer "receiver" and a notecard, so I can just pass it to you to rez whenever/wherever.)

Miles, guess I'll try that. I'd actually started to prepare a Metaverse Messenger ad, but even a small one is *so* expensive. But I suppose: nothing ventured, nothing gained. And I'll look into SLX banner products, and probably try it with fingers crossed. Thanks for the suggestion!

Isabeau, good idea with the "related products" promotion idea; I'd actually considered that earlier but somehow convinced myself it wouldn't work. But I guess a little desperation tips the balance at this point.

And thanks, SuezanneC, I'll have to snoop around some of those places. I don't think I can bring myself to use my sig here for this--too many get criticized for that. But on SLU at least, I have no shame.

Mjolnir, thanks. Have to think about how to show it. It seems that people who actually experience it first-hand grok the idea right away, but seeing somebody else doing it... not sure it could be made compelling enough.

Although that gives me another idea: doing product demos. Now here's another serious question: Is it totally lame (or even a violation) to schedule an Event for the sole purpose of giving product demos and handing out a related freebie?

No one ever wanted a Veg-o-Matic or Pocket Fisherman befor Ron showed us how much fun they were.

If it does something you can demonstrate, make o video and put it on You Tube. Link the Video to your SLExchange and OnRez pages. Stream it to a TV in your store.

Oh yeah, make videos and post on YouTube and such if it something that has visual interest.

Not sure what keywords you've used in world, but I'd put it under scripted gadgets.

Very nice btw.

I just looked you up on SLX - that looks like an awesome thing. I certainly never knew it was possible to do that. I think that it could be used for tons of purposes, good and evil. I'm going to start thinking if there's any way I could use it.

I've been reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, in which he describes how things become popular, through certain types of people who really set trends in motion. You need to get your products to influential people who can spread the word AND who people listen to. Well-connected people who seem to know everyone and whose opinion is trusted - you know, FIC-y types. Some of them frequent the forums.

Definitely make video demos too - people will want to see how this works. I know I'd like to see exactly how it works.

Interesting- I searched you in OnREz to figure out what it was...could be a fun thing and I like how you handled the concerns it might provoke.

Put it in your sig here.

If what you are suggesting is an actual time-bound event, with product demos, that is a perfectly acceptable way to use events - it's certainly far more appropriate than at least 80% of the events posted. Just be sure to post it under Commercial, and not Educational - people get pissy about that.

BTW I picked up the free receiver - I think it's a great idea to make that available free, so people can understand a little more about how it works and play around with it before they buy the full version.

I would have preferred if you'd just posted links to the product listings. I only get annoyed by people doing that if they're obviously advertising their product but pretending not to.

At any rate, you might consider paying a few thousand L$ to SLX to get your item on the front page of Marketplace. That site gets a FANTASTIC number of views (I mean, truly mind-boggling... anyone who's ever bought banner ads there probably knows what I mean).

Regarding your product listings, I think a YouTube video or two will probably be very helpful, and I really think you should add some screen shots of the HUD and its effects. Even though I've read through your product listings, and I see your proposed "use cases" I still don't understand how the thing works, or how it would look were I using it. I won't pay for something I don't understand.

Also, it seems there are different "flavors" and different components (the sender and the freebie receiver). Your product listing text is virtually identical across all three products, and never really explains things like: Does the sender come with a copy/trans receiver? Can multiple people receive from the same sender? Is there any security to prevent unwanted guests from receiving from the sender?

EDIT: I only saw your OnRez listings... I don't know if your slx ones are different.

OK- and to add to the "How does it work?" may I suggest you offer a sample hosted by you yourself to give the receiver an idea of what they wd receive normally.

that's a pretty neat idea, Qie.

altho, right away i worry it would be used for adult-child stuff....

Qie, I went to onrez to see what the heck everyone is talking about. I like the idea mainly for what you mentioned about how flexis might look (though I'm a little confused about how that might work ). I'm not oppossed to spending a few lindens for something I think I might use or like even if I don't know exactly what it is......heavens knows I've spent more than your asking price for things that turned out to be "garbage" when I bought it. . But, I have a couple questions:

1. What's the difference between the higher priced one and the lower priced one? And the free one.......is it necessary to have the free one in conjunction with either of the non-free ones?

2. If I have one and want to use it does the other avi also have to have the product too? And does it have to be the same version?

As you might have guessed.............I'm really tempted to get it!!! So please answer my questions..............thanks.

That's really awesome, especially if you could receive their images from sims away? (like you can't get into the Fashion Show, but your friend can, so they send you the images...)

As for the Metaverse Messenger, I'll bet the owners would consider running your ad free for a freebie of the product

I think this is something that couples might enjoy while out exploring together. Maybe talk to the folks that sell the Rendevous HUD and see about putting up an ad in their store. Ditto for other places that sell the animations for couples to walk or fly together.

For the educational aspect, are their places in SL where educators gather that you could put up a sign board?

In other words, think about who might use it in what situation and then try to find places that fit that situation and advertise in some way at those locations.

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I am definitely going to try this out - giving my alt the viewer first to get a feel for it.

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To Peggy - from reading the descriptions, it appears that the person "seeing someone else's view" uses the viewer and that is the free one. The item 'sending' the view costs money and the double pack is just giving a discount for buying two of them -- if you and your partner each want to 'send' views to the other, you'll each need the CamCaster.

Wow. Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'm trying to update the product descriptions to start addressing some of the very good questions that came up already. It's really kind of overwhelming. I've always been utterly mystified about how to sell stuff--it's very generous of folks to share their knowledge. Much appreciated!

I'm a little uneasy about answering product questions here, lest this become a promotion. But I'll say that one thing I'm trying to clarify in the write-ups is that the receiver is free, free to copy and distribute, and offered on demand from the sending product. There are two packagings of the sending product: a single, and a two-pack of the same item with a modest quantity discount, just because exploring partners may want to be able to conveniently swap who's doing the sending.

Which brings up another kinda delicate subject: There may be some, uh, "intimate applications" but I'm not sure I really want to promote those. I know: "sex sells" but... well, I'd have to think about that. And, to that:That's disconcerting. I've puzzled over how this could arise. Maybe I don't want to know and am just repressing, but it's not obvious to me quite what the risk is here. (It certainly does make the cam-permeability of age-restricted parcels even more evident. The range is necessarily restricted to either about 100m or one full sim--to answer another question--so maybe that limits the risk?)

Anyway, thanks again for the great suggestions, and sorry it's taking me so long to actually follow-up on them. (I did take Ray's suggestion, though, at least for now--as is evident immediately below.)

Just to point something out, the smallest ads we offer at the M2 are 2 columns wide by 1" high, and that would just be L$120 a week -- that's less than US$0.50. Of course, that's also a very small ad.

However, a very popular ad size is the 4" x 3 column ones (the size of the West Trade Imports and Neo-Realms Fishing ads that have been running forever). That size is L$720 a week, which may seem a lot more, but still is less than US$3.

Do feel free to contact me, though -- I'll be glad to work out something for you. This needs to be out there.

Incidentally, looking at OnRez, I think you have priced this thing MUCH too low.

P2

Trick people into thinking they need it. Raymond will explain how.

If all else fails, tell them that they'll get more sex if they own one.