How to develop and expand a business in SL?

You absolutely have to have a product that isn't already covered by one of the "Big Names", otherwise people are going to just go to the names they know. Find a niche for yourself, which might mean some false starts, but never invest more than "play money" in it for a while, until you see what "takes".

Word of mouth is a powerful tool in SL and shouldn't be underestimated. Getting it going is a long and tedious process.

In the meantime, we have a great need for good, dependable animators on some of our products. If you (or anyone else reading this) are interested in doing some paid work, please IM me and I will set you up with our developer. We could also give some free publicity for your work to get your name "out there" a bit better.

Good, reliable (i.e. ones that won't disappear on you) animators are very hard to find in SL, we have found. Maybe you could set yourself as a business doing paid work for others, rather than managing your own marketing? Just a thought.

Thanks for all the words of wisdom guys - keep it coming - and Des, where are you? You're a hero, everyone wants to hear from you!

Deira, be sure to read "The Comprehensive Guide to Optimizing Parcels for Search," which is a sticky thread at the top of this forum. There's a lot of good advice in it.

From someone who conducts a zillion searches every day....A word of encouragement to the new designers....when I do a search for an item, I often bypass the Big Guys...I've already been there a zillion times....and it seems once they have their store in place....they become complacent and do not add anything new and exciting.....so I go way down the list for the little guys....to see what they're up to....and am always pleased with what I see.....as they are full of new ideas, and have the creative energy flowing. Yesterday....I came up with some AMAZING new designers, by doing this.

Classified ads allow for more keywords....so I use Classified search instead of Places search. I am often looking for a very specific item, that most would not have as a keyword....so the list is actually very short in classified. Try coming up with some unique keywords, as opposed to the traditional, so that they stand out.

I've had huge success with Classified ads for a niche I work in. The keywords that set it off are Bachelor Pad, Playboy Mansion....and they come running. Yes, Sex Sells. Find out what your niche is....a unique one....and they will come running.....don't be discouraged if you are starting at the bottom of the search....some of us, actually notice! Just figure out what is working...and expand on that.

Specifically...on the key word issue....I was shopping for a Cross-Legged animation. Only one store shows up....done deal.....plus, I marked them as a favorite, and will go back for other items. For art....I'm more specific....Abstract Art pulls up only one page. I know your keywords are valuable....and you don't want to squander them....but you might try different ones every week.....more specific words....and experiment.

Being friendly and helpful and appreciative at your store....instead of watching from a distance, and waiting for the Cha Ching...makes a HUGE difference. When I run into a designer at their store....and they actually say "Hello" and "Thank You" while I'm purchasing.....they are my new best friend. If I'm giving them the Cha Ching, Cha Ching over and over.....and they are standing there....and don't utter a word.....(surely they have to hear the Cha Ching).....I'm done with that store....no matter how much I like their products.

If I'm online...and the Cha Chings come in from my own store....I make a point to send a Thank You IM, if I'm not in the store.....this often leads to very helpful discussions about new products, and what people want to see.....and new friendships.....so don't be shy about that. Yes...the Golden Rule definitely applies.

Some pet peeves from a Frequent Shoppers View.....I hate joining groups....the group announcements are annoying and time consuming. For people who make a LOT of purchases....avoid joining....so I don't think this is effective marketing toward them. I also hate being bombarded with notecards upon entry....and I hate campers! I also don't like to be transported to a location that is 10 miles from the store. When I land...I want to see Furniture immediately. I'm getting too old to walk too far.

Good Luck and most importantly, Have Fun!

I'm trying to do a bit myself... Just make some extra monies so I can be more spendy when I go shopping with friends. But, I don't think I'm doing a good job of making a worthwile selection. So far, I've only had a single sale of what I would call my "real" work. The land I'm on surely gets attention. I just feel as though I don't have enough to offer yet for people to consider visiting my place in particular. (=_=)

Gladly, it's a mainland 512... So I don't mind it much at all. (^_^)y

I think this is going to be quite a long post - sorry.

I'm one who does make a decent RL livelihood from SL, and I don't share the view of start off small and grow. Start off as big as you can manage - and grow. Small gives the impression of small - naturally - and, imo, people like to feel that they are dealing a largish organisation - it feels more secure somehow. Small can feel like here today and gone tomorrow - especially shops in malls.

The very first thing you need - the most important thing - is the full intention of being successful in making an RL livelihood, and the will to actually do it. Imo, most people who fail, do so because of the lack of that particular determination. It's not a failure to try an SL business and not succeed, but it is a failure to try to make an RL living from it and not succeed. It can be done. The only thing that stops it being done is the lack of that will and determination to succeed.

If you don't have land, you need some - I would say a 1024 or 2048 minimum, and preferably as big as you can manage without being silly. I started with more land than I could use, so I walled off the surplus, and kept moving the wall back as the number of my products increased. That way, the shop never looked emptyish. My first shop used only a 1024 section of the land that I had. I now have approaching 1000 products. I've moved from the original location but I still have more land than I can currently use, and some of it is walled off. I still expand the area in use as I need to.

The next thing you need is as big a selection of products as you can manage and, if you don't have many to start with, you need to keep making more. The more choices you offer people, the more sales you will make. Example: today I decided to make a range of sun shades to go with existing ranges of deckchairs and loungers. I was making them in the store, and even while I was making them, somebody bought one after buying a lounger, and a few minutes after that someone else bought a couple. They were buying the loungers and deckchairs. If the sunshades hadn't been there I wouldn't have got those extra sales.

When you have your store set up, you need to get it high in the search results. There is a sticky in this forum about doing exactly that. I've never used other places like SLX so I've no idea how effective they are, but anything that is even slightly effective is good. Search rankings are the most effective though.

It's only when you have a good store set up, and high search rankings, that you can tell how sales are likely to be. There are other posts in the thread that deal with what to do after that, so I won't try to add anything to it.

Don't assume that slow sales in the beginning is indicative of how it can be later on. If it doesn't work quickly, it's easy to think that SL business doesn't work. But it *does* work if your products are things that many people want, and animations are such products. Add, add and add to the product range. Make some accompanying items to go with them - cuddle sofas, for instance (I can tell you they are very popular). Offer sets in boxes for people to use with their own furniture. But add, add, and add - grow you products - treat it as your RL business, because that's exactly what it is. Those of us who make that sort of money from SL aren't playing at business in a virtual environment. It's an RL business, and should be treated as such from the very start.

If you have the will to do it, you *can* do it with animations and peripherals.

Well, I seem to be at #4 finally.

My tips in this order are:

1 - Have quality products. You will never make it without that.
2 - Have a store where people can go to see and try your stuff. This is especially important with animations.
3 - Learn to utilize the Search engine. Work at getting the most out of the Search engine with the least amount of cost.
4 - Utililize SLEXCHANGE and ONREZ. Make sure you have a clickable SLURL in your ads so people can get to your store easily. I sell a good bit on SLX, but I get even more sales from people coming to my store by utilizing those SLURLs.
5 - Be active in the forums. The more people get to know you, the more likely they are to buy from you.
6 - And the one you are already doing - listen to others. This thread already has some great advice in it. Learn from it, I know I have.