Quoth the Raven 13

[ScS of the Fraternity]

You know, I couldn't help but notice the terribly cold reception this book has recieved.

Did people not like it?
Or was it just so ho-hum that no one liked it or disliked it?

Be honest - we need to know this kind of thing.

[Lord Cyclohexane]

I can't speak for the others, but I haven't had the time to read it yet so I haven't even downloaded it...

[Pamela]

I too have been very busy for the past month, but I do have every intention to read it.

[cure]

I think everything slows down on and about the site in summer. I have yet to get through it because of so many other commitments.

[Le Noir Faineant]

I think the main problem of FoS books in general is the lack of advertising.

Few people know about the FoS, fewer read and download the books.

IMO, you should maybe limit your releases to a minimum, but make sure that those books are really well-known and that they are played. - I mean, has the Souragne Gaz really widened the interest in that domain. Who is running or preparing a Souragne campaign right now except me myself?

Plus, QtR 13 came out only two months after the new Gaz. - Not that people wouldn't like the stuff, I think, but most don't come to notice it.
The disadvantage of releasing material so quickly is also that people, even if they have the time to read it, don't come to use it.

Plus, the FoS lately has been bringing extensive new material on a nearly daily base, like Kessler's adventures, the Souragne enhancement etc. - Neither did anyone of this books receive too much public attention, nor were its contents discussed.

I think the google discussion some weeks ago has showed that even web.skilled people who like Ravenloft don't necessarily end up at the FoS. This is something that can only be changed with massive advertising via email and add posts on other boards, I think.

Sorry for being so direct, but this is something that bothered me for a while...

[Le Noir Faineant]

Now, once that I have opened the doors, I cannot close them any more...



If Daisy had anything to say, then he would...

- Limit the releases

- Republish and readvertise older publications, like *Best of QtR*, or *Best of USS*

- Become a spammy pest and advertise the FoS and its products on monthly base on every more or less important message board

- Make the FoS known away from the internet... *Dreams of merchandising... FoS pencils, lunchboxes, football shoes with the snake*

- Open 2e boards and focus more on the *oldschool* community





Hehehe...Wouldn't that be a cool avatar for me?

[Lord_Pruitt]

You know, I couldn't help but notice the terribly cold reception this book has recieved.

Did people not like it?
Or was it just so ho-hum that no one liked it or disliked it?

Be honest - we need to know this kind of thing.

It's summer time, and people's spare time is at a minimum. So recreational reading is also at a very bare minimum. In some ways, I agree with Rafael - ie, limitations of the releases. Kinda like the Books of S___ - once a year for QtR. But at the same time, I think that other, smaller releases are needed to keep the creativity going. Maybe like quarterly releases of specific material, domains mini-gazeteers, NPC booklets and so on.

[ScS of the Fraternity]

Those are a lot of interesting ideas. They certainly open up a lot of avenues of thought.

One thing for sure though, we are NOT going to start spamming people. I personally can't stand it when people spam me - even those RPGNow emails kind of get on my nerves.

As for other message boards, we've seen very little success with that. We saw a few hits on the Wizard's board, but other sites (or at least the one's I posted to) deletd the messages nearly as soon as they got them.

[Le Noir Faineant]

Maybe it would also be an option to allow other websites, like, say ENWorld to host your publications. - BTW, do you know abotu this board here? - It's exclusively for promo.

Clicky

Plus, what I personally miss are messages via the FoS mailing list for every new release. Maybe not for every new upload, but for the most important ones, maybe.



But seriously, with the new novels and the adventure out, RL will relive a short renaissance this winter, I am sure. What comes after that is the question...

[Lord Cyclohexane]

I think the main problem of FoS books in general is the lack of advertising.

Few people know about the FoS, fewer read and download the books.

[...]

I think the google discussion some weeks ago has showed that even web.skilled people who like Ravenloft don't necessarily end up at the FoS. This is something that can only be changed with massive advertising via email and add posts on other boards, I think.

I agree, though make sure the advertising is *not* spam (as ScS's concern above).

My suggestions:

--- #1 Most Important - Change the <title> text for the main FoS page, the one with the intro fiction on moving to La Maison Soulombre. This is what pops up in Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, etc, so when people do a search for "Ravenloft" they just see "Ravenloft: Fraternity of Shadows." In itself, this says nothing; unless they've already heard of the FoS, they're not going to click. Why not change the <title> to be something like "Fraternity of Shadows: Ravenloft forums, editorials, netbooks and more!"

If you're not worried about potential concerns with WotC on producing Gazetteers, I'd also add *that* to the <title> field. How about "Fraternity of Shadows: Ravenloft forums, netbooks, and community-made Gazetteers" or something like that.

Better still, if you don't mind updating it every once in a while: Add a date of when the newest stuff came out. This will tell people that, unlike most of the search results, that this community is still active and vibrant. Add something like "Latest release 6/13/2006" or whenever QtR 13 came out.

Anyway, main point: Search Engines display the <title> field, which is all you've got to make the sale. Right now, we're not using it; let's change that.

--- Revisit the Google bomb idea. It was able to take the FoS from the bottom of Page 5 on a Google search of "Ravenloft" to the top of Page 4 (was temporarily at bottom of Page 3 but has since dropped).

Don't spam at random websites, however. If you're posting at another website anyway, just add a link like Fraternity of Shadows: Ravenloft forums, netbooks, and more at the bottom of your post or as part of your signature.

If you're going out to random websites anyway: please be respectful. If you're visiting a political blog, don't simply spam them with a link to FoS. Instead, reply regarding that particular issue and include a link at the end. If visiting a sports website, speak about that topic and end with a link to FoS. Don't be a nuisance when getting the word out!

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Better still, if you don't mind updating it every once in a while: Add a date of when the newest stuff came out. This will tell people that, unlike most of the search results, that this community is still active and vibrant. Add something like "Latest release 6/13/2006" or whenever QtR 13 came out.

Even better, if you're willing: Add info on the next project coming along.

Example: "Fraternity of Shadows: Ravenloft forums, netbooks, and community Gazetters. Current work: Zherisia Gazetteer due Oct 2006"

Let people know we're still active. After all, they've gone through three full pages of dead links, old advertisements, and long-forgotten communities. Make sure they don't miss us.

[Kel-nage]

To be honest, I think more people will find the FoS from the link on the SotK site than through Google. That's how I found it. Most people (in various questionnaires/studies) don't go past the first page of search results anyhow.

[Jester of the FoS]

Google is nice for the newcomers though. But Google bombs and spamming "Ravenloft Ravenloft Ravenloft!!!" on the frontpage won't work as well with Google as previous search engines.

[Lord Cyclohexane]

To be honest, I think more people will find the FoS from the link on the SotK site than through Google. That's how I found it. Most people (in various questionnaires/studies) don't go past the first page of search results anyhow.

Well, it's still a good idea for when the FoS is on the first page of results, which I'm sure will eventually occur. After all, it's a full page and a half higher than it was in May, so that's something.

But yeah, I didn't find FoS through Google either... I actually heard about it via word-of-mouth. But I agree with you, if it hadn't been word-of-mouth, I would have found FoS through the Kargatane's link (since, at the time, I didn't even know the Kargatane was gone...)

[Kel-nage]

Google is nice for the newcomers though. But Google bombs and spamming "Ravenloft Ravenloft Ravenloft!!!" on the frontpage won't work as well with Google as previous search engines.

Oh yeah, we need to get the FoS on the first page of the Google search. I'm just saying that I doubt (m)any people found the FoS through Google in it's current state.