So.
How to start.
Well, I need some insight, some help, some opinions.
When I conceived of The Silver Key I guessed it would be a moderate success. I’d sell x number of copies, get a little recognition, maybe turn a small profit, and voila, things are ducky. However, while I think the game itself turned out well, I’ve sold very few. Very very few. And I’ve lost a tremendous amount of money.
Now when most people say “it’s not about the money” it really is about the money. And I won’t lie, I’d rather turn a profit than incur a loss. But. I made it to do it and am incredibly gratified that I did. More gratified than if I thickened my bank account.
I have: put together a great band for gigs, played on tv, sent out a TON of promos, hires two marketing companies (both with great track records), etc. And. . . . well, not much.
My question, my plea: what can I do to get the word out? What have I missed?
thank you
I just found out about it and I’m not really sure where I did. But being a treasure hunt fan AND a musician, well, it’s right up my alley. I bought my copy just a few weeks ago from CDBaby.
It’s going to appeal to a niche audience, I think — but you have to keep hammering home to those niches. Are you working with Quest4Treasure.co.uk at all? They have a good forum for treasure hunters. Where did you send all those promos? Games magazine is a good source too, I would think.
I will spread the word on my site as soon as I get the chance; I’m about to take off on a road trip and I’m taking the album with me. I think what you’re doing is wonderful and I’ve also wanted to do a treasure hunt as a CD. So I’m jealous of your creative achievement here and I don’t want to see it be a financial failure.
Comment by Dan Amrich — March 7, 2010 @ 11:22 am
How ’bout some reviews? My review was the first one on Amazon.com
speaking of which:
I received a copy of THE SILVER KEY through Bostic Communications for review. I’ve finished reviewing it and posted the review here:
http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/2010/03/review-silver-key.html
And the same one at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R26PVTJ1UDJ3VY/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
good luck selling more CD’s!
Comment by Haleyknitz — March 13, 2010 @ 9:22 pm
When I told the webmaster of the most popular Masquerade / Kit Williams website about the hunt, he had no idea it even existed. The Silver Key’s site mentions Mr. Williams’ hunt as being an inspiration; it puzzled us why more fans of his weren’t informed about this hunt. Sites like Tweleve.org spread the word around, finding out about the hunt through word of mouth or search engines.
The trouble is, most armchair treasure hunters are spread out over the internet, visiting different sites. You could try to get those sites to post blurbs if they don’t already exist, and gods know I keep telling people about the hunt, too. The prize is awesome (in my opinion), but keep in mind some hunters are used to fantastic promises, like those made by Michael Stadther about million dollar rings in The Secrets of the Alchemist Dar.
Keep telling people and oragnizations about the hunt. I’ll keep plugging it in my small circle of hunters, too.
Maybe someone knows a news anchor, or there will be a slow news day?
Comment by Morpheus McGee — March 16, 2010 @ 2:28 pm
Cool. Thanks. I’m glad you dig it & I hope it prods you to do something artful & good.
I posted a bit about it on Quest4Treasure but seem unable to create a topic for it.
Similarly, it’s on tweleve.com but it’s a sub-category of “new hunts and rumors.
Comment by admin — March 16, 2010 @ 7:43 pm
Thanks for taking time to check it out and compose a review.
I appreciate that.
Comment by admin — March 16, 2010 @ 7:44 pm
I don’t know how to reassure people, but there really is a bank account with $1k in it (plus the number sold so far).
And I would love nothing more for that number to grow very, very large – then award it to someone. That’d be great.
But thanks, I’m glad you like it – please spread the word as much as you can. I think word of mouth is one of the best bets for a project like this one.
Cheers.
Comment by admin — March 16, 2010 @ 7:46 pm
Hi Steve. Nice job on the Silver Key. It is fun and intriguing, but with all hunts (and there is a lot of competition these days), you reach a point where you get stuck. After a while, rather than banging your head repeatedly on the wall, you start a new hunt to get some satisfaction out of solving some more clues..
My suggestion, as much as you have said you wanted to resist it, is to offer up a clue once in a while to keep interest fresh. Think of it as a marketing tool. The more interest you keep, the more the air time in the forums (and your games thread stays near the top), attracting more players and hence more sales. No serious hunter wants to be told the answers, but a little nudge now and then will go a long way..
Keep jammin’
Steve
Comment by Steve Wise — March 16, 2010 @ 9:01 pm
I found a mistake in the wording of the rules. It says “The first person find the Key….” It should be “The first person TO find the Key….” Was this an accident? Maybe it’s time to give a clue? I know you’re worried about the fairness of giving out clues, but if you build it they will come, if you get my drift. Also, you can’t really think that thousands of people are going to speculate on such a difficult hunt for only $1000. If I were you, I would have just expected to take a loss from the outset, and then if you made some money, be happy. There are plenty of hunts out there and they are for much more money than this one. Personally, I like this hunt because it has to do with language and music, two very nice aspects. But is it worth spending hours upon hours on without so much as a glimmer of an idea of how the various parts work together or what is meaningful in the songs and what isn’t? Easier treasure hunts even give clues when there is stagnation in the solving. A clue will renew interest in your hunt, and maybe drive some more sales. Just some thoughts. Now about that mistake….
Comment by pado — April 2, 2010 @ 2:02 am
Steve – Love the hunt, it has a unique twist. Kind of stuck now at this point though. Relative to your thoughts on how to stir the action, a hint thrown out from time to time would keep interest in your hunt fresh and bring it top of mind to those who are working it, which should also bring the Silver Key thread to the top of the thread list, hopefully attracting more people to the hunt.
Thanks
Comment by Steve Wise — April 2, 2010 @ 12:56 pm
Nice catch. That was an unintentional, honest mistake. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and state that there are no clues hidden in the Rules & Regulations. They are just what they appear to be.
And while I would very much like to sell more (thanks everyone, for the suggestions – keep ‘em coming), I am quite happy. Making this and seeing it through to completion and release was more rewarding than words will let me express. So I’m good.
Enough folks have mentioned hints that I’m putting some serious thought into it. I’ll post here & update the site if/when.
Comment by admin — April 2, 2010 @ 9:09 pm
I (a 41-year old fan of intelligent pop music and puzzles, who worked diligently on Masquerade as a lad and remained a fan of Kit Williams’ art ever since) bought the CD last fall and just now decided to mention it to friends on Facebook; I’d been holding off lest my friends solve it before I do, but I’ve now concluded that I’ll never solve it alone. Which prompts the question: why has the Silver Key’s Facebook page been allowed to languish with no activity and only 8 (at this moment) fans? For whatever demographic I may represent, I’ll attest that Facebook is a many-times-daily stop (not just for me, but for my aged 30-50 peer group) to see what my friends are up to and discovering, and ‘becoming a fan’ of a band’s (or visual artist, or arts group, or really any commodity that’s looking for a following) Facebook page is an instant way of publicly putting my stamp of approval on said commodity, while simultaneously advertising that fact (in the ‘news feed’) to any curious friends who may share my tastes. Savvy companies/marketers of every stripe are using Facebook to communicate directly to fans of their products, provide updates, stir up interest, post links to videos, etc. Even my favorite local home-made ice-cream chain gets dozens of replies every time they post something as inane as “What’s your favorite flavor?” QED, you don’t even have to be offering new content with every post; you’re just encouraging interaction from fans and maintaining an active ‘community’. When I look at how many run-of-the-mill products have active Facebook pages (let’s just pick something at random… Doritos, which I don’t even eat and literally never have occasion to so much as think about, currently has 818,143 Facebook fans!), I can’t help but think that it’s a valuable resource that isn’t being used to its fullest potential.
Comment by Mark — April 3, 2010 @ 2:43 pm
Good music. Cool concept. Well done.
I saw a reference to the hunt at quest4treasure and had to get a copy.
And Yes, that catchy little phrase stays in My head for days.
Where can I get a digital copy of the artwork/cover?
I hope this becomes a success for you, so you might do it again.
Best of luck to you and all the hunters out there…
…though I hope I get there first
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