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Need your help and advice

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tridagam
tridagam's picture
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Joined: 03/23/2009

Help...

4 or 5 days ago some of you mentioned that I should submit my game to Board Game Geek...nobody wanted to do it at the shop...so it left me to try.

How does one get anything done on that site...

after 4 days I found this page http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geekitem.php

unable to fill out required fields because their data bases don't have the info.
I'll be darned if I am able to find out how to submit to the data base.

Their help is slow coming and unsubstantial. Admittedly so are my computer skills.
I am blown away by this...can anyone give me a few pointers, or are there business that specialize in communicating with these people.

Object : submit game to BGG
so that we can be reviewed
sell
advertise there.

To be honest, my heart is broken from this experience, I have over 100K in the start up of this business and first product and nowhere to go. I'm from a non internet generation, and when I see that places like BBG have so much control of the markets, and no pride in the way their system works as to relating to people. Wow... makes me feel like setting fire to my inventory and giving up on a 40 year dream. Going to bed maybe tomorrow will be a better day.

irdesigns510
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Joined: 06/24/2009
Dont despair!

and certainly dont set fire to anything!!

basically, to post anything, you need to be a registered user (doesnt cost anything), and you probably did this part... but if you didnt that should be located toward the top left of the home page. do this first.

STEPS TO ADD YOURSELF AS A PUBLISHER, THEN ADD YOUR GAME:
across the top reading left to right on the home page:
pic of guy with glasses and chessboard -> Log in -> Blue box with various drop down items

Step 1:
go to the "Misc" drop down, and go "create: Add Publisher" so you can create your company's presence on the database.
or go:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/item/create/boardgamepublisher
once you do this part go back to the home page.

Step 2:
again, go to "Misc." only this time go "create: add game".
or go:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/item/create/boardgame
once you get here, you can fill out the information for your game, and under the required field of "publisher" you type the company name you gave from step 1

**
once you have submitted your game after step 2, to ensure that your game isnt ripping off anything else, or promoting anything mischievous, your game will be looked at by BGG Administrators. Here is a video tutorial
(note: layout changes to the site have taken place, so the video may look different)
http://www.screencast.com/users/skelebone/folders/Jing/media/a63ef33e-c7...
**

Step 3:
After you have cleared BGG's submission gate, its time to add pictures to things!
Your company and game each has their own page, its time to upload images to each.
the "image" area of each page (for your company and your game) will have an upload link to it. click that and upload your company logo to your publisher page, and the box cover, as well as gameplay images to your games page.
There should be tags in the upload menu that let you choose company logo or game box cover.

Thats just about it for putting yourself up there!

SELLING
BGG's marketplace is a good place, HOWEVER you really want to make sure that your company has its own web page that is set up to take orders. Selling at conventions is good because its also a form of marketing.
Since the internet is not your biggest strongpoint, i would keep this part minimal, keeping to your own site as a foundation. Go bootstrap style and get out to the people!

ADVERTISING:
Honestly this is up to you. Consider your games audience (its truthful audience...dont just tell yourself "everybody"). Remember, this part takes time if you are an independent company. call shops and ask if you can demo your game, if they agree, set a date for a demo (DONT fluxuate on it, people will know what they missed by the other "regulars" of the shop telling them about it --word of mouth)
**keep in mind, alot of "board game shops" are contracted pop-up shops that have no interest in seeing anything any of us make.

Go to conventions, first as a guest. Research while taking notes on what works or doesnt work for other independent companies. Then go again at a later date having your own booth at the next convention.
keep in mind that there is a difference between "conventions" and "trade shows", know the difference and approach them as such.

I hope this post helps.
and remember, dont burn anything! :)

InvisibleJon
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Joined: 07/27/2008
A visual guide to indesigns510's steps...

Howdy,

I created a brief visual guide to the basic steps for adding a publisher and a board game to the BGG database. It's at: http://www.invisible-city.com/file_download/166/bgg_add_publisher_and_ga...

On BGG ads: I purchased $500 of advertising on BoardGameGeek for the month just before BGG Con 2010. We got plenty of hits, and lots of downloads of our free product, but only a teensy-weensy increase in sales. It certainly seems to be good exposure, at least.

A little bit of shameless self-promotion: If you need help creating a web site that you can sell your board game through, I can do that for a very reasonable rate. I've created two so far: one for a board game design convention I organized ( protospielsouth.com ) and another one for a board game I co-created ( inevitablethegame.com ). Both sites use Drupal (a well-known and well-supported content management system) and have a forum and a shopping cart that links to PayPal for payment and credit card processing.

tridagam
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Joined: 03/23/2009
Thanks Guys

Insanity was knocking on my back door...I'll go through the loops here in a few hours.

A short story to let you guys know how I see your spirit of helpfulness, you ability to put yourselves out there.

Back in the early 80's I was heading a team of canoeists across the United States. On the Fort Peck Reservoir on the Missouri River in North Eastern Montana, we had a storm roll over us. One man broke his back, another lost his back bone for continuing on with the trip, can't say as I blame him. I needed a new boat because the 25 foot sailing canoe we had was too much for me alone. I mentioned this to the director of the youth camp, of where we got the emergency help we needed.

He made a phone call. That person made a phone call, and so on, until a canoe was found in Wiliston North Dakota (couple 100 miles to the east). I bought that boat, it traveled on the hay trucks of one rancher to another (6X's) until it made it to me. each exchanging $300.00 and the boat. Did not cost me a penny extra...just darn good people...darn good.

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