12 replies to this topic

[Mastermind]

Publicity is one of the larger responsibilities of a mod leader, and if done incorrectly, can also be one of the most destructive to a mod project. I’ve compiled a list of what I think are the most important steps to creating good news releases.

1) Make sure everything that you release is high quality. Don’t release a few screenshots of half finished models, they just don’t look as good.

2) Make sure that any news posts in English use decent grammar. Everyone understands a few mistakes, but misspellings are a definite no-no. If you have to, e-mail it to me mastermind2004@gendev.origin-network.net, and I’ll look it over and correct it and send it back

3) If you use forums for publicity, ignore comments that flame your mod. Don’t dignify them with a response, just leave them be.

4) Be polite at forums. Your reputation as a member is also your reputation as a mod leader. If you flame people, and things like that, you lose respect, and so does your mod

5) Make sure that your team members understand this as well. They are also a reflection of your mod, and if they start flame wars over the mod, it detracts from your reputation

6) Use large news sites like CNC Den, only when you have something really good, like a beta announcement, or release. They won’t post about you starting a mod, but if you have a nice site, and are about to go beta, they probably will.

7) Have a good website. A good website says a lot about a mod, and if you have a site, people are more likely to find your mod.

8) Don’t attack other mods, just because they have the same theme, or similar units. Every mod is separate, and most of the time, people think of similar ideas. Unless you can prove that a mod is ripping from yours, don’t accuse them of doing that. Make sure you have very good proof, like the actual models, and compare polys before you do.

Publicity is a two edged sword. It can make or break a mods success, and most of that depends on the person creating the publicity. Follow the rules above, and you shouldn’t have too much trouble publicizing your mod, and making it known.

[Detail]

2) The problem with misspellings is it's very hard to know when you have written something wrong. I just go along typing, i check for errors and see none, then someone points out an error. Usaly it's a word i've been writing for years.


Something alot of people also forget is line breaks. People just write a huge cube of text and don't seperate it into sections.
A chunk of text without linebreaks can be very hard to read. Adding a gap between sections improves this by a huge ammount.

[Agile]

Usaly it's a word i've been writing for years.

like "usually", for example

[Detail]

True. I would never have known till you pointed it out.

[Ash]

people would lose interest because they think the leader is some unsocialised loser who does nothing but modification-related things.

Don't let MiG or Arg see that!

j/k

Edited by Spiral Dream, 01 August 2004 - 04:58 PM.

[Mister_Ninja]

What is your advice regarding whether I should have a half decent website at launch, or hope that someone with greater skill in site making comes along after the mod has been announced and then release a website?

I worry that if I went with the second scenario, that perhaps someone with better website making skillz wont come along, then it will still just be a mediocre site, only released later.

[dancam]

It's definately good to have some form of website, but if the work you are doing on your mod is, good, someone will be able to help out im sure.

[Ash]

I don't really pay much mind to the quality of the website's look. Your best bet, actually, is to get to www.moddb.com and make an entry. Make apologies for the state of the website, and just give all the details you wish to give on that site. It gets millions of hits weekly and so publicising your mod should be no difficulty.

Additionally, quality speaks for itself. People will tell their friends about kickass mods after you've advertised on moddb, and so you'll get all the publicity you need. You could ask for a webdesigner on there on a 'help wanted' page

[Mister_Ninja]

heh, I havent started recruiting for other members yet, and I'm not a jack of all trades, so there really isn't any kickass content to show off yet. I can map, but mapping makes for a lame update.

Would you suggest recruiting for people first, or announcing the mod then looking for help?

Edited by Mister_Ninja, 19 May 2006 - 06:22 PM.

[Ash]

Recruit whoever you need first...only report something when you have something to report

[Mister_Ninja]

k, so recruitment before website, but should I have forums before recruitment at least? Or do you think msn and email is fine for the start?

[Ash]

To discuss with your team, msn and email is generally ok unless you feel you need a forum...in which case invisionfree's a good place to base the basic spiel until you get the mod hosted, in which case you'll get a forum

That part's totally up to you. My main advice is to keep development private until you and your team have something to show Once you've got that, then you can advertise