LESSON Advertising | Understanding the Three B's

Elle Joyner

Moop.
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. Multiple posts per day
Online Availability
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Writing Levels
  1. Prestige
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
Political intrigue, fantasy, futuristic, sci fi lite, superheroes, historical fiction, alternate universes. Smittings of romance, but only as side plot.
The Art of Advertising Your Roleplay || Understanding the Importance of Aesthetics


Today, we’re going to talk about the Three B’s. Banners, BBCode and Blurbs.

Now. Before you break out those two-cents or z-snap me into the next century about how these things are not important or don’t make an RP… I already know. It’s all good. We’re still bros. Here’s the thing though. They aren’t necessary BUT… if you are going to use them, all of them or a combo or even just one of them. You really need to make absolutely positive that they are done in a way that doesn’t -detract- from the RP itself.

Aesthetic value doesn’t make a roleplay - but poor aesthetics CAN turn people off. Let’s take a look at it from this perspective. You go to a restaurant. It’s been widely rumored to have some -seriously- amazing food. But as you approach the restaurant, you notice instead a dilapidated building - holes in the roof, graffiti (not the good, artsy kind) sprayed across the walls, broken windows and a rusted gutter hanging down onto a cracked and broken sidewalk. You walk inside and the floors are covered in a patina of dirt and dust, the servers dressed in jeans and grungy t-shirts, loose hair flowing all over the food that’s sitting out on the expedite counter beneath a bright red warming lamp.

Maybe this disgusting hole in the wall has the most incredible meals you’ll ever eat - but chances are, you aren’t going to wait around to find out.

Well… this is what a lot of people comes across when it comes to the aesthetics of an RP.

Eyeburners… stretched out, pixilated banners… font-pairings from the depths of Hell. No matter what glorious plot you put out there, if no one gets far enough into the interest check to actually READ it, you’re going to have a difficult time getting players to bite.

Judging a Book By the Cover ||

We’ve all heard it said that you should never judge a book by the cover… but let’s be real - first impressions are everything, and unfortunately with RP, that’s just as much the truth as it is with people you’ll meet. This is why what you put out there for people to see is so important… and why you should go the extra mile to make sure it’s something people WANT to see.

This starts, of course, with your advertisement. Now, as I stipulated in the first paragraph… There is absolutely no rule that says you MUST advertise your RP with a banner. Plenty of roleplays have run without any sort of advertisement, and they’ve been just as popular as those with…

But it is extremely important to remember that if you are going to use any sort of banner ad to pimp your project, you really need to pay attention to what you’re putting out there and ask yourself if it’s something you, as a player, would be drawn in by.

For this, there are a few easy guidelines to follow…

Step One || Visibility - Is everything in your banner visible? Is the name in a font that’s legible? Can it be read on smaller devices like cell phones or tablets? Is it a font that’s pleasing to the eye? What about the image? Have you sized it appropriately, so that there’s no stretching or skewing, or pixilating? Does the image properly reflect the concept and draw people in?

Step Two || And speaking of concept - Are you sure that you’ve captured yours accurately? Can someone look at your banner and know what the tone of the RP is? What genre it might take place around?

Step Three || The Bi-line - You’ll notice a lot of times, banners have the title of the RP and nothing else. Sometimes this can be enough to draw someone in, but sometimes, it doesn’t give quite enough information to pull the players attention. This is where a bi-line comes in handy. Just a small sentence, usually only a few words, to give an idea of what the RP is about or what the players should expect. That little extra step can be just what you need to entice the proper audience.

Step Four || And while we’re on the subject of an audience - It’s incredible important that your KNOW yours. Who are you trying to reach? Don’t try to do too much or be too vague… You wouldn’t advertise a clothing line with a bunch of naked people (Unless you’re Abercrombie… >_>) why would you advertise your roleplay in a way that just confuses the message? Creativity is great, but when it borders on confusing or overcomplicated you run the risk of ruining your prospects.

Step Five || Finally… and easily the most important step of all. Don’t be afraid to ASK FOR HELP. We’re not all artistically gifted. This is never more apparent when someone with little talent for photoshopping slaps together a half-arsed ad and posts it on the site. This is why we have a forum for commission projects! Need a banner that’ll grab attention? Ask someone to make you one! And at the end of the day if you’re too shy or stubborn or you just want to do it on your own… then follow the K.I.S.S. rule… Keep it Simple, Silly.

Flash and flare only work in neon signs and city streets… and ‘handwriting’ fonts look better on wedding invites. Don’t overdo it. Don’t get too fancy. And never put out something that you aren’t 100% proud to feature!

To Code… or Not to Code ||

The next thing we’re going to discuss is coding. Here’s the short and long of it, folks. Coding - beyond the basic bold, italics, underline and color/font changing… is hard. DIV coding is something people go to school to learn FOR A REASON. Because not everyone can just pick it up and do it overnight. Yet time and time again I see people attempting to do it, because they think that it’s necessary for a successful attention-grabbing RP.

I’m here to tell you… as someone who loves code (probably a little bit too much)... it’s NOT necessary. Nor is it a good idea to attempt to DO coding if you don’t have a proper grasp of what works and doesn’t work, aesthetically. Nothing turns people away faster than an eyeburner they can’t read - Overly bright fonts, insane background patterns, overlapping texts or images… I’ve seen it all, and I’m sure you have, too.

So what is the secret? Again.. Keep it simple. As long as your IDEA is good, people will still be interested, even if all you have as a few images and some readable font. If you want to get a little fancier, don’t try anything that you aren’t 100% sure is going to work out and don’t be afraid to TEST first - the Testing Area exists for a reason. You can also ask for help - tons of people on the site have a proficiency for code and are more than willing to lend a hand or offer some advice.



Grab 'Em and Don't Let Go ||

Whenever you go shopping for a new book - what is generally the first thing you do when you pick one off the shelf? You turn it over to read that blurb on the back, right?

Well… I’m here to tell you that in RPing, people generally are looking for that same thing. Short, sweet and to the point, enticing and intriguing, witty and charming -- whatever draws you in, will probably draw someone else in, too. I see so many people who write endless reams of information about their roleplays, but at the end of the day, you’ll never see a back cover of a book with more than two or three short paragraphs to describe the book… And thus is should be, in an interest check. You’ll have plenty of time to discuss the RP in more detail with a lore page, but you have to bring in interest before you open the RP anyway, and the best way to do this is to keep it concise and informative! Never explain more than a person is willing to read XD

Conversely, you need to make sure you have enough information - and that this information doesn't paint the RP in a confusing light. Don't try to be too vague or esoteric. If no one can understand what the blazes the RP is going to be about, it won't matter how artsy it looks... You probably won't snag interest. And if you plan to have one... don't feature YOUR character as an element. Nothing turns people off more than feeling like they're going to be secondary to your MC... Remember - RPing isn't about YOU. It's a cooperative effort. These aren't people writing YOUR story for you. Make it about your character and you'll probably end up playing alone...


And that's basically it... As it is with all my guides and tutorials - these are not rules, just opinions. But with a loooooong history of RP under my belt, I hope my advice proves as helpful to you as it did to me when I first started! :) Enjoy and Happy RPing ~~