Hello everyone,

I’ve just registered to this site, i hope i’m in the right section
Also, pardon my English, I’m French after allhttp://www.webhosting.uk.com/forums/...icon_smile.gif

I’m currently developing an on-line computer game, I don’t want to disclose too much of the product, let’s just say it’s a kind of treasure hunt, players have to pay to participate and the winner takes all (minus my commissionhttp://www.webhosting.uk.com/forums/...ilies/wink.gif )

I’m not looking for comments about the idea in itself (though I’m sure they’d be valuable), but for information about advertising

I’m currently working on my business plan, and I have loads of questions about advertising costs and strategies

Let’s say i need 50.000 people playing once every month to start making money

I have no idea of the amount (and the time) necessary to reach that level

What is the best strategy, advertise specifically on on-line gaming websites or on the contrary, target main stream websites?

Should I advertise on a CPC or CPM basis? Or mix both?

If it’s on a CPA basis, if a customer registers to my web site but doesn’t make a deposit and doesn’t effectively plays, what would that cost me?
What would be the CPA if he registers and plays?

Generally, how much are CPC and CPM?

What about viral advertising? Is that “self made” or do advertising companies take that in charge? What does it cost?

What about affiliation?



As you can see (and though I know my product and my market well), i’m week when it comes to web advertising…: http://www.webhosting.uk.com/forums/...s/confused.gif

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

thank you in advance

I would definitely suggest a Cost Per Action structure for your advertising. But, you may struggle to find people willing to promote your product unless you offer a significant commision. I would suggest you begin with offering affiliates as much as 50% of the profit made via the people who they refer... just to get the ball rolling.

Viral marketing can be either done yourself, or yes there are companies who can do this for you.

First, I want to congratulate you by starting off with creating a business plan. This shows that you are serious and will definitely be a key factor to your success.

The best way to find out what the advertising will cost is to contact whoever it is you will choose to advertise with. Most will have the information on their sites.

Depending on your budget, you might want to create a page with a brief description of the game with an email sign-up form. Then spend a little money (very little) "test marketing".

This will allow you to find out what ads work, and if anybody signs up with their email, you can directly contact those people when your game is ready. You could even select some as beta-testers. If it is a multi-player game, having a group of people start together will contribute to the success. People don't want to MUD alone ;-)