#letting youtubers play your game for free is great marketing

[knight-of-heart-and-art]

if dex on youtube plays a game there's like, a 90% chance i will be absolutely absorbed by it

[darennkeller]

My solo indie game reached 10000 wishlists! I never thought it would be possible without a proper marketing team, budget or following.

How did I get those 10000 wishlists? Time to share what worked for me!

Disclaimer: I did sign with a publisher two months ago, and while they are already working on marketing stuff, nothing has been published yet. Those numbers are 100% from my own "marketing" efforts. There are people way better at this than me! I'm just sharing my experience here and I'll let you judge if it's helpful. Some things that did not work with me might work with others (and vice versa)!

(you can also read this and more in this free patreon article)

Let's sort what worked out the best for me.

Steam Events > Influencers > Reddit > Twitter > Devlogs

It might sound obvious, but take the time to check your wishlists regularly, especially whenever you're trying to give visibility to the game with a post/video/announcement/mail. It will allow you to know what works and doesn't. I usually check out youtube and twitch for gameplay videos or press articles whenever there's a bump while I'm not in an event or did not post anything.

Keep posting stuff on social networks. I know it takes time for a small reward, but it's good to have those regular wishlists and connect with other game devs/influencers. It also shows development is alive and you never know when it will reach an influencer or press. When I stopped sharing my stuff for a while, wishlists completely dropped, I was even loosing some everyday! However, do not post stuff EVERY day and do not spend too much time on this. My best results were with a few key posts on reddit (Reddit is harsh, but very rewarding), same thing on twitter. Sharing something interesting every 1-2 weeks instead of small things everyday seems to work better for me. Of course if you like to share your day to day progress regardless of the result, that's good and that's what social networks are for originally! Don't forget people go there to connect with others, not to be spammed by people promoting their stuff.

I publish devlogs on my youtube channel. I got ~200 wishlist from more than 100k views that took me weeks of work. I don't think publishing devlogs is an efficient way to promote your game, unless you go viral or that your videos also target players by being more accessible without too much technical stuff (mine are definitely targeting game devs for now). I'm only speculating here, but I think game developers are mostly interested in learning from your journey than actually wishlisting/playing your game compared to players which results in less wishlists. So do it only if it makes you happy and you want to share your journey (and be careful not to overwork while doing it)!

Influencers are great for 3 reasons:

1. They give your game visibility.

2. They give you feedback to make your game better.

3. They are usually keen to do it for free to help small indie devs.

Build yourself a press list: a list of press and influencer that might be interested in playing your game. I made a list of games that I think have the same target as mine and search on youtube/twitch for influencers that played those games. They usually have their business mail in the about section or on one of their social accounts. When you have something very interesting to show them (a new demo, event or announce) send them all a mail (but don not spam them)!

Here are two accounts you should follow to get tips about how to properly reach to influencers (and other game marketing in general): Clemmy and Wanderbot (subscribe to their newsletters!)

Events are huge for wishlists. It's easy and it does not take time to submit and they are usually free. But there are two big issues with events:

1. You have to find them.

The best free place to find most events is on the HTMAG discord created by Chris Zukowski (@AdventureMtn).

There's also this amazing calendar with all the events (thanks to @mreliptik for sharing this with me)!

2. You have to be accepted.

You need a demo, quality marketing assets to share and a good steam page. Again, Chris has some awesome tutorials (free and paid) to get a great steam page up. Consider supporting him if his tutorials helped you!

WARNING Do not submit your game to the steam next fest too soon like I did. You want to submit as late as possible, ideally just before your release. Each game gets one shot at the steam next fest, and the more wishlists you have going in, the more wishlists you'll get. I made that mistake because I thought I would release the game 2 months later (lol).

On a side note, you will have tons of wishlist deletions. Don't worry about it, that's perfectly normal (I won't lie, the first 1000 deletions still hit me hard though).

I think the best time to create your steam page is as soon you have a small trailer, screenshots and interesting description that do not look like a prototype full of placeholders. The sooner you have it, the sooner you start collecting wishlists! With the steam page also comes the whole steam community package, which is a plus to keep in touch with people who like your game. I don't really see any disadvantage in having a steam page early, but you might want to plan the communication around the page release to maximize visibility right away. Do not release it without telling anyone! When you demo is out, you can update your page and announce it everywhere too (try to give the exclusivity to a big showcase if you can!).

Things that did not work for me: devlogs, replying to influencers asking for games on twitter, using those spammy hashtags to promote your game (#wishlistwednesday etc...), posting uninteresting stuff about the game developement EVERY day, reposting the same content, posting on the popular subreddits, sharing my game on those "share your work" channel on discord servers, paid ads and plenty of other little "tricks" I wasted my time on. I think some things did not work out because of my game specifically. For example, some games definitely look better than others on socials. I don't think mine is, and it might explain why posting on socials is not as efficient as for other games (or maybe I'm wrong and I just did not find the right way to make it look interesting on socials!).

I hope this was was a nice read! Thanks again for your support and don't hesitate if you have questions!

[dinaniktoagere]

☀️ Games to play on your phone ☀️

Selected specifically for age regressors and/or littles

(since there's hardly any good games on the store nowadays)

Everybody likes different games, so this list might not be suitable for your needs. Still, I felt like it would be nice to share some of my favorites.

1. Anna's Monster Farm

This game is a story about monsters trying to fend for themselves and scare humans away from their woods.

A very RPG style game, where a Frankenstein girl named Anna grows her crops and summons lots of undead creatures and sends them to fight humans.

The game is free, has ads, BUT they're not mandatory! This game makes sure to shower you with bonuses and gifts. It has regular updates, each bringing new fun features. I've been playing this game for approximately 3 months, and it has got about 10 updates. The developers are always listening to the feedback and reverse things the fans don't like.

It also has a youtube channel with fun animations. There are a couple of questionable shorts, but eh. Marketing, I guess. Every other video is nice.

2. Deer My Friend

I love nonograms! I love this art style! I love this simple story! And I don't want to spoiler it!

There are no mandatory ads, the game itself is quite simple. I always use it to meditate on my own thoughts and to make myself feel better.

Also, as an avid puzzles enjoyer, it's really important to me to have adjustable coloration settings and unlimited lifes. I can't concentrate on the game if it has too many conflicting colors or if it mandates that I make zero mistakes. And wouldn't you know it, this game has these options!

It's one of, if not THE best nonogram app there is. And have I said that it's cute? It's cute and warm.

3. Underground Blossom

A point-and-click puzzle adventure where you can watch the life of a little girl as she grows and faces many hardships.

The game itself is very artistic in its storytelling. You, the player, will have to travel trough stations and lines, each of them showing her at different ages throughout her life.

It's not a free game, but it is well worth it. Entertaining and funny, it surely make you laugh and worry. I have to warn you, though, that this game gets icky and spooky at times, especially closer to the end.

If you like scary stuff, but would want someone to hold your hand and help you with puzzles, then I have an alternative

4. The Past Within

A two-player game that is related to the previous one story wise.

It's perfect for those who want simple puzzles, but also to play with EACH OTHER. It's a heavily cooperative game, and you can't finish it without other player's help.

Truly an ideal game for, let's say, a kid and their caregiver.

It also costs real money, but, again, it's well worth it.

5. Honorary mentions: games that are well-known, but still good.

* Good Pizza, Great Pizza

* Plants VS Zombies

* Incredibox

All and all, I believe there are LOTS of good games for littles and ageres, so I would like to ask YOU out for help! Please, tell me what you are playing, share your favourite apps or maybe even websites.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day! 🧡

[easywayslife]

Test & Keep Laptop

"Test & Keep a Laptop" is a promotional opportunity that invites participants to try out a new laptop for free in exchange for providing honest feedback. Companies and retailers often run such campaigns to promote new models or boost their products' visibility. By letting everyday users test a laptop, they can gather real-world feedback, improve their products, and build brand loyalty. For participants, it’s a great way to experience the latest technology without committing to a purchase.

How It Works

The process typically involves signing up on a company’s website or through a partner platform that specializes in product testing. Participants fill out a form with details such as their interests, usage habits, and sometimes social media presence, which helps companies choose the right testers. Those selected receive the laptop for a specified period or, in some cases, get to keep it after completing the testing requirements. This arrangement benefits both parties: the company gains valuable insights, and testers get hands-on experience with new technology.

Why Companies Offer Test & Keep Campaigns

These campaigns serve as a cost-effective marketing strategy. Instead of investing in expensive advertisements, companies leverage word-of-mouth promotion. When users share their experiences on social media, blogs, or forums, it boosts product visibility and credibility. Additionally, receiving feedback from everyday users helps manufacturers identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Such insights are crucial for enhancing future models and ensuring the final product meets consumer expectations.

What Participants Can Expect

Those selected to test and keep a laptop will receive a brand-new device, which could be a recent release or an upcoming model that has yet to hit the market. Participants are usually required to test specific features, such as the laptop’s performance, battery life, display quality, and ease of use. They might need to install software, play games, browse the internet, or use the laptop for work to provide a well-rounded review.

In exchange, testers write a detailed review of their experience, outlining what they liked, what could be improved, and whether they would recommend the product to others. Some campaigns might also ask participants to share their thoughts through photos, videos, or social media posts. This honest and authentic feedback helps potential buyers make informed decisions.

Things to Consider Before Signing Up

While the idea of testing and keeping a free laptop sounds appealing, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, not all campaigns guarantee that participants will get to keep the laptop; some may only offer it on loan for a specific period. It’s essential to read the terms and conditions carefully. Secondly, participants should be aware of potential scams. Genuine companies will never ask for payment or sensitive information like bank details as part of the application process. It’s important to research and ensure that the offer is legitimate before signing up.

How to Increase Your Chances of Being Selected

To boost the chances of being chosen as a tester, it helps to have a solid online presence. Companies often prefer individuals who can share their experiences widely, so having a blog, YouTube channel, or active social media accounts can be beneficial. Providing honest, detailed answers during the application process also increases the chances of selection, as companies want testers who can give thorough feedback.

Conclusion

"Test & Keep a Laptop" campaigns are a win-win situation for both companies and participants. While companies gain insights and exposure for their products, participants get an opportunity to experience the latest tech without the financial commitment. However, it’s essential to approach these opportunities with caution, ensuring that the offers are legitimate and understanding the requirements involved. For tech enthusiasts, this can be a rewarding way to explore new devices and share their thoughts on cutting-edge technology.

more info click here

[businessenlignefrance]

What is passive income ?

Blog Post: What is Passive Income?

Introduction

Hi there! Are you tired of working hard all the time just to make money? You’re not the only one! Many people dream of being able to make money without sacrificing their free time. That’s where passive income comes in. It’s a real game-changer that can help you control your financial future. In this blog post, we will learn about passive income, its types, benefits, and challenges, and how you can start earning it. So, grab a snack, sit back, and let's learn about passive income!

Click here to read more

What is Passive Income?

Definition

Passive income is money you earn regularly with little effort to keep it going. Unlike active income, where you work for hours to get paid, passive income lets you earn money while you sleep, relax at the beach, or even while planning cool wedding dances!

Active vs. Passive Income

Time Investment:

Active income: Requires direct time and effort, like DJing at a wedding.

Passive income: Needs initial work but then keeps earning with little ongoing effort.

Effort Required:

Active income: Always needs effort to make money.

Passive income: Earns money with little work after it’s set up.

Income Sources:

Active income: Regular jobs, hourly work, gigs.

Passive income: Investments, royalties, automatic businesses.

Common Misconceptions

It’s Completely Hands-Off: Passive income streams often need some setup and occasional work.

It’s Quick and Instant: Building a good passive income takes time and planning; it’s not magic.

It’s Guaranteed: Just like any income, passive income has risks and ups and downs.

Types of Passive Income Streams

Ready to explore different passive income ideas? Let’s go!

Real Estate Investments:

Rental Properties: Buy properties and earn rent from tenants.

REITs: Real Estate Investment Trusts let you invest in real estate like stocks.

Dividend Stocks:

Regular Dividend Payouts: Buy stocks from companies that share their profits with you.

Dividend-Focused Funds: Mutual funds and ETFs that focus on dividends.

Peer-to-Peer Lending:

Lending Platforms: Lend money online to people and earn interest.

Risks and Rewards: You can earn more but might risk people not paying back.

Create Digital Products:

eBooks: Write an eBook and sell it online.

Online Courses: Make and sell courses based on what you know.

Software or Apps: Develop software or apps and earn from downloads or subscriptions.

Affiliate Marketing:

Promote Products: Earn commissions by promoting products on your blog, website, or social media.

Revenue Share: Get a part of the money from each sale made through your links.

Royalties:

Books: Write a book and earn royalties from sales.

Music: Make music and earn whenever it's played.

Patents: License your inventions and get royalties.

Automated Online Businesses:

Dropshipping: Sell products online without keeping inventory.

Print-on-Demand: Sell custom items without keeping stock.

High-Yield Savings Accounts:

Bank Accounts: Put your money in high-interest savings accounts.

Certificates of Deposit (CDs): Lock in money for a set time for higher interest rates.

Sell Stock Photos Online:

Photography Contributions: Upload and sell your photos on stock photo websites.

Purchase Earnings: Earn money every time someone buys your photos.

Create a YouTube Channel:

Ad Revenue: Make money from ads on your videos.

Sponsorships: Partner with brands for sponsored content.

Benefits of Passive Income

Why is passive income so attractive? Let’s find out.

Financial Stability: It gives you a steady income that can add to or even replace your main job.

Time Freedom: With less time spent working, you can enjoy what you love or start new projects.

Scalability: Many passive income sources can grow a lot.

Diversification: Having different income sources protects your financial health.

Retirement Security: It’s great for long-term financial planning and retirement.

Challenges and Risks of Passive Income

It’s not always easy. Here are some challenges you might face.

Initial Effort: Starting passive income streams often needs upfront time, effort, and money.

Market Risks: Changes in the economy can affect your income.

Maintenance: Passive income might still need some occasional updates and care.

Scams and Fraud: Be careful of too-good-to-be-true schemes. Always check things out.

Learning Curve: You might need to learn new skills or information.

Steps to Create Passive Income

Excited to start? Here’s how you can begin your passive income journey:

Identify Your Interests and Skills: Pick a passive income stream that suits you.

Research Opportunities: Look into different options and find the best ones for you.

Set Clear Goals: Decide what you want to achieve with passive income.

Develop a Plan: Make a detailed plan to reach your goals.

Invest Initial Time/Resources: Be ready to spend time and resources upfront.

Automate Processes: Use tools to make your income processes automatic.

Monitor and Adjust: Keep an eye on your income streams and make changes as needed.

Reinvest Earnings: Use your earnings to grow and diversify your income.

Educate Yourself: Keep learning about new opportunities and strategies.

Conclusion

There you have it! Passive income is a powerful tool that can help you achieve financial freedom, giving you more time, security, and peace of mind. It’s not an instant solution, but with the right effort, planning, and perseverance, you can change your financial future. Imagine all the time you could spend perfecting your wedding playlist or dancing at the weddings you DJ!

Start exploring passive income streams that excite you and build a foundation for a financially free future. Until next time, keep the music playing and the fun times rolling!

Disclaimer: Always do thorough research or consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions. Passive income streams involve risks and require careful planning.

[zamanahmed]

Interacty Review Appsumo Lifetime Deal $79

Interacty Review Appsumo Lifetime Deal $79: Unleash Potential!

If you're looking to make your content more engaging, then Interacty might be the solution for you. This gamification platform lets you create interactive content like quizzes and games for your website in minutes. And the best part? You can get it for a lifetime deal of just $79 on Appsumo!

What is Interacty?

Interacty is an interactive content and gamification platform. It allows you to create engaging content that encourages your audience to actively participate. Instead of just watching a video or reading an article, your audience can play games, take quizzes, and interact with your content in many other ways.

Types Of Interactive Content

Games

Quizzes

Slideshows

Interactive images

Timelines

Who Can Benefit from Interacty?

Many different people and businesses can benefit from using Interacty to create more engaging content.

Teachers And Educators

Teachers can use Interacty to create interactive lessons and gamify the learning process. This makes learning more fun and engaging for students.

Marketers And Production Agencies

Marketers can create branded games, contests, and giveaways to collect leads more efficiently. It's a great way to make marketing campaigns more engaging.

Publishers And Content Producers

Publishers, digital magazines, blog sites, and online news sources can use Interacty to make their content more engaging. This can help increase the time visitors spend on their sites.

Interacty Appsumo Lifetime Deal $79

How Does Interacty Work?

Using Interacty is simple. Here's a step-by-step guide on how it works:

Create

Creating a quiz or game takes just minutes with dozens of templates and ready-to-use blocks. You can build your interactive game in minutes using content blocks that can be fully customized with the design editor.

Share

Share or embed your interactive content on your website with a simple copy-paste. You can even get a QR code for easy sharing. If you need to make a change, you can update your content on the fly.

Play

Your audience can easily play your interactive content on desktop, mobile, tablet, or even via Zoom. Your project, your rules.

Collect Results

Add forms and leaderboards to collect results and reward the best among those who completed the task. This can help you gather valuable data and increase engagement.

Features of Interacty

Interacty is packed with features that make it a powerful tool for creating interactive content.

Interactive Activities

With over 20 interactive activities and countless combinations, you'll never run out of options. You can create quizzes, games, slideshows, timelines, and much more, all on a single platform.

Customization

Interacty's intuitive design editor lets you build your own interactive game with simple content blocks. You can add static elements like images, text, and YouTube videos to increase brand awareness via your games. You can also get access to thousands of royalty-free images via Unsplash or upload your own.

Lead Generation

Add lead forms to your games to collect customer information for sales and marketing. This is a great way to gather leads while keeping your audience engaged.

Live Games

You can play live games with your team, making meetings more fun and developing a sense of teamwork.

Integrations

Interacty integrates with several popular tools to make your workflow smoother.

Google Analytics

Google Tag Manager

Mailchimp

Webhooks

Best For

Interacty is best suited for content creators, educators, and marketers who want to make their content more engaging.

Alternative to

If you're looking for alternatives, Interacty can be compared to tools like Kahoot and LeadPages.

Get the Appsumo Lifetime Deal

You can get Interacty for a lifetime deal of just $79 on Appsumo. This is a fantastic offer considering the value you get from the platform. Don't miss out on this opportunity to make your content more engaging and collect more leads.

To grab this amazing deal, click here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Interacty?

Interacty is a platform to create interactive content and gamification for websites.

How Much Does Interacty Cost On Appsumo?

Interacty is available for a lifetime deal of $79 on Appsumo.

What Types Of Interactive Content Can I Create?

You can create quizzes, games, slideshows, timelines, and more.

Who Can Benefit From Using Interacty?

Teachers, marketers, content creators, and event organizers can benefit from Interacty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Interacty is a powerful gamification platform that lets you create interactive content to boost customer engagement and collect more leads. With its easy-to-use design editor, customizable templates, and numerous interactive activities, it's a must-have tool for anyone looking to make their content more engaging. And with the Appsumo lifetime deal for just $79, it's an offer you shouldn't miss!

Don't wait! Get your Interacty Appsumo lifetime deal now by clicking here.

[apkslink]

Meitu MOD APK

Are you looking for an application to enhance your images & videos to the next level? But most of the applications are paid & the free version of this application is limited in features. However, some market applications have modified or hacked versions, which are free to use with all the premium features. But don’t know how to get these applications. Don’t worry; apkslinks.com brings you a platform to download Meitu MOD APK.

Meitu APK allows you to edit videos & images with its various tools & features. You can create pictures & videos that are extremely great & unique with its multiple components, such as visible content and moving & still images. These features can be found in different tools but not under a single application & that is what Meitu APK does.

What is Meitu MOD Apk? –

As previously said, no application on the market can provide features like Meitu APK. It is also a paid application, but the Meitu APK download solves the payment & features-related issues. Because the mod version of the app is free & all the premium features are available for free.

You can use the Meitu app with all premium features for unlimited editing without any registration for payment. It is a mod version, not available on the Google Play store, but if you want to download the standard version, you can download it from the Google Play Store. But if you want a free version, you can download the Meitu mod app from the app link.

After 1 million successful downloads, it earned a rating of 4.5 stars. It has powerful editing tools & newly added AI features to improve the images & videos. You can also use other mod applications like Canava MOD APK for editing work. The editing process is very easy; like selecting a photo or video & it will be shown on your screen with various editing tools.

Features of Meitu MOD APK –

All the default features like cropping, rotating, writing text and many others are always available in every editing application. But we need too many extras available only on selected applications & the Meitu app is one of them. You can create an Attractive WhatsApp DP or Happy New Year 2024 as well from one of the best DP sites called Mastdp. You can also create images with Attitude Shayari which is too much trendy to update your social media site. So, let’s dive into its features to know better about the application.

Filters & Effects –

Its filters & effects are outstanding in this application. This skin’s tone enhancement and smooth skin remove spots & others. The filters & effects of this application are touchwood & powerful.

Remove Objects –

This is cool when you can remove unwanted objects from the background of your pictures. You are allowed to remove distracting objects from your photos easily.

Collage Maker –

Arranging pictures in a collage is a big deal when you don’t have the right frame, but there are many presets where you can create beautiful collages. In the premium version, there are unlimited games available to use.

Makeup Tool –

Virtual tools like lipstick, blush & more are also available to improve the user experience. You need to add the photo in the Meitu mod apk& you can put these elements on the face & choose the right one with different colors.

GIF Maker –

In this application, you can create a GIF of your existing pictures. To make these animated GIF files, select the image and add multiple effects for the perfect GIF.

Video Editing –

You can add multiple filters & effects to the video file as well. Besides these, creating YouTube videos by adding music and text is also possible with the Meitu app. You can convert your videos very efficiently with the Meitu App.

Stickers –

A wide range of stickers are available in this application, which can be imposed on any image or video. Stickers might be emojis & other GIF formats. Funny stickers are also there to make your video or image funny.

HERE

[ensumo-mart]

Olivia: The SEO-Powered Shopify Theme that Skyrockets Your E-Commerce Success 🚀🌐

In a digital marketplace dominated by competition, finding the perfect formula to boost your conversion rates and drive more sales is no longer a luxury; it's a necessity. Meet Olivia - the Shopify Multi-Purpose Theme that combines elegance, cleanliness, and seamless functionality to elevate your online business and supercharge your SEO game. Buckle up as we explore the features and benefits of Olivia, your key to e-commerce success! 🌐🚀

Seamlessly Elevate Your Brand 🌟

Looking to enhance your brand's visual appeal? Olivia has got your back. This elegant and clean theme is your gateway to creating a stunning website that captivates your audience, leaving a lasting impression that translates into brand loyalty and sales. Say goodbye to generic, and hello to unforgettable. 🌈🎨

Lightning-Fast Loading Times ⚡

It's not just about aesthetics; it's about speed too. Olivia optimizes HTML and CSS code to ensure your website loads at lightning speed. No more waiting, no more frustration - your customers will experience a seamless, fast-loading site that keeps them coming back for more. 🔥💻

SEO-Friendly Magic 🌐

Enter the realm of SEO-friendly features that set Olivia apart. This theme handles the technical aspects of SEO effortlessly. From clean URLs to optimized meta tags, Olivia ensures your website is search engine-friendly. With descriptive URLs and well-crafted meta tags, you're on the fast track to better search engine rankings. 🌐📊

Plug and Play with SEO Plugins 🧩

Maximizing your SEO potential is easy with Olivia. The theme integrates smoothly with popular SEO plugins, allowing you to take control of your website's SEO. Leverage advanced optimization strategies, including XML sitemaps, schema markup, and social media integration. Stay ahead of the competition and make your mark in the online marketplace. The time for greatness is now. 🚀📈

Boost Conversion Rates and Customer Engagement 📈👥

Let's talk conversion rates. Olivia comes packed with built-in marketing features that give your business the edge it needs. From eye-catching pop-ups and banners that promote special offers to countdown timers that create a sense of urgency, you can capture your visitors' attention and guide them toward action. More conversions, happier customers. 🛒📊

Effortless Shopping Experience 🛍️💫

When it comes to online shopping, user experience is paramount. Olivia's optimized product pages and seamless checkout process ensure a hassle-free buying experience for your customers. Showcase your products with style and let the checkout process be a breeze. It's all about keeping your customers engaged and boosting conversion rates. 🌟🔒

Social Proof for Trust and Credibility 📣🤝

Let your customers speak for you. With Olivia, showcasing customer reviews and testimonials is a breeze. The social proof not only helps potential customers make informed decisions but also builds trust in your brand. Positive feedback from satisfied customers instills confidence and leads to increased conversion rates. 🤝🌟

In Conclusion: Olivia - Your Path to E-Commerce Greatness 🚀🛒

Olivia is not just a theme; it's the key to e-commerce greatness. With a seamless blend of SEO-friendliness, elegant branding, and user experience optimization, this Shopify Multi-Purpose Theme is your ultimate ticket to success. Start using Olivia today and watch your online business reach new heights of excellence and prosperity. The world is ready for your brand - make your mark now! 🌍💥

To view the full review in detail: Click here!

To learn The Power of other software, themes, or plugins: Click here!

To hire any of us as a Video Editor, Audio Engineer, Shopify Expert, YouTube Manager, or Content Writer: Click here!

[eyecatchersadagency]

10 Digital Marketing Tips and Tricks from Top Brands

In today's digital world, marketing is about connecting with your prospective customers in the right place, at the right time, earning their trust, educating them on the latest trends and then positioning your business as a solution to their needs. Also, around the world the level of competition has gone way above and beyond, so a business who doesn't use digital medium for marketing purposes will definitely get eaten by Sharks. As trembling as it may sound, Top brands have always been sharing their secret insights to push small businesses to grow. Here's the top 10 Digital Marketing tips and tricks from top brands.

Being aware of all the right tools and how to use them

Digital Marketing is a commingle of different strategies often dances with surfeit of channels like SEO, PPC, social media etc. So, in order to know that you lie on a right bell curve of competition with ammunition of advantage, always develop a thorough expertise on the tools and use them to your advantage. Mastering or even hiring talented folks can turn your website into a smooth platform.

Pour some of your time into creating eye comforting experiences

Designing is one of the most important elements of digital marketing, let be it a website design or graphic enhanced post on social media. A welcoming color choice and beautiful interface design can change the score of your website. That obviously doesn't mean that you have to decorate your website like a wedding groom but it must look effortful and neat. Designing great ad banners, infographics, using high quality images etc. will always be associated with your assumed quality of your products or services.

So, tighten your boots up and start using Canva and Adobe photoshop to dominate the league of digital marketing.

Fusing SEO with Content Marketing

Due to the rise of the internet, it triggered hell of an entry of millions of websites rendering crawlers to be more precise on extracting relevant content to the user. Just look at google, it became smarter and now it can sniff out relevant content from billions of irrelevant data’s surfacing into the ocean of internet. Today, most of the metrics included in Google’s algorithm have to do with content and the engagement you win through the distribution of great content. Using various types of content (visual, text, video, infographics, audio, etc.) does much better than using a single type of content.

Always be up to date with the recent events and trends, post better content which also must be relevant, appropriate, valuable and original.

Visible Presence on all relevant social media platforms

In today's business, standing out from the crowd is the most important principle you should abide by. To be visible to the target audience, we must be on relevant social media platforms in which they are in. You cannot be a chooser when selecting a social media platform. Even if you have a love-hate relationship with Tiktok for example, and your audience spends most of the time there, then be ready to be part of that platform. At the end of the day, online presence is what matters the most.

Invest on Digital Ads

Look at Superbowl ads, how creative and impactful they are. But why? Is it the size of the budget or due to the energy of talented folks! But hey, don't worry about the budget. We are playing on a digital platform where there is no cost for launching! It's not traditional advertising on your regular tv. So, you just need to be accustomed with Canva for graphic design and must know about Pay per click Google ads, YouTube ads, social media ads. 

To win the game of digital advertisement, we need to push valuable content first then the product content. Free eBooks, webinar, event invites, do it yourself video, product demonstration, all will make you ahead of your competition.

Website Optimization and Making it mobile friendly

Almost 90% of the world's population have a phone today. The rise of smartphones triggered the user to spend most of their time online, which adds up into online shopping, chilling time on social media, looking for the nearest restaurant etc. But people are too lazy to open their laptop and are willing to put effort into reaching for your website especially for the new customer. So, number 1 priority is to optimize your website in such a way that it loads faster on the desktop and also it gets highly optimized for mobile users. Now note that dimensions of desktop websites will always be different from mobile phone screens. So, make sure that it gets corrected and then the number of details on the website is plausible due to the amount of space but space crunch is the main problem for the dimension of mobile users, so less detail and faster navigation is key to turn your audience into customers.

Reminders with Email List

Emails are one of the most crucial tools to keep your audience engaged and updated. Emails by your company also send a message that we are serious about maintaining customer relationships.

Make sure your website includes an email newsletter sign up form. Deliver valuable content to your subscribers, not just promotion. Tell stories.

Infographics, Infographics and Infographics

People process visual information much faster than textual information. A graphic representation of your product or service, analytics etc. is the most valuable thing which directly keeps the audience engaged and digest it rather easily.

Keep an eye on Analytics

Just making great content and promoting it is not enough, you must know that are we really improving from the last time? Constant improvement of the numbers will define long term growth of the organization. A master plan is incomplete without analysis and improvising. Google analytics is your friend, use it to your advantage! It helps in tracking your content as well as give you precise insights for the improvement of your website. Without knowing where you are in this large world, you will feel lost. But for a proper achievement on ranking, we need to know that currently where we lie.

Develop a Powerful Digital Marketing Strategy

The backbone of any business is capital, cash flow and a man with a plan. Without developing a powerful strategy, your organization will break often. Now to drive a car we need to have directions or else it's meaningless. It's the same with strategy, unless and until we know about our target audience, competitors and their strategies, market opportunities, trends, new technologies, we are destined to be doomed. So, make sure you develop a proper strategy, discuss with your team, keep a track on any mishaps and follow up immediately, adapt, overcome and improvise.

Eyecatchers is an advertising agency with a difference - we make advertising that sells! Print, outdoor, TV, radio, events, website, digital, social – we help you send out a consistent message through all media !

[semtitans2021]

11 Best Mobile Apps for Social Media Marketing

Marketing through mobile devices has made our lives much more convenient. You can connect with close friends, arrange for dinner or spend hours playing games on your smartphone and other connected devices. With billions of individuals having smartphones and other connected devices, mobile marketing is quickly becoming the norm rather than the exception. With an ever-changing landscape for Digital Marketing Consulting Services, it’s important to stay up to date on the latest trends.

Social media apps have made it easy for online business owners to stay connected. Keeping up with Real-Time Web Analytics & Reports, SMM, Bulk Email Marketing, Google Ads Management and many more solutions are no longer limited to desktops or laptops. With this massive increase in online activity, the number of social media apps has exploded. But there are hundreds to choose from--and choosing the right ones can simplify life and help in running your business more efficiently.

Facebook

Facebook connects more than 1.2 billion people across the globe, making it the best place for brands to reach and engage with customers. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, family and news, share content and connect with other meaningful communities.

Facebook Ads Management Service is a book that explains how to use Facebook for business. It covers every aspect of Facebook marketing, including relationship building, media channels and store frontage. The book also talks about how brands can expand their relationship with customers by supporting customer experiences outside of the site with social media marketing campaigns, and leverage Facebook's commerce capabilities to reach a larger demographic for business development.

YouTube

With its new ad structure, YouTube is a great place to reach people who are interested in watching and engaging with videos. People spend time on the platform because they can find, share, and discuss videos that matter to them. Whether it's a vlogger talking about their daily life, a makeup artist sharing how-to tips, or a celebrity sharing behind-the-scenes clips from their latest movie, YouTube is the go-to source for video online.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a free messaging and calling app that uses a phone's Internet connection to let people message and call friends, family, send photos and videos. Instead of creating profiles for each type of family or friend, users only need to create one account. They can also take advantage of groups to create private messaging communities around an interest or business.

With more than 1.3 billion people using WhatsApp around the world, it's no wonder that businesses of all sizes want to access this incredibly engaged audience. The platform has created many opportunities for businesses to grow by connecting people with one another based on location, interest, and demographic similarities. WhatsApp empowers businesses to communicate timely with their customers regarding sales strategy, service delivery, product delivery and more.

Instagram

Instagram is for everyone. It's a great way to share photos with friends and family, as well as a place to discover new people and things that inspire you. Whether you're using Instagram on iPhone or Android devices, desktop computers, or other mobile devices, it has an experience that will work for anyone.

Instagram is a great platform for e-commerce, as it's one of the most visual social media sites. It's perfect for brands looking to emulate a high-end boutique feel. Start by posting high-quality photos of your products, whether they are fashion items or home goods. From there, you can post videos that include calls to action that encourage viewers to click through to your product page on your website or Instagram store. With IGTV, live videos also work well here!

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great way to build your brand's credibility and attract new customers. It enables users to connect with the right people, get discovered through personalized recommendations, and find solutions that help their career grow. Since it's the world's largest professional network, LinkedIn marketing can be a great way to build the brand's credibility and attract new customers.

LinkedIn is a social media platform for professionals. Businesses can create a Company Page to connect with prospects, engage customers and encourage followers to recommend them both within the platform and on third-party review sites. It's a great way to create a consistent branding experience across all marketing channels.

Inshorts

Inshorts is a news app that delivers the latest and greatest from multiple national and international sources in 60 words or less. We cover everything from government policies to entertainment industry shakeups, offering a crisp, easy-to-read format with pictures, blurbs, and charts where necessary.

Canva

When you're a small business owner, designer, blogger or just someone who wants to look professional on social media, Canva is the tool for you. With a library of over 700 fonts and 200 professionally designed templates, Canva can create Instagram Story Covers, Facebook posts and banners, Twitter headers, YouTube thumbnails and cards, posters, banners and invitations--just to name a few--to help market your business.

Buffer

Buffer is a tool for scheduling, organizing, and sharing content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. With Buffer, you can schedule posts for any of your accounts in one streamlined dashboard. Share articles, photos, and more directly to users' social feeds with one click or tap.

Grammarly

Grammarly is an app that provides real-time proofing as you type and features like auto-correction and auto-capitalization make writing easier. With one tap of the Grammarly key or swipe of your finger, you can activate automatic proofreading. The app will help in improving your grammar, spelling, and punctuation over time as you write more. It runs inside any app on any device and can even help you proofread professionally online documents, emails, blog posts or reports.

Twitter

Twitter is one of the best social media platforms you can use to connect with your customers. When they have questions or concerns about the product or service, look to answer them on Twitter. It is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called "tweets". These messages are posted on your profile page and delivered to your customers' profile pages (called their "feeds") for other users to view.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite gives users one place, multiple social networking accounts, and an array of features. It helps users save time and keep on top of the brand's social media marketing efforts. With Hootsuite, users can easily manage posts for nearly every popular social network on the desktop, tablet or mobile phone. Hootsuite helps increase the impact of the online presence through analytics and insights so users always know what's working.

Wrapping up

As per a social media marketing consultant, many businesses have started using social media marketing apps because they provide fast and real-time feedback that helps in streamlining efforts. Such apps help in organizing, encouraging sharing, scheduling content and so on. By creating a good strategy and utilizing various free marketing apps for business, small businesses can use social media to create opportunities, build themselves a brand and generate business.

Semtitans is one of the best Digital Marketing Consulting Agency as we have a team of digital marketing professionals who aims to provide expertise & assistance in all the stages of the services provided right from understanding the client’s requirements to delivering them satisfactory end results at the right time. We aim to deliver result-oriented digital marketing strategies that enhance our client’s business, improve their sales, and foster their growth. For more information related to our services visit us now.

[felixcosm]

Decorations:

check on pinterest for diy halloween ideas, they usually have a lot of kid stuff but if you dig around a bit you can find some cool ideas

cheap acrylic black and orange paint can turn ordinary household items or old toys into diy decorations

farmer's markets and plant shops often sell tiny deco pumpkins for very cheap

you can cut out spooky/witchy/occult images from magazines or old books and hang them up or make a collage poster

you can paint anything to make it look more spooky if you have black paint. old books, statues, jars, paper rolls - its easy to make paper mache with craft glue and toilet paper

if you're completely broke and cant buy ANYTHING, you can still use what you have: forage for leaves, acrons, pine cones out in nature, use white rags, marker and some string to make ghosts, draw or trace spooky designs on paper and color it in, dry flowers, use tea bags or coffee grounds to paint, you can even use halloween themed junk mail to cut out the pictures printed on them

Witchy decorations, you dont have to be wiccan or whatever to make an altar just for fun and a lot of witchy diy projects use what people find in nature as well

Costumes:

mandatory jeff the killer costume :3 (no this isnt propaganda i promiise) white hoodie, black pants, a kitchen knife

use your sick ass cloak!! its great for that witchy feel

paint or draw sigils on your arms (i prefer hands especially) or body

sexy vampire

bedsheet ghost

a witch (you can literally look like anything or just look super goth)

a goth

rejected addams family member

zombie (tear up some clothes and you can paint circles under your eyes)

Music:

GOTH MUSIC BABY

The Black Parade Album from MCR

Metal/Funeral metal/doom metal

Aurelio Voltaire

Eliza Rickman

Oingo Boingo

The Paper Chase (Now You Are One Of Us album specifically)

Creature Feature

Get Scared

Hollywood Undead (for that edgy teen feel)

FNAF Music

There are a lot of good Pov: You are in an 80s slasher playlists on youtube and spotify

Insane Clown Posse

Myuuji for spooky piano music

Set It Off

The Dresden Dolls

Nero's Day A Disneyland

Ethel Cain

Avenged Sevenfold

SKYND

GHOSTEMANE

Danny Gonzalez Spooky song series

Rusty Cage

Lemon Demon's Spirit Phone album is a MUST

I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

Nicole Dollanganger

Kim Petras

Spooky Mood

Creepypasta narrations (MrCreepyPasta is the best but I'm biased, there are other narrators you can check out)

Ambiences (Myuuji has creepy ambiences on his channel, MiracleForest does creepy ASMR ambience videos)

Watch found footage, slenderverse series, ARG videos, lets plays of horror games, the classic movies like Halloween, Friday 13, Elm Street

Play horror games (vgperson has free horror rpg games, itchio also has free games (I love JOHN DOE), plus you can find a lot of game rips or just watch a lets player)

Hot beverages are a must. They dont have to be pumpkin spice, a sprinkle of cinnamon is enough if you like it simple

Goth makeup 🖤

Have a jar or a basket of candy just because

Burn as many candles as you can because lifes too short not to make use of them even if theyre really nice looking

Paint your nails halloween colors

Listen to horror podcasts (Storage Papers, Nine to Midnight, WTNV, Hello From The Hallowoods, NoSleep (featuring our beloved David Ault lol), Shadows at the Door)

Halloween doesnt have to be perfect, you can celebrate it literally any way you want whether thats full blown or simple! Hope this helps 🖤🧡

does anyone have advice for making halloween season fun again. time sensitive question

[childlikemperor]

i think/know its genuinely hard to transition from YA into adult books because of the scarcity of quality recommendations for genre fiction compared to YA but i promise its so worth it so here’s how i got into adult books i actually like after not reading since middle school

listicles are super helpful!

you can always look up things like “best science fiction 2021” or even “books about witches” and look for the ones that have the most interesting synopsis

i find that inserting a specific year helps you not get the same 5 super famous books in any given genre/theme, giving you way more variety to pick from. also, i recommend prioritizing more recent years (say, the past 5ish) so you can be more or less up to date with the recs and market trends

also if you havent read anything since school, dont focus on filtering out the YA recommendations right away at this stage, just find recent-ish stuff you like and have fun! this will help you figure out what you like so you can finetune your recommendations later on

i think the idea that you must stop reading YA all together and only read adult fiction is a big part of why people don’t bother to even seek it out but i promise you dont have to leave it behind completely!!! its all about diversifying your palette!!!

storygraph is your friend!!!

storygraph is a book logging site/app that helps you find books based on quite literally their vibes!! things such as dark, mysterious, adventurous, etc. AND it provides trigger warnings

unlike goodreads, it isnt owned by amazon (dw, it lets you import your entire goodreads library into it so the switch is p seamless)

also you get a bunch of neat little graphs about all the books you mark as read

follow book influencers whose tastes match your own that read adult books often

my general rule of thumb is i need to agree with at least 60% of their opinions on the books ive read to consider us “matched”

(this is where having read at least a couple current-ish books helps give you some perspective on things you like that might show up on the favorites lists of people that have kept up to date with their reading the past few years)

here’s some of my faves: thegr8estangell on tiktok, melreads on youtube and (in portuguese) um bookaholic on youtube

ignore reviews from strangers/people who dont match your tastes

its a recipe for disappointment, i promise!!! especially those big passionate negative reviews at the very top of goodreads? 8 times outta 10 you’re gonna end up enjoying the book for half the things they’re yelling about!

the library is your friend and so are used book stores

for me at least, i had a really hard time with the notion of spending too much on a book i’d end up disliking, so getting books for cheap or even free really helped take the edge off exploring new books

another perk of these avenues is that they often have a lot of what i call “diamond flops” which are great books that either werent or arent currently popular so theyre extra cheap/never on hold (this is how i stumbled upon Tyll and fell in love with it)

if you’re not from a libby having country like me you can do what i did and ask a friend who is for their library card number! in my experience, the app doesnt track across devices so you wont have to worry about judging each others reads

AUDIOBOOKS 100% COUNT AS READING

if you find that you have a hard time focusing, i recommend picking up both the book itself (be it digital or otherwise) and reading it along with the audio. if you find yourself getting bored/antsy easily with just audio you can also try playing it while you play a little mindless phone game (my go to is twodots)

again, the libby app is your friend and so is youtube

[tlbodine]

The Horror Genius of Five Nights At Freddy’s

I’ve been playing FNAF: Help Wanted VR on my Oculus Quest lately (a birthday present to myself -- I know I’m late to that party!) and it’s reignited in me my old love of this series. I know Scott Cawthon’s politics aren’t great, but I don’t think there’s any malice in his heart beyond usual Christian conservative nonsense -- and I think he stepped down as graciously and magnanimously as possible when confronted about it. Time will judge Scott Cawthon’s politics, and that’s not what I’m here to talk about. I want to talk about what makes these games so damn special, from a horror, design, and marketing perspective. I think there’s really SO MUCH to be learned from studying these games and the wider influence they’ve had as intellectual property. 

What Is FNAF? 

In case you’ve somehow been living under a rock for the last seven years, Five Nights At Freddy’s (hereafter, FNAF) is a horror franchise spanning 17 games (10 main games + some spinoffs and troll games, we’ll get to that), 27 books, a movie deal, and a couple live-action attractions. 

But before it exploded into that kind of tremendous IP, it started out as a single indie pont-and-click game created entirely by one dude, Scott Cawthon. Cawthon had developed other games in the past without much fame or success, including some Christian children’s entertainment. He was working as a cashier at Dollar General and making games in his spare time -- and most of those games got panned. 

So he tried making something different. 

After being criticized that the characters in one of his children’s games looked like soulless, creepy animatronics, Cawthon had his lightbulb moment and created a horror game centered on....creepy animatronics! 

The rest, as they say, is history. 

The Genius of FNAF’s Horror Elements

In the first FNAF game, you play as a night security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a sort of ersatz Chuck-E-Cheese establishment. The animatronics are on free-roaming mode at night, but you don’t want to let them find you in your security room so you have to watch them move through the building on security camera monitors. If they get too close, you can slam your security room doors closed. But be careful, because this restaurant operates on a shoestring budget, and the power will go off if you keep the doors closed too long or flicker the lights too often. And once the lights go out, you’re helpless against the animatronics in the dark. 

Guiding you through your gameplay is a fellow employee, Phone Guy, who calls you each night with some helpful advice. Phone Guy is voiced by Cawthon himself, and listening to his tapes gives you some hints of the game’s underlying story as well as telling you how to play. A few newspaper clippings and other bits of scrap material help to fill in more details of the story. 

Over the next set of games, the story would be further developed, with each new game introducing new mechanics and variations on the theme -- in one, you don a mask to slip past the notice of animatronics; in another, you have to play sound cues to lure an animatronic away from you. By the fourth game, the setup was changed completely, now featuring a child with a flashlight hiding from the monsters outside his door -- nightmarish versions of the beloved child-friendly mascots. The mechanics change just enough between variations to keep things fresh while maintaining a consistent brand. 

There are so many things these games do well from a storytelling and horror perspective: 

Jump Scares: It’s easy to shrug these games off for relying heavily on jump scares, and they absolutely do have a lot of them. But they’re used strategically. In most games, the jump scares are a punishment (a controlled shock, if you will) -- if you play the game perfectly, you’ll never be jump-scared. This is an important design choice that a lot of other horror games don’t follow. 

Atmospheric Dread: These games absolutely deliver horror and tension through every element of design -- some more than others, admittedly. But a combination of sound cues, the overall texture and aesthetic of the world, the “things move when you’re not looking at them” mechanic, all of it works together to create a feeling of unease and paranoia. 

Paranoia: As in most survival horror games, you’re at a disadvantage. You can’t move or defend yourself, really -- all you can do is watch. And so watch you do. Except it’s a false sense of security, because flicking lights and checking cameras uses up precious resources, putting you at greater risk. So you have to balance your compulsive need to check, double-check, and make sure...with methodical resource conservation. The best way to survive these games is to remain calm and focused. It’s a brilliant design choice. 

Visceral Horror: The monster design of the animatronics is absolutely delightful, and there’s a whole range of them to choose from. The sheer size and weight of the creatures, the way they move and position themselves, their grunginess, the deadness of their eyes, the quantity and prominence of their teeth. They are simultaneously adorable and horrifying. 

Implicit Horror: One of the greatest strengths to FNAF as a franchise is that it never wears its story on its sleeve. Instead of outright telling you what’s going on, the story is delivered in bits and pieces that you have to put together yourself -- creating a puzzle for an engaged player to think about and theorize over and consider long after the game is done. But more than that, the nature of the horror itself is such that it becomes increasingly upsetting the more you think on it. The implications of what’s going on in the game world -- that there are decaying bodies tucked away inside mascots that continue to perform for children, that a man dressed in a costume is luring kids away into a private room to kill them, and so forth -- are the epitome of fridge horror. 

The FNAF lore does admittedly start to become fairly ridiculous and convoluted as the franchise wears on. But even ret-conned material manages to be pretty interesting in its own right (and there is nothing in the world keeping you from playing the first four games, or even the first six, and pretending none of the rest exist). 

Another thing I really appreciate about the FNAF franchise is that it’s quite funny, in a way that complements and underscores the horror rather than detracting from it. It’s something a lot of other properties utterly fail to do. 

The Genius of Scott Cawthon’s Marketing 

OK, so FNAF utilizes a multi-prong attack for creating horror and implements it well -- big deal. Why did it explode into a massive IP sensation when other indie horror games that are just as well-made barely made a blip on the radar? 

Well! That’s where the real genius comes in. This game was built and marketed in a way to maximize its franchisability. 

First, the story utilizes instantly identifiable, simple but effective character designs, and then generates more and more instantly identifiable unique characters with each iteration. Having a wealth of characters and clever, unique designs basically paves the way for merchandise and fan-works. (That they’re anthropomorphic animal designs also probably helped -- because that taps into the furry fandom as well without completely alienating non-furries). 

Speaking of fan-work, Scott Cawthon has always been very supportive of fandom, only taking action when people would try to profit off knock-off games and that sort of thing -- basically bad-faith copies. But as far as I know he’s always been super chill with fan-created content, even going so far as to engage directly with the fandom. Which brings me to....

These games were practically designed for streaming, and he took care to deliver them into the hands of influential streamers. Because the games are heavy on jump-scares and scale in difficulty (even including extra-challenging modes after the core game is beaten) they are extremely fun to watch people play. They’re short enough to be easily finished over the duration of a long stream, and they’re episodic -- lending themselves perfectly to a YouTube Lets Play format. One Night = One Video, and now the streamer has weeks of content from your game (but viewers can jump in at any time without really missing much). 

The games are kid-friendly but also genuinely frightening. Because the most disturbing parts of the game’s lore are hinted at rather than made explicit, younger players can easily engage with the game on a more basic surface level, and others can go as deep into the lore as they feel comfortable. There is no blood and gore and violence or even any explicitly stated death in the main game; all of the murder and death is portrayed obliquely by way of 8-bit mini games and tangential references. Making this game terrifying but accessible to youngsters, and then marketing it directly to younger viewers through popular streamers (and later, merchandising deals) is genius -- because it creates a very broad potential audience, and kids tend to spend 100% of their money (birthdays, allowances, etc.) and are most likely to tell their friends about this super scary game, etc. etc.

By creating a puzzle box of lore, and then interacting directly with the fandom -- dropping hints, trolling, essentially creating an ARG of his own lore through his website, in-game easter eggs, and tie-in materials -- Cawthon created a mystery for fandom to solve. And fans LOVE endlessly speculating over convoluted theories. 

Cawthon released these games FAST. He dropped FNAF 2 within months of the first game’s release, and kept up a pace of 1-2 games a year ever since. This steady output ensured the games never dropped out of public consciousness -- and introducing new puzzle pieces for the lore-hungry fans to pore over helped keep the discussion going. 

I think MatPat and The Game Theorists owe a tremendous amount of their own huge success to this game. I think Markiplier does, too, and other big streamers and YouTubers. It’s been fascinating watching the symbiotic relationship between these games and the people who make content about these games. Obviously that’s true for a lot of fandom -- but FNAF feels so special because it really did start so small. It’s a true rags-to-riches sleeper hit and luck absolutely played a role in its growth, but skill is a big part too. 

Take-Aways For Creatives 

I want to be very clear here: I do not think that every piece of media needs to be “IP,” franchisable, an extended universe, or a multimedia sensation. I think there is plenty to be said for creating art of all types, and sometimes that means a standalone story with a small audience. 

But if you do want a chance at real break-out, run-away success and forging a media empire of your own, I think there are some take-aways to be learned from the success of FNAF: 

Persistence. Scott Cawthon studied animation and game-design in the 1990s and released his first game in 2002. He released a bunch of stuff afterward. None of it stuck. It took 12 years to hit on the winning formula, and then another several years of incredibly hard work to push out more titles and stoke the fires before it really became a sensation. Wherever you’re at on your creative journey, don’t give up. You never know when your next thing will be The Thing that breaks you out. 

If you want to sell a lot of something, you have to make it widely appealing to a bunch of people. This means keeping your concept simple to understand (”security guard wards off creepy killer animatronics at a pizza parlor”) and appealing to as wide a segment of the market as you can (ie, a horror story that appeals to both kids and adults). The more hyper-specific your audience, the harder it’s gonna be to find them and the fewer copies of your thing you’ll be selling. 

Know your shit and put your best work out there. I think there’s an impulse to feel like “well, nobody reads this anyway, so why does it matter if it’s no good” (I certainly have fallen into that on multiple occasions) but that’s the wrong way to think about it. You never know when and where your break will come. Put your best work out there and keep on polishing your craft with better and better stuff because eventually one of those things you chuck out there is going to be The Thing. 

Figure out where your target audience hangs out, and who influences them, and then get your thing in the hands of those influencers. Streaming and YouTube were the secret to FNAF’s success. Maybe yours will be BookTube, or Instagram, or a secret cabal of free librarians. I don’t know. But you should try your best to figure out who would like the thing that you’re making, and then figure out how to reach those people, and put all of your energy into that instead of shotgun-blasting your marketing all willy nilly. 

You don’t have to put the whole story on the page. Audiences love puzzles. Fans love mysteries. You can actually leave a lot more unanswered than you think. There’s some value in keeping secrets and leaving things for others to fill in. Remember -- your art is only partly yours. The sandbox belongs to others to play in, too, and you have to let them do that. 

If in doubt, appealing to furries never hurts. 

Do I take all of this advice myself? Not by a long shot. But it’s definitely a lot to think about. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go beat The Curse of Dreadbear. 

[koutarousangel]

━ the best medicine.

prompt : you tried everything to get rid of the ache residing in your head, so you attempt to turn to kenma for help.

genre : fluffy fluff <3 

warning(s) : mentions of migraines and medication

music suggestion : moonlight - ariana grande

author’s note : this one’s shorter than what i usually do BUT it’s cute and i guess it can be filed under drabbles so s’ALL GOOD

contrary to what many people thought, kenma was an incredibly thoughtful and observational, meaning that the minute that something was off with the way that you were acting, he’d know.

he wouldn��t say anything, not because he had his doubts about his hunch, but because he preferred if you came to terms with it and went to talk to him about it.

even though he’d been focused on his work, it being an incredibly important day for the stock market and him having his stream scheduled for later in the day, kenma had picked up on how you were grimacing at your laptop when he’d passed by you to grab a snack.

and how you practically came close to tears the moment he rested his head at the base of the back of your neck and gently massaged underneath your ear with his thumb.

you had a headache, and a bad one at that.

kenma tried telling you to get some rest, but he knew you were stubborn and he wasn’t one to pester you.

he’d be there whenever you wanted him to be.

the steady thrum in your head was purely unbearable, as if there was someone or something pressing on either side of your head, unrelenting. 

nothing the internet suggested helped; migraine pills seemed to have worked for a little bit, before the headache just returned with a vengeance, you’d tried both a cold pack and a hot compress because you couldn’t figure out where the headache was originating from, limiting your caffeine intake made you grumpy and drinking more water only made you frequent the bathroom more.

in short, desperate for this migraine to go away and pissed off that you didn’t know how you were going to do that.

your boyfriend’s stream played through your laptop’s speaker, the sound of his voice as he spoke to his viewers being the only thing that wasn’t annoying you at the moment. kenma had told you time and time again that you were able to go into the room where he streamed, but you never wanted to be a disturbance to him.

you smiled as you heard his laughter at whatever his viewers were saying in the chat, but the twinge of pain at the side of your head caused your smile to falter.

with a soft sigh, you decided to close your work, knowing that there wasn’t really a point to trying to get things done while your brain was fighting against you doing just that. you closed all the tabs in your browser except for twitch and let adoration fill your eyes as you rested your head on your arms, praying that the solution for all of this was as simple as resting.

“i’m gonna end the stream there guys. sorry that it’s a bit shorter than i usually do but since we’re doing a twenty-four hour stream next time, i want to take some time for myself. thank you so much for joining, you guys are always great.” kenma gave a two finger salute as a sign off, before turning off the stream and standing from his seat, stretching his arms overhead.

it worried him that despite your headache, you hadn’t come to see him in the room, but he knew your stance on not wanting to interrupt the stream, even if he’d assured you that you wouldn’t a million times over.

with his empty coffee cup in one hand and phone in the other, he made his way to the kitchen, scrolling through the stock market updates, before switching over to his email app.  

all thoughts of work dissipated the moment he set foot in the kitchen and he saw you, eyebrows knitted together and jaw tense in your sleep. kenma let out a small sigh and rinsed out the coffee mug and set it in the sink, wiping his hands and making his way over to you.

“baby?” he whispered softly, kneeling next to you and placing his hand on the back of your neck, thumb gently tracing circles in attempt to wake you from your nap. any other situation and he would’ve let you rest, but the position that you were sitting in would only cause you to wake up with an even worse headache, and the nap you were in didn’t seem like a very pleasant one.

a small whimper fell past your lips as your eyes fluttered open and you came face to face with your very concerned boyfriend, “baby, you need to get some proper rest,” kenma murmured softly as he stood, gently tugging on your hand to make you stand up. 

in a sleepy, painful haze, you stood, only letting out a groan at the forced movement, but following as your boyfriend led you into your bedroom, taking a seat on the bed and tugging you onto his lap, arms encircling your waist as you wrapped your legs around his hips and rested your head on his shoulder, hand finding its place on the back of your neck once more, making you feel grateful for the warmth that spread through his fingers.

with your cheek pressed against his shoulder, you peered up at him through your eyelashes, the strain on your eyes causing you to grimace and them flutter to a close, “stream was good bubs,” you murmured, words coming out a bit muffled due to your squished cheek, “that game looks fun.”

kenma let out a gentle hum at your words, and you could feel him nod before he pressed a kiss to the side of your head, “we’ll play it sometime,” he spoke, continuing to massage your neck gently, wanting nothing more than to take away the ache that was plaguing your head. 

“did you drink water?” you nodded at the question, “take some meds?” another nod that made him sigh, “did you sleep well last night?” this time your nod was hesitant but still happened, “bubs, i felt you get up twice last night and that was after i stopped playing, so it was late.”

you huffed, cursing how observational he was, “the headache had already started then though… not getting enough sleep just made it worse,” the man hummed at your words, nodding in agreement and pressing another kiss to the side of your head, “don’t you need to get clips for your next youtube video?” 

kenma shrugged his free shoulder, and jutted his lip out slightly, “i can take a night off, this is more important,” he murmured softly, making you peer through one of your eyes and smile up in adoration at him.

at one point, he felt you get heavier on his shoulder, a telltale sign that you were relaxing and falling asleep; reaching over to the bedside table, he took his nintendo switch into his hands, grimacing slightly as the startup sound was too loud, afraid that it would jostle you out of your slumber, but instead you hummed softly, “can you play animal crossing? i like the sounds,” you mumbled sleepily and how could he turn down such a request?

turns out, none of the remedies that were offered online worked until you were in this position, because as sleep took over your body, the headache began to dull and there was no longer a pinch between your eyebrows or tension in your jaw, just love and a sense of peace settled in your heart.

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: December 11th, 2020

How old are terri, miranda, lee, shiloh and jeremy? Are they all the same age as the mc?

Step 1: MC is 8 and Shiloh is 7

Step 2: MC and Lee are 13 and Jeremy is 12

Step 3: MC, Lee, and Terri are 18, Miranda is 19 (though she just barely turned that age)

How many different personalities are there for Jamie? Does picking one color of dialogue option mark down the personality or is it the choices and actions themselves?

There’s not really any set amount of personalities. You can mix and match traits in different ways and different levels, it’s really up to you. The colored options just give an idea of the tone of what you’re doing (whether it’s serious or more lighthearted or more emotional, that sort of thing).

Hey! Sorry to bother, but I was just curious. Why does MC and Cove react the way they do in the errands moment? It just sorta seems like they overreacted to being left alone in the farmers market. 

I’m a little confused on what you mean. You can choose not to care or to have a good time, your MC doesn’t have to be upset. There are more choices that lead to upset feelings, but that’s because there’s really only one way to say you’re really okay and multiple ways to feel upset (sad, angry, scared, etc). And if someone is upset, there’s nothing wrong with that. Feeling fine is okay too.

As for Cove, he’s just like that. Cove is a sensitive guy and he is especially bothered by parents pulling stunts without talking to their kid ahead of time. If you wanna annoy Cove, that exact thing they did is one of the fastest ways to do it, ahah. And he’s not gonna let it slide just because it was the MC’s parents doing it to them rather than one of his own parents doing it to him.

so if I were to become a one time patreon pledger, would I still have access to the things from that tier after the month is over (such as 18+ pics or access to a demo/beta)?

If you join Patreon for one month you’ll get everything released that month and have access to all our past posts, and you can save the stuff to your own computer to keep it forever. But you won’t get access to things that come out after your subscription has ended. So if you want to join for a specific piece of content, just make sure you wait until that content has already come out and then subscribe.

Why did Noelani and Pamela decide to adopt within the USA when they had previously adopted abroad?

Because we wanted to highlight more than one type of adoption. Both are valid.

At what age was MC adopted in our life?

Only around a year old, but it’s flexible based on what the player wants for their story.

If Pamela is estranged from her family and Noelani doesn't really talk to her's, where did Lee come from? 

Lee is a backer created character, she wasn’t originally part of the cast. Because our main supporter wanted her to be related to the MC’s family, we gave Pam one sibling she still talks to and that sibling has a daughter, Lee. The game was still in pretty early development way back then when we first mentioned the family situation. It’s just kind of inevitable that during the game making process some things ended up changing, aha.

In the relationship DLC’s for Derek and Baxter will there be options for polyamory to include Cove?

I’m afraid not. The way Our Life: Beginnings & Always works doesn’t support developing a poly relationship well, it’d very quickly build up too many alterations to manage. But we do hope to feature polyamory options in future games.

Will it be possible to confess to Cove (or vice versa) in Step 4, if it hasn't been done already? 

Yeah!

are you going to put the credits song on youtube or spotify? i really like it and want to play it for my friends 🙏🥺 ty 

I’m so glad you like it! We have rights to use the song in our game and for our game to be the only game it’s ever used in, but the rights to sell/upload the song belong to the actual creators of the music. We’re happy to let them decide where they’re comfortable posting the track.

Quick question, do you plan on continuing to use MC we can custom? I liked all your games but being able to customize Our Life's MC was awesome 

I can’t say if every game we ever make from now on will have a super customizable MC, but we are planning other projects with that feature. Our Life: Beginnings & Always won’t be the only one.  It’s nice to hear you appreciated the effort to add that.

Can I just express my disappointment that you only get a 'makeout session' in Step 3 if your MC is outgoing? My shy MCs miss out on grabbing the Cove booty... xP

Whether or not you can make out with Cove and how intense it can get depends on how long you’ve been a couple. If your shy MC takes longer to get with Cove, he’ll need more time before he’s ready to do that sort of stuff. And if your confident MC has been with him for years already, then he’s at a point where he can go that far with them. I’m afraid patience is required when it comes to romancing that boy, haha. 

If we played in 1.0 and we updates to 1.1 do we have to start over? Or do save files transfer? I hit the "ignore" not sure if I should have for the game to work properly 

1.0 save files should work with version 1.1. If you’re getting error reports can you send us more details about what the error is saying?

Bug report: At the end of the 'Mall' DLC moment in Step 2, there's a point where Cove says the MC's name, but it's said in his Step 1 voice instead of his Step 2 voice. I don't know if it happens with ALL names, but it happened with my most recent game using the name Devin.

As a follow-up to my earlier bug report about the voiced names (or at least Devin) in the Mall moment, I had the same issue in the Soiree moment as well (with the same name - again, it might just be that one).

Thank you for the report! Can you let me know when you downloaded the DLC files? I think that should be fixed in the most recent version of them.

Dear gb-patch, I'm one of the OL Kickstarter backers (and I had and still have a great time with your updates, it's great to see the project grow and you are great in communicating with your fans 💕).

I want to wait until all steps are complete until I play, I know I'll enjoy it even more if I can experience it all together. Because of that I didn't open the game myself but I just saw your post with the screenshot of the voiced names and noticed that the name that I submitted to you isn't on the list. The name is Mai (or May), will it be available later?

Thank you for supporting us! Mai is one of the names that we’re still working on. It accidentally had a tone missed.

And thank you for all of these asks <3

—————————————————————— We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[mable-stitchpunk]

What kind of videos would your characters post if they were Youtubers? Would they even want to be one at all or would they prefer to just watch or be part of a backstage editor/camera crew?

Not only the FNAF ones as humans but also the Fool's Endeavor gang!

Let’s be extremely honest here... Mari and Ennard would both have a let’s play channel and would be doing crossovers for multiplayer games whenever they could. XD Mari’s the story-driven one who focuses more on deeper experiences and existential horror. Ennard just likes good scares, body horror, and the story doesn’t matter unless the ending is bad- and if the ending is bad, Mari will tell you how to improve it. Ennard will “jokingly” tear it to pieces. 

Mike’s the guy who pops up in the webcam whenever he walks into and out of the kitchen, and he doesn’t care. Occasionally he pops up in one of Mari’s videos. Sometimes when they’re playing a game that takes a little more skill with a controller. Typically older, emulated games. Sometimes Jeremy, Fritz, and Natalie get involved if it’s a big enough multiplayer game.

Charlie has DIY channel where she shows simple repairs and occasionally craft videos, which Mari sometimes joins in on. She occasionally posts song covers at Baby’s insistence. Every once in a blue moon, Baby posts song covers anonymously on Charlie’s channel.

Foxy and Jeremy run a channel that’s pretty much 100% Pirate Cove marketing. They do unboxings, show new merchandise, and react to old Freddy movies and cartoon episodes, but they also provide news about upcoming events and do giveaways. Their fanbase ships them. Fritz works on Foxy and Jeremy’s channel as “the crew”. 

Balloon Boy has a successful(?) YTP based channel. He’s still using Mama Luigi and somehow it’s still working. He also likes going into random comment sections and leaving controversial hot takes, but then replies to every reply with: “no u”.

Louise has a hair and makeup tutorial channel that focuses on getting great results without having to pay much. She’s gotten big enough that companies are now sending her free makeup to try on camera. She underplays how much she loves it because she knows she could never afford it on a regular basis.

Moondrop, A.K.A. DroppingtheBoom666, does Majora’s Mask glitchless speedruns and spends the entire time complaining about how long it’s taking BOTW 2 to come out. Stop asking where the Sun is or he’s going to block you.

Now we get onto A Fool’s Endeavor. Thankfully, we have a much shorter list here. The only ones who would likely be Youtubers are Lure and Balsam, as Morrick and Yves are definitely more reserved. Morrick doesn’t go for the attention and Yves is deathly afraid someone might recognize him.

Balsam’s channel is largely education based. He teaches survival techniques, including on the fly first aid, gardening tutorials, and sometimes tells stories that his mentor told him. His most popular videos are the series he does discussing and breaking down historical plagues, bizarre illnesses, and gruesome medical treatments from throughout history. 

Lure’s channel is a cluster of various things. He makes videos explaining mythology and the origins of legends and fairy tales, lore videos talking about his favorite movies and games, does song covers and various instrument tutorials, and just whatever he feels like. Unlike Balsam, who takes his channel a lot more seriously, Lure just does whatever he wants and sees what sticks.  ...Except when it comes to D&D. It took Lure two months to make that character creation tutorial and tips video: “How to build the Best Bard”.  ...And then there’s his passive-aggressive rant about Fable. It’s his only video that’s reached one million views and he’s not exactly happy about it. ...And since he’s mine and we’re already breaking the laws of the world- having someone from a medieval fantasy suddenly becoming a Youtuber- I’m also claiming him as a hardcore Oddworld fan.

Well, I hope that gave you a good idea of... Well, this. XD As weird as this is. Hope you can make some sense of it!