littlelogs

rpgdan

Today I did a task I’ve been meaning to do for ages. I submitted a “guest post” (kind of) to Gamasutra. It’s a big website for game developers and aspiring game developers. I reused part of the introduction of the book, did some light editing and added pictures. It’s awaiting editor approval.

Editing for the first full part of the book is finished. Two parts to go. I’ll upload the second part later today.

#rpg_book

05 March rpg_book

4 Heart 0 comments

rpgdan

Totally caught up on emails
Started playing around with new article focused on a keyword.
More edits fed back into the book.

Editing is going fast but it’s going to take at least a month and the cost is certainly going to be over $1000, maybe 3k. This is because the book is so lengthy.

28 February

rpgdan

Reset my A/B test on the homepage with some tweaked text.
Published an article on the site

Still today I need to review the next batch of editing and send the payment over to the editor. And there’s also one email I haven’t replied to.

26 February

rpgdan

Editing is now underway, I’m using Google docs with revision history. I need to start pulling the edited google docs back into my local files.

Also had a nice email from a programming teacher and I’ve asked if I can use some of text of that email on the website (which I never feel super-comfortable about doing but most people are more than happy to oblige). I keep all my “endorsement” quotes in a file but I’m only using a few on the website.

A/B testing news: The warning about an imminent price increase seems to reduce click through. Possibly framing or people feel they’re being pressured in a negative way - something to tweak!

24 February

rpgdan

Finished a first pass on my current article. It needs a few review passes but hopeful it will go up this weekend.

23 February

rpgdan

So far this week:

Answering emails (still behind on this)
Finally contacted a freelance editor to go through the book
Continued writing my next article for the site
Working on a freelance project

I definitely don’t feel as focused as when as I was working on the book, but I’m happy with where I’m heading at the moment.

I’m below my target for sales (currently 39 for this year) but it’s a nice baseline. I’m hoping to boost this later, with ads.

22 February

rpgdan

Removed the AB test on one of the titles on my main page - neither option came out a winner. Replaced it with a new AB test, that tests a message saying I’m going to increase the price the first half of this year. I imagine this one will convert better but we’ll see! (It’s also a useful notice to get out there)

18 February

rpgdan

First new post of 2017 on the How to Make an RPG site.

… that took a while! I blame the flu I had in January :)

The second article shouldn’t take as long I hope. I’ve not done any more adsense stuff, yet as there a couple of things I want to look into.

I’ve also taken on a bit of freelance work, that I’m sure will slow me a little.

18 February

rpgdan

I fiddled a bit more with the adsense stuff. If my conversion rate is 5% (which apparently isn’t particularly unusual with direct ad-traffic) then the numbers work.

This morning I’ve been mostly answering email. I’d let it build up a bit but I also seem to have received more this month. It’s something I should record but currently don’t!

06 February

rpgdan

Started a very brief Google docs sheet to look at ads. If I take the current conversion rate from my landing page - the numbers really don’t work!

My cost per click (from the keyword planner) seems to be around 80c.

But there are a lot of variables so I need to investigate further.

01 February

rpgdan

Added A/B tests to both my landing pages. I don’t have any conversion tracking code but running A/B tests gives me conversions numbers for free :) It also starts me off testing which is good.

The landing pages are now ready to go. I need to learn more about adwords next. I also have a few pieces of mail from last week I’ve not replied to! gah.

31 January

rpgdan

This weekend:

Added a second landing page to drive traffic to
New A/B test, to try out various sprites on my mailing list sign-up

I want to get new A/B tests ready to run on both my landing pages. I also want to make a simple excel sheet that gives me some spreads for ad costs. (Cost per click rate, conversion rate etc.)

Then I need to do some research about Google Adwords (or any ad service).

29 January

rpgdan

I added a new landing page, it’s a copy of my root page with the articles link removed. This is a hidden page that I only intend to use for tracking ad conversions (which I haven’t setup yet).

The recommended way seems to be:

Drive to landing page
Collect email
Send valuable content
Make offer

But that’s too much work for me! I’m going to try a much shorter funnel:

Drive to landing page
Make offer

I’ll experiment with this and perhaps slowly migrate to the email one.

26 January

2 Heart 0 comments

rpgdan

Took out some A/B tests I was running.

Having an image on my mailing list sign up converts a lot better (>~180%). I thought an image would be better but I want to get into the practice of using my testing framework.

(If you sign up to my mailing list you get a pack of RPG sprites. I used one of these sprites on the call to action box)

Next, for the mailing I’ll try varying the image and see if any converts better than the others.

25 January

2 Heart 2 comments

rpgdan

Now I’m starting to feel human again - back to work! I renewed some of my domains this morning. Before the end of January I want to get some landing pages up read for testing ads.

24 January

rpgdan

Last week I was away a full week from Sunday to Saturday for work. I seem have brought back a terrible cold.

Not much forward progress. Hopefully I’ll be 100% again soon!

18 January

rpgdan

Yesterday: working on the article and updating the website’s FAQ locally with questions people have recently asked. This morning: working on the code to create my example diagram.

I had two more sales overnight that were correctly tracked. I need to set up some landing pages and decide what terms to runs ads for. To start with I want the terms to simple and straightforward, then I’ll iterate.

04 January

rpgdan

Tracking code is still working because it correctly reported a sale overnight
Writing code to produce an illustration for the article I’m writing

02 January

rpgdan

A good day for getting back on track with doing a little everyday.

Started writing a new post
Switched pricing plan on Gumroad (how I pay for Gumroad’s services). For this year at least it’s better.
Tweaked my tracking pixel code because it failed to correctly report a sale. (I was waiting for onDOMContentLoaded and I don’t think I need to)

01 January

rpgdan

> My 2016 Review Post <

Other things I did:

Wrote code for a tracking pixel. The pixel image is requested after purchase and gives me a way to track conversions (via cookie).
Updated the game engine with a couple of new features and ease-of-use changes.
One more small article for the site.

30 Dec 2016

3 Heart 2 comments

rpgdan

This week has been a wash. Can’t really say why! Managed to finish off an old article I was half-through. It’s about improving one small area of the game presented at the end of the #rpg_book.

Heading back to my parents for Christmas on Tuesday. I won’t be doing much more until the new year.

If I don’t post before: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone :)

18 Dec 2016 rpg_book

2 Heart 0 comments

rpgdan

This morning: made some small moves to picking up an article I was last writing a few months ago.

Over the weekend I got most of a 2016 review article done. There’s still a few sections to finalise, then it should be ready to post for the new year.

12 Dec 2016

rpgdan

Published a new article about game design yesterday. Replied to an email helping someone diagnose an issue. This morning reading and updating some notes. I want to start preparing a 2016 review post

09 Dec 2016

1 Heart 3 comments

rpgdan

Continuing to edit the article I want to publish this week. Maybe tomorrow?

I also replied to a few emails related to the book.

07 Dec 2016

rpgdan

Yesterday morning I had something else I needed to get done, so I didn’t make any progress.

This morning - finished the first draft of next article. It’s needs some editing and then I’ll publish it, sometime this week.

I also need to release another update of the book as some corrections went in a few months ago and they haven’t made it to the release copy!

06 Dec 2016

rpgdan

Added two new AB tests for two different “funnels” - the book purchase and the mailing sign-up. The first tests a title change, the second tests adding an image to the mailing list call-to-action.

I spent far to long fiddling with CSS to get the image where I want :(

I’m adding tests to help me become familiar with the AB framework I use. I don’t want to buy traffic until I know I can optimise and measure it’s performance.

04 Dec 2016

rpgdan

This morning: Removed the cart icon from the buy button. Continued writing my next article - I’m happy with how it’s shaping up.

02 Dec 2016

rpgdan

This morning I checked the A/B test I setup months ago … it says people are more likely to click the “Buy Now” button if I remove the shopping cart icon. Interesting. I think I’ll remove it then. But it’s important to state: this test doesn’t mean removing the icon will increase sales. Maybe people who aren’t serious about buying will click a button without a cart while they wouldn’t click one with a cart.

I use gumroad for sales and distribution and I haven’t figured out how to get this data into my site’s funnel. (Though I don’t make enough sales to run this kind of A/B test anyway :D)

I started writing a new article about game design - drawing on some of the problems we faced when making the game in Hong Kong. (But I don’t reference it directly :)).

I wish I could figure out a way to measure the effectiveness of articles. I’m sure my articles on rpg-stats has accounted for ~100 sales but I don’t how to record the attribution on the back-end.

01 Dec 2016

rpgdan

It’s been a while!

I’m now based in Brighton, UK - definitely feeling the start of the UK winter after Hong Kong!

My side project How to Make an RPG has sold 798 units since January. My 1000 unit goal for year-end, seems unlikely :). I have done nothing since September but, even so, I’ve averaged 1 sale a day.

I’m easing myself back in this morning. Patching the server and getting some notes together. I’m not starting a new project yet, I’m going to do marketing work for this one.

An old article, Not Your Problem, hit hackernews and reddit earlier this month. It’s now the fourth most linked to page on my site. This makes me rethink a few things, as I’d considered this type of article as a failure and not worth writing :)

I’ll do an hour each morning mostly concentrated on content marketing until I find my rhythm again.

30 Nov 2016

2 Heart 2 comments

rpgdan

Updated my dashboard to let me see the details of each purchaser for #rpg_book . I display the total sales and gross profit for the last full month. The purchase model has a refund field to let me mark off people who’ve requested a refund (2 so far). While doing this I noticed one guy had purchased the book twice last week. So I refunded him the first purchase and sent him a mail letting him know. (He didn’t open the receipt for the first purchase but had for the second) - which puts my refund total to 3 :)

I’m in-process with a few companies for my next role, another couple of weeks and I’ll have a better idea of where I’ll be.

23 Sep 2016 rpg_book

rpgdan

I’m in the midst of applying for new jobs at the moment. I’m looking for something away from the frontlines of gamedev and with some stability. I was putting off applications until I visited the dentist as I thought I might need some wisdom teeth removing - but everything is fine!

Visited Copenhagen, Vilnius and Warsaw the week before last. All very nice and sunny.
Received an art commission back
Used the art as a mailing list incentive (and I’ve just “launched” that today)

My AB test is looking like a null result but I have plenty more tests to try.

07 Sep 2016

1 Heart 2 comments

rpgdan

Yesterday I pushed a new article to site that answers a reader’s question about extending one of the games introduced in the #rpg_book. I think this may also be of interest to people considering buying the book as it digs into the code and shows the RPGs they’ll make.

My first AB test is still running. I want to wait until I’ve had 1000 participants before I use the result.

After Wednesday, I’m away for a week, joining some old friends for a small trip.

21 Aug 2016 rpg_book

rpgdan

Yesterday I opened my site in the Chrome and noticed the “https” was red and had a strikethrough :(

The site is written rails. The compiled CSS file was being served over https but a reference to a font was http. This was the issue. I “fixed” it by serving all fonts over https.

The artist got back to me about new art, so that’s now got a timeline.

I pushed an A/B test live. This is more a proof of concept to see if the A/B test system works :D I’m trying the “Buy” button with and without the shopping cart icon.

19 Aug 2016

rpgdan

The email switch, decimated my list numbers - in the literal sense! Still I think I’ll be able to build it up again, this time on more general terms.

Published three articles.
Contacted one of the artists about creating new artwork. I intend to use this as a mailing list signup incentive.
Updated some of the google analytics on the site. Unfortunately I used events which can’t be used in funnels, so I’m going revisit that in the future.

17 Aug 2016

rpgdan

Email to mailing list scheduled for tonight

Turns out, in mailchimp, if you turn-off link tracking then the URL escaping in hyperlinks doesn’t work. So I turned that back on :)

My mailing list is >3K people after this … maybe 1k? Still they’ll be the people super interested in what I’m doing. I also expect this mail blast to catch a few people who missed the books release and result in a few more sales (certainly enough to cover the cost of sending the mail).

11 Aug 2016

rpgdan

Updated some of the game maps that had a layer error
Created the mail to invite users to switch to a new mailing list

Inviting people to switch from one list to another means I’ll lose people. That’s just how it is. I can lose less people by making the switch easy. I created a special URL and use mailchimp’s merge tags to create a custom link for each subscriber to switch with one button press.

Basically I invite subscribers to visit a page:

howtomakeanrpg.com/newsletter/switch?name=[name_goes_here]&email=[email_goes_here]

Then that page auto fills in a form and has a button to switch the user. I’m ready to go on this but there appears to be a bug. Mailchimp isn’t correctly URL-escaping the name and address I’m waiting to hear back from a support ticket.

10 Aug 2016