I can only speak from my own experience, which is somewhat limited. I've also had a few lucky breaks, so those can't be ignored either.
When I first started out, I had Brandon Drury from Recording Review help me push my stuff. I don't think I would have ever left the ground if I didn't have that. His tactics were a bit out there, but they worked. He had a big enough following that he at least was able to give me a good push start. It was kind of luck that we both knew each other well enough to want to collaborate on getting a first product out.
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Originally Posted by random_id
-FREE: Having free stuff does generate a lot of traffic to the website. I think it also generates a lot of talk on forums. This is a good thing, although I don't know if FREE translates into sales
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I found this to be the case too. It doesn't even have to be anything super special for free. In fact, I don't think people trust complicated plugins that are free. It looks too fishy. But if you have a simple plugin that solves a very simple problem and it's free, everyone will want to use it.
My 2 free plugins are Bark of Dog and Panipulator. Bark of Dog is literally a high pass filter with a resonance knob. This can be done with pretty much any EQ already on the market. It even says so in the product description. But tons of people use it.
Panipulator is equally as simple. Just a couple of simple channel and polarity switches. It's nothing that can't be done with other plugins out there, but I think people like that it's not convoluted by other stuff.
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Originally Posted by random_id
-SALES: I know this has been discussed on KVR, but sales work. I generate many more purchases during sales. I know the thoughts on KVR were against sales, but I just can't afford to not do it. People expect sales at certain times of the year. I also think it is a gentle motivator for someone that is on the fence regarding purchasing. For me, the trick is to have a non-sale price that is not ridiculously high (and reasonable for the plugin), as well as having a sale that is not ridiculously low. I am not sure how companies handle the $20 price for a $300 plugin.
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I would strongly suggest not listening to what people on KVR say. What people say they want with their mouth is very different from what they say with their wallet. I mean, I think Waves' $300 plugin on sale for $29 is the most transparent stupid gimmick in the world. How can anyone fall for this? Then I realize I just bought 3 $29 Waves plugins in the past couple of weeks.
For me, I find it really hard to strike the balance between being friends with the people who purchase my plugins and trying to manipulate them into buying more. Those two demons are at constant odds with each other, and I haven't found a way to reconcile them yet.
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Originally Posted by random_id
-ADVERTISING: This is a mystery item for me. I just don't know how or what to do. If anything, this is my goal for the next few months - Spend money to make money.
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Marketing is a mystery even to marketing guys. Advertising feels a lot like throwing money into the wind and hoping more money comes back. I haven't really had any luck with advertising myself. But having a mailing list is gold. If you aren't building a mailing list, I would strongly advise you to start right this second. It is by far your most effective marketing tool.
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Originally Posted by random_id
-WORD-OF-MOUTH: Every time someone mentions LVC-Audio plugins on some forum, I get crazy bumps in web traffic. When someone says, "what is a good limiter for cheap?" and someone answers with one of my limiters, I definitely get sales. It is amazing how much power each individual user has on a forum. I guess (in conjunction with advertising), I need to find a way to increase this a lot more.
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The problem with word of mouth is that it's hard to predict. It's great when it happens, but I can only see it as a bonus. A lot of companies hire people to fabricate word of mouth. I guess it works, but it feels slimy to me.
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Originally Posted by random_id
-PARTNERING: I haven't done anything like Plugin Alliance, but I have done a deal with a podcast that had a sale with my plugins. They got a cut of the sales. I was skeptical, but it actually worked out great. I definitely need to do more of this (and I am also very interested in the other thread about some sort of coalition - in whatever form).
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Have you tried talking to any big names? I know it can feel like it some sort of inner circle that you don't have access to, but most professional mixing engineers are also playing a game of trying to get their names out there, and having a line of plugins is great for them on that front.
Just don't give away the farm if you plan on doing that kind of stuff. It's easy to think that they are doing you a favor by putting their name on your plugin, but you can't view it like that. In the end, you will be the one doing 90% of the work, so make agreements accordingly.
I should also add, and this is one of those things that I hate, but it's still true. Controversy sells. If there is controversy surrounding one of your plugins, that plugin will sell more. You just have to be careful how you manage the controversy. If you piss off everyone, nobody will want it. But if you can piss off 10% of people with something, then you have yourself a goldmine, because the other 90% will rally behind you. Nothing is better for word of mouth than a 5 page thread at KVR where 3 people are talking back and forth about something they hate about you.