uptimistik said: Use Facebook ads to build a brand, not advertise a game. If you build a brand, then you can just message those people whenever you release a new game.
I won't pretend to be a marketing expert. But I agree with uptimistik.
$0.78 per click on a product that generates $0.70 revenue doesn't make sense.
If your product was a $30,000 car, well ok, fair enough. But for $1 apps.... it doesn't make any sense.
But it will be interesting to see how many of those clicks will turn to buys.
So thanks for sharing your experiment
---------- "Honey Tribe is not only a remarkably endearing little game, but it's also incredibly addictive." Pocket Gamer "...a touch above the rest in the endless running genre" 148apps.com Say hi on Twitter Like us on Facebook www.HoneyTribeStudios.com
Well you have two choices CPM which is impressions and CPC which is clicks.
You can spend for example $5 per day or $100 for a set amount of time.
So for me i spent $50 over 3 days. The actually cost per click is a bid system, and the price is set by the market. Meaning I bid $1.25 per click but I actually ended up paying $0.78 per click because that's what the market has set currently , (kind of like the stock market)
The more focused the ad targets are the more expensive the CPC. I targeted my Bouncing Birds! ad at everyone in the US between ages 13-20 which is a pool of 52 million people because I'm just testing the waters before I put down a significant investment.
Here is a very focused example: -Males or Females between ages 14-25 -Anyone who has interests in "Angry Birds" "iPhone" -Anyone who lists in their activities "Playing Games" "Gaming" -Has to be in High School or College -Must be a fan of Rovio
That pool might be 15 million people but that audience is going to be much more likely to click on an ad about a game. Since your targeting them so closely the CPC would be around $1.80
@HoneyTribeStudios if it costs me net $0.08 per purchase on my game then I would happily spend the money.
That $0.08 that it's costing me to add another player to my game is nothing compared to the possible reviews, word of mouth, and brand awareness.
So at $0.08 per person let's say 500 people bought my game essentially costing me $40.00
The exposure I would get from 500 new players would far outweigh the $40.00 I spent on ads.
@steve86 Thanks for that, I would have targeted that demographic but that would have made my CPC go up and for right now during this test run I wanted to keep it as low as possible.
RodrigoPerez said: @HoneyTribeStudios if it costs me net $0.08 per purchase on my game then I would happily spend the money.
That $0.08 that it's costing me to add another player to my game is nothing compared to the possible reviews, word of mouth, and brand awareness.
So at $0.08 per person let's say 500 people bought my game essentially costing me $40.00
The exposure I would get from 500 new players would far outweigh the $40.00 I spent on ads.
Unfortunately I don't think you'll get a conversion rate of 100%
Lets say it goes well and you get a 5% conversion rate.
At 0.78 per click thats costing you $15.6 per purchase. Or $14.9 if you subtract the $0.7 you make from the sale.
That would be expensive to sustain.
The CTR of 0.072 you posted above also seems really low. I know game advertising must be pretty competitive on facebook but still...
You won't know for sure what the real number are unless you can track the conversion rates. Trade doubler is the UK affiliate network for the app store. I haven't looked around the site properly but I'm assuming we can track where the clicks are coming from?
So in summary... I hope you can prove me wrong and it works out and your sales increase But as I said before. A small CPC campaign on facebook doesn't make any sense to me for a $0.99 iphone game.
On a different not.... Bloody 'ell, Bouncing Birds is hard! I was stuck on level 8 for a few minutes. And now I'm stuck on level 13. But I shall percevere! Graphics are quite nice (Sent you a PM too)
Thats good that you are getting some video reviews. I tried Facebook ads a couple of years ago and they didn't work at all. I think you would have the best luck with Facebook ads if you made a fan page for Bouncing Birds and you advertised the fan page.
Looks awesome. About to get it. My only negative feedback from what I've seen is that the coconuts don't look very coconuttish. But still a great looking game with a great concept!
GameSalad users are kind of stuck on this whole physics thing. It was cool at first but is getting old and replay value is minimal. What happen to creating adventure games or coming up with an idea that is new? I personally would only use physics if I came up with a totally new idea or for collision effects in a adventure or side-scroller from time to time. But not all the time.
You used a bird that resembles angry birds. It would be best to use your own original idea. The copycat idea isn't going to make the same profits as the original.
While your game does have nice graphics and so forth, if you want better profits, be original.
I hope this doesn't sound like a bash because it's not. I think you did a very nice job on your game. Its just the whole physics and bird thing has been overly done. And that goes for any and all of the copycat games.
I do wish you the best on your sales and hope you take at least a little of my advice for your next game.
RodrigoPerez said: @HoneyTribeStudios if it costs me net $0.08 per purchase on my game then I would happily spend the money.
That $0.08 that it's costing me to add another player to my game is nothing compared to the possible reviews, word of mouth, and brand awareness.
So at $0.08 per person let's say 500 people bought my game essentially costing me $40.00
The exposure I would get from 500 new players would far outweigh the $40.00 I spent on ads.
@steve86 Thanks for that, I would have targeted that demographic but that would have made my CPC go up and for right now during this test run I wanted to keep it as low as possible.
If you made it free for afew days you would get a 1000 downloads doing the same thing but not costing you anything?
@hman360 Thanks, I'm glad you liked it enough to beat it. As for another one, well I would have liked to but sales have been horrible so most likely no. Things can change though.
@Braydon_SFX I appreciate it..It took me roughly 3 months from concept to App Store, and yes I did all the graphics myself.
RodrigoPerez said: @hman360 Thanks, I'm glad you liked it enough to beat it. As for another one, well I would have liked to but sales have been horrible so most likely no. Things can change though.
@Braydon_SFX I appreciate it..It took me roughly 3 months from concept to App Store, and yes I did all the graphics myself.
You have a great game can be quite challenging stuck on level 13 for about a week, lol would you be selling your template?
Comments
Then say you pay 20cents for each click (just a number i made up) If you get 2 clicks, your limit will then drop to 49.60.
Then it keeps going like so subtracting from your limit till you used up as much as you want to pay.
$0.78 per click on a product that generates $0.70 revenue doesn't make sense.
If your product was a $30,000 car, well ok, fair enough. But for $1 apps.... it doesn't make any sense.
But it will be interesting to see how many of those clicks will turn to buys.
So thanks for sharing your experiment
----------
"Honey Tribe is not only a remarkably endearing little game, but it's also incredibly addictive." Pocket Gamer
"...a touch above the rest in the endless running genre" 148apps.com
Say hi on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
www.HoneyTribeStudios.com
You can spend for example $5 per day or $100 for a set amount of time.
So for me i spent $50 over 3 days. The actually cost per click is a bid system, and the price is set by the market. Meaning I bid $1.25 per click but I actually ended up paying $0.78 per click because that's what the market has set currently , (kind of like the stock market)
The more focused the ad targets are the more expensive the CPC. I targeted my Bouncing Birds! ad at everyone in the US between ages 13-20 which is a pool of 52 million people because I'm just testing the waters before I put down a significant investment.
Here is a very focused example:
-Males or Females between ages 14-25
-Anyone who has interests in "Angry Birds" "iPhone"
-Anyone who lists in their activities "Playing Games" "Gaming"
-Has to be in High School or College
-Must be a fan of Rovio
That pool might be 15 million people but that audience is going to be much more likely to click on an ad about a game. Since your targeting them so closely the CPC would be around $1.80
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390354,00.asp
Just a reference for you
That $0.08 that it's costing me to add another player to my game is nothing compared to the possible reviews, word of mouth, and brand awareness.
So at $0.08 per person let's say 500 people bought my game essentially costing me $40.00
The exposure I would get from 500 new players would far outweigh the $40.00 I spent on ads.
@steve86 Thanks for that, I would have targeted that demographic but that would have made my CPC go up and for right now during this test run I wanted to keep it as low as possible.
Lets say it goes well and you get a 5% conversion rate.
At 0.78 per click thats costing you $15.6 per purchase. Or $14.9 if you subtract the $0.7 you make from the sale.
That would be expensive to sustain.
The CTR of 0.072 you posted above also seems really low. I know game advertising must be pretty competitive on facebook but still...
You won't know for sure what the real number are unless you can track the conversion rates. Trade doubler is the UK affiliate network for the app store. I haven't looked around the site properly but I'm assuming we can track where the clicks are coming from?
So in summary... I hope you can prove me wrong and it works out and your sales increase
On a different not.... Bloody 'ell, Bouncing Birds is hard! I was stuck on level 8 for a few minutes. And now I'm stuck on level 13. But I shall percevere! Graphics are quite nice
I would be happy to do a video review for free, if you could send a promo code, that'd be great.
redsox360blog@gmail.com
Could you do a free video review for my app "Mighty Feathers" also. I will send you a promo code if you are interested.
GameSalad users are kind of stuck on this whole physics thing. It was cool at first but is getting old and replay value is minimal. What happen to creating adventure games or coming up with an idea that is new? I personally would only use physics if I came up with a totally new idea or for collision effects in a adventure or side-scroller from time to time. But not all the time.
You used a bird that resembles angry birds. It would be best to use your own original idea. The copycat idea isn't going to make the same profits as the original.
While your game does have nice graphics and so forth, if you want better profits, be original.
I hope this doesn't sound like a bash because it's not. I think you did a very nice job on your game. Its just the whole physics and bird thing has been overly done. And that goes for any and all of the copycat games.
I do wish you the best on your sales and hope you take at least a little of my advice for your next game.
1ould you mind checking out mine?
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disasterville-pro/id455623724?ls=1&mt=8
Question: How long did it take you? Did you do the graphics yourself, they are amazing as well.
Continue the great work!
My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx
@Braydon_SFX I appreciate it..It took me roughly 3 months from concept to App Store, and yes I did all the graphics myself.
would you be selling your template?
Thats pathetic!
XD JK