Secondlife Stores 101

So, a few weeks back I threw out my 'Ohai Scary Ad' post giving new and current store owners some insight on how NOT to make an ad for their items! Today, I'm going to add a little more information to that particular topic, a couple other topics along those lines and I'm going to go all Glitterati up in this piece, as well. :) If you are a store owner or intend to open a store, this could be a good blog to read. :)

It's honestly all about the ads and presentation. Everyone sees what a good ad is, differently. Some people prefer backgrounds, some like glitter, some like basic solid color backgrounds... none of these are wrong as long as you follow a few simple guidelines:



1. Lighting. Seriously yo, turn your settings up, change your lighting to CAWL or something of that nature that's bright and doesn't have all the ugly shadows on your avy. Shadows BEHIND your avy that are put there ON PURPOSE are different lol.
2. Poses. Yeah. If you just stand there and take a picture... your item probably will NOT look nearly as appealing is if you use an actual pose. Grab a cheap pose stand and dump different poses into it. My favorite place to get poses is Glitterati. Katey has a TON of different stand and sit poses that are perfect for taking photos for ads.

The below are Candii modeling with optimal lighting settings and Candii modeling... well without. You can see the difference on the clothes, her face... the picture where the lighting is optimized is SO much better, more clear and much more appealing. There is also a photo of her just standing with no pose. Granted it's not easy to spot always, but the picture looks so much more appealing with a pose.

See Candii Normally-

See Candii in the dark :(

See Candii all Newbie with no pose :(

Like I said above, Glitterati is a great place for poses. The poses above are from her 'Long Hair' pose set. It's very hard to find hair for ads because it covers the outfit or the pose eats it, these poses really help that. Go buy it cuz it's awesome and Katey rocks. /end shameless plug for godmommy lolz.

3. Write what items come with this outfit on the ad. It's very frustrating to look at an outfit and think it must come with shoes and it doesn't... or go buy shoes just to put the outfit on to find it came with shoes.
4. Use attractive, readable font. And try not to use a font that clashes with the background, making it hard to read.


The more work you put into your ads, the more obvious it is that you take pride in what you've made.

So now, you've got your ads done and you are read to release! The manor in which you announce your release is also important. If you released today and had the most AMAZING DRESS I HAVE EVER SEEN but didn't put a photo in your notecard or didn't even MAKE a notecard, just sent a landmark...I'd never see that dress. I, like many shoppers, want to see the NC before I can be asked to TP to the store. So you are missing out on possible shoppers by not creating a proper notice. What should go in your notecard?

1. Pictures! Well duh, put those ads in that notecard so your adoring customers can see all the awesome new product they need to be spending their money on.
2. WORDS! Don't send a notecard with just photos. That looks so tacky, put some efford into it.

Example:

New from Jimmy Bob's Toys!
(Photo)
It's the washing machine that not ONLY can wash your clothes, but it can DO YOUR HOMEWORK TOO. How bout dem apples, Teacher?

Simple explanations of the item go a long way. A picture of a washing machine is so not that great, but knowing it can do my homework, hex yeah, I'm all over that!

3. YOUR LANDMARK. Seriously, uhhh how else are we going to come visit!?
4. Any important news, sales, promotions cool stuff. But don't make the NC super long, alot of people don't read all of it and if it's too long, they won't read any of it. We're a lazy society lolz.

So this was just a little bit of assistance from Candii to whomever cares to read it. Haha. You may think this is silly, but ALOT of people don't do the simple things that could really help boost sales or get more foot traffic.

SURVEY! Please answer the questions below, from a shoppers standpoint in the comments section!
1. Does the lighting matter to you?
2. If I was standing all newblike in the photos above with an old skin, bad hair and no pose, would you buy that dress?
3. How often do you ignore a notice that has no notecard?

Losta love, sparkles and GLITTERATI! See you next week!
-Candii (IS GOING TO  CAMP- YEEHAW! Sorry I almost made it a whole post without the 'C' word!)