Marketing

Thinking Critically: A D&D Discussion

This episode I am joined by professional marketer Zack Applewhite, of Applewhite Games, who takes us on a whistle-stop masterclass of content marketing tips, advice, and real-world examples to help us better promote the amazing work we do! Starting with his suggestion of a "content chop shop" where you disassemble the content you create to vastly increase quality output.

Aside from the academic and business tactics, one thing we discuss at length is comfort. Perhaps unintuitively, it's more beneficial to stick with just the mediums you're comfortable with, to avoid saturation and a loss of quality; persisting with the socials you know and understand holds much more value than spreading yourself thinly over anything and everything. Furthermore, it pays to do your research, as most social media platforms employ various sneaky tricks meaning that you rarely reach your interested audience, let alone new people. Being aware of this can have a huge impact on your mental health; it's a marathon, not a race. As long as you stay consistent and comfortable, your audience will grow.

Please ignore the amateurish splicing of some extra advice Zack thoughtfully provided post-recording, at around the 59:00 mark!

And this week I give you all some homework, to think about the following question: "One definition of 'Marketing' is 'finding out what people want'. How do you do this when the TTRPG hobby is inherently flexible and transient?"

• 02:20 - Content marketing tips for small creators
• 27:55 - How to stand out in a saturated market
• 37:39 - Email lists & demographic considerations
• 46:56 - 'Lifetime Customer Value'
• 51:42 - To split or not to split

Find Zack (@ApplewhiteGames) on:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ApplewhiteGames
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dndunlimited
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7r-XEWm-W-8AFML-LAaT_A/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zackapplewhite
• Guilds of Eraegarth: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/applewhitegames/guilds-of-eraegarth-a-dandd5e-expansion-and-campaign?ref=discovery_newest

Find me on:

• Website: https://www.thinkingcritically.co.uk
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Danilo_DnD
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinking_critically_dnd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingCriticallyDnD

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod