I have never really thought Facebook was a good place for wargaming sites. The Facebook pages or groups I visited seemed to lack focus and looked to me like a jumble of messages and posts with little order or organisation. So I set up 'proper' websites for Honours of War and Shadow of the Eagles, with forums, download sections, author content etc.
Well, the Honours of War site has worked pretty well for about 9 years, but activity is now limited to a few stalwart members. These guys post some great content, but for a set of rules published in 2015 a website was beginning to look like a luxury I couldn't afford.
The Shadow of the Eagles site had some interest at first, but this has faded recently and there is currently very little activity. The simple fact is that SotE sold less copies than HoW. This is pretty easy to explain - the Napoleonic rules market is much more competitive than the SYW one, and Osprey have a much higher profile than Partizan Press - particularly with their 'Blue Books'. With the annual renewal of the site coming up, at much increased cost, renewal just didn't seem worth it for a site generating almost zero posts on the forum. (As an aside, check out the Little Wars TV review of the Blue Book series HERE).
On the other hand, people kept telling me Facebook and Instagram were the places to be if one wanted to generate interest in your rules. Once you joined Facebook and your page or group got going, you became part of a significant online conversation, where people joined and posted on your little group, and you joined and posted on their groups. Interest might therefore flourish. This is the problem for small-time rules authors - once the initial publicity has faded, there is the danger that your rules will just sink without trace amongst all the other rule sets.
So there we are - I want to keep interest in my rules alive, and Facebook seems to be a good place to help that along. At least, that's the case according to my kids - and my wife. And a number of fellow gamers. And Dave Ryan at Partizan Press, who always wanted me to have a Facebook page. And recently, well-known military historian and Osprey author Angus Konstam also encouraged me along this route.
So, in a month or so, I will be saying goodbye to the HoW and SotE sites. To anyone who ever posted on those sites, or just joined to download free stuff, my sincere appreciation and thanks. I learned a lot from the questions asked and comments made, and this resulted in some rule amendments and errata corrections. All the errata and new or amended rules will continue to be available on Facebook, free to download.
The Facebook group is set up, and you can apply to join via the group page:
14 comments:
Changes in on line engagement have happened. Social Media apps like Facebook push the content to you. Websites and Forums the user has to go to them. I haven't been to Lead Adventurers Forum (or any other forums I'm a member of) in ages, because I keep forgetting about them, and I get lots of gaming content on my Facebook groups.
Sorry deleted above because I missed out 2 words that made what I said a load of tosh! :-)
Hi Keith, I pay for website hosting, so I know that there is a regular review on my part as to whether it is worth it. In your situation, going to FB seems the most sensible route to take.
I say that as a none FB user and someone who does use forums and websites, but that is a deliberate stance on my part so that I don’t get drawn into a FB time sink and that alone tells its own tale - FB will bring you the traffic that your rules deserve. Cheers Norm.
Keith, this is a sad but understandable migration. What will become of HoW forum content? Like Norm, I am not on FB with no intention to begin now.
I dropped all my Social Media accounts last year and am now trying to keep my blog active. I know there is a lot of good content on FB... Maybe too much and too fleeting. At the start of the month I returned to BlueSky and keeping it tightly hobby focused is working for me. As others, I've no intention of returning to FB but if you have something to promote it is a necessary evil. Good luck with it.
I only use FB to access support groups for Thomas, as it's the only way to keep in touch with what's going on etc. I did subscribe to other wargames related groups, but the amount of traffic got in the way as it were, so ended up leaving them. I much prefer forums (fora?) to get me wargaming fix, but understand whay you have gone down the FB route. At least I have subscribed to the new group (awaiting approval) as I do like to keep abreast of what the regular contributors are up to as the rules are my de facto set for the SYW.
Have subscribed to the new group
Not sure about Facebook Keith but certainly understand your decision. Hope you will continue to put things on your blog in the future. Best wishes. Jim
Mixed opinions there guys. I fully understand those with doubts - I share those doubts, but we'll see how thing turn out. Frankly, saving a few quid each month will be valuable.
I've been using Facebook a fair bit the last few years and generally join all the groups for the various rules I play. The FB demographic is getting older but then so is the wargaming community.
So far I've been pleasantly surprised about the courteous nature of the Groups - mostly pictures of games and rules questions. The more competitive rules can generate some debate but nothing you would nt see at a club night.
Keith, just to let you know I've sent a joining request for the fb page.
Thanks for joining me up Keith and I wish you all the very best in keeping up a good dialogue through the group (and more rules sales!). A few years ago people said that FB was dying and we had to go to Instagram, Tiktok and some even newer ones, but also during that period since I have noticed more and more wargaming groups of interest being started up; so what you have done seems like a natural progression, especially if it saves you money. The FB groups do tend to be there with new stuff most days if you go to your FB notifications, so it is easy to keep up to date. The only thing I find irksome is those who use the FB group like a personal blog and write long AARs with 20, 30, 50 photos! My blog costs me nothing and I can put on it what I want without fear of distracting others unless they want to follow me, or just turn up by chance. So my advice to those with nice stuff to show is start a blog and put links to it on the relevant FB group when you have something good, with just a few pics to whet the appetite. Keith your blog is always a great read so please keep it up. Chris G
Chris, I'm glad to hear your positive reaction to the Facebook move. My blog has been a bit thin on the ground lately, but I do intend to keep it up, if only as a record of my wargaming activities for my own benefit.
Keith, that's as good a reason as any, and one reason I do mine when I can. But personally I love to read your blog posts on issues you care about too.
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