You have completed building and landscaping objects on your client’s parcel, and now you need to turn over ownership of all of these various items to the property owner in order to complete your project. The good news is, there are a few different ways in which this can be easily accomplished. The best method will depend largely on whether the build work took place on the mainland or a private region, and the relationship and level of trust established with the client.
Mainland Transfer
There are two methods I recommend for mainland transfer – group deeding and object by object sale. One other method that will work, but that I do not personally advise using on mainland properties is land sale with objects. I will explain why as I go along.
Group Deeding
This is probably the easiest method of turning objects over because it provides builders with a method of transfer that requires a minimum of involvement on behalf of the client. The only thing they have to do is to invite you into the group that the property is assigned to as an officer. This enables you to deed objects directly to the group, and since your client is the group owner they will be given the right to take, sell, buy, etc. all group objects upon deeding.
Pros:
- You can transfer at your own pace – as you go along, or all at once at the end of the build work.
- You can avoid having to take a great deal of the client’s time with object transference, (which can be a big turn off for them).
- If you should deed an object, and then need to replace or repair it, you will be able to take the object back without asking the client for assistance, or possibly edit the deeded version as is depending on the next owner permissions that were set before deeding. This can save time and prevent inconvenience for everyone.
Cons:
- You must be extremely careful when it comes to setting object next owner permissions, because once you deed the object those permissions are permanent. Trying to remember to continuously set the next owner permissions as promised can become a real hassle, and if you forget to do it you may find yourself going back and replacing objects (assuming you have backup copies!) that you previously deeded. Always remember – when using this method to treat each object group deed as if it is the actual sale to the client, and you should be fine.
- If the property owner decides to clear the plot at any point and does a mass return on all group objects, the objects you deeded over will be returned to YOU, and not to the property owner. You may want to advise your client that when clearing the property, they need to pick up the group objects one by one rather than doing a mass return if they want to keep their objects.
Object by Object Sale
This is probably the most time intensive method of transferring objects, but if your client has decided not to assign the plot to a group, this will basically be the best way to get them their newly built objects. This method consists of going object by object and setting everything for sale, then having the client go object by object and buying the sale items. If there are a lot of objects, this can take a really long time.
One way to save time using this method is to use an object packaging system such as Rez-Foo or Rez-Faux to package your build into as few packages as possible, set the packages to the optimal location for rezzing. Once you have done that, have your client buy the rez box, launch the objects, and set them. (This is actually the best way to perform the object by object sale since it will easily give the client a nicely packaged backup for their inventory if they want one.)
If you don’t have, or don't want to use a packaging system, you could also join as many objects to each other as possible ahead of time, and then you will have fewer items to sell. Be aware – if you do use this method there could be problems post sale depending on the next owner permissions you set before the sale. For example – if you join a door to the building and don’t set the next owner permissions to mod, the door probably won’t work correctly after the sale (doors usually need to remain un-joined to their building in order to swing properly).
Pros:
- Once the sale transaction is complete, the object transference will be final. Should the property owner decide to clear the plot, they can do a mass return without any worry about losing their objects.
- This method will actually give your client a really good picture of what they’re getting, because it provides them with an opportunity to take a casual inventory of what you have created for them.
- This method can be a useful way to ensure that you will receive your full payment for the job. You can assign a price to each item that when added up will amount to the overall cost for the job. If your client does not perform the purchase, you will still have the ability to collect the objects.
Cons:
- VERY time intensive. The bigger the build, the more time. Make sure your client is on board with this before you select this process.
- If you have items set to sell for L$0, and your client does not buy them right away, there is nothing to prevent another avatar from coming along and buying the object out from under you. For the safest transfer using this method, have your client on hand, and do the sell/buy transaction object by object. Even securing the plot from entry is not always safe from this, since avatars can pan and perform tasks on the plot from outside the border.
Land Sale with Objects
This is definitely the fastest method of transferring objects, but not necessarily the best way. It involves a simple land sale transaction from owner to builder, and then back again from builder to owner with objects included in the sale. Using this method you can transfer objects in just a minute or two, and also provide full ownership transfer in one swoop.
Pros:
- Very fast, very simple method of transfer that moves objects in one simple transaction
- Objects are safe and secure from mass return of deeded objects, and interloping avatars as explained above, because you can control who the property should be sold to.
- Once transfer is complete, the client retains full ownership of objects from that point forward.
Cons:
- Your client must completely and totally trust you, because they are basically giving you all of their assets with the expectation that you will give them back. If you don’t, there is nothing they can do about it. Any client who has dealt with shady people previously will NOT want to do this. * Amusing / not-so-amusing story – I used this method one time, and as I completed my property purchase from the client, I crashed before I could set the return sale. It took me a good 5-10 minutes to get back in world, and in the time I was gone my client had completely freaked out thinking I was stealing their property. This is the type of thing you have to be concerned with.
- You must have sufficient room in your tier level to do the transaction in mainland regions. If you don’t, you WILL be bumped up by Linden Lab to a higher tier level for that month, even if you only own the plot for 15 seconds.
Private Region Transfer
Any one of the previously described methods will also work on private regions, but I highly recommend the Land Sale with Objects method above all others. When doing the land sale object transfer on a private region you will have the benefit of all of the pros stated above, and NONE of the cons.
Why? Well to begin with, buying a plot on a private region does not cause the region owner to lose that piece of their holdings. Region owners always maintain the ability to revert plot ownership back to themselves, so there is no risk to them to sell you their land. Also, purchase on private regions does not affect tier levels the way mainland purchases do, so there is no financial impact to the builder buying the plot.
When it comes to private region development, this is the method I encourage above all others, and to date using this transfer method has had a 100% success rate for me.
List of Articles:
Top 5 Things to Consider When Establishing Your Virtual Presence
1) Explore and take full advantage of all of the media and interactivity a virtual presence can offer.
Think outside of the box. Having a virtual presence is like combining the best of your real world place of business and your Internet presence. Don't limit yourself to just looking - there are many tools that can enhance your virtual business and make for a memorable location. Some examples:
- You can create a 3-D replica of your product and set it on a shelf, or you can create the product replica, incorporate avatar sensors that will "pitch" the product when people come near, hyperlink the replica to the web site where the avatar can find more information and / or purchase product, have the replica dispense a copy of itself to the avatar for them to take "home" and play with, etc....
- You can create a model of your real world presence by putting a copy of your building on a plot of land, but why limit yourself to reality when you can take advantage of the lighting and texturing capabilities of the virtual world to create a specific vibe or mood that can market your product or services better? If you are a travel agent who wants to send people to Hawaii, don't bring them to a brick and mortar recreation - bring them to a tropical paradise at sunset, complete with palm trees and rum drinks. Who cares if it doesn't accurately reflect where you work? You're not selling your office, you're selling paradise.
2) Provide more than one reason to visit.
What can I do when I visit your business that will make me want to come back a second time? Once you have decided on a business plan to attract real world customers, go that extra step to draw virtual customers too. Maybe you're an architectural firm who designs malls. What better way to promote yourself than to open a mall adjacent to your virtual office, complete with virtual vendors selling virtual products? Perhaps you make and distribute house wares or clothing. Don't just provide me with a fun way to shop the Internet for actual physical merchandise - sell me some virtual goodies too. I buy both.
3) Promote and advertise - spread your brand like a virus.
You don't have to open multiple virtual locations or pay for expensive advertising to achieve name recognition (although it doesn't hurt), but there are several things you can do to send your brand beyond the boundaries of your virtual property:
- Give away free virtual items - freebie items will be carried in inventories far and wide with your name stamped all over them, and they draw newcomers like moths to the flame.
- Events, sponsorships, and joint and cross promotion - these methods work extremely well in the virtual world, particularly since the constraints of traveling are not an issue.
- Publications - virtual worlds have their own set of online publications that feature stories and ads about virtual world locations. Create ads, send out press releases - the more you can get your name in the virtual press the better.
- As far as the classifieds and directory listings go - be sure to give great thought to your buzzwords. They are as important for in-world searching as they are for Internet searching. "Wendy's House of Formal Wear" doesn't cut it as a description of your merchandise. Nobody will buy your products if your name doesn't appear when a search is done for "ball gown" "tuxedo" "cocktail" "black tie", etc....
4) Leverage the green factor.
If your business involves travel and lodging for the purpose of meetings, conferences, conventions, or training, consider avoiding the cost and carbon footprint of business travel by bringing everyone to the virtual auditorium instead. There are many A/V resources offered in a virtual world, such as the ability to show filmed programming, slideshows, voice chat, or streaming audio. Many businesses have used these tools with great success. Even if your business doesn't involve the need for travel, you can still use these tools to do a bit of promotion by simply offering classes or symposiums to other virtual world residents.
5) Do not turn your back - you're not finished!
One of the biggest mistakes I have seen businesses make over and over is to set up their virtual world presence, and then walk away from it hoping that it will be self-sustaining. As much as it may look and feel like a web page, it is not. It is an interactive environment, and it requires interaction from both the seller and the buyer to make it worthwhile. You need to give it attention on a regular basis, evolve it, update it, and just be accessible and hands on with it. You wouldn't build a real world store and leave the customers to fend for themselves, so why would you do that in virtual reality? Your visitors are experiencing a facsimile of a real world shopping excursion, and they want to be able to get something more out of a virtual shopping trip than they would if they just visited your web site. You don't have to necessarily employ staff to run your shop, but you should have a dedicated resource monitoring it, keeping it fresh and new, and providing responsiveness to the virtual customer.
Think outside of the box. Having a virtual presence is like combining the best of your real world place of business and your Internet presence. Don't limit yourself to just looking - there are many tools that can enhance your virtual business and make for a memorable location. Some examples:
- You can create a 3-D replica of your product and set it on a shelf, or you can create the product replica, incorporate avatar sensors that will "pitch" the product when people come near, hyperlink the replica to the web site where the avatar can find more information and / or purchase product, have the replica dispense a copy of itself to the avatar for them to take "home" and play with, etc....
- You can create a model of your real world presence by putting a copy of your building on a plot of land, but why limit yourself to reality when you can take advantage of the lighting and texturing capabilities of the virtual world to create a specific vibe or mood that can market your product or services better? If you are a travel agent who wants to send people to Hawaii, don't bring them to a brick and mortar recreation - bring them to a tropical paradise at sunset, complete with palm trees and rum drinks. Who cares if it doesn't accurately reflect where you work? You're not selling your office, you're selling paradise.
2) Provide more than one reason to visit.
What can I do when I visit your business that will make me want to come back a second time? Once you have decided on a business plan to attract real world customers, go that extra step to draw virtual customers too. Maybe you're an architectural firm who designs malls. What better way to promote yourself than to open a mall adjacent to your virtual office, complete with virtual vendors selling virtual products? Perhaps you make and distribute house wares or clothing. Don't just provide me with a fun way to shop the Internet for actual physical merchandise - sell me some virtual goodies too. I buy both.
3) Promote and advertise - spread your brand like a virus.
You don't have to open multiple virtual locations or pay for expensive advertising to achieve name recognition (although it doesn't hurt), but there are several things you can do to send your brand beyond the boundaries of your virtual property:
- Give away free virtual items - freebie items will be carried in inventories far and wide with your name stamped all over them, and they draw newcomers like moths to the flame.
- Events, sponsorships, and joint and cross promotion - these methods work extremely well in the virtual world, particularly since the constraints of traveling are not an issue.
- Publications - virtual worlds have their own set of online publications that feature stories and ads about virtual world locations. Create ads, send out press releases - the more you can get your name in the virtual press the better.
- As far as the classifieds and directory listings go - be sure to give great thought to your buzzwords. They are as important for in-world searching as they are for Internet searching. "Wendy's House of Formal Wear" doesn't cut it as a description of your merchandise. Nobody will buy your products if your name doesn't appear when a search is done for "ball gown" "tuxedo" "cocktail" "black tie", etc....
4) Leverage the green factor.
If your business involves travel and lodging for the purpose of meetings, conferences, conventions, or training, consider avoiding the cost and carbon footprint of business travel by bringing everyone to the virtual auditorium instead. There are many A/V resources offered in a virtual world, such as the ability to show filmed programming, slideshows, voice chat, or streaming audio. Many businesses have used these tools with great success. Even if your business doesn't involve the need for travel, you can still use these tools to do a bit of promotion by simply offering classes or symposiums to other virtual world residents.
5) Do not turn your back - you're not finished!
One of the biggest mistakes I have seen businesses make over and over is to set up their virtual world presence, and then walk away from it hoping that it will be self-sustaining. As much as it may look and feel like a web page, it is not. It is an interactive environment, and it requires interaction from both the seller and the buyer to make it worthwhile. You need to give it attention on a regular basis, evolve it, update it, and just be accessible and hands on with it. You wouldn't build a real world store and leave the customers to fend for themselves, so why would you do that in virtual reality? Your visitors are experiencing a facsimile of a real world shopping excursion, and they want to be able to get something more out of a virtual shopping trip than they would if they just visited your web site. You don't have to necessarily employ staff to run your shop, but you should have a dedicated resource monitoring it, keeping it fresh and new, and providing responsiveness to the virtual customer.
Tips for Writing an Effective SL Classified
Not sure what to put in your classified ad to make it useful for searches? Not sure how to use keywords to your advantage? Wondering if you need to pay top Linden dollar just to be noticed? Here are some quick and easy steps you can take to create a useful classified ad for your business, how to measure the worth of your advertising, and how to monitor your ad to see if it's paying off.
Why do I need to advertise?
In an environment filled with thousands of competitors, advertising is a proven and effective way to get your product noticed ahead of the rest of the grid. Without advertising you are guaranteed to have an extremely low to non-existant customer base, but an ad done right will more than pay for itself. The sections below will offer tips on how to create your ad, how much to pay for it, and how to make sure your time and investment are getting results.
Setting Your Price Point
The goal of any advertiser is to get that first page ranking in the classified searches, but that can seem like an impossible task in the face of other business owners who pay L$20k, L$60k, or even over L$100k for their ads. The best way to get around that roadblock is to use search terms that are as specific as possible. "Clothes" may be what you sell, but so do a lot of other places, so take a longer look at your product line -what type of clothing do you offer? "Denim", "khaki", "t-shirt", or "lingerie" are much better search terms and more likely to lead to sales since you are advertising specifically what you actually offer. Even deep detail terms like "leather", "heels", "bra", etc. can be good descriptive terms that will bring customers. Also, don't forget to use variations of the terms, i.e. "bra", "bras", "brassiere", etc..
Do you have a hot item that outsells the rest of your inventory? Emphasize it as much as possible. My little shop sells a variety of household items, but my fastest moving merchandise is actually my boxes of Mardi Gras beads and masks, so I make sure to include "Mardi Gras beads" in all of my advertising.
Once you have created your list of search terms, start running them through the classifieds search and see what your competitors on page one are paying to advertise the same merchandise. You may not be able to outbid them on some things, but chances are you will be able to beat their ad price on a good portion of your list. Your ultimate target is to get your ad placed in the top half of page one on those searches - that is how you set your price point. Still worried that the price point is more than you can spend? Here are a couple of things you can try:
- See how far your weekly stipend will go to get you placed. If it can still get you within the first two pages of the classifieds, it may be worth placing the ad anyway
- Plan an ad budget to advertise high for a few weeks only. If you don't make back the money on your ad, you can always lower your classified rate later
Creating Your Ad
Every ad needs a snappy opening line that makes your business and product line sound interesting and exciting. "Providing high quality outdoor furniture for your look and budget" is a lot more appealing than "We have nice cheap picnic tables". Remember - in the global search, the first sentence of your ad is the only thing displaying, so make sure it's catchy enough to get people to click on it.
Remember that list of search terms you came up with to set your price point? These are also your keywords. When possible, try to create sensible, logical sentences with them - they still show up in searches, but are a lot more readable and make you look more professional. As for the words you can't fit into your write up, just hit the return key at the end of your ad and list them there. Avoid the use of commas to separate your keywords; commas use up your character allowance, can potentially interfere with searches, and do nothing for the aesthetics of your ad.
Note: Once you have completed your write-up, put a backup copy of it in a notecard and save it to your inventory. This way, should your classified get canceled or lost, you will not have to go through the pain of re-writing your ad.
Next, make sure you have an attractive graphic for your ad. You are not required to use the default graphic of the parcel your shop is on, so create something eye catching that gives a good illustration of why people want to buy your merchandise to replace it. A logo is nice, but if you can get a quality snap of your best product, that is even better. Don't forget to make sure your shop name or logo is also on the graphic, and be very careful not to clutter your image with too much text or too many photos. Making your graphic too busy makes the photo difficult to see, and will most likely deter potential customers.
Once you have set up your ad with your write up, keywords, and graphic, go to the exact location of your shop and set your location on the ad. It is good practice to set your classified landing right at your front door. Customers do not like having to hunt around for the item they're looking for, and will likely leave within the first minute if they can't find you. Even at locations with a set landing point that doesn't permit direct teleport, it is still a good idea to set your ad to the target location because the red map arrow will guide your customers to your shop door.
Finally, set your price and set your ad to auto-renew. You can turn off auto-renew any time you decide you no longer wish to renew your ad, but you don't want to lose business because you were busy or distracted and forget to renew your ad, so it's a good idea to leave auto-renew on.
Monitoring Your Ad
Hopefully you will see your visitors and sales start to rise immediately, and your ad will begin paying for itself, but how can you test how effective your ad really is? Beyond the obvious sign of your Linden balance increasing, you can also monitor your ad statistics to see how many people are finding it in the search. To do this, open your profile and go to the classifieds tab to view your ad. Along the bottom of the ad there will be a list of statistics that show how many people have looked at your profile, looked your location up on the map, and teleported to your location as a result of having seen your ad. These numbers are cumulative and renew weekly at the same time your ad renews. If they are consistantly low on the day prior to when your ad renews, then your ad probably needs a little work.
Try re-evaluating your key words, and rerun them through the classified search to see if you have moved down in your placement. Take another look at your graphic - is there room for improvement? Make sure the landing point is correct. If necessary, you might have to consider paying a little bit more to improve your placement. When all else fails, take a good look at your competitors ads and see if you can derive any inspiration from them to help improve your own ad.
Why do I need to advertise?
In an environment filled with thousands of competitors, advertising is a proven and effective way to get your product noticed ahead of the rest of the grid. Without advertising you are guaranteed to have an extremely low to non-existant customer base, but an ad done right will more than pay for itself. The sections below will offer tips on how to create your ad, how much to pay for it, and how to make sure your time and investment are getting results.
Setting Your Price Point
The goal of any advertiser is to get that first page ranking in the classified searches, but that can seem like an impossible task in the face of other business owners who pay L$20k, L$60k, or even over L$100k for their ads. The best way to get around that roadblock is to use search terms that are as specific as possible. "Clothes" may be what you sell, but so do a lot of other places, so take a longer look at your product line -what type of clothing do you offer? "Denim", "khaki", "t-shirt", or "lingerie" are much better search terms and more likely to lead to sales since you are advertising specifically what you actually offer. Even deep detail terms like "leather", "heels", "bra", etc. can be good descriptive terms that will bring customers. Also, don't forget to use variations of the terms, i.e. "bra", "bras", "brassiere", etc..
Do you have a hot item that outsells the rest of your inventory? Emphasize it as much as possible. My little shop sells a variety of household items, but my fastest moving merchandise is actually my boxes of Mardi Gras beads and masks, so I make sure to include "Mardi Gras beads" in all of my advertising.
Once you have created your list of search terms, start running them through the classifieds search and see what your competitors on page one are paying to advertise the same merchandise. You may not be able to outbid them on some things, but chances are you will be able to beat their ad price on a good portion of your list. Your ultimate target is to get your ad placed in the top half of page one on those searches - that is how you set your price point. Still worried that the price point is more than you can spend? Here are a couple of things you can try:
- See how far your weekly stipend will go to get you placed. If it can still get you within the first two pages of the classifieds, it may be worth placing the ad anyway
- Plan an ad budget to advertise high for a few weeks only. If you don't make back the money on your ad, you can always lower your classified rate later
Creating Your Ad
Every ad needs a snappy opening line that makes your business and product line sound interesting and exciting. "Providing high quality outdoor furniture for your look and budget" is a lot more appealing than "We have nice cheap picnic tables". Remember - in the global search, the first sentence of your ad is the only thing displaying, so make sure it's catchy enough to get people to click on it.
Remember that list of search terms you came up with to set your price point? These are also your keywords. When possible, try to create sensible, logical sentences with them - they still show up in searches, but are a lot more readable and make you look more professional. As for the words you can't fit into your write up, just hit the return key at the end of your ad and list them there. Avoid the use of commas to separate your keywords; commas use up your character allowance, can potentially interfere with searches, and do nothing for the aesthetics of your ad.
Note: Once you have completed your write-up, put a backup copy of it in a notecard and save it to your inventory. This way, should your classified get canceled or lost, you will not have to go through the pain of re-writing your ad.
Next, make sure you have an attractive graphic for your ad. You are not required to use the default graphic of the parcel your shop is on, so create something eye catching that gives a good illustration of why people want to buy your merchandise to replace it. A logo is nice, but if you can get a quality snap of your best product, that is even better. Don't forget to make sure your shop name or logo is also on the graphic, and be very careful not to clutter your image with too much text or too many photos. Making your graphic too busy makes the photo difficult to see, and will most likely deter potential customers.
Once you have set up your ad with your write up, keywords, and graphic, go to the exact location of your shop and set your location on the ad. It is good practice to set your classified landing right at your front door. Customers do not like having to hunt around for the item they're looking for, and will likely leave within the first minute if they can't find you. Even at locations with a set landing point that doesn't permit direct teleport, it is still a good idea to set your ad to the target location because the red map arrow will guide your customers to your shop door.
Finally, set your price and set your ad to auto-renew. You can turn off auto-renew any time you decide you no longer wish to renew your ad, but you don't want to lose business because you were busy or distracted and forget to renew your ad, so it's a good idea to leave auto-renew on.
Monitoring Your Ad
Hopefully you will see your visitors and sales start to rise immediately, and your ad will begin paying for itself, but how can you test how effective your ad really is? Beyond the obvious sign of your Linden balance increasing, you can also monitor your ad statistics to see how many people are finding it in the search. To do this, open your profile and go to the classifieds tab to view your ad. Along the bottom of the ad there will be a list of statistics that show how many people have looked at your profile, looked your location up on the map, and teleported to your location as a result of having seen your ad. These numbers are cumulative and renew weekly at the same time your ad renews. If they are consistantly low on the day prior to when your ad renews, then your ad probably needs a little work.
Try re-evaluating your key words, and rerun them through the classified search to see if you have moved down in your placement. Take another look at your graphic - is there room for improvement? Make sure the landing point is correct. If necessary, you might have to consider paying a little bit more to improve your placement. When all else fails, take a good look at your competitors ads and see if you can derive any inspiration from them to help improve your own ad.
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