squeakytoad 2013-12-08 23:25:54

http://xkcd.com/1273/

squeakytoad 2013-12-08 23:49:19 (Updated 2013-12-08 23:54:10)

If I had more time, I would've added a portion on the attention span of most internet users these days. For instance, the fact that most users of sites like Reddit, Tumblr, and Buzzfeed would rather watch several captioned GIF clips than the actual video. So much traffic is driven after people have scrolled through a series of images, identified one they find entertaining, and asked for the source video.

Of course, it would be rather ironic making a comment about keeping things concise in a post this ridiculously long.

I think it's more than just ad revenue. It's the potential for developing a following that will produce revenue. Whether you're selling DVDs or running a Kickstarter, you need an audience. Back when an average front page video would get anywhere from 25k - 250k views (with the great stuff getting 250k - millions), Newgrounds was a great place to build that fanbase. Now it's tough to scrap together 25k views for most movies.
That's why I'm encouraging fans to get more proactive. Tom and his crew have greatly improved the site over the last few years. We need to get back all those fans (and the artists will follow and then more fans will follow them) that departed around 2009.

squeakytoad 2013-12-09 00:23:42

Your level of activity is already impressive, my friend.

squeakytoad 2013-12-09 00:26:15

Advertising - crafting your narrative, creating media opportunities, developing branding, and managing outreach. Most start-ups with lean staffs overlook this. Marketing communications doesn't seem important at first when you're small, new, and building momentum.
Since Newgrounds doesn't have a CMO, grassroots promotion is the way to go.

squeakytoad 2013-12-09 00:45:10

Funny or Die, College Humor, and Cracked are retaining exclusivity with most of their content, hosting most of their video on their own servers rather than YouTube. Their aim has been to drive more content to their own websites.
Newgrounds sponsored a lot of native artists back in 2005 - 2008. It was known that you go to Newgrounds to watch their series. If more of these favorite sons would set up shop here as "part of the team," that would help. There needs to be that crowd incentive though.

http://digiday.com/publishers/funny-or-die-youtube/

squeakytoad 2013-12-09 00:53:35

You bring up several very valid points. I think Tom and crew are putting a lot of thought into where to go with the design. I've seen Tom mention that he doubts the efficiency of this complex layout, especially as most wisdom points to simplifying in Web 2.0 (hate that term, but can't think of how else to identify this era of the internet).
They're currently developing a mobile version that should do wonders for the site's visibility.

As for the popular perception of Newgrounds, see my response to ImpendingRiot about the need for taking control of the brand's reputation. It's probably going to have to be a grassroots effort (the reason behind this whole post).

As for exclusivity of native artists, see my response to Blordow.

squeakytoad 2013-12-09 08:40:23

I never really followed that site aside from the occasional link. Did Lerner sponsor a lot of artists? If so, I misspoke in this post.

squeakytoad 2013-12-09 13:02:05 (Updated 2013-12-09 22:18:36)

Thanks for the tweet.

I could've expanded on that, but I didn't want to take up too much time talking about just Reddit, as there were a lot more ways to promote NG.
But yeah, you're kind of right. The front page for most users who aren't subscribed to any subreddits will consist of links from only the default subreddits. However, these defaults are all very mainstream categories. While the "Ultimate Showdown" might do well in r/funny and "Metal Gear Awesome" might do well in r/gaming, most content on NG is too "niche" for Reddit and would just be a waste too put there.

Newground's users, as much as many of us used to complain about their general tastes, really do vote for content based on its quality (while view count is more influenced by source material, the quality generally dictates the score, awards, and front page presence). On NG, you might see a Daily Feature about an animated scrotum or an animated Bible story, because NG users can appreciate its artistic merit. That's why I love this website still. Side by side on the front page you'll see a clip about Pikachu farting lightning next to a serious short examining media addiction through visual poetry.

On Reddit mainstream default subs, "score" is entirely based on the topic's appeal to the user.

I chose to give advice that creates the highest potential for increased traffic to Newgrounds. If you're subscribed to a sub, Reddit knows you prefer that content. So your personalized Reddit front page features prominently the currently trending content from your subscribed subs, if it's doing even moderately well.
Let's look at the latter two samples I cited for how to use subreddits right. If you follow r/FFXIV (which 40,000 people do), when you log into Reddit, you'll see the FFXIV-related link with around 100 votes above general links with thousands of votes on YOUR front page (front pages are different for all users depending on your subscriptions, with a mix of your chosen subreddits and the top material from the default subreddits). If you had put that track on r/music, it would've never been seen by anyone. But it came to the top of r/FFXIV.
Likewise, that Walking Dead parody is remarkably obscure. It doesn't just parody a cult TV show but a single episode. You have to follow the series AND have caught that episode in its week of airing to get the short. It would've gotten downvoted on a general sub.
But now, the 150,000 people who follow r/TheWalkingDead would have seen it on their front page since it was on the subreddit's front page.
Obviously not even close to all of them click on it, but it's more successful at driving traffic than if it had gotten immediately buried on a much busier unrelated mainstream default.

The problem with r/Newgrounds right now is that nothing even gets voted on (especially in an early enough time frame to even matter). No matter what subreddit, if it doesn't get at least ten votes within the first few minutes and fifty within the first few hours, it's not likely even subscribers will see it.
The issue is that right now the subreddit is way too spammed. It needs a moderator or two who can clear out self-promotion and junk. It's like the portal would be if no one voted during judgment.
So even those that are subscribed never follow it (also, most of your subscribers probably check Newgrounds first anyway).

By the way, if you want to search for content from Newgrounds posted on other subreddits, use this URL: http://www.reddit.com/domain/newgrounds.com/

I'm not a big fan of Reddit, but I had to learn its workings due to the amount of chatter it gets in the advertising field, especially from those obsessed with social-media-related guerrilla marketing.

EDIT: And in case you can't tell, I love what the new blog format allows me to do.

squeakytoad 2013-12-09 13:10:44

I didn't mean to disrespect the audio artists here. I wasn't trying to detract from how great the audio portal is (I'm a big fan of a lot of the musicians there and their content) but was pointing out that audio links get spammed up and down the subreddit. Most of what you see are those track icons, crowding out all the art, games, and animations. It hurts the audio creators too, as the good stuff gets lost in the mess of spam.

squeakytoad 2013-12-09 13:49:52

Keep doing what you're doing. I'm really enjoying the series, and I see you picking up a lot more followers the more you develop it.

squeakytoad 2013-12-09 18:12:54

And I would respond

<a href="http://seriously.com/dammit.gif">Links don't work either.</a>

or

[url]http://www.ThisIsReallytheMostBasicFormattingNeed.com/HowArchaicIsThis[/url]

Bastards.

squeakytoad 2013-12-09 19:09:44

Let's see if Newgrounds can rise to the occasion.

squeakytoad 2013-12-10 03:23:05

I might be remembering incorrectly, but I think they experimented with pre-roll ads at one point.
I agree with you, but they'll probably have to be careful about how they implement them to avoid ruining the already fragile user experience on a site that can at times be, unfortunately, a little messy and, certainly for new users, a little overwhelming.
They'd have to limit who could enable them and certainly use the kind that allow for skipping after five seconds. I remember when YouTube made the huge mistake of making users watch full ads for videos that were shorter than the commercials. There was a lot of user outrage that pressured them to change it to the current system.
The advantage of the flash-based ads is that you don't have to watch them when your video is ready to start. Of course, many viewers are watching on mobile these days and, as you said, many animators aren't creating in flash anymore, so this system is already a dinosaur.