Marketing Your Products In Second Life

While these are suggestions for a resident fashion business, they're good advice for ANY retailer in Second Life.

• First of all she needs a main store. This can be something she rents, but she's likely going to want it for a while if she's successful. This is the place she will send all her customers to through landmarks.
• Put landmarks in with her hats when she sells them. Referrals are a big and FREE way to gain loyal customers.
• Make an update group. Loyal customers will want to know when she puts something new out, runs an exclusive sale or is highlighted in a blog or fashion show.
• Check out all the local fashion blogs for who she should send items to to get reviewed. Most times you just drop a notecard with your info and some items on this person and they will find good things to say or politely pass if they can't. Tons of people with lindens burning holes in their pockets read these reviews and are looking for high quality things that they MUST buy.
• Make some great ads and put in Second Style - its super cheap.. like US$9 for a full page.. less for smaller ads.. huge readership with bulging wallets
• Connect with complementary designers - make hats that complement other outfits and negotiate to put them in designers stores as impulse matching outfit items.
• Work with a hair designer to make some hairstyles that look great with the hats. Negotiate to put a hat vendor near that style in the hair store.
• Rent small shops in big clubs with lots of traffic but be smart about visibility and location. Location is everything here. People love to zoom out and window shop with their cameras while their avatar is dancing the night away.
• Post a classified with a high enough $ amount to get her in the top five of her keywords (hat, accessory, whatever). With the right keywords, this can pay off in spades.
• Host a contest for designers to design an outfit to match her hats. Then she can make legitimate events listings with fashion shows where people come vote. This might cost her some design prize money, but the traffic will be worth it because its an interesting fashion event on the list that isn't just a sale.
• Keep an eye out for charity fashion showcases. These attract a ton of buyers and can plant seeds in future customers minds even if she doesn't make profit during that event. If people love her stuff, they'll take a landmark and come to her real store.