I’ve almost exhausted the project budget ($700ish remaining), but I’ve nearly fulfilled my crowdfunding promises. Just 3 more characters and 7 more random events to go, and I have half of those under way already. I plan to do these in the next two releases over the coming week.
After that, I’ll be building in ad banners (shown to free users only) so that the game pays for its running costs. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, I can’t use Gumroad any more because of policy changes. Once I have the ads in place (and have tweaked the server a bit), I’ll finally get rid of the 30 turn limit on free users and release v1.0. Fingers crossed I can get this done before I take a week off for Christmas. Otherwise it’ll happen in the new year.
After that, I’ll be working on new projects and Fleshcult will be on the back burner for a while. Massive thanks to everybody who’s helped me get this far. You’re the best.
| Total pledged | $12,062.00 |
| Total collected (Less failed transactions) | $11,457.00 |
| Offbeatr Fee (20%) | $2,291.40 |
| Net Offbeatr Revenue | $9,165.60 |
| Gumroad gross (February) | $1,640.00 |
| Gumroad net (February) | $1,514.75 |
| Gumroad gross (March) | $2,460.00 |
| Gumroad net (March) | $2,271.50 |
| Gumroad gross (April) | $1,785.00 |
| Gumroad net (April) | $1,648.25 |
| Gumroad gross (May) | $1,605.00 |
| Gumroad net (May) | $1,481.50 |
| Gumroad gross (June) | $1,530.00 |
| Gumroad net (June) | $1,358.25 |
| Gumroad gross (July) | $1,430.00 |
| Gumroad net (July) | $1,319.00 |
| Gumroad gross (August) | $1,105.00 |
| Gumroad net (August) | $1,019.25 |
| Gumroad gross (September) | $1,270.00 |
| Gumroad net (September) | $1,172.50 |
| Gumroad gross (October) | $1,010.00 |
| Gumroad net (October) | $931.75 |
| Gumroad gross (November) | $955.00 |
| Gumroad net (November) | $881.00 |
| Gumroad net (To date) | $13,597.75 |
| Paypal revenue | $333.68 |
| Total revenue | $23,097.03 |
| Income tax owed | $3,689.90 |
| Total revenue after tax | $19,407.13 |
| Cost of goods (eBooks) | $288.00 |
| Paypal fee | $14.41 |
| Total COGS | $302.41 |
| Salary (Weekly, backdated from crowdfunding end date) | |
| First payment | 01/02/13 |
| Paid up till | 06/12/13 |
| Num weeks | 45 |
| Weekly salary | $330.00 |
| Total salary | $14,850.00 |
| Hosting expenses | |
| For Feb 2013 | $111.35 |
| For Mar 2013 | $72.15 |
| For April 2013 | $80.73 |
| For May 2013 | $106.06 |
| For June 2013 | $108.15 |
| For July 2013 | $106.07 |
| For August 2013 | $106.07 |
| For Sept 2013 | $103.58 |
| For Oct 2013 | $108.45 |
| For Nov 2013 | $71.48 |
| Total hosting expenses | $974.09 |
| Contractor expenses (to date) | |
| Writing | $1,605.04 |
| Art | $955.76 |
| Total contractor expenses | $2,560.80 |
| Total expenses | $18,687.30 |
| Project balance remaining | $719.83 |
That Gumroad shit really sucks, hope you can find some other reliable donation site sometime.
I’m also wondering just how well the ad banners will be able to defray that $100.00 per month set of hosting expenses, but I suppose any help at all they provide will be better than nothing.
G’luck mang
Yeah, it’ll be a bit tricky. I had some misconceptions about ad rates coming from G-rated mobile games. Adult banners on desktop are worth around 20 times less, just because there’s less of a market for them. Non-adult products don’t want to be put in that space, and the adult industry is cratering as they finally realise that paysites are no longer viable. Ultimately it’s looking like the primary demand for ad slots will be from sex toy shops and camgirls.
While rates are way lower than I expected, I’m quite pleased at the number of page views that Fleshcult generates (even though it’s pretty quiet here and on the forums). Also, there are a few affiliate programs I’m looking into that seem promising.
I wonder if there’s an angle for promoting eBook erotica, seeing as Fleshcult players are clearly readers, but I haven’t seen any networks orientated toward that. Of course, if anyone reading has any ad network recommendations, I’d be interested to hear them.