Top 20 Sales on DriveThru RPG - Part 1 - Swinging and Missing

When I start an idea, I often have an idea of where something will end or at least how it should go. Not so with affiliate links and such. I've bombed out affiliate sales so many times, I don't even know what to think. My website does not have a lot of traction with cross-sales, all my readers care about is gaming. They totally don't care about non-gaming books, movies, or Legos. 

DriveThruRPG is my most significant revenue stream. So, I must know a lot about it... 

Yeah, no. 

Here is the funny bit. I've reviewed hundreds of products from DriveThruRPG. It would be reasonable to assume that most of my revenue would come from these. It was easy enough to run a top 20 report and see how effective this tactic is. I actually had to run the top 26, to remove my own six products.

Obviously, a whole website revolving around my products is a good way to sell products. Even I know that much.   

With my products removed, number 20 was How to Hexcrawl. My Review of this can be found here. It was really gratifying to see that my reviews were moving product. 

Well, that is where my assumptions and hopes ended. 

19 was a product called Easy Settlements. I purchased it to do a review but for whatever reason, I did not. It's a really nice and helpful product, it packs a lot of details into just 14 pages. As an added bonus it is system and theme agnostic. It just rocketed to the top of my "To Review List".  

Next at 18 is Downcrawl. Never heard of it, but the description is interesting. It's a generator for open-ended adventures. As an added bonus, it comes in pdf and soft cover. Since I lost most of my books, this makes Downcrawl an attractive title. Maybe I'll buy it on payday. 

# 17 was Dishonored: The Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. Again, I have no familiarity with this title. From the description, it sounds like it would be perfect for a Gray Mouser or perhaps a Thieves World Adventure. 

Again, this is something I find attractive yet I didn't write about it. 

The rest of the list goes the same way. From 11 to 20, I reviewed exactly one title. Here is the rest of the list, with the links leading to DriveThruRPG: 

16. Berlin - The Wicked City
15. The Codex of the Black Sun: Sorcery for Stars Without Number
14. The Black Hack Second Edition
13. Outbreak: Undead 2nd Edition - Gamemaster's Guide
12. Knave
11. Barbarians of the Ruined Earth (Standard Cover)

This is a very curious collection of works. Of the 10 titles, I only have 2 own two. What I find interesting about this part of the top 20 is I can see how these titles run parallel to subjects and topics I really enjoy. Except for one, I don't care for the setting of Berlin. I do love Zombies. Traveler (but not to play) and the concept of a Dying Earth. 

Clearly, I am not reading my audience, and my audience is not guiding me, it seems we are on a parallel adventure together. That is really cool. 

Stay tuned for the next half of the top 20 list. Click here to read.