How to Succeed in eUSA Part 6 - Public Image

Day 2,253, 17:56 • Published in USA USA • by Gnilraps
Hoist That Rag (Mandatory listening)
Day 2253 of the New World
20 January, 2014


by Gnilraps


This is Part 6 in a 10 part series called How to Succeed in eUSA.

Part 6 - Public Image
(Again, this image will appear tomorrow when I get to the office computer))

I’ll be honest. There is one thing that you probably MUST be able to do well if you want to climb your way into social prominence. In other words, you can click buttons all night, but if you cannot do this one thing, eRepublik will probably never be much more to you than clicking buttons. And what is that thing?


Publish a newspaper.

I swear, you don’t need to be able to write like Homer. You don’t need to be witty like Will Ferrel,. You don’t need to be slick like Steven Colbert. You don’t need to be divisive like Rush Limbaugh.

You just need to publish a newspaper.

If you want to pilot your own ship in this game, your newspaper is your rudder. With it you can establish how you want people to think of you. You can be yourself. Or you can create a virtual self (this being a game, that seems to me more fun.)

So to some extent, your newspaper is the primary resource for roleplay in this game.


Role Types

Here are the various types of characters I have seen successfully establish themselves among the eRepubulik community with a newspaper:

Comedian
Loveable Lout
Intrepid Reporter
Reflective Philosopher
Interpreter
Prophet
Ivory Tower Intellectual
Redneck
Zealot
Tech Nerd
Economics Analyst
Casual Observer
Intentional Plagiarist
Birdseye Viewer
Headline Hawk
Interviewer
Social Conscience
FanFic Extraordinaire
Critic
Cartoonist
...and a lot more.

If you have a modicum of personality In Real Life, you can publish a paper. If you have zero personality In Real Life, publish statistics.


Getting Started

Seriously? It costs 2G, I think. This is the only thing I advocate spending Gold on other than Training Grounds. Spend the Gold.

Then start experimenting.

You should familiarize yourself to some extent with the code used by the eRepublik editor. It is a streamlined version of BBCode.

But learning the mechanics of publishing is nowhere near as important than finding your voice.

And you will not find your voice in this game unless you start using it.

So get a paper and start writing. Start by writing your reactions to other articles you read in eRepublik (and provide a link to the original article in your paper so your reader can engage your argument). If you do this, you will probably find something that interests you. Keep going.

If you are already good at writing, you might get started by attempting to do a better job of writing about a topic than what someone else has already done. That kind of thing is welcomed ingame - especially if you give credit to the article which inspired you.

More than anything else, try to publish something that puts you out on a limb somewhere. This will generate far greater response, and that is the only reason you are writing. We publish in eRepublik for one reason only: attention.


Consistency

That said, if you can work your way into an established public personality, you will benefit. Even hated public personalities enjoy a following in eRepublik. Be a jerk, people will follow you. Be a saint, people will follow you then too. But if you bounce around from one to the other too much, you will likely lose audience.

So try to feel your way into your character. For some in this game, their ingame character is a mirror reflection of their Real Life Personality. For others, they have developed a rich character that is quite different than who they are outside the game. But all of the truly successful writers in eRepublik have established a consistent character for themselves.


Format

Similar to the idea of a consistent character is the notion of branding your paper. If possible, try to decide on some graphics, formatting and style that carries through from one article to the next.

Some general thoughts:

Papers without any graphics will be less well read.
Papers without enough white space will be less well read.
Papers that publish infrequently will be less well read.
Papers that focus solely on the author himself will suck.
Papers that frequently link to other papers will be more popular.
Papers that employ a healthy dose of “not so serious” will be more popular.
Papers that are controversial in nature will be more popular.
Papers that are proofread and corrected will be more popular.


Timing

If you are counting on your newspaper to help you launch your Public career in eRepublik, don’t jump the gun.

You may experience a wave of popularity increase early on. Good. But don’t mistake that for instant fame. You must keep working your paper. Your early adopting audience can become your first marketing partners. If you have a few people helping to shout your articles, that makes a big difference.

But just because you’ve gotten your paper up to 150 subscriptions doesn’t mean you are ready to run for Country President. Your paper should probably undergo 4, 5, or 6 surges in readership before you are really ready to expect some success as a Public Figure in eRepublik. There are many exceptions to this rule, but each one of those exceptions has some other extenuating reason why they had earned their popularity. In my view, the ingame Newspaper is your best bet for public attention.


Other Considerations

Here are a few final tips on how to get the most mileage out of each article.

If you are serious, reply to the comments you get in your articles. They are posted on “your” space, so take ownership of them. If someone disagrees, engage them. If someone agrees, thank them. Even if someone just comments with a “Voted”, your reply of thanks goes a long way.

Why? Because in addition to the obvious benefits of keeping people’s eyes on your article for a longer period of time, there’s a more basic reason. One of the ways an article gets judged is by how many votes and comments it has. Your replies count in your comments total. So just by dropping a reply to each comment, you double the number of comments it seems like your article has. That will increase the likelihood that someone will click on the article to begin with.

I am opposed to buying votes and subscriptions. It sends the wrong message to the public. Instead, do the hard work. Ask for favors. It doesn’t hurt if you, once in awhile, ask a few prominent players via Personal Message (PM) to look over your article and, if they like it, give it a shout or two. Just remember, the window for getting your article in the Top News is about two days. So hit it early.

Finally, don’t neglect the Forums. If you really think your article is good, give it a thread in the eUS Forum (General Erepublik section). But a few caveats: First, don’t just drop a link, that’s bad form. Take the time to format your article nicely in your Opening Post (OP) as you begin your thread. Second, thicken your skin. The Forum environment is brutal sometimes. Third, babysit your thread in the Forum as you would your comments section in your article. By keeping that thread fresh, you increase the chances others will be drawn to it. The Forum thread will sometimes gain a life of its own. This is good for you.


Meta Game

In Part 5 I discussed the MetaGame surrounding eUSA. Following the advice I offered there will help you develop a strong Public Image.

There, as here, I am emphasizing the importance of developing a large Friends list.


Friends List

Send out a Friend Request (FR) to anyone who reads your paper.
Send a FR to everyone in your Party.
Send a FR to active members in the other top 5 Parties.
Send a FR to everyone you meet in IRC
Send a FR to people you see at the top of the various ingame rankings.
Send a FR to me.
Send a FR anyone whose name appears in a government publication.
Send a FR to fellow MU members.
Send a FR RGR.

The eRepublik system makes your shout available to the first 1000 on your friends list who see it. So to make the most out of your shouts, build your list.

Don’t be a spammer. eRep limits you to one shout per 10 minutes. But that is too often for most repeat-shouts. However, if you have fresh content to shout, the 10 minute limit is just fine. Remember, you’re trying to make people want to see your content.


Other Media

eUSA has a fairly regular blog talk radio show called eNPR. Ask a Government employee for a link and a schedule. Call in. This will pay huge dividends for you, not to mention that eNPR frequently discusses hot topics you should follow.

There are also Party blog talk radio shows, facebook fan sites, and several other blog sites for eRepublik culture. If you can google, you can find stuff.


Other Considerations

Lastly, remember that the pathway to success in eUSA is to become the kind of character other people enjoy playing games with. I am constantly shocked at how many people forget this simple principle. We are gaming here. Don’t be a dick.

That said, if you can be a dick people are interested in, go nuts. Success is up to you to define.

But here are some dick things not to do:

Don't run multiple accounts. It just isn't worth it. Trust me.
Don't threaten people's Real Life. Respect the boundary.
Don't bring Real Life politics into this game. We all hate that.
Don't spam.
Don't take yourself too seriously. OMG this is a game.
Don't ever forget to vote for my articles. This should be obvious.



In Part 7 I will present some basic thinking on the Political Game Mechanics.


You may now return to your regularly scheduled clicking