This is an indictment of me and what I have done to spread the game so far more than anything, but bear with me I will get to what I think is going to be the real marketing strategy that drives the game of The Splinterlands moving forward through the rest of 2019 and in to 2020. I personally have brought, one, you counted it correctly, one person that I know personally to steemit and that was due to the game The Splinterlands and really nothing else. I have visited with some people on it but it's often difficult, let alone someone who understands crypto really at all. Some of the people I visit with will be the last few people to ever buy any monster cards regardless of the amount of fever pitch that ever is generated by it. That was intentional because I want to hear what instant "naysayers" will be commenting as their convenient excuse to drop the conversation as I notice their discomfort and their willingness to change the subject to anything but the ugliest of all c words... crypto.
Then there are people that are more open to newer things, regardless of the messenger, even if it is yours truly. I had a family member give the game a go for a while, they played for about 5 months but now they don't know if they're ever going to play again. No real problem with the game, they just have a low threshold for burnout and I was not surprised they quit they did knowing them how I know them. No harm, no hurt feelings of course, the person was a perfect candidate for this game they gave it an honest shot and we still talk about the game all of the time and it's likely a hiatus more than a complete split from the game anyways.
The real equalizer for the masses I feel for this game is one singular part that will drum up attention. Much how most things go viral it rarely happens overnight unless it's some shocking image, a stupid comment, or something that draws the "gnat-like attention span" of the daily camp followers, er um I mean mainstream media and the social media meme patrol as that may be. Most things that have been built online happen over time unless your last name is Kardashian which is fair and what we all should expect.
So the idea I feel that will draw more attention to the game The Splinterlands over time is going to be a few things that are really rolled up in one. First, the game maintains as much of the current audience it can, that is a must. Perceived growth can be increased trust from people you already had, and I think this past wave of the game, or "The Beta Period" has been a solid demonstration of this. Many people have actually come back, which is also a great sign, I suppose you can file that as a "super retention" of existing players of the game. Then there are the new people that have been brought in which pointing to the Tron promotion, as an absolute stunning success looking back in the game's history it has been an endeavor that has spread roots in a fanatical base of people that are just as passionate as the most staunch steem blockchain backer out there, in some cases the argument could be made to be more that is for sure.
The focus of adding new people is a focus that the game central authorities are taking very seriously and that is the next step and the discussions from aggroed and yabapmatt have both been very encouraging, both the effort and the vision as a goal for 2020 to be a year of introducing even more of the masses they have already reached in building this continually growing audience already acquired. That is a noble endeavor and I think they will do just that, the only question is how many and how long it takes before the results can be seen as significant, but 2019 has been a very pleasant surprise for me personally watching the newer people come in as well as the increased involvement and activity of the existing base that has become more energized than ever, especially with the fever pitch that has been created with the kickstarter campaign.
Funding the game and keeping the bills paid is of course paramount. Retaining talent is the lifeblood of any organization, and there is a lot of it to go around in The Splinterlands community. The revenue stream is a must to maintain the level of high end professionalism that this game has brought us all in innovation and the personal equity that the founders and the entire team has put in to get this off the ground. I am glad to see the participation of the community already in this campaign and I hope it keeps growing and growing because of course the ongoing ability to keep the enterprise afloat cannot be easy especially in times like this for something crypto based.
Having said all of this, and don't worry I will get to the point finally. I believe that the most important marketing weapon that can be used by The Splinterlands is going to be the retention and growth of value of the cards (that includes DEC by the way- DEC=card value and vice versa) moving forward. I can talk until I am blue in the face about crypto, the first thing people usually mention "yeah bitcoin really isn't my thing...blah blah blah..." Then I am always quick to say, "Yeah I have crypto daily [embarrassingly] close for the past few years and I have had BTC a few times, but not longer than like 20 minutes." Because of course I used it to buy steem, then wised up and found coins that trade in minutes and not freaking days, lol.
But back to the conversation above. What sounds more interesting? The blockchain game or just game in general you talk about or the game that has cards-kind of like Magic the Gathering but it's still fairly brand new and has experienced exponential growth? Or all of that plus the nice additional comment "...cards that I was buying for a nickel this time last year are now worth 50 cents to a buck? That is an attention getter. That makes people move their feet. Converting people to the blockchain--extremely tough. Talking about a game that is quick, easy to play, has scarcity game theory down cold and is growing while we speak, creates a little FOMO, leading to much more curiosity. You may even talk about this again down the road. The comment I can't wait to mention is that the newer cards I bought last time we talked are generating a cash flow of anywhere on the low end of 25% to 100% (+) annually in some cases, and that is just from renting and not selling a single card. If I sold the cards it would be a whole different ballgame for return on what cards are owned in the game.
The masses seeing this as a legitimate dump for their crypto investment or speculation, whatever they classify themselves I feel would be better off sticking money in DEC versus another crypto crash. There they can wait it out, of course it's not scalable to the whole crypto community but how would your crypto portfolio look if your BTC at $10k got dumped and left in DEC? Believe it or not you would be further ahead buying DEC at 1/10 a cent at that point (or likely less if done strategically and over a bit of time). Plus you have it in an asset or place to park your money where you have your nose to the ground as to what it's doing, rather than speculators or miners flipping or dumping to get into some other altcoin for the moment. Supposedly a lot of media say there is one coming, whether that does or not it doesn't affect me a whole lot but the only care I really have is how it affects the monster game and its ongoing development.
So if marketing dollars, or at least worthwhile marketing dollars may be tough to find out there in crypto land and abroad there is always a standby trusted option that is the root of pure marketing and that is word of mouth from very pleased past customers. Having a base now of time behind the initial phase of inventing and first developing the game and card sets there now is a track record that can be looked at for potential game players or Splinterlands enthusiasts for whatever reason they may have in being here. I think a lot more people get here when the past versions of cards especially the beta version becomes similar to what happened to the alpha version--few and far between if you are still looking for mass quantities. When Tron people start telling their friends all across crypto, let alone other Tron people, look out, people have a way of blowing the top off of secrets especially if they have an "inside tip" on something may have already taken off.
Thanks for the read, that was wordy and I hope I got the point across I was aiming for.
Those of you that are renting cards from my 
