Today, I got another submission for a free ad that was basically just the grid’s name. And I regularly talk to grid owners who try to tell me that their grid is special because of its community, and to attract residents they offer low-cost land and free user accounts. HavingRead More →

If you want to rent land, or sell other products or services, you need a landing page. A landing page is a page that converts someone who is vaguely interested in what you are offering into an actual customer. The effectiveness of your landing page is known as the conversionRead More →

In general, I believe that marketing is advertising is great for promoting virtual reality.  Marketing experiences tend to short, well-produced, and, of course, well marketed. Plus, no company wants to make potential customers sick, so they pay attention to making their virtual experiences induce as little nausea as possible. And,Read More →

StubHub competitor Rukkus, which sells tickets to concerts and sports events, has released a virtual reality app that shows the view from any seat. The app, Seat360, is available for both iOS and Android, and works with Cardboard-compatible headsets. The company told UploadVR that it’s generated $350,000 through the app thus far,Read More →

I regularly get emails from new grid owners looking for publicity but very few grids can answer the first question I ask: “What makes your grid different?” Instead, I get generic answers, which could apply to any of the 300-plus active grids I’m currently following. Such as community, support, lowRead More →

Second Life adult toy merchant Crystal Delights has opened its first retail outlet, in Port Townsend, Washington, and plans to expand into non-adult product lines and use Second Life to help market the non-adult products, company co-founder Andrew Schwartz told Hypergrid Business. “We do not use Second Life currently for market testing, but we still have plans to renewRead More →

OpenSim is taking off. Active users grew more than twice as fast in 2015 than in any other previous year. Based on Kitely Market stats, exportable, hypergrid content grew faster last year — five times faster — than non-exportables. And virtual reality is set to explode. With more than 16 millionRead More →

More than a third of consumers say they would shop for more products online if they were able to try them virtually using headsets, and 63 percent say they expect virtual reality to impact their shopping experiences in the future, says the Reinventing Retail 2015 Report. Virtual reality or augmentedRead More →

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts today announced the first-ever integration of virtual reality experiences into worldwide hotel sales efforts. The group has rolled out Samsung Gear VR headsets across all Global Sales Offices and produced immersive 360-degree videos for over a quarter of its 94 hotels and resorts. Nearly half ofRead More →

UK supermarket Asda has launched a virtual reality Halloween experience on its YouTube channel, and the video quickly became the second-most-watched video on the supermarket’s channel, with more than a million views in just a week. The 360-degree video can be watched on a traditional screen, where viewers can scroll theRead More →

According to Virtual Reality Brand Power Index released this morning by YouVisit, 75 percent of the Forbes World’s Most Valuable Brands have created some form of virtual or augmented reality experience for customers or employees, or are themselves innovating and developing these technologies. The tech sector is in the lead inRead More →

Mini USA, the company behind the iconic Mini Cooper, has just jumped on the free Google Cardboard bandwagon. They’re following in the footsteps of several other companies that have been giving away virtual reality headsets lately, including Volvo, cell phone manufacturers LG and OnePlus, the HomeLane furniture store, a pornRead More →

If you live in Los Angeles, keep an eye out for the VAN Beethoven customized truck. The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra has created a new virtual reality experience for the Oculus Rift, the opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and is making it available to the public. Check the schedule forRead More →

DigiWorldz has announced a referral and affiliate program for residents, bloggers, and anyone else who would like to bring new users to the grid and earn a commission on all future land payments. This is not a one-time payment, grid founder Terry Ford told Hypergrid Business. Whenever a new userRead More →

It’s a law of economics that, over time and with perfect competition, the price of a product tends to approach the marginal cost of the product — that is, how much it costs to make one more item. The marginal cost of a virtual good is just about as closeRead More →

Technology altering the way companies conduct business is nothing new. From devices like iPads, to the use of social media as a marketing tool, advances in technology have made running businesses more efficient. Now there is another emerging technology that is delivering promising results in every industry that’s tested it—virtualRead More →

Since June, Wells Fargo has been putting virtual reality Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 headsets on consumers at local events across America as the San Francisco bank works to build brand awareness in a fun way. It’s called the Together Experience tour, and has consumers playing a virtual maze game andRead More →

One thing that has always provided a great source of delight for me is opening the map of my viewer and seeing little green dots fill a region. Does it sound like I need a doctor? Well, it’s possible, but a good marketing plan made it happen. Each green dot represents a singleRead More →

Seven years ago when I began Paris METRO Couture, in Second Life, there were very few insider tips on how to start a fashion business. I am a business person who has designed apparel in the real life as well, and so I wondered, do the same principles apply toRead More →

So you want to operate a business in a virtual world, with a shop that people can visit and look around. Last week, I offered some tips for creating demand for your products. This week, here’s some advice on how to do a competitive analysis. 1. Gauging quality How doRead More →

There’s a well used adage, “sex sells.” It’s a bit of a cliche but true. There are many other sales triggers of course, including fear — used a lot by insurance companies, hope — used by lotteries, and vanity — used by beauty and cosmetics firms. The list is endless. However, theyRead More →

There are many reasons to go into the freebie business on OpenSim: Create brand-name recognition for yourself as a designer in order to sell premium content Create brand-name recognition in order to do custom work To attract people to your grid, community, role playing group, casino, or event venue To helpRead More →

Its not just cars, movies, and hotels using virtual reality for marketing. Outdoor-apparel brand Merrell showed off an Oculus Rift experience at the Sundance Film Festival last month and said it will do more virtual reality promotions. Watch the video below. Read the full story at AdAge.Read More →

Last month, Entropia Universe “discovered” a new moon. Today, the company announced that the moon “sold” for $150,000 to a player-led group of investors. This isn’t the first time the company has “sold” virtual property — a virtual setting called “Treasure Island” went for $26,500 in 2004. In 2005, “ClubRead More →

In virtual worlds, the question of free stuff — free content, free software, free land — comes up a lot. Some people love free stuff. Some people hate it. Some people say that all content should be free because there are no distribution costs. Some people say that content should cost moneyRead More →

Ever since Second Life made virtual world a common reality, people have been trying to find ways to utilize this new-found platform for unimaginable reasons. Soon enough other companies cropped providing quick similar features. These include Active Worlds and Entropia Universe. They all mainly started as a virtual social gameRead More →