Summary of "Helping A Dungeons & Dragons Publisher Grow His Business | Ep 846"
Released on March 4, 2025, "The Game with Alex Hormozi" features entrepreneur Alex Hormozi as he delves into strategies for scaling a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) publishing business. In Episode 846, Alex converses with Brendan Jones, the founder of Night Vision Creative, a Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) content publisher. This detailed summary captures their in-depth discussion on business growth, customer acquisition, advertising strategies, and overcoming operational challenges.
1. Introduction and Business Overview
Brendan Joneservant introduces his company, Night Vision Creative, highlighting its focus on creating collaborative, high-quality content for Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts. He explains that alongside his full-time IT consulting job, which generates $350K to $550K annually but drains his passion, he seeks to transition fully into his TTRPG business.
Notable Quote:
Brendan: "Looking to scale something. What they want on the IT side is what's in here, whereas something else that I can scale on a product like that's. That's what I'm looking at." ([00:28])
2. Financial Performance and Challenges
Brendan provides a financial snapshot from 2022 to 2024. In 2023, Night Vision Creative achieved its highest revenue with a $142K profit on $34K exposure. However, 2024 saw setbacks due to significant capital expenditures on a new Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, increased inventory costs, and higher advertising spend that failed to convert leads into customers effectively. Additionally, a strategic shift from Kickstarter to Backerkit crowdfunding platforms resulted in lower conversion rates.
Notable Quote:
Brendan: "I have an IT consulting business that's actually my full time job at present and it's grossing 350 to 550k per year and sucks a little bit of my soul with that every single day." ([00:30])
3. Product and Market Analysis
Night Vision Creative offers books, PDFs, and a recently launched SaaS called Creeds Codex, which serves as a digital library and gameplay tool for users. The TTRPG market, a subset of the $1.7 billion board game industry, is growing at approximately 12% annually, driven by both physical collectors and digital virtual tabletop (VTT) users.
Notable Quote:
Brendan: "Pretty much, yeah. Until, like, until there's a new version of Dungeons and Dragons." ([03:19])
4. Advertising Strategies and Customer Acquisition
Brendan discusses his primary customer acquisition channels: Meta (Facebook) ads, crowdfunding platforms, and influencer partnerships. Meta ads account for 50% of his customer base, crowdfunding for 30%, and influencers contribute 7%. In 2024, increased ad spend from $5K to $12K pre-campaign, along with $5K during campaigns, did not yield proportional revenue growth, leading to a reduced return on ad spend (ROAS).
Notable Quote:
Brendan: "So, this would be like all PDF. This would be like everything where you have the three hardcovers, all the PDFs, tokens, heart pack, et cetera." ([09:40])
5. Funnel Optimization and Conversion Rates
A significant portion of Brendan's challenges stem from platform switching, which disrupted customer conversions. His initial campaigns achieved a 12% conversion rate, which plummeted to 1.5% during the problematic 2024 campaign on Backerkit. Additionally, there is a discrepancy between customers who express interest (e.g., adding their names to books) and actual purchases, indicating potential issues in the funnel's final stages.
Notable Quote:
Alex: "You switched the platform from 23 to 24. That resulted in some loss in conversion..." ([02:59])
6. SaaS Integration and Its Impact
The Creeds Codex SaaS has been a modest success, with a 2% monthly churn rate and a current pricing of $19.99 per four weeks. While it generates additional revenue, Brendan notes that the SaaS's contribution is relatively small compared to book sales, with only 37% of 357 users purchasing upgraded tiers.
Notable Quote:
Brendan: "So, that's really early, and then the third one had a 1.5% conversion..." ([22:04])
7. Influencer Marketing and Whitelisting
Influencer collaborations have had mixed results. While some partnerships yielded substantial follower boosts, most required payments ranging from $900 to $5,000 for promotions that did not consistently convert into sales. However, Alex suggests leveraging whitelisting—using influencers' trusted endorsements to run ads directly on their channels—as a potentially more effective strategy.
Notable Quote:
Alex: "So, if I think about this, my thought was to be like, don’t worry about the SaaS, we need to crush this next Launch..." ([35:26])
8. Strategic Recommendations
Alex Hormozi offers actionable strategies to Brendan:
-
Revert to a Proven Platform: Return to Kickstarter, which historically provided 30% of customer conversions, rather than experimenting with less effective platforms like Backerkit or Game Found.
-
Enhance the Funnel: Implement a more robust email follow-up sequence, expanding from the current two emails to a 14-email series to nurture leads and improve conversion rates.
-
Optimize Ad Spend: Increase investment in high-ROAS channels (e.g., Meta ads targeting interests like crowdfunding and D&D) while ensuring creative content aligns with successful past campaigns.
-
Simplify Product Offerings: Reduce complexity in bundling options to prevent customer fatigue and streamline decision-making processes.
-
Leverage Influencer Whitelisting: Utilize trusted influencer endorsements to expand reach and credibility, potentially reducing reliance on inconsistent influencer marketing efforts.
-
Implement a Tripwire Funnel: Introduce a low-cost offer (e.g., a $5 add-on) to initiate customer engagement, paving the way for higher-tier purchases and maximizing lifetime value (LTV).
Notable Quote:
Alex: "I was going to say fundamentally for these, you'll know what the three kind of like tiers are. I don't think the tiers that you had are bad..." ([56:13])
9. Action Plan and Next Steps
Brendan outlines an action plan based on Alex’s recommendations:
-
Immediate Actions:
- Re-list on Kickstarter: Launch the next campaign on Kickstarter to capitalize on its higher conversion rates.
- Expand Email Sequences: Develop a comprehensive email marketing strategy with multiple follow-ups to engage and convert leads.
- Refine Ad Creative: Produce additional ad creatives, including those featuring influencer endorsements, to improve lead quality and reduce cost per lead (CPL).
-
Long-Term Goals:
- Scale Ad Spend: Gradually increase advertising budget on proven platforms to drive higher revenue without compromising ROAS.
- Optimize SaaS Integration: While currently a smaller revenue stream, continue refining Creeds Codex to enhance its value proposition and encourage subscription upgrades.
- Simplify Product Bundles: Streamline product offerings to align with customer avatars, reducing decision fatigue and improving purchase rates.
Notable Quote:
Alex: "So I think the big thing that was missed is you took a roll on something that was doing a lot more good for you than you knew." ([36:35])
10. Conclusion and Final Thoughts
The episode concludes with Alex emphasizing the importance of leveraging proven strategies, optimizing customer funnels, and judiciously increasing ad spend to overcome Brendan’s scaling challenges. By focusing on high-utility actions and minimizing risk, Brendan can transition from his unfulfilling IT consulting job to fully dedicating himself to Night Vision Creative's growth.
Notable Quote:
Alex: "This is going to crush the next launch. That's the objective." ([36:35])
This summary encapsulates the key discussions and strategic insights shared by Alex Hormozi and Brendan Joneservant, providing a comprehensive guide for TTRPG publishers aiming to scale their businesses effectively.