So you’ve just finished developing your first game and you’re ready to ship out, but you ask yourself, “How do I get people to know about my game?”

Well, fear not, because over the next couple of weeks, we will break down the process and give you essential tips on how to market your game and get people to notice it.

 

1. Why should you market your game?

A while ago, marketing was basically ignored by indie game developers because there were so few of them out there. It was relatively easy for them to get their game noticed as long as it was a decent title and was fun for the masses. Word of mouth worked for these developers and most of them enjoyed modest success. These days though, marketing is extremely important, if not the most important part of your game’s life cycle. It is even more important that the actual development in some cases.

The problem began when game development became so accessible that the market flooded with people and their own games. With tons and tons of games being released every day, it became harder and harder to stand out in the flood, regardless of the quality of the game. To withstand this flood, you need to have a marketing strategy that will ensure your prominence.

 

2. When to Start Marketing Your Game

The simple answer to this question is easy. Start marketing as soon as you can! Seriously, as long as you have something solid that you can show off, start showing off! Too many devs wait until right before the release date to start their marketing and that KILLS them; if you start marketing that late you cannot take in feedback to adjust your game. You have to start the hype train as soon as you can. You’re a couple of months into development and you have a mocked up screenshot? Use it as your base and announce your arrival to the world! From an early point you can interact with the community and take positive feedback to influence later parts of your game to make it better.

 

3. What Your Campaign Should Consist Of

Alright, so you are well into development and you are looking at your online presence. What do you need?

A Website—You should have a website that acts as a central hub for all of your games. It should be updated frequently with the home page acting as an overview for the whole project. Screenshots, all relevant links to social media, trailers, and (most importantly) a press kit for journalists looking to write about your game are all things to include.

Social Media—In today’s world, there is no avoiding social media. Sorry. It’s super essential for you to establish a social media presence to interact with your player base. At the very least, everyone should have a Facebook page and a Twitter profile.

Dev Blog— People love to follow along with the development process. A blog where you can recap the last week or two in your development is a great way to get personal with your player base and keep it intimate between you and your fans. Though not as necessary as a website or social media, it is a great way to connect with fans and a great outlet for getting content out there and receiving feedback.

 

Special thanks to our team for authoring this article.

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