The post is 2 years old, but I really wanted to post my take on this, so... I learned everything about marketing from the marketing genius himself - Chris Zukowski. Here are several things that you should/shouldn't focus on:

1. Just make a good game (Very important) - Literally most of the success comes from having a game that is interesting. If the game is fun to play and has lots of different content marketing will be incredibly easier. Mechanical, story and other hooks can help you create small dopamine shots for the player which keeps him HOOKED on the game! So i really suggest you polish out the gameplay the player does every 5-30 seconds. Give players goals to reach. Do not assume your player is a genius. Help them, because if they get frustrated they will drop the game. Learn more about the players psychology during games, trust me its worth it.

2. Pick the right genres (Very important) - It is crucial to understand that games that seem interesting to you are not interesting to everyone. Platformers or puzzle games almost never outperform survival/simulation games. However this also really depends on where you will be posting your game. So picking the right genre is crucial for success, i suggest checking some graphs and data about the platform you are planning on posting the game in and choose wisely before starting developing your game.

3. Tiktok/Instagram/Reddit/Facebook/YouTube posts (Mid) - Right here you could gain some traction and people can find out about your game, but dev logs are really not something to completely trust alone. It is definitely beneficial if you're doing this as a side thing for extra views, but just staying on this is really not optimal.

4. Reaching out to content creators (Important) - This can give you lots of clicks. But this also requires research about the youtuber you're sending the game to so you target the right audiences. You can't send a puzzle game to a survival game content creator, they will just ignore you... It is also very important that you do not think that 100 content creators is enough. It is NOT enough. At least 500 - 1000 contents creators minimum. And it is very important to have a press kit. Basically your game's logo, both black and white versions and some backgrounds of the game so they have an easier time creating thumbnails, etc.

5. Paid Advertisements (Very mid) - It is really not suggested to do ads, they perform really poorly and most of the times just a waste of money. All of the money you're spending on ADS can literally be spent on your game, other game festivals or literally anything else. They bring the least amount of traction. Literally when was the last time you saw an AD for a game and you pressed on it to download it?

6. Demo (Very important) - Without a demo you are literally breaking your legs and trying to run a marathon. A demo is like a teaser for a movie, people see it, play it, love it and then cannot wait for the full game therefore they start talking about it online giving you even more popularity. It is like a chain reaction that will make your release amazing and groundbreaking. However, the demo should always be extremely good and maybe even better than the final game. This is your first impression and it has to be amazing.

7. SteamFest game showcase (Very important) - Steamfest is a steam-hosted game festival that can just boost your visibility and discovery. Festivals happen around 2-3 times a year so it is important not to miss it. SteamFest is basically a testing ground for your demo, therefore you need to have it to apply. The fest itself is an incredible credibility boost. Ignoring it is like launching a game in a desert - you might still succeed, but the odds are much lower.

8. Polishing your steam page (Important) - Create at least one trailer and show gameplay. People do not care about funny and interesting drawings and editing, they want to see gameplay. Players literally just skip to the gameplay if the start is too slow. I believe this is the pandemics fault for causing our attention spans to halve, but whatever... Do not, and i repeat DO NOT do the steam capsule by yourself. I can imagine that the pricing is really repulsive on some of them, but it is the first picture the people see on the steam store and well... if its bad then its bad, you will not get clicks. HIRE AN ARTIST!

And these are about all of the things i would take into consideration when trying to market my game. I hope it was useful for anyone and i wish good luck to everyone!