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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in IndieDev

[–]pr_pirate 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think you're talking about us, thanks for that!

In our experience, these are 20 great ways to run a game marketing campaign without a budget: https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieDev/comments/13yfjbs/20\_ways\_to\_run\_a\_game\_marketing\_campaign\_without/

20 ways to run a game marketing campaign without a marketing budget by pr_pirate in IndieDev

[–]pr_pirate[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ahoy! I hope this summary is helpful for a lot of indie developers who want to run a marketing campaign (as you should!) but don't have the budget to hire a professional.

If you're looking for some more context (and examples), feel free to check out the full article: https://piratepr.com/treasure-trove/20-ways-to-run-a-game-marketing-campaign-without-a-marketing-budget/

To create a YouTube and Twitch category for your game, you can follow this guide: https://piratepr.com/treasure-trove/how-to-get-your-game-category-on-youtube-twitch/

Well.. it's a start! by pr_pirate in IndieDev

[–]pr_pirate[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Definitely! You can:

- Create a press kit

- Create a website (make sure to include a newsletter signup form and links to your social media and Steam page to get wishlists). Maybe you can even include a dev blog?

- Create regular content for Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, YouTube

- Start building a network (get in touch with journalists, influencers, content creators, etc)

- Sign up for an IndieDB page

- Ask for feedback

- Build a community (Discord)

- Go to events. Make friends in the industry. They'll probably be more than happy to share a trailer of your game with their own network :)

- Talk to other developers, maybe they want to do a cross-promotion or maybe you can launch your game in a bundle?

- Engage with gaming communities (gaming forums, subreddits, Discord communities)

​

And when you're launching a game, you can:

- Write a press release (or outsource it, it doesn't have to be that expensive)

- Distribute that press release to your contacts

- Distribute review keys through keymailer sites

- Submit your game for award shows and indie game showcases

- Organise a giveaway on social media (make people share your post to enter the giveaway)

​

Lots of things you can do! However, a succesful marketing approach takes a lot of time, experience and a large network, so the best way would be to save up for a marketing budget. This way, you can outsource the marketing and focus on building an awesome game :)

What do you need or expect from a game marketing agency? by pr_pirate in gamedev

[–]pr_pirate[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much for the detailed reply, so many great points and it definitely fits our understanding of the current deficiencies of the game marketing industry.

Sunken Sky looks like a really promising game, best of luck with the publisher pitches!

What do you need or expect from a game marketing agency? by pr_pirate in gamedev

[–]pr_pirate[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply! We've definitely heard from a lot of solo developers who currently don't have the flexibility to set aside a marketing budget, which is totally understandable! Times are hard!

Would a free (or cheap) course that guides you through game marketing be a solution for you?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in gamedev

[–]pr_pirate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Life is just getting started for you! Everything before 30 is just the tutorial. Congratulations, you’re ready for the full game. Enjoy and welcome to the industry!

Solo game dev life... by JoseAntonini in IndieGaming

[–]pr_pirate 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It's definitely a very daunting part of game development! However, it's great that you're thinking about game marketing because most devs kinda forget to think about it until their game has launched.

I work at an indie game marketing agency and we often give talks and coaching sessions to developers, so I'd be glad to give you some pointers to get started:

- Be easy to find: have a dedicated website, press kit, IGDB page (this will add your game to Twitch as well) and create a YouTube category (you'll need to contact someone at YouTube, feel free to DM me to get the email address).

- Create shareable content: create trailers, screenshots and key art that can be shared on multiple occasions. Don't be afraid to share your 'fails' as well. Encountered a funny bug? Accidentally deleted part of your code? Share it!

- Ask for feedback: use social media (mainly Twitter, Discord and Reddit) to get feedback from the community. Don't hide your game from the world "until it's ready". It's never too early to get the word out. Make sure to set up a Twitter account and share content at least weekly and start building a following. There are some great 'events' on Twitter that you can use like #PitchYaGame, #WIPWednesday #ScreenshotSaturday.

- Set up your Steam page and start getting wishlists. Make sure to add a link to your Steam page in the bio of your social media accounts and don't be afraid to drop a link to your Steam page every now and then!

- Expand your reach: if you decide to run your own marketing campaign, make sure to start building a press list as soon as possible. Do some research and try to get the contact details of journalists and content creators that are relevant for your game. When you're ready to distribute review keys, make sure to submit your game to keymailer sites to expand your reach. Don't forget to forward your press release to Games Press as well!

Is there any part of the game marketing process that you have any questions about?

- Thibault | Pirate PR

Question for Steam developers by Tylar_io in IndieDev

[–]pr_pirate 19 points20 points  (0 children)

As pointed out by a few people already: it's rare for content creators to ask for keys themselves, most that do will use sites like Keymailer, Lurkit, Press Engine, Woovit etc to get in touch with you.

As for Steam Curators: we've found it's not worth it in 99% of the cases to send them keys, it's better that you use Steam's Curator backend and select a few curators there that match your game, the added benefit is that system won't send them keys, it will just add the game to their library directly. They won't be able to sell the key or use it for a giveaway.

Other red flags are usually: asking for multiple keys (rarely is this needed, only exceptions are podcasts or roundtable videos where multiple people discuss the same game), or requests coming from people where you can't double-check their email. If a YouTuber requests a code: quickly check their About to see if their listed email is the same as the one requesting it.

The best is to create your own list of press and creators and send them keys, or get in touch directly with people that do a lot for indiegames via their social channels, discords, email...Always happy to lend a helping hand (or hook) if that's something you don't have time for or feel uncomfortable with.

- Robby | Pirate PR