Anyone mind posting their press release?

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by jDun1212, May 2, 2012.

  1. jDun1212

    jDun1212 Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2012
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    Hello developers,

    I've got a rough draft of my press release for my game, but I'm sorta running in circles at this point with both the layout of it and the wording, I was wondering if anyone might be kind enough to post their own press release or maybe link out to it.

    Also do you personally think that press releases help improve downloads or exposure?
     
  2. headcaseGames

    headcaseGames Well-Known Member

    Jun 26, 2009
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    Mobile Game Developer
    Hollywood, CA
    PR kit
    this is linked from the game's page at the bottom

    I'll usually copy the PR from this archive, maybe condense it a bit, and send it out to my contact list with a link to this zip file (rather then sending out a batch of image files and links to lots of people). Also I'll repost it thru PRmac.com

    I think a PR/media kit is absolutely a must when you release software. Yes, it will likely get glazed over by the majority of people you send it out to, but sometimes only a couple of key people need to see it and there's the chance that it could proliferate that way. This is not an unusual occurrence either, it just depends on the usual factors (how well and concisely your PR is designed, what else is going on at the news at the time, the overall interest-level of the "story" of your release, etc)
     
  3. JeremyTM

    JeremyTM Member

    May 4, 2012
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    prMac is a great place to look for other iOS and Mac related press releases. Plus when you actually register and start writing your release, there are some very helpful guidelines there which explain what is required for each section of the release. It even gives you word and character counts right from within the editor.

    Here is our press release: http://prmac.com/release-id-42221.htm

    It's our first one though, so it may not be the best one to get ideas from ;)
     
  4. MelissaMarie

    MelissaMarie Member

    Mar 23, 2012
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    PR & Marketing at Zaah, Social Media coordinator v
    New York, NY
    comparing release services

    From what I've seen with our apps, press releases do not increase download numbers, but they are important for recognizeability. They're a way to put the information you want people to see when they google your company, and see straight facts.
    Since they don't seem to increase download numbers, I agree with the other posters: prmac is the way to go, especially their $20 service - I've gotten more indexes with that than their free.
    As for formatting, I think every service is a bit different. Don't spend too much time on formatting until you're typing in to their system. I know PRmac doesn't host any images, doesn't let you do any formatting, all links have to be listed at the end, and no bit.ly links allowed.

    PR Newswire (about $1000 a release) lets you add images and logos, and embed links. You're also more likely to have your press release republished on affiliate sites of major networks (nbc, abc, etc.). Granted I only used it once, but even with a big-name celebrity namedrop (he tweeted about the app,) the release didn't increase download number.

    PRWeb is another one, about $200 per release and they let you attach images. But again, it depends on your budget, and results were similar with this one as well.
     
  5. jDun1212

    jDun1212 Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2012
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    Do you think its better to go though a service like prMac or to try and do it yourself? I have a pretty lengthy contact list that I plan on emailing out, and i was thinking that i would just attach my press kit (press release included) to these contacts that I have. Or does prMac do that for me? and would it be better to go thought them?
     
  6. MelissaMarie

    MelissaMarie Member

    Mar 23, 2012
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    PR & Marketing at Zaah, Social Media coordinator v
    New York, NY
    I think you have to do both. PRMac doesn't let you add a list of emails.

    If you have contacts you keep in touch with, you should send them the info they need with a touch of personalization. If you want them to take the time to write a few sentences on your game, maybe you should take a few moments to give them exactly what they need. If they covered you before, or covered something similar that makes you think they'd be interested in your app, mention that other app. If you're writing to the general inbox of a site that you've never been in contact with, a form letter is fine imo, at least it's contact.

    In my experience PRMac is more for indexing your release (a copy is accessible on google for...well possibly forever, I've been doing this for 2 years and all of our releases are up) and getting it republished on smaller sites (more indexing) is worth $20. Probably a good idea to also post a version of your release on your company/developer blog as well, just so it's easily accessible. And if it's on your own blog, you can add pictures and make it look exactly how you want it to.
     
  7. chenpo

    chenpo Active Member

    Here is a link to my recent press release:

    http://prmac.com/member/view-release-42022.htm

    I utilised the prmac press release writing service since I am hopeless at writing, I may look for a writing service more targeted at games next time around but overall, it was still better than what I could have written.

    As with MelissaMarie, I didn't really see a big increase in downloads from the press release, what helped more was getting reviews written.
     
  8. SimonTag

    SimonTag Well-Known Member

    Jul 20, 2011
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    Product Evangelist
    Dundee, Scotland
  9. Eclectic

    Eclectic Well-Known Member

    We create lots of press releases. Here they are: http://kwalee.com/news/press/
    These go out to a Mailchimp list, to PRMac and Gamespress.
    The journalist take-up is just above zero, but they get C&Ped all over the web.


    PRESS RELEASE: KWALEE LAUNCH GAME IN UK AND ASIA
    POSTED ON 29 MARCH 2012 NEWS, PRESS, VIDEOS

    Following the release of their multiplayer game Gobang Social in New Zealand, Kwalee have launched a new and improved version of their game into more App Stores.


    After developing features and adding further enhancements to Gobang Social, version 1.2 is now available in the UK, Australia, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan. Fully integrated with Facebook, players can begin playing now with their Facebook friends.

    Download Gobang Social now, for free, on the App Store!

    Kwalee released V1.0 of Gobang Social in the New Zealand App Store at the beginning of February. This was accompanied with a discussion forum: http://www.gobang.geek.nz/forum/ to develop the game into V1.1, which was released 3 weeks later.

    Gobang Social is a turn based strategy game, that is played with Facebook friends. It is derived from the Asian game Gomoku. Kwalee’s fun game is a version of connecting 5 in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally, in a 12 X 12 matrix that requires strategic thinking. The game is free to buy and free to play.

    The new V1.2 release contains many further enhancements including play against random opponents, instant messaging chat, a streamlined user interface, great music and sound effects for a great gaming experience.

    David Darling, Kwalee CEO, is delighted:

    “It is fantastic to publish the first game in new countries. The great team we have built at Kwalee have gone from nothing, to being a publisher in a very short time. Now we look to build on this with a further range of games and with continuous improvements to those that we publish.”

    Bruce Everiss, Kwalee CMO, is behind the marketing strategy:

    “Kwalee is climbing many learning curves in an incredibly competitive marketplace. Everything we do is driven by the customer, and this phased launch allows us to adapt to give them what they want.”

    Find out more about Gobang Social at kwalee.com/gobangsocial

    THE GOBANG SOCIAL DEV TEAM
    ##########

    About: Kwalee is a startup company based in Leamington Spa to develop and publish multiplayer social games for mobile devices. Founded by David Darling CBE who has many decades of experience at the top level of the video game industry with contributions to very many #1 games on many platforms in his CV. Kwalee is different. We seek to excite and entertain our customers with innovative new products that provide special experiences. Our ethos is based around a set of core values that put the customer first and which harness the creative skills of our staff to the maximum in order to do so. Kwalee is still at its beginning and so is very actively recruiting those special people who want to join us in our exciting journey.

    Check out our website: www.kwalee.com, Facebook page: facebook.com/kwaleeteam and Twitter @kwaleeteam for more information.
     
  10. conixjohn

    conixjohn Active Member

    May 8, 2012
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    Designer
    London, UK
    That's very useful indeed! Just embarking on the whole release / PR trail right now...
     
  11. nicolasgb

    nicolasgb Well-Known Member

    Feb 4, 2012
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    Co-founder at HereWeGames : http://www.facebook.co
    Paris, France
    my 2 cents

    I founded Majaka in January and we released Ski Champion in March. I issued 3 press releases :

    I'm uncertain what direct impact Press Releases had on downloads (~170K free DL so far). However, I can definitely notice that they've helped us raise Majaka's profile as a new company. This is especially true locally (France) where our French PR were very decently circulated.

    Here some advice I gathered over the years :
    • Find "topics" to make news : game released, sales numbers, rant, etc.
    • Read other PR to see how they are structured, but also be ready to write something out of the norm that will get attention.
    • Work on your best copy, and ask nicely for a review on the Warrior Forums
    • Circulate your PR through gamespress.com
     
  12. Synaptic Wave

    Synaptic Wave Well-Known Member

    Mar 14, 2012
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    PR manager at Synaptic Wave
    Odessa, Ukraine
    Wow, thank you for that Warrior Forums link!
     
  13. nicolasgb

    nicolasgb Well-Known Member

    Feb 4, 2012
    148
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    Co-founder at HereWeGames : http://www.facebook.co
    Paris, France
    You're welcome :) Tbh I didn't actually ask help from Warrior Forums for my press releases, as I wrote all of them in a bit of a rush. But I did get pretty helpful feedback for our App Store description.
     

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