Hello TouchArcade, My name is Jack and I'm a recent college graduate. I unfortunately graduated with a degree in biology only to realize I no longer want anything to do with it. In my effort to get my foot into the door, of an unfamiliar industry, I am looking for an internship in a marketing dept. of developers specializing in iPhone games, and was asked to write a blog entry, to see if I'm eligible to receive an interview, on the following topic: Where would you start with promoting a new iPhone game application? Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I am very passionate about gaming/marketing, and an internship in a relevant industry would really go a long way in perhaps one day getting a job. My thoughts on the subject, thus far: First, I think it is necessary to clearly define what type of genre the game being promoted is. This way potential customers will know what they are getting into. I would start promoting an iPhone game application on blogs/threads/the use of social media, such as this. In my opinion this is an ideal location to generate buzz, and interact (receive feed back, address concerns/complaints) with potential "core" customers. In turn, if the app/game is noteworthy, the "core" customers will introduce said games to secondary/Tertiary customers. I think core customers, are perhaps, trend-setters for non-core customers, in this respect. In addition, contests where people are asked to retweet / "like" on facebook seem to be very popular. But above all, and quite simply, making good games in it of itself is a great promotional tool. I think offering free promo keys to bloggers, forums, and customers to write their impressions / review is also very useful as a promotional tool. Offering the app for free may also be a way to go, but I wonder if it cuts too deeply into profits. But getting in to the top list, as a result of offering the app for free may have substantial benefits. What do you all think? Is my focus on forums such as this, and social media too narrow? Does it limit the customer base? Any help will be greatly appreciated!
If you can't even write the essay for the interview without help, you probably don't have enough experience for the job. But your marketing plan seems sound, if a little lacking in advertising.
Hey, thanks for your reply. I deff. don't have enough experience for a job, but this internship (unpaid) states that no experience is necessary. I'd still appreciate any input people are willing to provide, or an explanation of the lack of advertising. I found it hard to speculate or come up with an advertising plan without a budget, or additional marketing information / analysis.
I could repeat what others have said, but there are thousands of threads with marketing advice from developers. Just look through those and you'll be fine.
I would say give beta builds to websites (maybe a quick demo) to pull buyers in, that would create hype for your game and just posting here with some good screenshots a quick teaser video, and a good game would help it. it also just says application so I'm not entirely sure if they mean game or or just a regular app.
Welcome to TA Leson, Provide beta builds to websites, exclusive news will get you more attention from the website you are connected to. Sign up for the www.appventcalendar.com which is held by Black Smith games if your app / game is ready already What is seen.... Sells
hey Leson, marketing is really hard...i am on the way of learning as you too. based on my research, the most important thing is still the game. it is the only critical thing. the marketing is just something supportive. so you need to look into what kind of game people are into.
Hey David, thank you for your reply. How would you respond to markers who state that game play, mechanics, polish, etc is only secondary marketing? From my research, how well the game is marketed seems to have a higher correlation to number of sales, than the quality of the game itself. Getting on the top 25, 200 list, pricing, finding an audience, distinguishing the game from the millions of other apps seem to be very important. Through reading blogs and developer diaries, most have said that while a good app certainly helps with marketing, it is not essential to the success of a game. Furthermore, many caution against spending too much resources on a single game, and instead, opting for a "scatter" shot approach, because a "hit" game is reliant on luck, as well as marketing, and quality of the app. Spending too much resources on only one really amazing app may make it difficult for costs to be recuperated if it does not take off. Anyways, I not trying to argue. I just wanted to hear your thoughts as you obviously have more experience than I do.
