Our first game is out there in google playstore. We had not thought about marketing before launching the game. So, when we started to learn marketing things, we were lost. Social media marketing, trailer, engaging audiences, maintaining forums etc. Meanwhile, update of the first game is finalized and our next project is almost finished. So, we decided to do experimental marketing with our first game. We want to learn how things should be done. We postponed the release date of our next product. We watched all those videos: what to do, zero budget indie marketing but still we are missing something. So,what should be the starting point of doing all these and how many games we need to develop to learn marketing?
Once Apple approves you will get 100 to 1,000 + downloads without buying advertising. Google will not give you so your response is less. Then cross your fingers and hope for the best. If you have a good budget spend it wisely.
As usual we don't have good budget. My question is, the steps described in different blogs, forums and online marketing tutorials-do they work? Or our investment in building a fan base through these process will go in vain?
Depends on your product and what you are actually doing. Clearly if you are focused on free marketing you are going to be a bit limited.
I'm in the same place as you, trying to learn a lot of indie marketing as I go. So far I've found that if I'm doing all the steps in the indie guides just for the sake of doing them, the results aren't very worthwhile. When I first found indie marketing guides I threw everything into following all the steps and messaging all the people but nothing much came of it. Now, I do go through the guides but I don't message every single person on the lists anymore. I keep it small and much more targeted but I see better downloads overall. The projects I really care about are a whole lot easier to spread the word about. If it's a game with an idea or theme in an area I already like then it's just naturally meant I've had a community of people to share the games with. I already interact with these people, I don't feel like I'm cold-calling if I share my stuff. I find it much easier, and way way more fun, to get feedback and build interest that way. I'm no expert though, this is just what I find the most worthwhile.
Build a good game and let people talk about it! If you are unable to let people talk about your game, try again! Let the people here in the forum talk about your game, on twitter or any other place, it's free. It's called word of mouth and in my opinion it's the best effective marketing, specially for us Indie devs. Now, if you don't have a product that is "Word of mouth" ready, you need to work a bit more, it's a step by step, and it usually takes longer than expected, I'm in my 4th year now.
It varies. My opinion is, you can't become a good game marketer that easy, same as you can't learn game development after several weeks of reading forums. I've seen developers who read all those blogs, and forums, and tutorials, and made totally wrong conclusions. Now they are telling everyone game marketing is b***t. And yet, if your game is good, it will speak for itself. You'll lose some potential profit, but what's left might be enough for you. Some indie game developers are brilliant at marketing (look at Vlambeer), but they also tend to say that it distracts them from actual game development. My answer to your question is: normally game developers learn that they need a marketing specialist after releasing two or three games. Until then, they have to do it themselves whenever they have time and energy, and it is not really productive and sometimes just exhausting. No matter how many games you have developed, marketing is just a different kind of job, and it works well only if you are dedicated to it.
I still think if a games good then it'll start to attract a ton of attention regardless of how much marketing you've done Leos Fortune is a game which came from nowhere, just turned up, every few minutes someone was commenting 'woah this games good....' and it picked up steam. Had good reviews and then started winning awards. Never knew this game was coming out before I see too many average/poor games trying to be marketed/hyped by the devs and its like flogging a dead horse, no point. Whether its app review competitions to get fake reviews, or offering promo codes hoping people will like the game, if a games crap a games crap. No amount of marketing will help. I think one big thing is to use free beta testers , e.g. here people will beta test your game for free. Again i see too many people who get family/friends to beta test their game (Who always seem to be too nice and not give out constructive criticism) and then they're 'surprised' when the games out and the public arent so keen. They think they've got a hit as their friends said how good the average game was. You dont even have to nearly finish the game, test the idea with a group of people online to see if they think it'll be good etc. Market research can be had for free from different groups of users No amount of positive stuff in a blog, twitter, facebook and other marketing things can help polish a , well you know what i mean. Use the free resources out there to help make your game better, to me beta testing is far far more important than over the top marketing hype. I mean i know the Android section here isnt big but you dont seemed to have posted it here, no link to your game in your signature. Strange Again i asked for the link so i can give you an honest opinion but nothings been posted.
The point is, marketing starts before the game is released and better even before the game development starts, and its main aim is to produce a good, marketable product with minimal expences. Here lies the crucial mistake of most developers. They think that they can do whatever they want to do, and then some guy from marketing will come and help them sell whatever they made with magical ASO tricks. This is wrong. It just does not work that way. Beta testers are actually an interpretation of the good old focus groups which are a classic marketing tool. Most of good old marketing tools are totally applicable to video games (audience research, personas, key selling points etc), and when people get it right, they enjoy enormous success (see Hipster Whale).
Okay. Thanks for those information. These may save me from getting frustrated when I might see no outcome of my efforts (!). Nonetheless, I need to work hard to learn efficient ways of targeting customers.
Well apparently you do not really care about getting the word out.. if you ignore psj3809 double request for a link to your game(s)
Sorry for being unable to provide the game link yet. Its not that I don't care. My partners decided to spread the game after the first update. I will provide the link as soon as the update is released.
