Best way to give away promo codes

[shen]

I've had a game of mine released this week, Upsi Runner.

I've given away about 10 promo codes in the forum via PM, and got a bunch of good feedback from that, but it didn't really do much to generate sales.

I've also sent 15 codes off to all the game review sites I could find, but that seems like it is pretty much a black hole, since they must get hundreds of promo codes every week.

So that leaves me with about 25 codes left to give away for this release.

What do you guys think the best way to give away promo codes is, if you are trying to increase exposure for your game?

Shen

[pablo19]

Change your Icon!!!! that snail looks really creepy.

Also how come you have no reviews in the appstore if you have given away promo codes?

Create a thread in the games section and keep discussion going, I also think what Aeterius is doing is a great way to get exposure, they are staying in the 1st page of the games section through a contest, just like "stich'em words"

[THEDeliriumTrigger]

Ya, you should include that you will only give promos in exchange for an itunes/other review, and check how many posts they have if there isnt many, they probably arent the most trustworthy lol, this is generally speaking of course

[iScarFace]

I would say the best way to give away promo codes would be...

-Contests, Perhaps host a contest or get together with a site's owner such as this and hold a contest for your game promo code.

-Give it to users whom seem worthy and will perhaps in exchange write an honest review on your game, or possible give suggestions on it.

-Watch and see what type of games users seem to like, if your game seems to fall under one of their likes perhaps send them a PM asking them if they would like one.

Though I wouldn't just post a list, that'd miss the point.

[shen]

Yeah, I was thinking that making some requirements for the codes might be a good idea.

When I gave the codes away originally, I asked people to reply in the thread, which they mostly did.

I guess asking them to also put a review in iTunes would have been a good idea too.

Also, I guess the original thread doesn't have the best name, something like "New game Upsi Runner released" might have worked better.

[THEDeliriumTrigger]

Originally Posted by iScarFace

-Give it to users whom seem worthy and will perhaps in exchange write an honest review on your game, or possible give suggestions on it.


Though I wouldn't just post a list, that'd miss the point.

I suggested this in another thread, by preforming a brief history check, but idk if many devs would do this, theyd just rather post the codes (which results in absolutely nothing positive in terms of their app gaining attention)

[shen]

I would second the idea that a list, or just asking people to PM you isn't a great idea.

The forums are so big that it took about 2 seconds for 5 people to PM me for codes, and then I got a bunch more PMs from people before I was able to edit the original post saying all the codes were gone.

And threads that just have a bunch of people saying "PM sent" don't make for very interesting reading.

I have send 1 email out to a review site asking if they wanted to do a co-ordinated review / promo give away, but they said they didn't do that sort of thing. They were nice enough to point me to another site that did, but that site seemed to be just giving them away in a forum thread by posting a code to a thread every once in a while.

Something to get users involved seems like a good idea, but coming up with the involving thing is difficult, especially since no one who is interested in the promo codes has your game yet.

Maybe I should have a contest to design a new icon

Shen

[Tennisking1o1]

I just submitted a nice review for this game a few hours ago when I had a little free time. Hopefully my glowing review will attract a few more sales for you

[shen]

Thanks TennisKing;

I'm pretty happy with the first promo code give away, as I got a bunch of good advice + feedback from it. Of course putting a review up is good too.

The thing I'm more curious about now is how to translate giving a bunch of promo codes away into a bunch of people seeing my game, and hopefully liking the looks of it enough to buy it.

It is good to hear back from people that they are enjoying the game though. I'll have to start a thread later asking how people are going on the achievements, how long their total play time is, etc etc.

Shen

[Tennisking1o1]

Originally Posted by shen

Thanks TennisKing;

I'm pretty happy with the first promo code give away, as I got a bunch of good advice + feedback from it. Of course putting a review up is good too.

The thing I'm more curious about now is how to translate giving a bunch of promo codes away into a bunch of people seeing my game, and hopefully liking the looks of it enough to buy it.

It is good to hear back from people that they are enjoying the game though. I'll have to start a thread later asking how people are going on the achievements, how long their total play time is, etc etc.

Shen

Yea, your thread was just around when a ton of other threads were getting spammed (ZenBound and such) so yours didn't get much traffic. If you make another thread sometime I and some other promo-code receivers would post some good feedback and hopefully that could generate some sales for you.