So the last launch of my 2 apps tells me I am terrible at marketing... Which got me thinking... Should we launch on steam and product hunt before submitting to iOS? Should I talk to the feature review team 1 month before launch? Should I get users inside the game before launching on iOS? Will these users/downloads from the testing phase count as downloads when the game is launched or does it drop to zero? I am thinking about a launch process that I am failing flat at. I have read al those articles about getting reviews, articles and websites featuring the game but up until now I have had no luck with all of that. How do I create the buzz that Trey talks about in his videos? And how do I get reviews for the game? I noticed that Ketchup launches and a couple of days after their apps have tons of reviews... Any tips on my should I's and How to's? Thank you
Ketchapp does cross-promotion with their own apps and that's why they have a very big userbase from day one and that's how they get also the reviews. They don't need more marketing than that and some posts on facebook. The best tip would be to get yourself a publisher or to grow your own userbase first (but this is a very difficult task). Also, you can try to get reviews from magazines and blogs which would help pitching your game for a feature by Apple. There are several other threads at the forum. Search for "appstore", "publisher" or "how to succeed".
Hi @Christoph thanks for answering Yes, I know that ketchapp has a huge fan base but as you said that's super hard to build. Of course that getting a publisher seems the way to go but not all games will be approved by them so some games will be launched in our account. I guess that the more we know the best I have read a lot about the launch, aso etc here in the forum at dan counsel's blog among many other places. But some doubts remain But I will definitely take another look at the searched you suggested.
can you please explain more how people can publish their games in steam and what export build used is it android / how much cost to publish there etc... is steam a big market.
$100 signup before you post your first game to GL but after that you can post how ever many you want. To launch on Steam your game gets voted on by the community until Steam thinks it will do alright. http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/about/?appid=765§ion=faq Mac and pc exports for steam.
Thanks for your answer @Collin Wade Thiessen I had read about green light before and the whole process of getting chosen for steam. I have a question, in the perfect scenario would it be like this? 1 - Get chosen on green light to launch on steam 1.1 - Launch on Product hunt 1.2 - Try to get Media coverage When one of these 3 happens: 2 - pitch the game to apple feature team Only when all of these have been tried falling or succeeding do we proceed to launch? (this applies when we don't get a publisher deal for the game) Would this logic be right?
You can hit a perfect storm that turns into a beautiful day when you get to the other side or blindsides you hard and sinks your game Product hunt is a nice compliment to promo but is still pretty small for traffic in comparison to toucharcade or pocketgamer. Look up @Kevin W game parallels as an example of doing steam first solo then using a publisher on ios. Kevin has a thread on here some where If you take the greenlight route, make sure you have a plan on promo for getting votes posting on fb/twitter/indie game sites because after the first couple of days your traffic will drop and you need to keep the votes going. You could find a indie pc publisher to help with the promo. Post on this forum and let BB know you are on greenlight as having a page game showcase can help also. For doing steam research http://steamspy.com/ If you decide to go with a publisher do contact past devs and ask both devs/pubs lots of questions. If you get vague answers they are probable not the right pub for you. Make sure they have a marketing plan and a timeline they can give you otherwise I would pass. If their only plan is to get featured I would stay far away from them and your game would most likely just be fodder for their network or they unpublish it My two cents but others may have better recommendations
http://www.pixelprospector.com/the-marketing-guide-for-game-developers/ Look at the guides at the link above. Also, for your launch and for developing a fan base, don't discount facebook groups like this and the other larger ones: https://www.facebook.com/groups/shamelessgamepromotion/ I'll be doing my own marketing for my own company and its games (later this year, rather than sooner because right now I work and attend graduate school). I would be happy to keep in touch about trading tips on what is working and what is not. Here are some things I will do, roughly in this order: I already set up my company get my developer accounts for apple, google play, amazon, steam, and so on Launch website - including an option for emailing support, as well as an email subscription option for signing up to receive news and updates by email (build that list!) Launch social media profiles (twitter, facebook, tumblr, and so on) of game and of company develop and implement weekly content marketing campaigns on social channels - intermix for game and compay profile through "share" or "retweet" actions depending on the facebook group, post launch or content marketing in those groups when appropriate when I finalize a launch date, do teaser content marketing across those channels about the launch date coming up email the apple promotion team before my first game's launch (of course it will have to be after I get my game approved by apple), and just see how it goes, and if anything at all happens integrate social features in the game app itself (links for review, for sharing on social, for subscribing to email subscription option on a landing page of my website) make wise choices about ads and their relation to my game and to positioning of ads (spatially and chronologically) so that it does not detract value from the gameplay (at least not very much) integrate chartboost or tapdaq or something into my game app such that I will do what Ketchapp does - establish an in-game/app ad system that only shows ads that I control for my own company's games (build that network!) maybe hire a developer to enhance my game with push notifications implementation and implementation of achievements go to the press - use the forums that @Collin Wade Thiessen mentioned, but also go directly to game journalists, let's play youtubers, and so on and tell them about the game. Tell both the story and what's unique about the game (its unique selling proposition or value propositions). If I get any of this, tell Apple in my pre-launch pitch to them, and see if that helps. if the game is awesomely novel, consider submitting the game to a conference for award contests - e.g. GDC awards and indie game awards When I finally launch, launch on mobile platforms at the same launch date, not in a staggered way. I want people to know they get it for apple or android or whatever the same day. Maybe I will launch a version of the mobile game on STEAM, but I will make sure it is more of a console experience for Steam, not an endless game on Steam. Steam users want the console experience, not to feel like they are getting a port from mobile Post-launch campaigns on social media -- e.g. what Ketchapp and others do: Share your score, Can you bet XYZ score, Share with friends, etc. When a game does well, be sure to mention it's success when i go to market and launch the next game I will make - From the makers of _game 1_ comes _game 2_. Then I may begin to consider doing Ads of my game on other platforms (facebook, mobile, SEO and SEM for web search engines) as well. Maybe. Anyway, that's where I am with my overall marketing plan. There are finer details to fill in, but that's the overview. What has worked for others? Any ideas not yet tried?
