Indie Game Marketing with Zero Budget!
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- Опубліковано 30 лип 2018
- Video game marketing can be tough at the best of times - but what if you have zero budget to spend? This video will review the best ways to market and promote your indie video game without spending any money. We'll review how to build an audience, how to turn that audience into evangelists, and then how to communicate with them about your game.
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Thanks for watching everyone! Let us know in the comments if you have ever worked on a shoestring budget to market your game and if you have any tips for our community!
For more Ask Gamedev content on this topic, watch *7 Indie Game Marketing Mistakes to Avoid!* ua-cam.com/video/9nZ2dHtYNus/v-deo.html
Thanks for showcasing my game!!
Thanks for let us know about it Mohammed! As always, let us know how we can improve! Glad to see you on Discord.
Thanks!
Your game looks great!
Thanks, Joe Essay!
R u from Libya ?lol
now i can fail both at selling my game and doing youtube.
can i help you by sharing your content?
@@gamonzy I appreciate your idea but I haven't started posting Unity and game dev related video, I will soon though
You sure will with that mindset.
Flanky Flanked • 14 years ago Lol u got me there for a sec
@@roarroon1666 "they got us in the first half"
i am soo grateful that i found this channel , u guys are presenting and explaining each thing in way that even little kids would understand, thank you for this great content
Awesome! Thanks for the kind feedback.
Is their anything we can do to improve? Are there any video topics you want us to cover?
sorry for taking too long to answer, and i guess you guys can for example do a video covering the basics of game engines and also you guys can make a video covering the best game engines for absolute beginners , i saw the last ones cause i'm following ur channel from the best free game engines, or you guys can also cover how the android or ios games work, thank you ^^
We are working on videos for the best beginner engines and the best mobile engines as we speak! Thanks for the feedback!
Do you make your own games?
im kinda, im learning python currently ^^
Well said, I agree!
So to market my full time job game I should create a successful let's play channel? 🤔
Or spead great interesting pictures from your game around the whole internet via instagram, twitter, facebook, etc. ^^
No, you tell "Let's Players" about your game and get them to play it on their channel to their audience - the more the better.
but i have a channel if you want.
It's confusing. I think he mean with it that your viewers will try out nearly every game from u if they like u.
But it doesn't matter which marketing u doing. At the end u need to bring people to play ur game.
I would say for mobile gaming its UA-cam and Instagram and for PC / consoles it's UA-cam and Steam / console forums. Always think about that time is also an currency. How more often u can contact people on social media or with email adresses that more potential customers u get. Also don't forget that emotions are a big part of selling ur games. Nice trailers and pictures with high quality is necessary for ur sucess. I'll recommend u to look the story of google, how they got with nothing to nearly the biggest company in the world. Just put ur game on Steam or Appstores aren't enough for today.
Or rather a successful game Dev log maybe instead
No money, no problem: spend 5 years building a following on social media, then market to them.
Nice video as usual, and I think it’s cool that your including a little community blurb at the end to showcase games. My game is definitely on a shoestring budget, mainly because I don’t think a larger budget would be cost effective.
!The quality of these videos are incredible, keep up the good work!
Thanks for posting this. I just finished my first Game Development course and have started thinking about how to let people know about the games I'm making. This was very good advice!
this video really helped me to have a general direction on how to start marketing my game. almost working on the game for 2 years and definitly should have started earlier 😁
Very elaborate video. Thank you for putting out content like this, it really got us thinking of what our next step should be for for our projects. Love all the visuals you added too and the way you broke everything down every step of the way. It's greatly appreciated. - Draco.
I'm currently working on an indie game(just made my first devlog) and stuff like this helps me a lot ! Thanks!!
Thanks for sharing! I'm developing my first game with Unity and you are very helpful on many subjects!
Just found your channel yesterday the quality is so high thx for the hard work
Thanks for the kind words Alessandro Rick! Are you working on any games at the moment?
Funny enough I found this channel days after I decided to take game development seriously. These vids are helping out a lot thanks a bunch.
That's awesome, James! Is there anything in particular that you'd like to learn about?
@@AskGamedev well i have always been interested in procedural generation which is something I would eventually like to learn sometime down the road once I grow more confident in my game design ability's.
I made an entire 7h long VR story shooter all by myself for Quest and PCVR and it's even free just for my passion for this platform.
I had a dream. Think I might pursue it.
How'd it go?
@@user-ye5cl3xd6c badly
Awesome ideas! I'm not a game dev but I help them (marketing strategist) and I see a lot of similar approaches here. Good stuff!
It's this type of quality content that the audience really likes.
Amazing!
Your videos are something I always needed thanks
TL;DW: "You should have already created an audience by doing a different thing."
I mean, I'm sure that *would* have been effective...
Love your stuff! I think I missed the mark with the marketing of my first big fangame ^^' But at least I could train before actually selling a game!
To 2:50, "not promoting" doesn't mean "fancy stuff that has nothing to do with your game".
The worst you can do is spreading content that has nothing to do with your game, or making promises that you can't keep.
Trailers/teasers/pictures, all are great, everyone loves content with good insight or teasers with a good hook like death stranding.
How are you supposed to know where does your target audience spend their time?
Thanks for video! I am sure as many would agree, a video on how to identify a target audience for your game/product would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the advice! Will definitely take inspiration from this video 😎
Thank you for this! I've recently gone into the development stage of a game I'm creating, and while I am doing it as a passion project, it would be nice if others knew my project exists (when it does) too.
Great video, especially the part on target audience and where they spend time. Any ideas/tools how to get more fine grained information on those two?
Surveys
Pretty good advice for digital products in general.
Great advice, and applies mostly to other marketing efforts as well! 👏
Wow! What a great marketing tutorial! Thanks for sharing! 👍🤓
I would just like to say... Amazing into! Usually theyre annoying but this video made me subscribe
One of the things I was considering was creating a 'creator' section on our discord of other creators or streamers who had x amount of followers and the goal was to create a channel where their own channels can be posted for cross promotion and content for their platforms.
Funny enough i just started being a game dev seriously. And my biggest problem and question in my mind was "how would i market my game?" I am so glad i found this video
That Duckman reference made my day.
This will be instrumental for my game later down the line. Thanks a ton! And please wish me luck. I think I need it...
Ask Dev always rock
Thanks Forrest!
Hello sir.....your channel is very helpful !
I hope you guys make a podcast one day I see thousands of downloads
Well I really needed it. I'm trying to create an audience while I create games, I made 3 games until now and finishing my 4th, and I want to share the journey and a few tips that I learn in the way. If anyone is interested, let's share the way, I will follow you, let's make a community together :)
what were the sources of these informations? 4:30
Can you make a video on copyright issues on the playstore and also about the things we should consider before publishing our first game on the playstore
This video is really fantastic, it explains very interesting things that you can't find easily on the internet and above all it is explained very, very well. I love the simple format consisting of images and videos that represent the "context" of the speech.
In theory I understood everything about this video well or badly, but in practice I have some doubts.
1. If I understand correctly, in the first phase it is necessary to identify the target and the type of user and then start interacting at 360 ° with that target of people and thus grow the followers on the social networks most frequented by the target? Or just one of them?
2. Does this process necessarily have to be linked to a person's identity? Or can it also be on behalf of a team?
3. If it can be on behalf of a team, what would the differences be? #gamedev
Nice video, have you ever made some games (and if yes, which?)
Hey Baca - thanks for your question! Some of us in the Ask Gamedev crew have worked in the games industry for a number of years. Our contributors have worked on everything from small indie games to larger AAA games for studios like Electronic Arts and Microsoft. Have you made any games that we could check out?
Ask Gamedev Now i'm working on my first game :) It's nice that you asked
Bača Are you done with the game?
@@WingmanX wow that looks awesome, have you made this with unity?
you are my favourite channel
I feel like I just witnessed a guide on how to profit from everything that's wrong about social medias and this is a tutorial not on how to "market your game" but a tutorial on "how to sell yourself with a bonus product", which isn't what I wanted to know. And by getting this far in my comment you already see why I don't want to interact with people :)
And on top of that, building a strong social media following is much much easier said than done. People should get interested in you if they already like multiple of your products, not because you're following guidelines on how to start a cult by using games as bait.
Thank you for the video, I have one question, I'm French and I wondering how I can promote my game in international, I know I need to make some translates, but after that what I need to do ?
Well Super Teal Robot reminds me more of Mighty No.9, but yeah it's looking like MegaMan less than Mighty Switch Force.
I'm planning on making a game with my friend sometime ^w^ I hope it goes well !
Good luck!
@@AskGamedev thanks!
Maybe this is in a separate video, but what are some good sources for gathering audience data? With SteamSpy going away, the only one I'm aware of is App Annie, which targets mobile.
Thoughts?
Hi David - Great question! Sensor Tower is another option for app store intelligence. For Steam, Ars Technica recently published an article about a Valve leak that indicated Steam game player counts - that might be worth checking out as well. Hope that helps! What kind of game are you developing?
Ask Gamedev Thanks for the tip. I heard about the leak, but not the other service. I'll give it a look.
My game is something of a fast-paced management sim, but is only in the prototype phase right now. Have the MVP planned out and am working towards implementing it!
Nice! Once you have something ready to show, we'd love to see it :)
my game is on steam, called "His Journey" if you want you can go wishlist it ;)
Have we marketed our game on 0 budget? We try with our game, Spirit Oath. Some 15 people joined our discord server and we have some 40 FB followers. We try to keep them engaged but this proves to be a real problem.
Your game has a great potential
Mohammad's (hopefully got the name right) work is incredible!!! Awesome video too btw
We agree! Thanks for the kind words!
0:05 chuckles
that was literally so much value in just 10 minutes .
Thanks for the kind words! Are you promoting a game at the moment?
@@AskGamedev no I am still at a stage learning but I read in a book that biggest mistake most engineers (product makers ) is not realizing how important marketing is hence explaining my being on the video .keep adding value and thank you .
Do you think it's nessessary to create a Twitter account for your game? Or is it good enough to just use your companies/personal account?
So, I myself am planning on making a game and advertising it on social media. Thing is, twitter is a piece of crap, and I'm terrified of it, so I plan on advertising it on Instagram and youtube instead, but I also have to risk somebody making a fake account for my game. Is this a good thing to do?
Great video! Actually I'm uploading videos and posting on twitter but this week i have some bad feeling because i abandoned for a little.
But not anymore 😀
Buy My Survival Game PC raul-m.itch.io/never-die-early-access
Great video, love your channel :D
Do you guys think these strategy also works for hypercasual-mobilegames?
I'm currently developing my second mobile game and i can't really think of good content i can post on twitter related to this genre^^
First game wasn't really what you would call a "success" with it's 50+ downloads but since it was my first release i expected it that way xD
Now trying to do better with this one^^
Hi GamesGlobe - thanks for your question! This category is a bit tougher, but the strategy is still sound. You just have to figure out what people in that space are searching for, and then figure out how to improve upon the content that is currently available. The first part might be a little tough because there probably aren't a lot of good keywords that encompass the whole space. If you find that that is the case, you might consider creating content around competing titles (e.g. "What happened to Flappy Bird?", or "Best tips for Flappy Bird" etc). Hope that helps!
What's your second game? We'd love to feature it in one of our future community spotlights.
Thanks for the feedback! I will definitely try this out :D
Really? that would be awesome!
My second game is a puzzler with hypercasual optics. I would say it's about 80% complete.
Unfortunately i still don't have a name for the game or a trailer. (but i'm working on one)
So i don't really know how i could provide you gameplay until then, other than on my twitter (@Neovil_).
But if i'm allowed to i would send you guys a link to the trailer once it's finished! :)
a shoe string budget is a lot i don't even have a spider silk budget
yeah i subscribed
Hey guys, I’m working on a battle royale in the Unreal engine called Battle Siege Royale. It’s a medieval siege war battle royale mashup. I’ve been a member of the discord channel for a while and the community has been a huge resource for my development. Thanks for all you do! My game can be found at www.indiedb.com/games/battle-siege-royale
I am shocked that reaching out to content creators (UA-camrs, streamers and bloggers) and giving them a stream key or asking them to play is not on the list at all.
Pewdiepie, Markiplier and Jack Septiceye won’t play your game for free but there are tons of super niche channels who are very happy to get a free game and will be happy to play it. Especially if you will share their content with your audience
Wanna play the alpha of my game
Considering all I have is a video of me exploding a weapon in halo I think freshly starting my channel is a good idea
I like this video and find it helpful a lot. I have a video request if it is possible for you. Patreon for indie game developers. I see it has been used for different purposes, like developing for only subscribers or developing for a project and crediting subscribers. I think you can make a great video on that. Keep up the good work
+Game Dev in Training thanks for the tip! We’ll add it the list of future video topics!
Do you develop games?
Happy to hear, looking forward to it :)
Nothing commercial but personal and learning projects :'D
Where can I buy Super Teal Robot?
this doesn't work unless you already have a huge amount of audience
This is probably all very helpful and accurate, but I can't help feel dirty at some of the things you said. Basically manipulating people into becoming a fan of yours perhaps not even with your own content? So basically, become a personality, gain an audience that has interests that align roughly with your product and then show them your product? That feels Sketchy AF. Basically manipulating people for your own sake? I'm sure it works, but do you want to work that way?
Bara Robber Baron I agree with you but at the same time I guess this is how marketing works. Or at least this is how it works if you have no money.
@@mythrilage5053 I guess it especially makes sense if you want to blow up and get some financial gain out of it. I've been coding something for months mostly just to sharpen up my C+, expecting to earn nothing with it. So I would be fine with 3 people playing it entirely unmanipulated. Like, I get that's how marketing works, give people a reason to care and then give them a product to care about, but I just really don't want to do that.
If you add value to their lives then it's not more manipulating than anything else out there. Same way you could say Coca Cola is manipulating people to buy their beverages for their own financial gain, but people enjoy the taste, so there is value. Or if you share your experience or your know-how, there are people who would find it of value (can avoid mistakes, become more efficient) and would be ready to either pay with time or money.
I think you copy pasted the definition of marketing from a dictionary
@@kingcoolaid3750 I interpreted what Gamedev said to form that, so I guess he's giving good marketing advice :P
Are trailers good?
Honestly, probably.
It depends
Do dev logs work
If you take longer UA-cam videos and break them down will you run into any copyright issues?
You sound like the guy from the Infographics Show
Awesome Video is very useful. but there is too much to remember in one video. Hope next time you will make multiple videos on the single topic. it's will be easy to remember key points!! if i am wrong, i am sorry.
Thanks for the feedback!
Do you make your own games?
Ask Gamedev yes ! I am indie game dev.
Hi Ask Gamedev! I am not sure if you are still scouring the comments for games to feature, but I thought I would give it a shot. Check out our first game, Pilot Unkown: twitter.com/GamesByNate. Thank you for the great content and we'll see you on the flip side.
Posting videos on UA-cam is FREE and can do wonders specially if your game is good. Best thing is that uploading a video is FREE.
Very nice video man, sums it all up pretty good! Im working on a game right now, an adventure puzzle shooter set in cold war Germany and a Scandinavian steampunk world! Would love to hear you guys feedback on it!
Hey! How'd your game go?
@@pitfulll6859 We released it on Steam last year, have a look for Industria:)
All the best!
Not making a video game, but every time you type the word "indie" into the internet it's automatically followed by gaming. Hopefully this at least has some basic info that transcends medium.
For all those interested; It does, top-notch bit of info, thanks guys!
How do i market an idle mobile game?
Hey where can download clixball !! Game.
You did not show case the game Bust-a-Nut on GooglePlay!
So trailers aren't enough?
you should try to reach channel..
I'll be candid, we have a decent budget and still can't get people to look at our game. I mean actually look. It's not a lack of sales, it's a lack of any visibility.
You're gods
Shameless plug: A fun arcade shooter style tank game with some of your favorite tanks!
Project Toon Tanks
Available on Steam (store.steampowered.com/app/1268840/Project_Toon_Tanks/)
DANI WATCHED THIS VIDEO BEFORE MAKING HIS CHANNEL
What about mobile games ? You can't make a lets play video for hyper casual mobile game, i think i have to choose a publisher for my mobile games.
Y O U T U B E
me watching this video: god I love being a child
4:04
"Similar" ....
I THINK NOT!!!
(gr8 video by the way)
TL;DR Your phone = free advertising
8:20 is crap advice.
HOLD UP! Before you get out the pitch forks, here's why.
The video claims, *not a direct quote* "Build an audience around cool video game content that is not your video game, THEN drop on them that you are making a video game once you've built one."
This is bad advice.
Have you ever watched someone on youtube do a cover over a song you really liked? Have you seen someone do a REAL good job covering that song? Have you even looked at a ton of other videos where they did really good covers over some of your favorite songs?
Have you ever bought any of those youtubers albums?
Alot of people who do those channels also mention they have an album their audience can buy, and people rarely buy. Why? Because the audience is there for cover songs not original music.
Build an audience AROUND your GAME, don't try to surprise your audience by trying to sneak your game through the backdoor of your stream content.
If Pewdiepie decided to drop a game right now, how much of a hit do you think it would be? Would it last past the hype? My guess is hell no.
Agreed, the whole video made me go "wtf". Glad I'm not the only one thinking this is questionable advice...
Yeah I am part of a group of students which create their first indie game. And we struggle with getting people to know that our game exists.
So if you want to check it out i will link our free demo.
Feel free to give us feedback.
Transmite: gamejolt.com/games/transmiteDemo/399529
I dont get it..how do you create a community if you tell them you make a game AFTER you have a community
this makes no sens
Making a good content requires a lot of work and talent and also has tons of competition between millions of people who are also trying to make all kind of internet content. And you say it should be high quality? How? That's like requires to be a great blogger or something. I don't know.
Hmm I get that you need to make content that's valuable to your audience but I don't understand how to find out what audience is interested in my game genre. Like, how could anyone know other than an educated guess? E. G. If my audience likes retro rts games then it'd be better to target people who are older because those are the people who grew up with it, but then how is it possible to narrow down their social media profiles and presence? I can guess their age but I can't see how I can know exactly where these people are found online... I get that you need to target your audience but I can't see how to practically do this when we are talking about Facebook or instagram... Isn't it just a matter of posting to everyone at the end of the day?
Ah... I see what you did here.
This content marketing method of promotion is "zero budget" ONLY if you assume that your work time is free. Imagine that on the market you are worth 100 bucks per hour. Is it still "zero budget"? Remember that you also have a very limited "budget" of TIME. Getting time of other people WILL cost you in one way or another.
I am also an individual game developer.I started developing games in February, this year, and i'm currently working at my 4'th game. You can check my already launched games on GooglePlay here: play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=BENDIS+Games
Hey everyone! I'm Brian from RareSloth and we have been working full-time on King Rabbit for several years! www.kingrabbit.co let me know if you have any questions for us.
Buy My Survival Game PC raul-m.itch.io/never-die-early-access
I dont understand how do you help on this.