Self Promotion: the Key to Marketing Your Game Before It’s Ready

February 11, 2014 2 Comments

It’s no secret that marketing is a big part of becoming an indie success. It’s also no secret that the earlier you start, the better your chances at success become. But, what happens if you don’t have anything more than a rough game concept and a couple of sketches to speak to? Should you start your game promotion? ABSO-fing-LUTELY! You just need to promote in a round-about way…by promoting yourself first.

While self promotion may seem counterintuitive when it’s your game you’re trying to push, it actually makes a lot of sense. Self promotion allows you to get noticed, generate buzz and build an audience before your game is even launched. Plus, as an indie, you have plenty to promote. Let me explain.

As an indie, you are an expert. The fact that you can create a game without a publisher says so. This kind of expertise is not only valuable to aspiring developers, but organizations targeting aspiring developers (ahem, ahem, the press) with relevant content. With this in mind, here are three self promotion tactics to leverage yourself as an expert and start building an audience for your game.

3 Self Promotion Tactics for Building an Audience

Promote Your Opinion
As an expert looking for recognition, it’s important that you clearly communicate your opinions. To start, try writing a well-crafted argument on a relevant topic. Once complete, publish your argument to your blog and drive people there through forums, social media, etc. For a broader reach, submit your opinion piece to sites like Gamasutra.

Promote Useful Advice
Everybody needs advice, which is why it’s so popular on the Web. For someone looking to “do,” clear, step-by-step direction is priceless. See what kind of traffic you can garner by building and promoting your own how-to video/written tutorial on a subject you are familiar with.

Promote Useable Material
If highly shareable content is what you’re aiming for, useable material is it. A piece of custom code or a texture you create and offer royalty free, goes a long way. This type of content saves fans time and spreads like wild fire.