Indie Game Marketing: ARTICLE II – Traditional Advertising

Crowdfunding

This is a relatively new concept the Internet has created. The jist is that you put up a page announcing you need money for your project, and thousands of people interested in it all donate a few bucks (and often get something from the Developer in return, whether it’s their name in the game or a free copy of the game when it’s done, etc.). The person posting the project ends up with the funding they need, and everyone is only out a small amount of money. It’s a fascinating concept and I might dabble in it myself if I get financially tight and can’t fund a project with my own money.

Here’s a blog with a list of 9 crowdfunding websites. Be sure to do your research before you sign up with any of them.

Kickstarter

This seems to be the most popular service for crowdfunding right now. The FAQ on the Kickstarter website explains everything pretty clearly, so I won’t re-hash it all. Here’s a link to Robots Love Ice Cream’s Kickstarter page that you can use for an example of how to present your project, rewards you can offer, etc. This one made the rounds on Twitter and got some blog mentions and has successfully achieved its $18,000 funding.

CONCLUSION

And with that we conclude the main ways to blow all our rent money on advertising haha They say you have to spend money to make money. Huge corporations like Pepsi, Nike, etc. invest a ton of money into their marketing every year, not even to get instant results but just to keep their brand in the public eye. As Indie Devs we generally don’t have a ton of money, and when we DO make money, we’re eager to hold onto it with an iron grip or invest it into the development of the next game etc., instead of investing some of it right back into marketing to keep feeding the fire. The main thing is just to make sure you do your research and track your results. Have definite goals and if you’re not achieving them, fiddle with your formula. There’s no shame in making mistakes, unless a little research could have prevented them. :)

Coming up: Article III – Game Related & Maintenance, where I’ll cover game related marketing like what to put in a Press Kit, writing and sending out Press Releases, the benefits of keeping a development blog, and some guidelines for maintaining all the marketing I’ve discussed, like keeping your social media presence up, and handling and responding to negative reviews of your game!

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