Marketing as an independent game developer doesn't require money – you CAN do video game marketing on a zero dollar budget. I spent $60 and my game sold nearly 130,000 copies in one year. In this video, I give my opinion on the best game marketing methods for independent game developers.

️ Mortal Glory 2: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2216660?utm_sourceyt
️ Chambers of Insidious Design: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1650860?utm_sourceyt
️ Mortal Glory: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1097530?utm_sourceyt
Chat on Discord: https://discord.gg/uhyB8VzcB2
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RedbeakGames
Patreon – Support to receive perks: https://www.patreon.com/redbeakgames

WATCH NEXT
5 useful tips for YouTube marketing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vGOwF-vKJ9Y0
Can I get rich playing video games?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v45JpSKjE334
Now is the best time to start game development: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vsYOz43BHEPk
How to get a game on Steam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vVwb1HV8KTx8

0:00 Introduction
1:49 Contacting YouTubers and streamers

Send a free key to a video creator and hope they like the game so much that they make a video about it. These can be review videos, commentary videos, gameplay videos, or any other type of videos. I consider this to be the best type of marketing for indie game developers. If I could only choose one type of marketing activity, it would be this. 100%. You can do this either manually or through various services like Woovit, Keymailer, and Indieboost.

Conclusion: Highly recommended

3:18 Contacting journalists

This was once THE dream for indie game developers, but with declining readership and the rise of alternative sources for news and entertainment, the influence of both print and digital media has diminished. Getting your game featured on one of the top sites will still increase your visibility, but the actual impact on sales could be disappointing if your expectations aren't kept in check.

Conclusion: Recommended, but not the highest priority.

4:55 Setting up a Steam page

If you've created a Steam page, Steam will occasionally show it to people who might be interested in your game. Those people might then wishlist your game. This is a passive boost on top of your other marketing efforts. You'll need to create a Steam page to sell your game there anyway, so you get this added marketing bonus without any extra effort. With a Steam page, you also have a place to send potential customers and where they can express their interest in your game by wishlisting it. So you should create your Steam page as soon as possible to reap these benefits. You might even consider this one of the best gaming marketing tricks.

Conclusion: Highly recommended. This should be your top priority.

5:46 Press release distribution websites

After I released my game, I sent out a press release via prlog.org and gamespress.com. As far as I can tell, this is a waste of time. At least if it's an unknown indie game.

Conclusion: Not recommended.

6:22 Mailing list

This is more to enable future marketing. Setting up a mailing list with services like Mailchimp is easy and free. But if you're just creating your first game, I wouldn't worry about creating a mailing list. Aside from a few diehard fans, you won't get many people to join your list if you don't have anything to offer them. Search Google for lead magnet if you want to get ideas for this.

Verdict: Recommended, but not a priority.

Let’s talk about social media!

7:52 Twitter

Twitter is best for quickly consumable content like GIFs. You can use tools like ezgif to quickly create GIFs of your game and then post them on Twitter from time to time. But honestly, I feel like Twitter is a better way to reach your current customers than new customers. Also, most people who like your tweets are usually fellow developers and not your target audience, the gamers. That said, Twitter is so easy to use that there's no reason not to try it out.

Verdict: Recommended.

8:45am Reddit

Reddit is the best place to turn hobbies into careers. Posting on Reddit can be a little tricky, though. You have to deal with different subreddit rules, overzealous auto-moderators, and idealistic self-promotion policies. After all that, your posts often won't get any traction at all. To get the most out of Reddit, you should become part of a community there, not just use it for advertising.

Verdict: Recommended.

9:58 Imgur

Imgur is like a more visual, casual version of Reddit. If your game has good GIF potential, you'll probably do pretty well on Imgur.

Verdict: Recommended

11:01 am

11:39 Outro

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