Hello everyone!

I’m researching game devs’ experiences with promoting their games. I’d love to hear about the challenges you've faced and your thoughts on using paid ads to promote your games.

A few questions from me:

1. What’s been your biggest challenge with promotion?
2. Have you tried paid ads (e.g., Facebook, Google)? Were they effective?
3. Would you consider paying for ads, and if so, what would make it worth it?
4. What non-ad methods have worked best for you?

I really appreciate your guys' time! Looking forward to learning from your experiences.

Moving this to the business section of the site.

For the questions:

1. Building and funding a marketing strategy is as much work and cost as building the game itself. In the AAA world the total marketing budget often exceeds the total development budget.
2. FB ads are largely ineffective, except for games specifically on FB when FB Games were big 10-15 years ago. Today FB ads would only be worth it if you're targeting a demographic that both uses the platform and doesn't routinely block their ads, which means age 50+ for the most part.
3. Absolutely, as part of a comprehensive marketing plan. You need to find ways to ensure your marketing reaches your target customers. If your target customers are almost certain to use effective ad blockers, adjust the plans accordingly.
4. Has depended on the products. They're still often considered ads, but promotions, tie-ins, sponsorships, product giveaways, merchandise and branded item giveaways, creating advertising elements that are easily shared by fans, recognizing fans and promotors by engaging with them and promoting them back, referral programs and giveaway codes, all can potentially be part of a marketing strategy.

Thank you for your input! Given how challenging and costly it is to fund a marketing strategy, would you see value in having a short-form content or quick video created to showcase your game to a wider audience? Since budget constraints can be tough for indie developers, what kind of arrangement or payment model would work best for you? For example, would a revenue share, tip-based support, or some other low-cost approach be appealing?

Every situation will be different, and marketing plans are unique to each product. What works for one game won't work for another.

Golf Simulator 2024 will be different from Shootem' Tournament, which will be different from Ultimate Match Three, and different again from Horror of Horrors, all target different groups, different customers, different places people frequent, different ages, different backgrounds, different revenue models, etc. I'd only recommend a print ad in Golf Digest for one of those four game titles.

NazLifts said:
I’d love to hear about the challenges you've faced

@nazlifts you will find a LOT of posts in this forum (Games Business and Law) from indie devs asking marketing and monetization questions. You would surely hear a lot about the challenges our members have faced. Don't just read the first page of threads - dig back, and you'll get a lot of food for thought.

Thank you!

@frob You’re absolutely right. Each game needs a tailored approach to reach its specific audience effectively. How do you identify the best channels or platforms to reach each game’s unique audience? Do you have any recommendations? Finally, do you think there’s a need for a current platform, like a blog, YouTube channel, or social media page, specifically dedicated to promoting these games with little-to-no cost?It seems that while itch.io is a good platform for promoting and selling indie games, the opportunities for game promotion there are somewhat limited.

I truly appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

For example, do you think these YouTube channels effectively promote indie games for game developers? What do you think they could do better?

• Get Indie Gaming
• Clemmy Games

I apologize for all the questions; I'm just trying to gain a better understanding of game devs' perspectives. I've also been spending a lot of time browsing through forums, haha!

You need screenshots that take away peoples’ breath. The best I can muster at this time is …

Those are all questions that are part of a marketing campaign and organized business development plan. It is not something that can be generalized.

Building the plan can be done as amateurs, or with professionals who do in-depth analysis using current market data, using current and forecast business conditions, using details of the products, using details of the company aspirations, using details of the law as it applies to them, and of the budgets.