GET READY GET NOTICED GET BIG A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game Patrick DeFreitas and Garret Romaine CONTENTS Preface viii Chapter 1: Overview of Indie Game Marketing 1 Why Marketing Matters 4 The Right Time is Now 6 How to Start Getting Noticed 6 Where to Start: Irresistible Promotional Materials 9 Trailer Video 9 Screenshots 10 Press Releases 11 Fact Sheets 11 Landing Page 11 Start a Developer’s Blog 12 Reach Out to the Press 13 Following Up 14 Convert Visitors into Active Fans 14 Maintain Your Marketing Momentum 15 Common Mistakes and Pitfalls to Avoid 16 What Makes You Unique? 17 Demographics 18 Personas: Mythical Prototypes 21 Competitive Analysis 23 Strategy and Goals 25 Marketing Goals 27 Lead Generation 28 Creating a Brand 30 Working Without Deep Pockets 31 ii | A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game Cost-Benefit Analysis 32 Metrics: In Data We Trust 33 Analytics 35 Marketing Channels 37 Shows and Events 37 Jams and Meet-ups 38 Closed Alpha Exposure 39 Contests 39 Don’t Tweet That 40 Pricing and Monetization Strategies 40 PR and Self-Promotion 42 Get Ready 44 Chapter 2: The Four Ps of Marketing for Indie Game Developers 45 The Four Ps Marketing Framework 46 Using the Four Ps 47 Mutually Dependent Variables 48 Yes, Your Game is a Product 48 Price 51 Setting the Right Price 53 Discounting Dos and Don’ts 54 Free to Play 55 Promotion 55 Assets 56 Ongoing Activities 57 Events 57 What About Advertising 58 Relationship-Based Promotion 58 Partner with Established Brands 59 Public Relations (PR)—Should You Hire a Pro, or DIY? 59 iii | A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game Place 59 Must-Have Channels 60 Boutiques 61 Getting Inventory from Here to There 61 The Four Ps: Summary 62 Chapter 3: Pricing Your Indie Game 63 Dodging Anomalies 64 Pricing Checklist 65 Break-Even Pricing 65 Kickstarter* Pricing 67 Market Pricing 67 Competitor Pricing 68 Downloadable Content Pricing 69 Episodic Pricing 70 Geographical Pricing 71 Perceived Value Pricing 73 Promotional Pricing 74 Preorder Pricing 75 Discounting and Sales 75 Bundle Pricing 76 Pricing: The Final Word 77 Get Noticed 78 Chapter 4: Attending Your First Event as an Indie Game Developer 79 Find the Event That’s Right for You 81 Don’t Waste Your Time—Plan Ahead 83 Bring Your Code and Show It Off 85 How to be Part of a Booth 86 Network Like Crazy 88 Follow Up After the Event 91 Resources 91 iv | A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game Chapter 5: Expanding the Pool of Customers for Your Indie Game 92 Funneling Fans 93 Grabbing Attention: Lead Generation 94 Channel Partners 94 Get a Unique Website 95 Social Media 95 Paid Social Media Campaigns 96 Kickstarter* 97 Events 97 Video Trailers 98 Public Relations (PR) 98 YouTube Gamers/Streamers 100 Data Management 101 Sparking Interest: Direct Relationships 101 Creating Advocates 103 Email Marketing 104 Community Management 104 Using Data and Analytics 105 Decision Time: Influencing Choice 106 Spurring Action: Sell Your Game 107 Chapter 6: Packaging Your Indie Game 110 Tell Your Story 111 Branding Checklist 112 Content Building Blocks 114 Some Assembly Required 120 Game Website Checklist 120 Landing Pages 122 Your Game in a Box 123 Packaging Design, Explained 124 Packaging Summary 126 v | A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game Get Big 127 Chapter 7: Approach Industry Influencers to Build Awareness for Your Indie Game 128 Social Networks: Start with What You Know 130 An Agenda for Events 133 Strategies for Streamers 134 Tap Existing Contacts 136 Talk to Game Retailers 137 Take a Holistic Approach 138 Chapter 8: Solving the Distribution Dilemma for Indie Gamers 139 Physical Boxes and Shareware Days 139 Make it a True Partnership 143 Direct Distribution Can Still Work 143 Don’t Stop with Steam 144 Data Gathering Aids Decision Making 145 Multi Platform Releases Boost Incomes, Headaches 147 Bundling for Fun 148 The Power of Good Distribution 149 Appendix 152 About the Authors 153 Additional Contributors 155 Resources 157 vi | A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game Lead Authors LEAD AUTHORS Patrick DeFreitas, Intel® Partner Marketing Manager A graduate from Boston University & UC Berkeley Patrick has worked in the entertainment industry including film, television and video games for almost 20 years. He has also worked in ecommerce and media marketing industries starting in the late ‘90s. When he’s not focused on tracking new up and comers in gaming catch him enjoying “quiet time” in Palm Springs, CA. Primary subject matter expert on marketing indie games Dan Fineberg, Marketing Consultant For more than 35 years, Dan has built demand for innovations that transform the way we work, play and learn—driving growth for small, medium and large companies. At Intel in the ‘90’s and 00’s, Dan led marketing initiatives and programs to establish Intel® LAN products, server processors, and mobilized software, helping to drive a sea change in business computing based on industry standards and volume economics. As marketing director at the electron microscope leader FEI, Dan implemented and managed direct-relationship marketing and led the category-creation campaign establishing a new class of electron microscopes. Today, Dan works for Intel’s Software and Services Group as a full-time consultant, helping drive strategic communications for Intel’s innovative software and platforms. Primary subject matter expert on marketing indie games Garret Romaine, RH+M3 Lead Writer Garret has been writing about the gaming world since the early days of MS-DOS, authoring white papers, case studies, game reviews, profiles, and feature articles. He worked on Intel’s Visual Adrenaline Magazine starting in 2009, and has since contributed content for Intel Developer Zone. He is currently the Director of Content Creation at RH+M3. Lead Writer for RH+M3 vii | A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game Preface PREFACE Intel has supported the PC gaming community since the late 1970s, when the Intel® 8088 processor ran at 4.77 MHz inside the IBM PC. While hardware advances received the early headlines and large studios dominated the trade press the role of independent game developers has always been of interest. The freshest ideas, the most interesting stories, and the most groundbreaking advances still come from the indies who bravely bring their visions to market. Their struggle to balance the mastery of new technology and to conquer competitive marketing is growing in complexity. Intel’s new Get Ready, Get Noticed, Get Big initiative is designed to help indie game developers with vital tools, information, and guidance during each stage of the marketing process. This marketing guide is a go-to resource packed with current content for vital individuals and small teams trying to get their titles noticed in the dynamic gaming market. The mention of any particular game, product, or tool is not an endorsement. viii | A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game Chapter 1 Overview of Indie Game Marketing By Garret Romaine Chapter 1: OVERVIEW OF INDIE GAME MARKETING According to Newzoo—the leading provider of market intelligence covering global games, eSports, and mobile markets—more than 2.2 billion gamers worldwide are generating an estimated United States dollar (USD) 108.9 billion in game revenue for 2017. That global market for games offers many enticing targets for indie developers. LAI Global Game Service reports that Western Europe is now the market leader with 31 percent of the total sales, and it boasts the top spending per mobile title at USD 4.40 each. North America is in second place with slower growth prospects, but MENA (Middle East and North Africa region) is projected to grow by 21 percent, year-to-year. Asia is growing at an annual 13 percent rate, Latin America increased by 14 percent in 2016, and Eastern Europe (and especially Russia) is another key emerging market. Even long-overlooked regions such as Southeast Asia remain largely untapped. 1 | A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game Chapter 1 Overview of Indie Game Marketing Still popular after all these years—Super Mario Run* was the #1 downloaded app in 2016. In early 2017, Apple reported that their App Store brought in USD 20 billion in revenue for the previous year. On January 1, 2017, they set a new record of USD 240 million in revenue in a single day. The top-grossing apps were games, and Super Mario Run* from Nintendo was the number one app overall. According to PCGamesN.com, Steam* will hit a record of 6,000 new releases in 2017, representing an enormous opportunity for developers. Statista breaks down the game industry numbers for 2016; and with some careful study, a clever independent could spot several profitable, growing niches. For example, should you develop for the growing elderly population in the US? According to the US Census Bureau, the US population aged 65 and over is projected to be 83.7 million people by 2050. Targeting a brain-boosting puzzle game or nutrition diary might make sense. At the other end of the scale, a game for preteens in the Middle East might offer lucrative potential. Multiple opportunities exist for hungry independents in the games market. In a 2017 blog post, Kenneth Tran at Gamasutra.com offered this insight, “The independent games industry is currently in a state of near perfection.” Tran 2 | A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game Chapter 1 Overview of Indie Game Marketing says the market has been “disrupted by digital distribution and self-publishing. Everyone knows this story: the rise of Google Play*, the (Apple) App Store, Unity* Personal Edition, and Free2Play*.” The key takeaway from Tran’s blog is the concept of perfect competition.