7 Cardinal Sins of Indie Game Promo
Indie games fail for a large number of reasons ranging from development to promotion. But when it comes to promos, these are the top 7 transgressions I've seen from indie studios.
According to GameAnalytics, 95% of indie games are not profitable, and 80% of indie games operate at a loss. That’s pretty simple math. Your indie game has a 5% chance of success.
Long gone are the days when an indie game on a popular platform was a promise of rockstardom. These days, you can thank your lucky stars if your title just manages to break even. Why?
I actually have a list of 33 reasons why your indie game will fail. Let me just share my top 7 with you.
1. Your game sucks
Plain and simple. No offense.
If the reviews for your game are mostly negative, or overwhelmingly negative, you should question the output. Has anyone external actually told you that they absolutely love your game? Do you really love your game?
You may think this is extremely obvious, but you'd be surprised. Several indie devs choose a VR "success simulation" over reality. They refuse to look the ugly truth in the face.
Your game may suck because it was poorly crafted or because it’s artistically nondescript. Either way, marketing a crappy game can be a surefire sin that sends your indie title to the failure underworld.
Advice: Try again.
2. You didn’t create a community around your game
Or, rather, you didn't create your game around a community.
One thing that all successful games have in common is a community. A community that will test, play, critique, support, and promote your game. Your hype squad. It might sound hard, but success won’t happen without it.
Some indie teams try to take on the world in one fell swoop. What you really ought to do is build your community, one member at a time, with respect and gratefulness. They’ll conquer the world for you.
No community = no indie game success. Period.
Advice: Build a solid community, one supporter at a time.
3. You bundled too early
With the right tactical ingredients, you may be able to pleasantly surprise customers (and your pocketbook) by bundling your game early. Actually, you could even launch your game in a bundle!
But be warned. Unless you have some rounded experience and a few tricks up your sleeve, stay away from early bundling. As a rule of thumb, wait out at least the better part of a full year before placing your game in a bundle. The right timing is everything.
While bundling can get your indie game in front of thousands of new players, it also comes with the irreversible drawback of a steep early discount. Never bundle out of desperation. Always bundle with reason and purpose.
Advice: Bundling may devalue your game. Approach with caution.
4. Your discounts are too frequent
Aesop wrote a timeless fable called 'The Indie Dev Who Cried Discount'. Ever heard of it? Message me, I’ll send you a link. Anyways, the moral of the story is brilliant.
Offer a discount every two weeks and in less than two months no-one will pay attention. No-one. What were you thinking? How desperate were you trying to look?
Indie studios should approach sales and marketing like they’re one wavelength. A promotion is the crest of the wavelength. This is when you do everything to get your game in players’ hands. As the wavelength dives into a trough, create activities to get players playing your game. This will create word-of-mouth, drive conversation, and set up the next promotion.
Monitor your sales and marketing pulse like a physician or risk ending up totally out of rhythm with your target audience.
Advice: Read 'The Indie Dev Who Cried Discount' by Aesop