Uncertainties of Indie Marketer

This is more of a dev log thing than anything else. Currently, I am living abroad in Germany. A friend of mine back in the states has been developing an iOS game for the past 2.5 years. Not only is he doing all the music and gameplay, but also he designed his own engine from the ground up! Suffice to say, when he asked me to help with the marketing, I was very excited, but also felt somewhat anxious, since I wasn't sure how I would actually be able to "help."

Well, this was a few months ago. He still hasn't finished entirely, which is totally fine. Meanwhile, I have been conducting lots and lots of research. Quickly, I, like so many others, realized how much of a time-suck (in a good way of course lol) learning about marketing is. More specifically, it's only once you begin your trek down the rabbit hole, do you realize how much you have to learn!

I go to the usual websites TigSource, TouchArcade, Gamasutra, and use the appropriate hashtags when making posts. I have learned about ASO, and about the importance of the perfect sentence for your game description. Additionally, I have become an active member of certain online communities, helping people with their trailers, copy, and anything else I, with my limited possibilities, can.

But I nonetheless feel like I am in a sort of overwhelmingly busy limbo. Everyday I have to post at least 4-5 blurbs on Twitter (#indiegamedev), check the forums, see what trailers are or aren't good, try and talk with my friend despite the time difference. All of this work, while productive, is  like fixing a car without ever taking it on the road. Of course I don't want to over stress my friend, but I want it all to begin.

But, like the first time the Spring sun breaks through Winter's gray so unexpectedly, I undoubtedly will ask to return to that stage of life that just finished.