You’ve been slaving away, developing the next big game that will take the world by storm. After hours of strategizing, designing, coding, and adding audio, you are finally ready to go live and start marketing your baby. Are you wondering where to start? We have five essential tips for game developers who are about to hit the market.
Cross your Compliance Ts
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act was passed by the US Congress in 1998. This act was designed to protect children under the age of 13 from inappropriate material on the internet and unauthorized use of their private information.
If you plan to market your game to under 13s, you must follow the guidelines for COPPA compliant apps. These guidelines include notifying parents of your privacy policy before collecting kids’ information and gaining parental consent. With 21% of gamers in the US under 18 years of age, you don’t want to miss out on this market because of poor planning.
Focus on Twitter
Social media is a must-have to get the word out there about your new game, but you might not have the capacity to cover all channels. Twitter is the perfect way to get feedback from gamers and get the word out there about your game launch. You can even tweet at game distributors to get your game featured. Try using popular hashtags like #gamerlife, #screenshotsaturday, and #gamedev to get your tweets in front of the right audience.
Remember, you are creating a community, not just giving a one-way stream of information. Make sure you have someone who is responding to comments, answering questions, and taking on-board feedback.
Make a Trailer
Everyone loves a sneak peek. Give gamers a small slice of the action to come by creating your own game trailer. You want to showcase what is new and exciting about your game and how it is different from other games out there. For inspiration, check out some of the top game trailers from 2020.
Your trailer needs to offer a glimpse at the story, create a bit of suspense, and appeal to the right audience. It is always a great idea to test it out before it goes live to ensure you are hitting all the right notes. If it leaves people confused or with too many questions, they might give it a miss and move on to the next option.
Get People Talking
One of the best publicity options for new developers is to send your game out to bloggers and game review sites. Again, you want to make sure you will reach the right target audience, so do your research first. The competition is fierce, so you need to get the word out and get your game in front of as many people from your target market as possible.
Organize an Online Launch Event
The pandemic has quashed people’s social plans for the year, so now is the perfect time to create a fun and exciting online launch party where people can test out your game, play with friends, and meet new gaming buddies. To get people along, make it interactive, offer a sweetener like a discount off the game price, and encourage people to spread the word! You might include some behind-the-scenes footage or organize a celebrity appearance to get people excited.
It may be a competitive industry, but if your game is a stand-out and you get it in front of enough people, it is sure to be a success. Good luck!
