Ever since my wife taught me how to use Twitter, I’ve used it to find games to play, developers to interview, and generally improve my journalistic experience. Funnily enough, because of this, I’ve started to notice some mistakes that some developers make when trying to promote their games. Don’t get me wrong – I’m by no means an expert, but from a press (and fan) perspective, I can see how some of these things have made a difference. Without further ado, here are five tips from the press for developers!
Be easy to contact!
During the first few times I contacted the developers for an interview, I made the mistake of simply contacting them via Twitter. I sent a lot of requests and returned less than half. I thought maybe they weren’t interested, so I continued… and then some of the people who responded asked me to send the questions to their emails. I quickly learned that many developers get inundated on social media and many requests are lost because of it. To remedy this, I tried contacting them via email and quickly discovered that many developers do not make their contact information available.
The problem is, if I can’t find your information and you won’t see my message through social media, then it’s very difficult for me as a press to contact you, losing both of us the opportunity for interviews, mailing lists . (for news coverage), previews, reviews, etc. Just use part of your Twitter bio to provide contact information!
Never stop tweeting, and not just for sales
Another mistake I’ve noticed – this one coming from a fan’s perspective – is that many developers will only tweet about their game promotionally or very rarely. Don’t get me wrong, it’s perfectly fine to promote your product, but if every tweet you make is about how much it’s going to cost or how much money you’re going to need, then people won’t feel that need to hit that next button . If instead your Twitter is a mixed bag of promotional messages and memes, jokes or even stories about your game, it will give people something more to come back to.
A great example of fantastic use of Twitter is from the creators of Bear and Breakfast. I started following them right after I learned how to use Twitter because I had their game on my wish list, but they never let me forget that it existed in all the silly, cute tweets and interactions and funny. Not only did they make their own memes and jokes, but they constantly liked and retweeted fan art and interactions. Because of this, Bear and Breakfast it was always in my timeline and in a way that stood out and stuck with me. I rarely remember when most games are coming out, however it was so prominent that I was there that day Bear and Breakfast started.
Something for something
I don’t mean that creepy spammy way people on Instagram will do where they send a follow 4 follow message. I mean, other developers on Twitter are not your enemies or competition; they are often your best allies and promotion. I’ve been following a particular developer since I requested an interview with her, and she’s the biggest source of intro games on my follow list because she constantly likes, retweets, and comments on other developers’ work. Because of this, they show up on my timeline and I get exposure to their product.
The opposite is also true, as interacting with other developers’ posts will also get you seen. As was the case with a developer who liked one of the posts that was retweeted about an interview I did, and lo and behold, I was reaching out to them after seeing that because I was exposed to their game and found it interesting enough to reach out out.
Bonus: there are a lot of people who constantly encourage developers to share their games through hashtags and posts, like #WishlistWednesday. Not only have many developers mentioned that it helps them stay motivated, but obviously, many people use these types of tweets to find games to support or follow (myself included).
Never use trending Hashtags just to get views
Not only is this a great way to make people hate you for being annoying and boring, but it’s also a terrible idea and a recipe for disaster. Recently on my Twitter sidebar, a hashtag was trending in Spanish (I’m Colombian, so I get told stuff from here) that said #VerguenzaNacional, which basically translates to #NationalEmbarrassment. A girl who wanted to be seen used the tag without realizing it and posted a video of herself playing an instrument. The first comment I saw on it was a person letting her know the horrible hashtag she chose to abuse. Also, I immediately blocked her afterwards because it basically showed her greed and lack of interest or thought.
Do not do this. You won’t get a good community or spotlight from it. Instead, find hashtags you can connect with and be a part of, like #indiedev or #gamedev or even just #gamedevelopment. Heck, even just #indie; anything that shows you’re really paying attention and care.
If you do a Kickstarter, put some effort into it
One of the series I write here is called Kickstarter Highlight, where I find games with campaigns that will end soon and are relatively unknown, and then I write a piece about why they should consider backing it. It’s surprising the amount of lessons I’ve learned from this alone.
For example, developers who link their Kickstarter on Twitter and/or change their names to mention that a Kickstarter exists make their game much more accessible. It’s very important that the campaign is easily accessible, so don’t be afraid to add the link to your bio as well, as many people may just go to your profile and check it out first.
In addition to the things you can do on Twitter, make sure your Kickstarter has a good amount of information and humanity to it. For example, many developers underestimate how important it is for backers to have information on them. If you write who you are, why you’re developing the game, and why people should care, people will relate to your cause much more. Even if it seems like it’s kind of obvious or boring, it’s never a bad idea to humanize yourself. A great example of a great Kickstarter page was this one, the first one I did in my article series.
Another mistake developers make is not providing any kind of goal. You don’t have to give it all; even just the first and the rest hidden behind question marks will be enough. But if someone goes to your game page and sees that there is nothing new to add to it, it will never be as exciting as seeing a great game and then promising even more cool things.
Also, don’t forget the budget and plans you have in general. The more information you provide about your product, the easier it will be for people to judge whether the game is worth supporting.
These are all tips and tricks I’ve noticed these past few months while working on Twitter with developers. I think it’s all about being confident, attractive and human, not just a brand or product. I hope my tips are able to help you! If you want to send me a message on Twitter, feel free, I’m always ready to find an interesting game.
