Marketing Ideas

HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
edited November -1 in Business and Marketing Theory
I'm making my first games with GS and am thinking about marketing as well as trying to make a really good game that I can be proud of.

I've got a few ideas on marketing, so see what you think and add a comment if you have other ideas.

From what I can gather good sales will only come if you can get in the various charts... and stay there! The latter part should happen if you have a really good game, a good idea that is executed well and presented in a way that captures people's imagination. But getting noticed in the first place is the challenge with so many apps out there.

It makes sense to me to make games that can sit in a certain niche so that you can gain exposure from media outlets in that field and appeal to a narrow group. Hopefully you'll get some good reviews/features so that narrow group will buy your game and propel it into the charts.

Once it enters the charts hopefully it will cross over to a mainstream audience. Of course, that will be down to how universally appealing your game is outside of the initial group you were aiming at.

So the first games that we are working on take their inspiration from aspects of nature and will have all kinds of facts/things to learn snuck into the gameplay. So when the game is finished I'll be contacting as many websites as possible that might talk about insect life. Although its a game there are lots of factual elements so I'm hoping it will be of interest to nature based websites.

From what I read Angry birds got into the charts for the makers home country first and then crossed over.

Any thoughts?
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Comments

  • HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
    Any thoughts on this?
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  • PhoticsPhotics Member Posts: 4,172
    Marketing apps is tough job. It's very hard to knock Angry Birds off their perch. It seems that being at the top of the ladder is almost self-sustaining.

    Why is Angry Birds at the top of the rankings?
    It's popular!
    Why is it popular? Because it's at the top of the rankings.

    Sure, building a good game helps, but is Angry Birds the absolute best game out there? I have found many annoying aspects about that game. Yet, it has a lasting appeal — for a wide audience. It's a simple game, that can be played by kids and adults. It's also great for the platform, easy to learn but also challenging to beat. Angry birds has an insane amount of levels for a 99¢ app.

    Birds are cute. Are bugs cute? Do people like bugs more than birds?

    The trick to marketing is building and sustaining the app's popularity. That usually involves money. I find that websites don't really care about my apps. I can send them emails, tell them why the app is relevant news to their website, but they don't seem to care. I'm only one developer - there are thousands of others.

    I think better app marketing comes from understanding how iTunes works. The players like cheap games. So, if an app is selling for 99¢ each, where Apple snags a 30% cut, that doesn't leave much room for marketing.
  • StormyStudioStormyStudio United KingdomMember Posts: 3,989
    just make the best damn app you can muster...

    then if and when if flops..

    make your next one even better... and so on...

    Until eventually one gets really popular, and your other apps sales can go up on the success of your excellent game...

    ...

    I like your nature fact idea and getting the initial sales from a niche market before hitting the main stream. Sounds like a good approach. Assuming there are enough nature lovers with iphones..
  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    Something I THink it is important to remember especially when comparing to Angry Birds. That game was nearly a Flop they brought it back with a lite version and look where it is now. So keep in mind anything can happen as long as you don't give up on your game. Just make a good game, keep trying, and never stop making better games.
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  • GamersRejoiceGamersRejoice Member Posts: 817
    I think that it's also important to not give up on an app just because it hasn't taken off immediately. Marketing is an ongoing process and if you have a great app then you shouldn't give up on marketing it until the thing makes it big. Even once it makes it big you should still be finding new ways to market the thing.
  • tom.tomtom.tom Member Posts: 22
    Also be sure to get the word out. Keep your fan's updated on future projects etc.

    http://www.macappular.com
  • MatthewopMatthewop Member Posts: 9
    first good quality and service and try SEO and google engine!

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  • HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
    Yeah, I'm expecting it to be tough to get review-site exposure. That's why I'm thinking of places which won't already be saturated with games. And then for the game sites we'll have to do what we can to get noticed.

    On a slightly different note I found this interesting blog on game psychology http://www.gamesetwatch.com/column_the_psychology_of_games/

    Our latest game is coming along really nicely and has an art style that makes it stand out. I'll post some screenshots/videos soon!
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  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    shaz said:
    Yeah, I'm expecting it to be tough to get review-site exposure. That's why I'm thinking of places which won't already be saturated with games. And then for the game sites we'll have to do what we can to get noticed.

    On a slightly different note I found this interesting blog on game psychology http://www.gamesetwatch.com/column_the_psychology_of_games/

    Our latest game is coming along really nicely and has an art style that makes it stand out. I'll post some screenshots/videos soon!

    Keep in mind you should prob focus most of your efforts on the ones hard to reviewed by. Getting a review from a site with no traffic is as useful as featured in a games sub category on itunes.

    I posted some promo codes on a forum of a review site one time and 3 days later it was still the second post on the forum with no replies. You could get the best review possible from that site but I bet it does you no good since there was no traffic.
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  • tom.tomtom.tom Member Posts: 22
    If your looking for a exposure through reviews, feel free to check out my site www.macappolis.com. We focus primarily on apps from the new Mac App Store however, we hope to branch out into other platforms in the long term. With that said, my suggestion is simply to get as much exposure as possible. Whether its a bad review or a good review, it gets the word out about your company. Furthermore, building relations with review websites are important as well in my opinion.

    I'd be more then happy to take a look at your game, especially if its a Mac game. Feel free to e-mail me at thomson.ho@macappolis.com
  • EatingMyHatEatingMyHat Member Posts: 1,246
    PM me if you would like your iPad or iPhone game reviewed on our sites.
  • HoneyTribeStudiosHoneyTribeStudios Member Posts: 1,792
    @ tom.tom and Gabbyr

    Ok cool, when the game is finished I'll give you a buzz, cheers. We'll start with iphone/ipod and depending on how hat goes will hopefully make an ipad and mac version.
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