>> My first ever Press Release and then lessons learnt...

gyroscope · June 2012

Hi all, in this crazy heat (here in the UK, can't speak for other parts of the world!); I sent out my first ever press release the other day, which went live today; not for one of my apps - or should I say not for my only app at the moment - but for another album of music I've finished.

Although the music is for sale, the press release doesn't directly try to sell you anything so I hope it's OK to give a link to it for your interest; if @SaladStraightShooter or others thinks this is unacceptable, I'll amend this post and delete the link straightaway, of course. Here is my press release for Between the Lines of Time and Space:

So to the lessons I've learnt - or are in the process of learning - which hopefully will be of interest/help to some of you who are marketing your games/apps, etc.

1) when I google the title of my album, not many entries come up (although it's early days yet) but if I put in the complete press release title, which starts with "A New Direction Taken..." then lots come up. So any future PRs I do, I'm going to make sure that the name of the app, music or novel are the first words. THat way, search engines will pick up the title and show more... so I recommend you do this too!

2) as well as this paid service for the PR, I also put it through a lot of free press release sites; there's a company I found who, for $15, submits your press release to 50+ press release sites for you; far less work for you, having to only upload the one PR to this site and they do the rest.... whether or not these free sites offer any extra exposure for you in "the real world" I'm not certain, but you never know.... At least it'll give you more Google/Yahoo, etc., hits that appear in people's search listings... I won't give the name of this company as I guess it's advertising which isn't allowed here in the Forums... (although I'll point out the company has nothing to do with me, or vice versa).

3) I'm learning that for the sake of £100, your press release will land up in the most unexpected of places - already I'm finding that, even after only 12 hours "live"; who knows what doors it could open, or how many sales it'll generate... and even if you don't recoup that money back in sales, my opinion is that - with subsequent press releases mentioning your company and apps, it's exponentially more likely that you'll get noticed... eventually...possibly....

4) I'm considering writing a press release about my first game app - End of the Earth - when I update it soon but I'll wait to see if this first PR makes any waves of any kind first....I'll keep you informed here, if you like.

5) Even though I know - we all know - that a game is not going to sell well at all - even none at all - if no one knows about it, it hasn't really clicked with me "for real" until I sent out this first album press release. How is the wonderful internet going to know about your product - because that's what it is, of course, a product - if you don't let anyone know? And obviously getting reviews of your apps/games, etc is an important part of this exposure, a press release properly targeted by a reputable PR company ("reputable" underlined) is just as important, if not more important.

OK, I hope my musings/ramblings about press releases helps you out when you've finished your app and it gets swallowed in the mighty ocean which is called the iTunes store... ;-)

maxbeaumont · June 2012

Wow very cool thread my friend. Very cool music as well. I look forward to hearing more about this in the coming weeks and months and hopefully much longer than that

Cheers

gyroscope · June 2012

@VentoraStudios

Thank you, Max! I'll post here occasionally with progress then! :-)

Braydon_SFX · June 2012

Awesome info, thanks for taking the time to write it!

Yeah, I'd be interested to hear your progress - I look forward to reading it!

RP · June 2012

@gyroscope No joke man, that ocean is getting deeper and more vast each day. Thanks for sharing the 411.

gyroscope · June 2012

You're welcome, @Braydon_SFX , glad you found it of use!

@RP, yup, it's sure getting crazy in there! (PS I had to google "sharing the 411"; never heard that before!) Soooo, you're welcome as well. :-)

I'll post more thoughts/info as I think of it...

LiquidGameworks · June 2012

Mind sharing the name of this PR company which distributes to other PR sites?

gyroscope · June 2012

Hi @LiquidGameworks

As I say, I'm not totally sure if I'm allowed to mention the company in the Forums as it's a paid-for service; but thinking about it, perhaps it would be OK, as its not an app, template or game graphics, etc; so I will put the link here for you.

But again, if @SaladStraightShooter, etc., think it's inappropriate please let me know and I'll delete it immediately of course. I'll mention again that the company has nothing to do with me other than I've used their service:

Hope that's helpful for you. :-)

codemates · June 2012

Hi David,
Thanks for taking the time to do this. It is very helpful since this is what most developers lack. GameSalad makes it easy to build the games, the hardest part of the game making process for me is letting people know about the game. I would definitely be interested on more feedback on this.

-Geoffrey

gyroscope · June 2012

@Codemates

Hi Geoffrey, I'm pleased you and others are finding the post helpful; and you're so right about most developers lacking in the marketing department (or in a more kind way of saying, not even aware of its importance and necessity). Even after all of our hard work planning, designing and creating the game, there's even more hard work "getting it out there", for certain. It's not easy - 'cos everyone and his aunt is shouting - "me, me, me!" - how to get your product recognised amidst the throng of the crazy world intermarket (while it lays at the bottom of the iTunes ocean)? ;-)

Press releases are definitely a pre-requisite to your game marketing plans, for certain.

I've more info/thoughts concerning my first press release, I'll post again later on tonight. :-)

gyroscope · June 2012

Hi, sorry I didn't post last night as I said I would - you know: had places to go, people to see, tea to drink....

So my PR has been live for coming up for two and a half days now: some more observations/thoughts:

The company I went with for my press releases seem rather good (with some reservations on my part) and as part of the package, they include an Analytics page. So first thought here: make sure the company you choose for your press release includes some sort of feedback/analytics system so you can get an idea of how well your press release is performing.

Part of the analytics page is Media Deliveries and they put out my PR relatively quickly, to 858 places. All of these places are in the categories I chose: in this instance, I could choose up to 5, (Music, and Performing Arts, in the Art & Entertainment section to name two). This is all fine and dandy except: these are only in the UK, and you have to pay an extra £30 in the case of this company to choose which of the main categories to choose from as the main focus...in my case, I didn't opt for that, so there was no focus...which means, as far as I can tell, the majority of the 858 places are local newspapers and local radio stations in the main...

So it's still a blanket press release to an extent, with the vast majority of the recipients not relevant to this particular press release concerning an album of dark ambient music... what I'm trying to say is: you get what you pay for; to get more focus, or have your PR sent to other countries, you need to pay more...it could get quite expensive... So you have to weigh up the pros and cons when deciding on which PR company you're going with, as well as how far you want to stretch your budget, weighed up with a real objective look at the product you're selling; to make a proper decision as to where the limit should be before you start wasting money; extras that will cost you but will have no significant impact on your sales so there'd be no recouping that money....

I've one particular gripe with this company: one of the places in the UK I opted for them to send to (I forgot to mention you can choose up to 5 regions in the UK) was "City of London"; not only do I not know if these only means the small area in London called the City of London or... the city, which is London... either way, there are hardly any major media places listed, major newspapers and music magazines based in London, for instance... (I'll be giving my feedback to this company including this gripe at some stage...)

Marketing isn't easy, and it's business each end: you want to make money and so does the PR company; best to do a lot of research online before you take the plunge...

By the way, another cost consideration might be for having the PR company write your press release for you as well - some offer this service.

A final observation this time around: so after 2 days live, I haven't had any significant "take-up" of my press release, or huge surge in buyers for my product; maybe I should add "yet"; press releases, once they are out there, might be slow-burners and things happen later on - you could find reviews of your product, and extra copies of your PR appearing in more places later on... I guess we need to be patient, and view the results after a fairly decent time to gauge the responses; two weeks or more perhaps.

I'm all new to this! It's a learning curve I have to go through, as you will if/when you start putting out press releases... so choose your PR company wisely - they are not all equal by a long shot, and the PR business seems to have more than its fair share of scammers who'll take your money and run or take your money and send your PR to useless links, etc.

Can't think of anything else right now; I'll still keep you updated with how things are going at a later date...

Bye for now; off to make another cup of tea.

:-)

Braydon_SFX · June 2012

Good read for this morning. Thanks, David.

gyroscope · July 2012

@Braydon_SFX

Glad you found it interesting, Bray. :-)

PS: a couple of days ago, I clicked on the Awesome icon of the first post in this thread, half-awake; expecting to see who clicked it (thanks, whoever it was!) but of course, it just added another one.... whoops, voting for myself.... if any GS webmaster would like to delete 1 Awesome, that'd be great, thanks... (I'm a stickler for detail sometimes!) :-)

gyroscope · July 2012

Latest update:

The 15 dollar "deal" has worked out OK, with over 50 free press release sites showing my PR; but you blink and it get's buried... still worth it I think; possibly someone somewhere picks it up to extend the press release's "shelf-life"; plus even if it can only actively be seen on their sites for a couple of hours before burying, at least it's still there permanently; as well as google/yahoo searches picking up on your keywords/tags to appear in lists all over the place....

If you are new to press releases (like I am!) make use of it by posting the main PR company link that you used on twitter, Facebook, etc. Also send it as part of the package when you send to review sites. (for interest, I've sent a download link for all the tracks on this new album, as well as the press release and cover pic, etc; to 30 website magazines/blogs/reviewers. I wait to see if any pick up on it to review the album...I can only hope....)

A few blogs/personal websites have shown the PR; someone's StumbledUpon it (24 views)...it's doing something, at least....

As for the main press release company that I spent the £100 with, and they sent it to over 800 places: no obvious pickup or feedback yet.... hopefully "yet".... but I won't hold my breath on that one, no need to get stressed about it! If something happens, (review, extra sales, etc) great; if not, shrug and try again/try more/move on. Don't get fixated by it! (Pertinent advice supplied by Dr Gyroscope... ;-)

But still, from my Analytics page: 57 PR Interactions; Zero referrals by Search Keyword or Search Engine (ash, shame... ;-); 3 online pickups; 414 reads; 12,874 Impressions; and the 858 Media Deliveries done a couple of days ago....

See? I'm just the tiny, tiny, tiniest of fish in that other vast ocean called the World Wide Web, but I'm splashing and making a tiny noise at least!

Continuing best of luck with your marketing endeavours for your apps, etc. Let me know how you're getting on!

Cup of tea?

&gt;&gt; My first ever Press Release and then lessons learnt...

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>> My first ever Press Release and then lessons learnt...