How do you guys market your game?

I've recently published a few games on Google Play and I keep getting email solicitations from apparently popular Android review sites for their paid app review service, with prices varying from $99 to $249. They always mention the classic line: "You work hard on your app, don't let it die in the swamp that is the Play Store" or "Without marketing, your app has next to zero chance of being found/noticed".

Anyone have experience on marketing via review sites?

If so, is it worth it and which particular sites can you recommend for Android games?

I'm currently working on another bigger title, space sci-fi sandbox, inspired by privateer, elite, escape velocity and definitely considering to push it with some $$ if that's what it takes.

Thanks!

Don't do it, it's unethical and disrespectful to your customers. Contact real reviewers and let them do a honest review.

Never mind the unethical bit, 99% of these are the next best thing to cons, out there to fleece a few quick dollars off the naive. The chances of making your paid 'reviews' back in most cases are virtually zero.

There's a golden rule. If they need to send spam mail to advertise their existence, then their service isn't going to be any good.

Don't do it, it's unethical and disrespectful to your customers. Contact real reviewers and let them do a honest review.

I mean the whole notion of paying for a review is idiotic, because how can you trust the opinion of the reviewer to not be biased when they are paid for it from the app developer??

It just seems like marketing is so crucial (no matter how awesome your game is, if nobody knows about it... ) and a lot of guides from other successful indie devs mention how they spend $1,000 minimum on marketing their games.

> Don't do it, it's unethical and disrespectful to your customers. Contact real reviewers and let them do a honest review.

>

I mean the whole notion of paying for a review is idiotic, because how can you trust the opinion of the reviewer to not be biased when they are paid for it from the app developer??

It just seems like marketing is so crucial (no matter how awesome your game is, if nobody knows about it... ) and a lot of guides from other successful indie devs mention how they spend $1,000 minimum on marketing their games.

I never actually tried to market something, but marketing is a pretty complex thing, I think if really you have to make marketing for your games (which maybe you doesn't, maybe just finding let's players or reviewer to test your game freely can be enough sometimes), just find someone who can really do it for you, don't be fooled by spammers.

If you want to propose your game to let's players, just ask them, the most you should do would be give them free access to the game at most IMO

The $1000 things feels really weird, like, seriously, I think only people whom actually made a decent amount of money will spend that much in this, not someone that doesn't make money from anything.I could be wrong though.

— - I know you and me both are scratching our heads on marketing. If you figure it out, let me know. All I can do is post on my blog, post here and few other forums, and hope for the best. The head scratching part comes when you realize there are now 1000s of Flappy Bird clones and so many of them have 10,000 to 500,000 downloads. How is this possible? Who is downloading all these? And why? Some are good, but majority are junk.

—

Flappy Clones market themselves, because FLAPPY is a very oft search term and since its an on-going fad, those who like Flappy games will try newer clones "just to see" and if they enjoy it, they tell their friends. I know because my own Flappy Clone: Flappy Sperm (https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... free&hl=en) is about to break the 50K download mark, with no marketing.

It's what a viral sensation is all about. But Flappy was pure dumb luck.

Ive been reading what other successful devs have to say and its not looking good... 33% is about making a great game. ONLY 33%? Apparently they think so. The other 33% is marketing. The final 33% is pure luck.

Oh, this blog series is an excellent read for any other new indie dev: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidGal ... Part_V.php

Really eye opener.

— - thanks, I'll check out that article.

Oh, this blog series is an excellent read for any other new indie dev: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidGal ... Part_V.php

Really eye opener.

Interesting, from an indie PC view.

>

>

> Oh, this blog series is an excellent read for any other new indie dev: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidGal ... Part_V.php

>

> Really eye opener.

>

Interesting, from an indie PC view.

His game made a lot of $$ on iOS and Android, so porting games to more platform is the best approach. I see him as a perfect example for potential of C2 users, because C2 is able to do mobiles and steam/pc/mac games off one code base.

Essentially he did mention spending money on marketing his games, prior to getting Steam Greenlight where the major $$ was.

His game made a lot of $$ on iOS and Android, so porting games to more platform is the best approach. I see him as a perfect example for potential of C2 users, because C2 is able to do mobiles and steam/pc/mac games off one code base.

Essentially he did mention spending money on marketing his games, prior to getting Steam Greenlight where the major $$ was.

Certainly, sounds good, but like it says in the article, not the easiest thing to do.

I think, nowadays, you can promote your title by being contact with all major game portals, youtubers and reviewers and without espending money. Just give an demo or an beta version of your game, asking to play, in a gently and professional way. If it's good and they liked, they will support the game as they can.

Hi, Silverforce. As someone who works for a film production company, I can tell you that video game marketing is very similar. Essentially, it all boils down to the quality of your game. Is it fun? What sort of demographics are you targeting? Are there similar games out there? Is it a free game or a paid app? These are just a few questions every player has on their mind, and questions you should have answers for. There are TONS of legitimate review sites out there looking for quality games to review, because those games boost page views for the site, which is a win-win for all parties involved. Since your game is an indie production, a few to check out would be Indiemag, Gamejolt, IndieDB, App Spy, etc. A simple google search for "indie game review sites" will provide you all you need. There's also Reddit, where you can post to r/indiegaming, r/androidgaming, r/pcgaming, r/steam, and more. You can also contact "Let's Play" youtube channels to review your game. DON'T limit yourself to a few forums and "hope for the best", and inversely, NEVER pay for a review. Nobody frequents paid review sites, because they're crap. Do your research, contact all the resources I mentioned, and don't give up until you start seeing your hard work pay off.

swordofsolace —

Thanks for the excellent advice, it's very much appreciated.

As a new indie, is it worth it to buy Ads to market your game? Maybe on gaming review sites or via mobiles.

—

Advertising on youtube became relatively easy and cheap with an advantage of reaching only your target.

I'm new as an Indie too. However, I work with publicity so I understand a bit about reaching the right people for your product. Most of the time, It's really expensive and takes time. With the internet, you can achieve it, with no money or with a "small" amount depending on how you deal with the situation, which is can be very different in each situation.