No-Budget DIY Marketing for Indie Games

[@gamongames]

This seems like the ultimate talk on this subject for indie devs. It covers it all, gives example structures and plans to follow and even when it doesnt go deep into something its still mentioned and contextualized so you can research it on your own. Its a high level professional consult on a subject small devs struggle with, from macro to micro, and for free. Thank you very much, Michelle.

[@gijane2cantwaittoseeyou203]

Not really. She gives general advice that never works.

[@nicholasandriani]

As an indie game developer, Michelle Lega's GDC talk on "No budget marketing" was incredibly valuable. I've worked as a narrative designer and writer for years now but have little experience with the hands-on aspects of game development. Michelle's emphasis on building a community around your game and engaging with your audience is exactly what I needed to hear. Particularly her advice on using social media to connect with players and using player feedback to improve your game. I mean, I "get it," intellectually, but it's the weekly, Monday-Friday workload that I needed to hear more about. Michelle's talk was full of practical tips and strategies that I will absolutely implement in my own marketing efforts. Thanks, Michelle!

[@theonlyron]

How much did you get paid to write this comment

[@nicholasandriani]

@@theonlyron Woah, slow down, I wasn't paid a dime. I just caught the video on my lunch break and enjoyed the hell out of Michelle's insights... I'm just trying to write a helpful review for anyone interested in tuning in. Believe me, I could use the cash if someone wants me to watch content for a buck. But no such luck... Cheers.

[@theonlyron]

@@nicholasandriani No hate here bro. It was supposed to be a joke because your comment read like it was written by AI. I don't mean anything by it other than that. Have a good one as well! 🙂👍

[@nicholasandriani]

@@theonlyron You make a good point, for sure! I suppose I've spent too much damn time writing academic jargon and professional content that I have a bad habit of sounding formulaic. I actually appreciate you pointing this out to me. Cheers, Ron.

[@deathtidegame]

@@nicholasandriani you sound like chatgpt

[@VilaRicaGames]

We all should thank Michelle and GDC for sharing such a rich content. This has been helping me greatly along with talks like the one from Jared J. Tan. Amazing work from all of you.

[@killymxi]

23:00 - Steam page created too early to have any gameplay video is a letdown. Occasionally, if I really see the potential behind screenshots, I may look for more info elsewhere like Twitter. But more often it is clear there is nothing to look for... It doesn't have to be final but it does have to be interesting enough.

[@fejori-tl8do]

The topic was covered so well. I'm impressed! It is sad that so many game developers handle marketing as an afterthought. 😥 Michelle speaks very well and the practical tips were amazing. Thanks Michelle for the content, and the GDC team for bringing it here. You guys rock!

[@Wishbone_Games]

Ive been making games for 3 years now and ive literally never marketed, so this is will be really useful for my new game

[@igorthelight]

Even good games don't sell themselves ;-)

[@Wishbone_Games]

@@igorthelight Unfortunately not.. :(

[@DiamondPressMusic]

Omg hi wishbone games I watch you

[@Wishbone_Games]

@@DiamondPressMusic omg hahah thats so cool

[@twoboxtoofurious]

Best talk from this year (of the ones I've seen so far) 🎉 Thanks and greetings from Argentina ❤

[@NekoPatty06]

As an Indie Developer myself, currently working on The Tale of Two Nekos. This is really helpful

[@JuntaTheHero]

How's your game coming along?

[@TolgaDurman]

This is so nice. Marketing Bible for indie devs! Thank you Michelle Lega and GDC for bringing up this important topic in a such a great way.

[@SwordofAslan]

While taking notes for this video, I amended your "story details" pitch example this way: The beautiful town of Horseburg has been overrun by evil horses with a penchant for stomping crops…especially carrots. Only one hero can save them…a special cowboy with grit. Are you that cowboy? Do you have the grit? *grins* I feel very proud of myself.

[@davejeltema3]

Anyone have a link to the Ana Opara twitter thread about Tik Tok strategy mentioned at 21:40?

[@mashafalkov]

This is such a great video on a complex topic that changes subtly every couple of years. Thank you!

[@carlosbarcena6069]

Excellent talk, thank you very much!

[@auroraRealms]

I cannot thank you enough for this talk, and all the tools that just filled my toolbox. Absolutely amazing.

[@sigridopps3049]

now that was some precious info

[@RewdanSprites]

I screenshotted that hour a day marketing plan so fast. It was like BAM! Anyways, great talk. One day I'll start marketing it 😅...

[@struggling3dartist910]

One of the most useful and informative talks I've ever watched here.

[@m0rph3u5.]

Super informative talk especially for Solo Devs. Worth watching more than once indeed

[@leolightfellow]

This is a useful GDC video, for sure. There's actual useful tools in here.

[@QuelOhmCeGoerg]

This is one of the best guide for Indie teams. Thanks a lot !

[@KordTaylor]

Thanks for the nice video. 👏🏻

[@drawingmoo4109]

Amazing talk, thank you so much for making this available to folks. Any recommendations for board games? A lot of this applies, but the emphasis on channels like steam and de-emphasis on social media like Instagram (Facebook, I can understand not using) leaves me floundering a bit on where to start. Are the eyes really only on TikTok? As someone in graphic design and social media, it feels like a blind spot to only be using one channel for promotion.

[@CoreFlux]

One of the best talks I've come across so far, especially for no-budget starters like myself with no marketing background. There was one thing where I have heard different advice, and that's in the area of giving out free keys to friends and family. The advice was exactly not to do that if you're still very small, as usually those people will be more eager to support, both with a purchase and a review. Not only will you lose some of the sales which Steam uses to judge whether you're on a good track or not (although admittedly you need more than those to get some extra Steam traction), you're also losing out on x reviews, since reviews from free copies don't count towards your 10 Steam review treshold. Currently I'm still thinking it's better to reach out to friends and family asking for help with a purchase (and review if they want to go the extra mile), and use the free copies to try and get some streamers/youtubers to play your game. (So asking help and reciprocating through other means rather than using the free keys to build some positive reciprocation balance.) From the talk I really liked the schedule, putting the asset preparation on Friday to kind of look back on what you did that week and also to have everything in place to make your monday posting easier and make for a smoother start of the week.

[@PouyanArephpoor]

Thank you I needed all these :X

[@thepolyglotprogrammer]

I just started creating my Steam Page today for my first game. At least first official released. This is super helpful!

[@jacklyoung]

Amazing talk! Perfect for hobbyist game devs that create games with low-budget or no-budget.

[@49wares]

Marketing your game is now almost more expensive than developing it. In today's world, without good marketing, you usually won't be successful with your game. A good video on a really important topic😀👍. Maybe I will also make more videos on the subject.

[@TheOrian34]

How much was hollow knight marketed? Factorio? Expensive marketing isn't the only way.

[@49wares]

@@TheOrian34 You are absolutely right😀👍. But marketing overall whether expensive or not is soo important these days. You sadly can't make games anymore and they just get bought.

[@TheOrian34]

@@49wares That's fair yeah.

[@voultronix761]

I think if you're entering a saturated sub genre it can be tough. If your game is niche and is underrepresented it can be cheap to do. Some smaller content creators will work for free just to have exclusive acess 🤝

[@49wares]

@@voultronix761 🤝I agree. But you still need to put in some work into the marketing, even in a small niche. 😃

[@JustDaZack]

Insanely valuable information here! Great talk. 🙌🏽

[@ZacharyYates]

Excellent talk, well structured and actionable advice!

[@leavemydogalone]

This was great!

[@Ratstail91]

Pitch: Buy some eggs, train your team, and battle your friends in this turn-based monster battling game! Well, I hope it works.

[@neoware9030]

Great video!

[@1Ryan4]

this is some Top Tier advice . nice one

[@monstereugene]

45:37

[@OlivierMadiba]

Super interesting talk. Thanks a lot for it

[@CurlyCow]

Hey, I verb and verb all the time!

[@aussieraver7182]

What if my game is 15+? (violence) and I want to post on TikTok? Can I have my posts age restricted?

[@orlovskyconsulting]

That was interesting!

[@bonehelm]

If you're a no name dev then do NOT focus that much on social media. I promise you'll be disappointed. Social media only benefits you if you already have a sizable following, but to get a sizable following you need to release a good game. See the issue? Better to spend time on a good demo, hire an artist to make a good steam capsule (thumbnail), and reach out to streamers and KZbinrs, then put the demo in as many of online festivals as possible (steam next fest being the best). To summarize: only things that work for no name devs is streamers/KZbinrs and online festivals. But to make those work you need a nice steam page and good demo. Edit: her 1st point is still valid though, need to come up with good messaging which can be communicated through your trailer and steam page.

[@Mohawesome]

How right is this comment? Isn't this the complete opposite of what the talk is saying?

[@bonehelm]

@@Mohawesome Yes it is the opposite lol. Her advice in the video is great if you have a person who can dedicate all, or at least half their time doing social media. But for solo devs, or tiny teams of 2-3 people, which I believe the title of this vid would mostly attract, it doesn't apply. If you have limited energy and resources, the best bang for your buck is to put 90% of energy into the demo and trailer, then only 10% into social media and maybe you'll get lucky.

[@henrique_zsp]

Hey man can you more in depth with your exp with posting on social media? Which platform did you make an effort and what is the story behind your comment? I for one also am a bit skeptic with the easyness and the amount of resources this talk is pointing out it's needed.

[@DesignedByTaz]

As a brand marketer for the past decade, I 100% agree with this comment. Well done 🎉

[@TGameDev]

Even if you reach out to youtubers and streamers its a gamble that they'll read your message let alone play your game, and I'm not even talking about the big ones.

[@GypsumGeneration]

Common Michelle W

[@dredan88]

very good, even tyler the creator asked a question

[@bonsaipropaganda]

good talk

[@KrakenStudiosGames]

Question about TikToc. I develop wargames. Would TikToc be worth it for this style of game?

[@jtheking6832]

Was that Tyler the creator that asked the question around the 46 min mark?? lmao

[@mohokhachai]

Game is like football

[@AlyneRodrigues-md2zi]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😊

[@nights312312]

Stop calling promotion marketing , theres a distinct difference!

[@homeoffice3524]

And again concentrate only on Steam games like rest of videos. I'm making games myself, never playing any game from steam. There is web browser games, mobile games, normal installable PC games. But no one absolutely no one is talking about anything else. Just a steam. 😂

[@utterrubbish6768]

The comments about twitter haven't aged well.

[@umartdagnir]

Twitter is still alive and kicking, I wouldn't write it down. Especially now when the algorithm has been published, and you can abuse it to make your tweets more visible.

[@pupiberto]

>hates current twitter >loves tiktok like clockwork

[@sealsharp]

There's a difference between using it and loving it. Personally, i think social media is both a portal to hell and a way to reach customers without requiring money or the benevolence of people in positions of influence.

[@argylemanni280]

Yeah, big shock. "Oh no a man bought a company, everything changed." This sort of attitude is why you can't take any of these people seriously.

[@a.w_.]

when someone doesn't agree with my exact worldview 🤯🤯🤯

[@DoctorMandible]

She's a marketer. She works in emotion. Surprised?

[@SquishypuffDave]

Just looking at the raw data, Twitter isn't currently very effective for videogame marketing. Because TikTok is a relatively new platform it's in a temporary sweet spot for promotion, but once it reaches critical mass it's going to start paywalling its users to boost their content just like every other social media platform does. But sure, you can ignore the industry professional's advice and focus on infantile culture war bullshit instead if it suits you.

[@baconugenx]

"make JIFS..." uuugghhhaaa

[@ManHobbyChannel]

The Twitter hatred really aged like lukewarm milk, didn't it.

[@ManHobbyChannel]

That went so well until her MAJOR incompetence reveal on paid marketing. That kindof revealed her as completely incompetent. I would not take anything pf her advice on marketing. Period.

[@meir2161]

That was the dude asking the question’s fault

[@divpolitics9520]

Downvoted for saying yiff