12 - How to Get Noticed
To sell a game in a meaningful quantity, friends and acquaintances alone aren’t enough—you also need to attract strangers. That’s not possible without advertising.
In this post, I’ll share some experiences from others in the industry, as well as my own journey. There are several major topics I’ll likely cover in separate posts:
Social Media
Newsletters
Reviewers
Trade Show Appearances
Paid Advertising
But before diving into those points: When should you start advertising?
The general consensus is pretty clear—the earlier, the better. Naturally, you might wonder whether people will lose interest in the game over time. That’s true, which is why it’s crucial to keep them regularly (!) engaged with interesting updates. While some people will inevitably drop off, others will join in—and especially those who stick with your game all the way to Kickstarter are likely your most valuable fans. Those fans not only tend to support your game on Kickstarter but also often contribute to spreading the word ahead of time.
That said, there's a lot to keep in mind. Once you start telling people about your game, they should also have a way to follow you. If you don’t have a social media channel, website, or newsletter set up, the information you share will quickly be forgotten. Even worse, someone who’s genuinely excited about your project won’t be able to help spread the word.
Zeigt euch!
If you decide to launch a promotional campaign, be prepared—it marks the beginning of a larger, ongoing effort. You’ll only be able to sustain a certain level of excitement if you provide regular updates. That also means preparing enough interesting content for the weeks ahead. There's no turning back from here.
For the initial promotional effort, a Landingpage is highly recommended. It's a simple website that gives a brief overview of the game and, most importantly, offers visitors the chance to sign up for a newsletter.
More on that in the next post.
Have you had any experience with this topic? What’s your take on it? How long can you stay excited about a product? What do you enjoy supporting? Leave us a comment—we’d love to hear from you!
