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How to Pitch the Game Press if You Waited Till the Last Minute [QUICK TIP]
It’s one week till your game’s launch and you have yet to contact the game press. From the research you’ve done, you know waiting till the last minute to begin press outreach is a no, no. Yet, here you are. You’re angry with yourself for letting time slip by and are considering forgoing the game press altogether. While it’s not an ideal situation, don’t give up! There’s still time to make an impact…you just need a different strategy. Instead of relying on relationships you’ve established with writers (a.k.a., the suggested method you didn’t follow), you’ll need to focus on appealing to their readerships’ interests.
A writer who you have no relationship with does not care about you or your game. To that writer, you’re no different from the hundreds of other indies pitching her daily. Therefore, the only reason she would cover your game is if she felt it appealed to her readership. And, the only way she could know your game’s appeal, is if you gave her a compelling reason to investigate further. Which leads me to my suggested strategy: To effectively pitch the game press in the final hour, you must provide compelling reasons for coverage on a readership-by-readership basis.
So, how do you find compelling reasons for game press coverage?
The quickest (and safest) way to find compelling reasons for coverage is to look for similarities between your game and those that target publications have covered. For example, if you’re releasing an FPS and a writer at a target pub recently covered one, use that angle. Reach out to the writer, referencing her past article as the reason you think your game would appeal to her readers. (Of course you’ll want to also mention your game’s differentiators). When pressed for time, this method is a good way to ensure your selling point is sound.
11 Comments
peter downey
about 11 years agoI agree on the point that comparing your game to another title, however loose the comparison, is the best way to go. I recently covered a game with some Portal influences. Though the devs themselves didn't mention the similarities between the games I feel like it's almost a missed opportunity to not ride the coattails of a similar and successful game just a bit.
Bobby
about 11 years agoIt's like you wrote this article for me :D Releasing on Sunday, have done almost nothing and still haven't ironed out my buggy landing page.
Joshua
about 11 years agoThis article would have been more than helpful a couples months ago when I launched my first project. The only press releases I done were horribly executed, last minute attempts. In the future I'll be contacting the press earlier on. The best cure is prevention. :)
Emmy
about 11 years agoHi Joshua! Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, the best cure is definitely prevention! Good luck with your future projects.
Alex Trowers
about 10 years agoGiven that people are always afraid of the unknown, almost all pitches are "It's [gameYouKnowX] meets [gameYouKnowY] but with [interesting new twist]". This is especially true of pitches aimed at sourcing funding from people who don't necessarily have a large knowledge of games but is also true of reviewers. Unless your name is sufficient for them to take an interest (ie - you're already known for shipping something that they were interested in), you'd better attract them with something else they already know so that they have a good foundation. Then blow them away with why you're better than that paltry piece of crap. :)
Emmy
about 10 years agoThanks for the comment Alex. This is SO true and great advice!
Ian
about 9 years agoGreat advice, thanks.
Vicky
about 9 years agoHi, Emmy! Congratulations on the awesome blog! Is there such a thing as the right day to send a press release? I can imagine ups and downs for all scenarios: the weekends would be a bad option, because the journalist will have their mail full on Monday and your mail will go unnoticed. But at the same time a lot of people don't work during the weekend, so your email might just be among the few sent throughout those two days. Similar pluses and minuses can be thought about each day, but what are the facts or at least your opinion/observations? Thanks and keep up the amazing work!
Emmy
about 9 years agoHi Vicky. Thanks for the comment and kind words about my blog. It's true that you could argue the pros and cons of conducting outreach on any day of the week, however, one must keep in mind your target audiences: the journalists you're reaching out to. In regards to reaching out to journalists, especially if you don't have a recognizable brand name or pre-established relationship with that journalist, you want to increase your chances of catching their attention. This means not reaching out during times when they may be preoccupied with other things, like: Vacation, trade shows and events, AAA launches, etc. Avoiding weekends, holidays, trade show times, etc., is just a good way to increase your chances of getting noticed. In my experience, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays that don't fall on vacations, big launches, etc. make good days to do outreach.