It’s no secret that marketing is a big part of becoming an indie success. It’s also no secret that the earlier you start, the better your chances at success become. But, what happens if you don’t have anything more than a rough game concept and a couple of sketches to speak to? Should you start your game promotion? ABSO-fing-LUTELY! You just need to promote in a round-about way…by promoting yourself first.
In last week’s buyer personas post, I briefly touched on why conducting a buyer persona interview is important. Many of you showed interest in this topic, specifically what questions to ask in your buyer persona interview. Below I have shared what I have found to be the best questions to ask in a buyer persona interview to help build a highly targeted indie game. Hope these questions give you some ideas on guidance on how to design your own set of buyer persona interview questions.
Buyer personas are an essential part of marketing strategy used by major brands around the world. Why? Because they’ve been proven to increase one’s chances of developing high-ROI products. In the video game industry, companies like Electronic Arts have used buyer personas to produce cash cows like Plants vs. Zombies, Battlefield and more. As an indie game developer, you can use them to influence your game’s success in the same way.
One of the major challenges that comes with maintaining a game development blog is constantly coming up with blog post ideas. Many bloggers start out posting ferociously for the first few months, then slowly become less active until they’re never heard from again. Don’t let this happen to you! Follow these four tips to never run out of blog post ideas.
Throughout my marketing career, I’ve encountered numerous indies who question the value of social media promotion…especially Twitter. While their reasons for doubting Twitter vary, my response remains the same: with over 550 million active registered users and free access to market to them, it would be incredibly unwise to ignore Twitter. But alas, no matter how hard I try to get my point across, skeptics remain. So, I decided to put my words to action and run my own test to prove the power of Twitter. Here’s what I did:
Learning how to deal with Internet trolls is an important skill for indie game developers to master. Why? Because knowing how to effectively disarm these vicious online personalities can not only save your game’s creditably, but your sanity as well. Like most outspoken people in the Web world, trolls are attention hogs. Problem is, their methods for attracting attention are slanderous. Next time you wonder how to deal with Internet trolls, try one of these psychological tactics to dissuade negative and reinforce positive behavior.
![Konsoll 2013 [SLIDES]](https://indiegamegirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/konsoll-2013-slides-750x400.jpg)
Many of you have requested I send the slides from my Konsoll 2013 presentation on successful indie game marketing and workshop on creating a killer landing page. Unfortunately, these files are gigantic and haven’t been getting along too well with email. But because sharing is caring, I’ve posted them to SlideShare for everyone to enjoy.
![Konsoll 2013 [EVENT SUMMARY]](https://indiegamegirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/konsoll-2013-750x400.jpg)
Last week I spoke at Konsoll in Bergen, Norway. Konsoll is a conference dedicated to helping the Norwegian indie game development community advance through knowledge share. However, the lessons learned are applicable to any country. While my lecture focused on marketing, a variety of relevant topics were covered by other speakers. Everything from advancing technology to case studies to funding and beyond were discussed. For your benefit, I have provided a summary and video of each presentation below.
Recently I attended HubSpot’s Inbound 2013, a conference focused on how to use inbound marketing to convert website visitors into lifetime customers. While the conference was geared toward marketers, inbound marketing is a powerful tool for anyone attracting a fan base…including indie game developers. Below is my Inbound 2013 review of the three best takeaways for indie devs.
![How I Got to 2,000 Real Twitter Followers [TWEET SCHEDULE]](https://indiegamegirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/real-twitter-followers-750x400.jpg)
In the past year, I’ve amassed an audience of over 2,000 real Twitter followers. (I emphasize “real” because many marketers pay for their followers–a practice I don’t condone.) Growing your Twitter audience to this size is not easy. It requires strategy, execution and serious dedication. While Twitter content strategies vary per person, a proven Tweet schedule can be used by all. This is why I thought it would be helpful to share my Tweet schedule and help you grow your audience of real Twitter followers.
Emmy Jonassen is an independent video game marketing consultant, freelance writer and speaker helping indie developers build adoring fan bases for their games. Read more.
