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独立开发者需要知道的5大PR诀窍

发布时间:2013-07-17 16:27:29 Tags:,,,,

作者:Leigh Alexander

如今的独立产业已经更加成熟,即独立开发者已经不再是什么稀有动物了,而是灵活且创新地执行业务的一种可行方式,或者说是利用全新平台和融资模式的方法。

这也是为什么独立开发者需要雇佣PR代理的主要原因——获得游戏媒体的宣传能够帮助他们有效吸引更广泛社交媒体的注意,帮助独立开发者创建游戏社区并朝着最终的成功不断迈进。

而对于让媒体直接与独立开发者联系并创建紧密的关系也存在许多优势。我们通常会与传统系统的开发者保持一定的距离,很少看到他们提供什么有趣的预告片和关于制作游戏的幕后故事。我们的许多报道来自与PR专业人士的协商,他们可能愿意讲述某位有趣之人的另一面,而直接与后者打交道却并非易事,因为他们的行事风格通常令人抓狂。

pr-loudspeakers(from socialbeta)

pr-loudspeakers(from socialbeta)

通过与独立开发者进行直接交谈,游戏作家不仅能够学习到更多有关游戏开发的内容,向读者呈现出更私密的故事,同时还能够体验发现感,即找到一些神奇但却被埋没的内容,并将其带向更广泛的用户。

对于那些不是很了解媒体领域的独立开发者而言,与PR或代理合作将更有利。许多PR人员都被当成是知识渊博的福音传道者,他们能够帮助开发者突显于媒体面前,否则开发者们便只能待在拥挤的收件箱中了。

而对于那些想要依靠自己的力量进行推广的开发者而言,掌握一些有关如何与游戏媒体建立友好关系的方法也非常重要。如果你是独自执行游戏PR工作(游戏邦注:甚至一些公共关系专家也有可能做错),那么你就需要知道这些内容。

我们并不是在帮你的忙

与别人一样,我们也乐于帮助一些新手们,而推广独立开发者的部分乐趣便是我们可能会发现一些被忽视的故事。我们知道开发游戏是你的梦想,而你可能因此做出了许多牺牲,并付出了最大努力去实现该梦想。

但是我们并不是为了帮你而推广游戏,也不是因为这对你来说多重要或者你是个多努力的人:我们这么做只是因为你拥有能够与大家分享的创造性,你想要讲述一个有趣的故事,或者因为你在小团队开发过程中获得一些独到且能够引起其他开发者兴趣的看法。我们需要足够有趣的材料去编写文章,仅此而已。

最近我遇到一些并不合理的自荐标语,如“如果你能够帮助我们做宣传便再好不过了,”或者“你能否点开我们通向Kickstarter的链接,如果你觉得内容很棒的话能否发条tweet帮我们做宣传?”要知道媒体并不是你随便哄哄就能够帮助你推广游戏的公开合伙人。

实际上,如果你要求我们在网站上登出你的预告片的话,我们也许会感到生气(特别是当我们的网站并不是关于预告片的情况下,即使是Gamasutra也不会这么做)。如果开发者把我们当成是通讯社一样的存在——通过传递某些内容和话语而帮助推广游戏,那么这不仅会导致他们与媒体间关系的疏远,同时也会缩减他们能从我们这里所获得的帮助:我们只有在真正与你进行交谈或玩你的游戏时,才会愿意为你写故事或传达这种热情。

很多时候我会收到来自那些为了实现基金目标而耗尽时间的独立开发者的推广请求,他们希望通过媒体推广而获得最后的财政动力。但是我们却不乐意帮助这些开发者进行推广。我很讨厌自己的工作最终变成“帮助你赚钱的扩音器,”我想其他同行们也会是这么想的。

游戏媒体其实一直在寻找着一些优秀的开发者,以此向他们的读者传达一些有趣的游戏内容—-这才是我们的工作,而不是想办法帮助你获得资金。

媒体材料还不够

许多独立开发者都会在给媒体的邮件上附加Kickstarter页面或YouTube上预告片的链接,或让我们去下载他们准备的图像或新闻稿。当然了,包含这些信息也是必要的,但这却不是我们应该执行的工作。我们中大多数人的邮箱中都塞满了新闻稿和各种资产,并且我们还顶着一定的截止期限。所以我们并非总是有时间去通读开发者所发送的所有内容。

电子邮件应该足够友善,简洁且引人注意—-你最好只添加几张图像去吸引媒体的注意。如果你和合作者曾经致力于一款我们知道的游戏,如果你拥有一个独特的过程,工具或灵感,或者你尝试了一些很少有人做过的事,这便是很好的加分点。

你可以比“这就像是(一款受欢迎的游戏),只是具备了(其它功能)”做得更好。有时候提供一个比较参考将会很有帮助,但很多时候当我读到“这就像是(一款其它游戏)”时,我的第一反应便是它“不具有初创性”—-我已经玩过或听过你所提及的哪款游戏,所以我又有何必要去尝试并推广你的游戏?

你应该向我们介绍下你自己,分析你和游戏的突出之处。任何吹牛或夸张的言辞都会被忽视,但是如果你能够自信而不自大地解释你的游戏,这就另当别论了。因为只有你先相信自己,我们才有可能相信你。

我便遇到一些发tweet给我并让我回他们邮件的独立开发者。但是我通常都会忘记。你应该让作家们能够轻松地到达你所提供的内容,而不要绕弯子。

明确你的目标媒体

你是否阅读了新闻稿,你能否简短地解释不同网站间游戏推广的不同之处?举个例子来说,Polygon更希望挖掘创造者背后的故事;Gamasutra喜欢带有产业视角和设计见解的设计师;而Rock Paper Shotgun网站则欢迎各种类型的PC游戏。不管怎样,你都需要明确你想要面向的媒体类型,并相应地定制你的交流内容。

许多开发者(甚至是一些大型开发者)都创造了一个目标媒体愿望清单(游戏邦注:如我希望自己的游戏能够出现在这三个大型平台上),但是却从未思考他们是否能够吸引该平台的用户。一开始你应该先思考自己适合怎样的目标平台,而不是完全专注于可能突显游戏的故事,或能够代表你自己或作品的内容。

如果可能的话,你应该明确哪些独立作家会对你的游戏感兴趣。就像我经常写一些关系类游戏的内容,所以当看到一位开发者写着:“我知道你对有关人际关系的游戏很感兴趣,所以我觉得自己的游戏很对你的口味”时,我便会好感倍增。

自荐能够帮助你走得更远,并建立你与那些可能会欣赏你的作品并愿意为其写下热情推广内容的作家们间的关系。这就像是对于游戏媒体以及作家们的额外考察—-但如果你是面向任何平台发送一些基本信息,那就不要浪费这一时间了。一般媒体是不会阅读那些群发的邮件。

具有可呈现的内容

与一些普遍看法不同的是,大多数游戏作家并不希望为了免费的游戏副本而欺骗游戏公司。不管我们是否获得了审查代码,我们都希望瞄准那些真正想要尝试的游戏。我们理解游戏销量对于独立开发者的重要性,但是如果你希望我们能够为你推广游戏,你就需要确保我们能够轻松地玩到游戏。

最近我收到一封自荐,即一位独立开发者承诺如果我能够刊登有关Kickstarter的内容,他便会给我一份免费的游戏副本—-这么做是大错特错啊。游戏推广工作并不是与开发者签订某些协议而获得某些内容,我们只有在真正尝试了游戏后才知道自己是否愿意为其撰写推广内容。

是的,你可能会提供给从未听过的记者免费下载的游戏内容,但这么做的风险却很大。我们总是会与那些想要利用特权换取推广机会的市场营销者辩论。但其实,如果独立开发者可以让我们更轻松地看到他们的作品,他们能够获得巨大的优势。独立开发者应该准备好演示版本,新闻稿或审查代码,并在记者对其产生兴趣时清楚地呈现在他们面前。

如果现在为游戏准备演示版本或新闻稿还太早,你就需要考虑现在去寻求媒体的推广是否也太早了。一些大型游戏发行商甚至会训练消费者媒体去适应符合他们公告时间表的新闻周期,但这些规则却不适用于任天堂,Rockstar Games或者玩家期待已久的AAA续集。就像比起一些大型游戏网站,《侠盗猎车手5》的预告片更值得他们自己进行推广;但如果是你的首款游戏的预告片,那就不是如此了。

对于独立开发者来说,你的游戏本身必须足够出色,即能够呈现自己的最大优势,即使你在之后还会添加其它元素。我们一直都会看到处于各种阶段的游戏,所以我们知道如何评估一款处于当下进程中的游戏。

大型发行商总是会在游戏发行前执行一些活动去吸引我们的注意,而独立开发者往往只会曝光一次(除非我们与开发者相识),所以你就需要考虑你的新闻稿是否足以呈现出最佳游戏核心内容。如果你所规划的公开演示事件主要是关于“我们将在之后添加相关内容”,那你就应该等到那时再推广。

不要仿效那些大人物

我已经指出独立开发者的媒体周期与那些巨头公司们是不同的,但是我们仍需要指出的是:许多独立开发者,特别是那些在大型工作室工作的人,他们总是会基于产业是如何“执行”的松散理念做事,即包含利用“独家报道”,发行正式的新闻稿,或在主标题中打出“媒体警告”的字样。

当一家大公司正在面对一个大型媒体组织时,这些做法可能会派上用场,但是大部分都是些难以坚持的内容,因为人们认为这会带来紧迫感或专业主义,而不会考虑到他们对参与者的帮助。你之所以会成为独立开发者便是因为你不想接受官僚主义的压迫。

不要担心是否能按时发出新闻稿,你可以人为地执行一些禁令,或想办法去承诺一篇“独家新闻”(作为独立开发者你总是希望能够尽可能获得所有新闻报道,不排除任何人)。你应该只谈论自己有信心且准备谈论的内容——说“我们现在还不准备分享这一内容”并没关系,但是绝对不要用那种不可行的理念而疏远那些对你充满兴趣的作家。

当你不确定自己该做什么时,最好的答案便是对你和游戏最有利的事,而不是你的推测或其他人所做的事。自信,坦诚且容易亲近便是吸引媒体注意到你的作品的最佳方法。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Five PR tips indies really need

By Leigh Alexander

The indie “scene” has matured such that being independent is not necessary a raw, outlier move any more, but a viable avenue for doing business agilely, creatively and in a way that takes advantage of new, accessible platforms and funding models.

That’s why the question of whether indies need to hire PR agencies is so frequently-raised — in the competitive but essential arenas of Steam, crowdfunding, and mobile, getting covered in the gaming press can be an important key to attaining the broader social media presence that helps build community and sow a potential trajectory toward popular success.

But there are a lot of advantages for the media to working directly with indies and establishing a personal relationship. We’re often kept at arm’s length or worse from developers in the traditional system, rarely exposed to the fascinating trials and revelations that come with creating a game. A lot of our coverage comes from negotiating relationships with PR professionals who may want to tell a different story from the one we find most interesting, and playing by their rules can be frustrating.

By talking with indie developers directly, games writers have a chance to learn more about game development, reveal more intimate and personal stories to our readers, and to experience the sense of discovery that comes with finding something magical but unsung, and bringing it to a wider audience.

Working with a PR person or agency can have definite benefits for indies who may be less acquainted with the media landscape. Plenty of PR people are well-established as knowledgeable evangelists, and the media notices their clients, where those developers might have been just another name in a crowded inbox otherwise.

But for indies that want to take their outreach into their own hands, knowing a few key things about how best to build a relationship with the gaming press can make all the difference. Here are some things to know about doing your own games PR that even public relations professionals sometimes get wrong.

We aren’t doing you a favor

We love to champion the little guy or girl as much as anyone, and part of the joy in covering indies comes from stumbling upon an underdog story. We know this is your dream, and you’ve probably sacrificed a lot and devoted yourself significantly to making it happen.

But we don’t cover games to help you out, or because it’s really important to you, or because you’re a cool, hardworking person: We do it because you have an innovation to share, an interesting story to tell, or because you’ve gained insight through your small-team process that isn’t widely shared and that other developers might find neat to know. We need interesting material for our articles, and that’s it.

Many indie pitches I’ve been getting these days include language like “it’d be great if you could help us get the word out,” or “could you check out this link to our Kickstarter and Tweet it if you think it’s cool?” The media isn’t a public partner you charm into helping you promote your game.

In fact, we tend to chafe a little at requests to post your trailer on our website (especially if we work for a site that doesn’t do trailer posts, as Gamasutra does not do and never has). Asking us to act like a wire service — pass this along, spread the word, help us promote our game — not only alienates the press, but it minimizes what you could be getting out of us: The stories we’d tell or the enthusiasm we’d share if we actually got to talk to you or to play your game.

A lot of the time I only get coverage requests from indies who are running out of time to reach a funding goal, and they’re hoping some media coverage will give them that last financial push. That’s not something most of us feel comfortable doing for you (outside of rare occasions where we were rooting for you anyhow). There’s little I hate more than having my job reduced to “megaphone for your money-raising effort”, and I suspect most of my colleagues feel the same.

Consider that the games media is looking for cool developers to tell their readers about and interesting games to keep an eye on — that’s our job, not to give shout-outs or retweets or to do you a favor or to promote you or to bolster your funding effort.

Press materials aren’t enough

If my inbox these days is to be believed, lots and lots of indies — especially those who are on Kickstarter — do press outreach by leading with a link to the Kickstarter page, or to the YouTube trailer, or ask us to download the images or press releases you’ve prepared. It’s essential to include this information, but that’s not the job done. Most of us have inboxes full of press releases and assets, and several deadlines during the day. We might not always have the time to do a thorough read-through of everything you sent.

Emails should always be friendly, personal, succinct and catchy — you have only a couple paragraphs to strike the press’ interest. Some things that make us pay attention are if you or your collaborators have worked on other games we might know, if you have a unique process, tool or inspiration, or if you’ve tried something you don’t think is widely done.

You can do better than the old “It’s like [Popular Game], only with [other feature].” Sometimes it does help to have a point of reference to compare your game to, but a lot of times when I read “It’s like [Other Game],” my first reaction is “not original” — I’ve already played or heard of the game you’re mentioning, so why do I need to play and cover yours if its similarity is a main selling point?

Tell us about yourself and what you think makes you and your game special. Bragging or arrogance is a turn-off, but it’s not arrogant to confidently explain what you’ve got to offer. If you believe in yourself, we will, too.

I’ve had indies pitch me by Tweeting at me and asking me to email them. I usually forget. You should make the writer do as little work as possible to get to what’s exciting about you — ideally you have it all ready to share in one message.

Know who you’re pitching

Do you read the games press, and can you explain in brief what differentiates the kind of games coverage one site does from another? For example, Polygon loves to profile creators with a story behind them; Gamasutra likes designers with industry perspective and design insight to articulate, and there are some kinds of PC games that you can just tell are right for a Rock Paper Shotgun Q&A. I’m oversimplifying, but you should have an idea in mind of the kind of coverage you want, and tailor your communication to achieve it.

Plenty of developers — even big ones — develop a wish list of where they want to be covered (“I want my game in these three big publications!”) but don’t think much about how they might appeal to those publications’ audiences. Start instead with the kind of story you think might best help your game stand out or that truly represents you and your work, and then think about which outlets might be a fit.

If possible, get an idea of which individual writers might be most interested in your game. I write about relationship games a lot, for example, so I always appreciate when a developer writes, “I know you’re interested in games about relationships, so I thought my game might be your thing.”

Personal pitches go quite a long way, and increase the chance that you’ll connect with someone who might genuinely appreciate what you’re trying to do and provide enthusiastic, respectful coverage. It might seem like extra work to do research on games outlets and the people who write for them — but that time is less likely to be wasted than if you carpet-bomb general information everywhere hoping that it sticks. That mass-mail probably won’t even get read.

Have something to show

Contrary to popular belief, most games writers aren’t doing their jobs in the hopes of scamming games companies for free copies of things. Whether we get review codes or not, we’re up to our eyeballs in games we need to play. We know and understand that every sale is precious to an indie, but if you want us to cover your game, you have to make it easy for us to play it.

I recently received a pitch where the indie promised I would get a free copy of the game in exchange for posting about a Kickstarter — that’s a pretty egregious error. Games writing isn’t a contract with the developer to get something, and we generally can’t know whether we want to write about your game until we play it.

Yes, it’s possible you might give a free download to a games journalist you never hear from again, but that’s a risk you have to take. We lock horns often enough with huge marketers who dangle the privilege of access to their clients in a supposed exchange for good coverage. Indies can gain the upper hand by making it easy for us to have a look at your work. Have a demo or press build or review code on hand and make it clear you’re excited to share it if the journalist is interested.

If your game is too early for a demo or press build, consider whether it’s too early to seek press. Major games publishers have sort of trained the consumer press to a news cycle that’s attuned to their announcement schedule, but the rules are different for Nintendo, Rockstar Games, or some long-anticipated AAA sequel than they are for you. A GTA V trailer is worth its own post to most big games sites; a trailer of your first game, sadly, generally isn’t, no matter how cool it is.

For indies, your game should be well enough along that it shows its strengths best, even if you have more tailoring to do or further elements to add. We see games in various states of completion all the time, so we understand how to evaluate a game in the context of where in the process it is.

But where major publishers’ games will often get several events leading up to release for us to see them, usually (unless we have an existing relationship with a developer) indies only get that one shot, so consider whether your build is ready to show the core of your game at its best. If your planned public demo event would consist mostly of “we’ll be adding that later,” maybe wait til later.

Don’t imitate the big guys

I’ve already pointed out some ways the press cycle for an indie is going to be different than that of some huge franchise, but it’s an important point to drive home: Many indies, particularly those that have worked at bigger studios in another life, operate based on a loose idea of how the industry “does things”, which includes teasing “exclusives,” issuing formally-penned press releases, or typing “MEDIA ALERT” in the subject headline.

A few of these things are useful for when a big company is dealing with a big media organization, but most of them are odd rituals that persist because people assume they confer urgency or professionalism, and not because they’re useful to the people involved. You’re indie because you don’t want or need bureaucracy.

Don’t worry about putting out a press release on time, artificially enforcing some embargo, or trying to promise an “exclusive” (as an indie you want all the coverage you can get, not to exclude anyone). You should absolutely only talk about what you feel confident and prepared to talk about — it’s fine to say “we’re not ready to share that now,” but never distance writers who are curious about you based on an arbitrary idea about being unavailable.

When in doubt about what you should do, the right answer is always what works best for you and your game, not what you presume is expected or what you have seen others do. Simply being confident, candid and accessible is the best way to engage the media around your work.(source:gamasutra)


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