作者：Albert Palka

2周前我处理了一个大多数独立开发者所面对的问题—-在今天这个时代如果没有预算的话该如何营销游戏？我提供了一些适合我也适合一些开发者的解决方法。今天我想要谈谈过去几年里的市场营销流行话，即“内容便是上帝”，以及它是如何适用于我们所做的事。

no budget(from gamasutra)

当市场营销者说“内容便是上帝”时，他们指的是基于能够提升他们的品牌知名度并推动销量的目标平台创造出有价值的内容。让我们举些例子来说吧，如编写博文，创造YouTube视频，写白皮书，组织网络研讨会等等。这全是关于与那些可能在之后变成付费用户的玩家之间维持长久的关系。

然而在想到内容时有一点是我们必须记住的，即尽管它被称为“上帝”，但其背后的环境却是“上帝中的上帝”。如果你将内容提供给不适合的用户会怎样？例如，你是否会在Twitter上复制/黏贴你那长达140个字符的文章？或者你是否会在HOPA网站上提及你的下一款MMORPG游戏？

我们必须记住，创造内容并不只是关于销量或可见性，还要考虑到它们是否能够达到你的目标。让我们看看一些更具体的例子。

1.创造实时通讯订阅者基础

在过去两周有很多人为了得到如何围绕自己的游戏获得用户而联系我。显然我们有Facebook，Twitter和论坛的帮助，但是实时通讯让你能够与那些真正对你想要传达的内容感兴趣的人进行直接交流。为什么？因为在这个时代，你会比任何一切更重视电子邮件。

解决方法？

上周我已经拥有超过300名订阅者。有人可能会说这并不多呀，但请记住，我并未拥有一家游戏工作室—-我只是一名市场营销者。这意味着这里没有截图也没有视频。然而我却需要拉拢所有的这些人，因为我只能面向他们传递内容。我选择了最佳平台（环境）去传递我的内容并慢慢开始获得吸引力。

作为一名独立开发者，你该如何使用实时通讯？再一次地，只提供像幕后报告，图像，游戏内部截图和视频等独特的内容给你的订阅者。

同时，如果你从未尝试过任何实时通讯解决方法，我强烈建议你使用MailChimp。它们将免费提供给你你在一开始所需要的所有内容。

2.GIF是你的朋友

尽管截图很棒，但是GIF比它更厉害100倍，因为它们具有图像所不具有的元素—-动态。你可以看到游戏如何表现出来，开发者想要游戏怎样进行呈现。同时，GIF在Twitter上更有可能被转发并在Facebook上被分享。

我所关注的最让人惊艳的一款游戏便是即将问世的行动RPG《Eitr》。我喜欢Eneme Entertainment巧妙的游戏推广方式。如果你开始分析他们的社交媒体渠道，你便会发现他们的市场营销策略是基于发布图像。图像会让你感到兴奋，但是一旦你看到他们的GIF，你便会有“该死，我一定要玩这款游戏”的反应。这家只有2个人的独立工作室真的太棒了。

3.博文

views(from gamasutra)

这是我在个人项目中最喜欢的创建社区/兴趣的方式。通过提供有用或有趣的信息，你便能够吸引人们去关注你的项目。但是你该从何开始以及如何做到这点？

解决方法？

从你所了解的领域开始。例如通过indieDB或TIGSource的论坛等网站开始创建你的社区。Devlogs便是获得最初独立粉丝的一种有效方式，也是判断人们是否对你的概念感兴趣的一种方式。你可以基于早前反馈去迭代项目，而不是在官方发行前匆忙进行修改。

你也可以创建你的Tumblr博客，这里非常适合刊登你的截图和GIF，但你也可以尝试Medium或使用你自己的WordPress网站去发布文本。如果你不想创建自己的网站或博客，你也可以尝试在独立网站或Gamasutra或GameDev社区中写博文。在过去这一方法在我身上发挥了非常神奇的作用，如果你拥有值得分享的内容，那么它同样也会适合你。

当你拥有并运行着自己的博客时，你便能够回到我之前的文章中并开始为了更高的流量和更高曝光度而在Facebook和Twitter上发表内容！这些早前的博文也许能够为你吸引最初的实时通讯订阅者！

4.一致性

这并不是策略—-只是一种心态。你是否能够保持代码编写与全新图像创造之间相一致？你是否能够到达里程碑？如果都可以的话，很棒，那现在请以同样的心态去对待你的市场营销！

有时候你可能不能很快得到行动的结果。你可能需要等上几天，几周甚至接个月的时间才能看到你的市场营销策略开始按照预期发挥作用。保持与游戏推广相一致对于创造可信度并吸引用户始终留在游戏中来说非常重要。

这并不意味着你每天都需要发表内容，而是养成每周两次发表一些内容的习惯能够带给你很大的帮助。我的习惯是：1周1篇实时通讯内容和1篇博文，因为这是此时的我能够处理的数量。我同时也尝试每天至少花费1个小时在Twitter和Facebook上。虽然不多，但是也足以帮助我每周获得一定数量的订阅者。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转发，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Marketing games with no budget #2

by Albert Palka

Two weeks ago I’ve tackled a problem most Indie Developers have – how to market games with no budget in this day and age? I’ve offered a few solutions that work both for me and a few developers I’ve been following lately. Today, I want to talk about THE marketing buzzword for the past couple of years, “content is king,” and how it applies to what we do.

When marketers say “content is king” they refer to creating valuable content on chosen platforms through which they are able to elevate their brand’s visibility and hopefully start driving sales. Some of the examples are writing blog posts, creating YouTube videos, doing white papers, webinars and so on. It’s all about creating a long-lasting relationship with your audience who may turn into paying customers later on.

However, one thing worth remembering when thinking about content is that although it’s called a “king,” the context behind it is called a “god.” Because what is content if you offer it to an inappropriate audience? For instance, would you try to copy/paste your long article to a Twitter feed – 140 characters at a time. Or would you like to mention your awesome next-level MMORPG game on a HOPA website?

Remember, creating content is not only about sales or visibility. It’s about reaching your GOALS whatever they might be. Let’s jump into real-life examples.

1. Building newsletter subscribers’ base

Many people approached me in the past two weeks looking for suggestions on how to build an audience around their games. There’s obviously Facebook, Twitter and forums, but newsletter allows you to interact directly with people who are SERIOUSLY interested in what you have to say. Why? Because in this day and age you protect your e-mail more than anything else.

Solution?

I have reached over 300 subscribers last week. Some might say it’s not a lot, but please bear in mind that I’m not a game development studio – I am a marketer. That means no fancy screenshots or videos. However, I have managed to get all these amazing people on board because I deliver content no one else does. I’ve chosen the best platform (context) to distribute my content and slowly started getting traction.

How can you, as an Indie Developer, approach newsletters? Again, offer a unique content like behind-the-scene write-ups, pictures or in-game screenshots and videos for your subscribers only.

Also, if you’ve never tried any newsletter solutions I strongly recommend MailChimp. They have everything you will need at the beginning for free.

2. GIFs are you friends

Although screenshots are awesome, GIFs are 100x times better because they provide something pictures can’t – motion. You see how the game looks and how its developers want it to feel like. Also, .gifs are more likely to get a re-tweet on Twitter or share on Facebook.

One of the most amazing games I’ve been following for a bit is an upcoming Action RPG called Eitr. I love what Eneme Entertainment is doing with their game promotion-wise. If you start analyzing their social media channels you see that their content marketing strategy is based on posting art. Art gets you amped, but once you see their .gifs you get that “oh shit, I gotta play this game” moment. Brilliant job for a 2-man indie studio.

3. Blog posts

This is my personal favorite way of building a community/interest in my project. Through providing useful and/or interesting information, you can get people to follow your project. But where do you start and how do you do that?

Solution?

Start in a place you know. For instance, start building your community through websites like indieDB or TIGSource’s forum. Devlogs are an amazing way to get initial indie fans on board, and a good way to see if people show interest in your concept. You can easily iterate your project based on early feedback instead of rushing changes close to the official release.

You can also start your Tumblr blog, which is great for posting amazing screenshots and gifs, but you could also try Medium or your own WordPress site for posting walls of text. If you don’t want to setup your own site/blog, you can also try “guest blogging” on Indie websites or places like Gamasutra or GameDev communities. This has worked wonders for me in the past, and if you have something valuable to share it should work for you as well!

Once you have your blog up-and-running, you can go back to my older post and start promoting content on Facebook and Twitter for higher traffic and more visibility! These early blog posts may also lead to your initial newsletter subscribers!

4. Consistency

This is not a strategy – this is a state of mind. Do you stay consistent with writing code or creating new art for your game? Do you hit your milestones? Awesome. Now do the same with your marketing!

Sometimes you won’t see results of your actions soon. It might take you days, weeks or even months before everything you did marketing-wise will start working the way you want it to. Staying consistent with your game’s promotion is extremely important for building credibility and keeping your fans engaged the whole time.

It doesn’t mean you have to post something every day, but creating a habit of posting something twice a week every week is going to help you a lot. My system is: 1 newsletter and 1 blog post a week because that’s how much I can handle at the moment. I also try to spend at least an hour a day on Twitter and Facebook. Not a lot, but enough for me at the moment to keep getting steady number of subscribers every week.

To keep you motivated and give you some ideas on how to use content marketing to your advantage, here are three awesome lists of one of the best content marketing campaigns from 2014. Good luck!(source:gamasutra)