How to Market an Indie Computer Game

For some reason my friends always come to me whenever they do something creative, whether it is writing a story or drawing a picture. I don’t mind at all and encourage them to keep working on creative outlets, looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.

So imagine my surprise when a couple of friends who are making a video game came to me not for advice on the game, but advice on how to market it. Their budget for the entire game was spent on a 12 pack of Mountain Dew, but they weren’t making this game for money. They were making it because they love video games and wanted to make the best one they could. If they made some money, bonus. If not, oh well.

Having no money for marketing doesn’t mean your game is doomed to failure. It means you have to rely on the often-overlooked marketing power of word of mouth.

A perfect example of how effective word of mouth marketing can be is a pro wrestling company called Ring Of Honor. A small regional promotion based out of Pennsylvania, ROH grew in popularity because their fans liked what they saw, so they told friends. Those friends liked what they saw and told more. Now they hold Pay Per Views shown around the world every couple of months and are the third most popular company in the country (or fifth if you count each of WWE’s brands as separate companies. Trust me, it’s not as confusing as it might seem.)

The first people you should tell are friends. It might not get you much money, but telling friends you are making a game will get you something even more important through out the development process; encouragement. Good friends will want to see you succeed and will encourage you as you develop your game. It might not seem like much, but with out support from friends and family, it can really make the development process drag you down.

Once you have enough done to release a demo, spread the word. Put it in your signature in e-mails and on message boards (just make sure it is ok with the site admins, otherwise you can get into trouble). Ask video game websites (or even webcomics) to play the demo and tell you what they think. Ask other indie developers to post a banner for you game in exchange for posting a banner for theirs. Do not have enough for a web site? Use a free service like Blogger, Live Journal, or Geocities to host your site, and find a site that will host your demo for free. And do not forget those often neglected sources of advertising; social networking sites. A Facebook or Myspace account might not seem like an obvious route to take for marketing your game, but as more and more movies and T.V. shows will tell you, it is a free and effective way to spread the word about your product.

Obviously word of mouth might not bring in the most sales from your game. If you have the cash, buy ad space on a website or take out a full-page ad in PC Gamer. If you have even more money, hire someone who specializes in marketing. But as far as cost is concerned, word of mouth can be the most cost effective way to market your game.