23 Jun 10 Important Ways To Promote Your New Game For Free

App Marketing is arguably the most important aspect of creating a game these days.  Developing a quality game is important, but if you don’t make an effort to promote it, no one will know about your game and certainly no one will download and play it. There are a lot of different ways to market your new game hot off the app store. And, we created a list of ten things we think can make an impact to your downloads and eventually to your rankings, if done correctly.

1. Reach Out To Influencers

Some of the most successful games we have seen climb the charts recently are backed mostly by social media influencers.  We see a lot of developers choose not to pursue this, possibly because they do not know how to find an influencer they can work with?  If you are interested in finding one and need a little help, we wrote a blog post here to help.

You should reach out only to influencers with an audience that you think would be interested in the type of content your game offers.  Larger influencers would be looking to receiving monetary benefits in exchange for the promotion, but smaller influencers that would truly value your company and what you produce can often be more beneficial.

Creating and nurturing an honest, mutually beneficial partnerships with influencers will give you the exposure you need for your current game and for your future apps.

2. Create a promotional video

One of the most often overlooked items that we see developers skip that can really help their downloads is a promotional video.  A promotional video allows you to showcase your game the best way you can in a matter of a few seconds. It is one of the most powerful ways to get your message about your new game to your potential players.

People don’t have time to download each new game they hear or read about everyday. So, a short demo video (just about 30 secs to 1 minute) could fill in.

3. Submit your game to Product Hunt

Product Hunt is a social curation website that contains fresh new products everyday. It is a place to discover the latest innovations that everyone is talking about including new apps and games.

You can submit your game and people will upvote it. If you developed an interesting game, you have a higher chance of being featured in the games category or even in the homepage. Being featured in the homepage could mean a lot of factors though, aside from being upvoted, your game also need to be curated by the community and the Product Hunt team themselves.

One important thing to note about how Product Hunt work, is that, registration is open to everyone. But, in order to submit, you need to be invited by someone who already has commenting and posting permissions.

4. Build social media presence

Building your social media presence is a great way to reach out to your users and a place to obtain potential customers. Retweet their tweets, follow them, and like them.

Always remember to bring value, interact, and thank the people for their comments and shares so you can easily build a strong following.

5. Join social media groups

Join the discussions at social media groups and communities for app developers. These are great places if you want to increase your game’s exposure. You can find these groups mostly in Facebook, Linkedin, Google Plus and Reddit.

It is also a good place to get some feedback on your game. A good thing to remember is to always show them that you value their opinion. Eventually, you will be able to build relationships with these people and will give you an opportunity to cross promote your apps.

6. Cross-promote

Once you have other apps and games in your arsenal. Cross-promoting your games and apps gives you a huge advantage especially if they have similar target users. It could mean that a free app without a clear revenue model can be a channel for cross-promotion to your money-making apps.

You can also cross-promote through your website, on your blog or email list, within your apps and on social media. You can even cross-promote by sending push notifications but always take extra caution and make them relevant to the users.

For those who are just starting out with only one game in their portfolio, you can try reaching out to other developers with games targeting the same niche as you have. Just make sure that they are not your direct competitors. Offer them a cross-promotion partnership that will benefit you both.

7. Create a simple but great website

Create a website that is unique, informative and easy to scan and read. Most online promotional materials can be easily integrated to it. Unlike the description pages of the app stores, you can be as creative as you can get with your website.

Try to consider these elements in your checklist when planning for your website:

• Game name and icon
• Supported platforms (Android, iOS etc.)
• Game sales pitch
• Call-to-action (mailing-list subscription form and download button)
• Promotional video
• Social proof elements (testimonials, user reviews, awards etc.)
• Key features and screenshots
• Support contact information
• Social Media links and buttons
• Press Kit
• Links to your other apps and games
• Mobile-optimized

Remember to use your URL in any of your promotional materials and in your email signatures.

8. Create an engaging blog

Once your game website is up, the next thing you should do is to create a blog. It is an excellent way to post news updates about your game and to share valuable information concerning mobile games and the app industry. Be creative and fun because your blog articles might get shared, end up in your users’ social media accounts and lead people to your game.
The more content you share, the more visibility your game can get.

9. Submit to multiple stores

Target multiple platforms for your game to maximize its potential visibility. On top of the list, of course, would be the Android and iOS platforms. With the readily available technology today, it won’t cost you that much to build a cross-platform game.

If your game runs on Android, you must also consider submitting it to multiple stores other than Google Play Store. Most of these alternative Android app markets offer something to set themselves apart from the competition. And, they rack up a steady growth of customers. Some of them are even targeted to a specific country and locality that is not covered by the Play Store or just simply preferred over Google’s app store.

Here are some of the popular Android app markets:

• Amazon https://developer.amazon.com
• Slide Me http://slideme.org/developers
• 1 Mobile http://www.1mobile.com
• Mobile 9 http://www.mobile9.com
• Getjar http://developer.getjar.mobi
• Mobango http://developer.mobango.com
• App Brain http://www.appbrain.com
• Apptoide https://www.aptoide.com
• Xiaomi http://app.mi.com
• Baidu http://as.baidu.com

10. Get blog and website reviews

One effective way to app discovery is through blogs and websites reviews.

But, journalists and bloggers are very busy people pressured with a lot of deadlines and they don’t have time to follow up on their leads. To maximize the chance of your app being published, your press release kit and your pitch must provide them with everything they might possibly need. You can also use platforms like Medium to host your press release kits and pitches to make it even easier to get your message across.

These people are always on the lookout for cool new apps and stories to talk about. Your job is to make them interested enough to read your email, to try your app and most importantly, to write about it.

Bloggers need your pitch while the more traditional journalists from big media companies mostly require a press release.

Click here to subscribe to our list and we will send you a comprehensive list of websites, blogs and press release distribution sites you can submit your apps and games to.

SUMMARY

There are certainly many other ways to give your game the promotion boost it needs, but if you put enough effort and resources on the promotion strategies we’ve listed above, it will go a long way. Also, remember that content is always king and surely nothing beats a well built game. Focus on building a great game that players will love to play and promotion will come easy. Prioritize App Store Optimization (ASO) before releasing your game. And remember, ASO is always a continuing process. Tweak your meta data as needed.  If you would like more information on Paid App Strategies and our overall Marketing Recommendations, make sure to check out our new TOAD App Marketing Course.  It is currently on sale as part of our Pre-Launch.

Did we miss something in our list above?  Wish we would have covered something in more detail?  Leave us a comment below and tell us about it.  We would love to hear your input.

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