When Should I Start Marketing My Indie Game, And How Do I Know I’m Ready?

Knowing HOW to market your game is one thing. Knowing WHEN to start marketing it is another. If you start too early, you risk burning people out with promises of a game in the far future, and starting too late could result in people not seeing your game in time for wishlists and pre-orders. There’s definitely a sweet spot but it’s different for every game genre/type/studio, and it can be excruciating to figure it out on your own, so we’ve put together a list of the things to consider when figuring out your marketing timeline.

Is Your Pre-Development Phase Complete?

Before diving into development, laying a strong foundation for your marketing efforts is crucial. When planning your game’s timeline out, setting realistic milestones for where you want to be in marketing will make or break that foundation. This way not only do you have numbers to strive for, but you also have goals to cross off your list, which can mentally help the process. 

Did You Research Your Target Audience?

When you’re in Pre-Development, it’s fundamental to understand the actual people you’re marketing to. And no, saying “for gamers who enjoy x genre” isn’t enough. Do proper research to find out the demographics, preferences, and gaming habits of your potential players. This can look like surveys, social media analytics, profile reports, and market research into the people you’re thinking of marketing to. A good place to start is to identify the games yours is similar to, then take a look at their audience to better understand them. 

For example, before developing "Hollow Knight," Team Cherry conducted extensive research to identify the preferences of platformer and metroidvania game enthusiasts. This helped them tailor the game's mechanics and visual style to resonate with their target audience after surveying them. 

Did You Create A Marketing Plan?

A marketing plan is more than writing “Make next Baldur’s Gate and get millions of wishlists” on a sticky note. Before you laugh, we’ve actually seen this before. Reaching for the stars is absolutely something we encourage here at Corvian, but to reach the stars for the first time, NASA did math, physics, engineering work, and so much more. They didn’t wake up with a success, they poured blood, sweat and tears into their dream. 

A proper marketing plan will outline your goals broken down into steps, your target audience, any promotional tactics you’re going to use, as well as budget allocation for marketing. Start by setting step-by-step goals; be it building awareness or driving sales and pre-orders. Create a timeline that includes specific milestones like teasers, reveals of major gameplay, influencer collaborations, and trailer version releases. 

Is Your Post-Development Phase Complete? 

As your game takes shape, shift gears to build hype and excitement leading up to the launch. Spend more time engaging with your community, and as people get more and more excited, take note of what people are saying about what they’ve seen so far, and prioritize that feedback in your game. 

Did You Build Hype?

Building hype is easier said than done, but it’s absolutely crucial to create buzz and attract a solid audience. Start with a teaser campaign that gradually reveals the most interesting parts of your game. You can share concept art, character designs, and snippets of gameplay to make people curious and get more new players interested in the game. Use Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to share these and engage with the community, or you can even put them in a dedicated Discord server!

Did You Make A Good Trailer? 

Investing in high-quality trailers absolutely pays off. They should showcase unique features and the vibe of your game, without showing too much. A good trailer can leave a lasting impression on people who have seen it and generate a lot of excitement leading up to your launch. Be careful about editing, sound design, and pacing, and you can make an outstanding trailer yourself. If you’re still struggling with this part, Corvian Marketing offers in-depth trailer creation and graphic design. Send us a message to get a quote!

If you answered YES to all of the above, it’s time to launch your proper marketing campaign! But wait, how do you know you’re doing it right? Here’s your ultimate checklist. 

1. Is The Game Developed Enough? 

Before you roll your eyes at us for asking such a basic question, hear us out. Yes, your game is clearly developed enough, but is it developed enough for people who don’t know your narrative inside and out, the mechanics, and everything else? Have 5-10 trusted people playtest it and give you honest feedback. Even before any sort of public playtesting, having fresh eyes on the game is arguably one of the most important parts of production and design. 

2. Is Your Game Ready for Public Playtesting?

This step only applies if you have a public demo or a pre alpha/public alpha/beta. Before launching your marketing campaign, make sure the game is polished, functional, and (major) bug-free. There’s no way to fully ensure a game is 100% bug free all the time, but make sure you’ve playtested it enough to identify and address any gameplay issues, glitches, performance issues, or mechanic complications. This ensures anyone playing your demo won’t put it down out of frustration with bugs, and could turn them off your game for good. 

3. Did You Test For Bugs And Glitches?

Allocate sufficient time for quality assurance and bug fixing to deliver a polished product at launch. Prioritize stability, performance optimization, and user interface refinement to provide players with a seamless gaming experience. Engage with beta testers and community members to gather feedback and address any issues before the official release.

4. Did You Plan Your Marketing Budget?

Having a super-expensive and extensive marketing plan is cool, but if you can’t afford it then you’re risking sinking your game (and sometimes your savings) into something you can’t afford! Do your research into what you actually want to pay for (and actually need!) and plan your budget around that. Marketing often costs more than you think. Corvian has done our best to be accessible and affordable against market value, but we still know our price tag isn’t for everyone. If you’re still wanting our services, we have an accessible pricing application on our “Offerings” page that you can apply for!

5. Do You Need A Professional?

We’ve all seen the “GrApHiC dEsIgN iS mY pAsSiOn” GIF floating around (our own internal graphic designer wears a custom crewneck with that text on it) but when it comes down to it, you want your game to look professional. Consider outsourcing tasks you may not be familiar with, like marketing, social media, and graphic design. It costs more than it would for you to do it yourself, but the payoff from hiring a professional to do it is priceless. 

6. Did You Stay Up To Date On Social Media? 

Social media algorithms value consistent engagement over anything else. Having a proper posting schedule, and the same kind of engagement week in and week out can do wonders for both your account’s performance your game’s overall hype. 

7. Is Your Content Engaging Enough? 

Speaking of consistency; what should you post? Sharing content like gameplay clips, development updates, and interactive posts can keep people engaged and excited, especially in the early days of the game when you might not have a lot of art to post. Showcasing features and narrative builds excitement, while polls, quizzes, and livestreams foster community interaction. 

For instance, the developer of "Dead Cells," Motion Twin, regularly shares development insights and fan art on social media to maintain a community around their game.

8. Are You Actually Interacting With Your Community? 

Community interaction goes beyond posting things you know they want to see, and “liking” a comment or two. This can mean following people back, taking the time to address real complaints and concerns, and actively seeking feedback from players. This creates a loyal fanbase that both feels valued and maintains a connection to your development journey. 

9. Did You Collab With Influencers? 

We understand that this isn’t in everyone’s budget, but sometimes a streamer is more than happy to help promote a small indie game. Identify content creators whose audience aligns with your demographic and genre. This doesn’t always mean video game creators! Sometimes lifestyle influencers have the same audience as your game, and you can leverage that to your advantage. Reach out using a personalized pitch outlining why you think you should collab with them. You can offer them early access to gameplay, exclusive content, or promo codes to encourage legit endorsements and get people interested. 

10. Did You Organize A Gameplay Stream?

Building on the success of your influencer collab, you can organize a stream with them where they actually play the game! This gives people who don’t have any access to your game, or people who might not know your game exists a sneak peek at what is to come. It can help drive wishlists as well as bring more people to your Steam page. 

While not all of these can be for everyone, answering YES to at least 1 of these means you’re on the right track to marketing a kick-ass game! And if you don’t have the time, or the desire to do any of it, that’s what we’re here for. Check out our OFFERINGS page for our most popular packages, or send us a message to get a-la-carte services and pricing, so you only pay for what you need. Good luck!