Game development is a journey of passion and creativity, but even the best game can flop if no one knows about it. Our goal with this introductory guide is to break down the basics of game marketing, especially tailored for small indie studios and solo developers. We’ll cover why marketing matters, explain core concepts in plain language, survey key channels, highlight common pitfalls, and give a simple step-by-step plan to get you started. Think of it as a helpful NPC guide on your game dev quest. Let’s level up your marketing know-how and help your game reach the players who will love it!
Why Marketing Matters
Over half of indie games on Steam never surpass $4,000 in revenue, highlighting the uphill battle of visibility in a crowded market.
It’s an unfortunate truth: many indie games struggle or fail not because they’re bad games, but because players simply never hear about them. The market is crowded. In 2021 alone, over 11,000 games were released on Steam, roughly 30 new games every single day. For every runaway indie success, thousands of other titles launch and languish in obscurity. Statistics show that more than 50% of indie games on Steam earn under $4,000 total (far below what most developers spend making them). In fact, a quarter of new PC games released in a recent year sold fewer than 100 copies. These sobering numbers underline a key point: making a great game is only half the challenge, the other half is getting people to notice it.
Why do so many good games go unnoticed? A huge factor is poor or nonexistent marketing. One industry survey found that 54% of game developers do not market their game at all. It’s a common mindset to think “If we build it, they will come.” As game creators, we pour our heart into development and hope the game will magically find an audience on its quality alone. Unfortunately, in today’s oversaturated landscape, that’s like whispering in a loud tavern, nobody hears you. “Today’s video game market is very crowded, and people will never hear about your game without a strategy to deliver the news to them,” as one marketing firm put it. In other words, if you don’t actively promote your game, your potential players may never even know it exists.
On the flip side, effective marketing can be the difference between failure and success. Even a small marketing effort can dramatically improve your game’s chances of finding fans. Consider real-world examples: the indie title Among Us languished in obscurity for two years until a handful of Twitch streamers picked it up, within weeks it exploded to 1.5 million concurrent players and 100 million downloads as visibility snowballed. The game itself hadn’t changed; what changed was exposure. The lesson is clear: marketing is essential to reach players. A great game without marketing is like a fantastic party with no invitations sent out. To succeed, you need to let people know about the party! In short, marketing isn’t about “hyping a bad game”, it’s about ensuring a good game isn’t overlooked. Your game deserves an audience, and marketing is how you get it in front of them.
Core Marketing Concepts for Game Devs
Marketing may feel unfamiliar or even intimidating to many developers, so let’s break down a few core concepts in simple, game-friendly terms. Think of these as basic mechanics in the “marketing mode” of game development:
- Target Audience: This means the specific players who will enjoy your game the most. Just as you might design your gameplay for a certain genre fan (RPG lovers, puzzle solvers, etc.), marketing asks: who is this game for? Identify your target player persona, their interests, age group, platforms, and what they love in games. Knowing your target audience helps you find and speak to the people most likely to become fans. It’s like choosing the right class or role for a raid; you want to find players who “match” your game’s style.
- USP (Unique Selling Proposition): In gaming terms, this is your game’s ultimate ability or unique power-up. Your USP is what makes your game unique and special in a sea of other games. Maybe it’s a novel gameplay mechanic, a distinctive art style, or an unusual story premise, the thing that sets your game apart. A marketing expert would say “a USP is a unique selling point, the thing that makes your product irresistibly purchasable compared to competitors”. In plain language: What’s the coolest, most unique thing about your game? That’s your USP, and you’ll want to highlight it in all your messaging.
- Branding: Think of branding as your game or studio’s identity and reputation, the personality you present to the world. It includes your game’s name, logo, visual style, tone of voice, and the values or vibe that come across. In game terms, if your game were a character, branding is its character design and backstory. A strong brand helps players remember you. Are you going for a quirky and humorous image, dark and hardcore, or family-friendly and cute? Consistent branding (across your Steam page, website, social media, etc.) builds recognition. Even as a small indie, don’t shrug this off, having a cohesive “look and feel” for your game makes you appear professional and memorable.
- Marketing Funnel: The marketing funnel is a way to describe a player’s journey from first hearing about your game to becoming an actual player (and even a fan). Picture a funnel or an RPG progression system: Awareness (they discover your game exists) → Interest (they become intrigued, follow or wishlist it) → Desire (they’re excited and convinced this game is for them) → Action (they purchase or download it). At the top, many people might see a tweet or trailer. At each stage some drop off, and a smaller number take the next step down the funnel. The goal of marketing is to guide as many people as possible through this funnel. For example, someone sees a cool teaser clip (awareness), then they click to your Steam page and wishlist it (interest). Later, when the game launches, they get an email that it’s out and buy it (action). Understanding the funnel helps you plan marketing: you might do broad outreach for awareness, then provide deeper info (like dev blogs or a demo) for those in the consideration stage, and finally make it easy for interested folks to buy (e.g. a big “Available Now on Steam” call-to-action). It’s all about shepherding players from “never heard of it” to “day-one purchaser.”
These concepts aren’t jargon or MBA-speak, they’re simply ways to think about connecting your game with the right players. As an indie dev, if you can grasp who your ideal players are, what makes your game special, how you’re presenting your game, and the journey a fan takes from discovering to playing, you’ve got the fundamentals of marketing down. Next, let’s look at where you can reach those players.
Key Marketing Channels Overview
Now that we’ve talked strategy, let’s discuss tactics: marketing channels. These are the places or platforms where you can promote your game and build a following. You don’t have to use every channel out there, it’s best to pick those that fit your game and target audience, but it helps to know the landscape. Here’s an overview of major channels available to indie developers, with a quick note on how each can help you reach players:
- Steam Store Presence: For PC indies, your Steam page is ground zero for marketing. It’s not just a store listing, but a chance to convert curious visitors into wishlisters or buyers. A well-crafted Steam page (strong capsule art, screenshots, trailer, and description) can grab a player’s interest at first glance. Many players browse Steam’s discovery queues and upcoming games, being visible there is crucial. Make sure to set up your Steam page early (you can gather wishlists before launch) and keep it updated. In short, Steam is where discovery meets purchase, treat your store page like a showcase window for your game. A compelling page can turn an interested lurker into a paying customer.
- Social Media: Platforms like Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit are popular hangouts for gamers. Social media lets you build hype and community for free (aside from your time). The key is to choose platforms where your target players hang out. For example, many indie devs use Twitter to share GIFs of gameplay or development updates, building up a following of interested gamers and fellow developers. TikTok has also become a surprisingly powerful channel for games, a short, funny gameplay clip can potentially go viral. Social platforms help you engage with fans directly: you can post behind-the-scenes looks, respond to comments, and create a personal connection. The goal is to grow an audience over time that you can later turn into players. Remember, consistency matters more than being on every platform; it’s better to actively engage on one or two channels than to stretch yourself thin on five.
- Paid Advertising: This includes things like Facebook/Instagram ads, Google ads, Reddit ads, or sponsored posts. Paid ads can boost your game’s visibility beyond your organic reach. The advantage is you can target these ads to very specific audiences, for example, showing your game trailer to users who like similar games. A small budget, spent wisely, can generate awareness and wishlists. For instance, you might run a short ad campaign around your launch or during a Steam festival to capture extra eyeballs. The downside is cost, and ads need tweaking to be effective (so you don’t waste money showing it to the wrong people). Indie tip: start with a small daily budget (even $5-$10 a day) to test what messaging or targeting works, rather than burning all your funds at once. Paid ads are not mandatory for success, but they’re a tool in your arsenal, kind of like using a potion for a temporary buff to your visibility. Use them strategically when you need a boost.
- Influencers (Streamers & YouTubers): Influencer coverage is one of the most powerful modern channels for indie games. Gamers love watching content creators play and review games, it’s often how they discover new titles. In fact, research found that gameplay videos and streams are the top resources players rely on when shopping for a new game, and for about 25% of dedicated indie fans, videos are the main trigger to buy. Getting a popular Twitch streamer or YouTuber to showcase your game can massively increase awareness. We saw this with Among Us: a few streamers tried it, and viewership snowballed, translating into huge player numbers for the game. You don’t need a mega-celebrity influencer; even mid-sized or niche creators can have very engaged audiences. To leverage this channel, you can reach out to streamers/YouTubers who cover your genre (many are eager for new indie games to show) through tools like our CRM and influencer database. Provide them a free key or demo. If your game is fun to watch, an influencer can expose it to thousands of potential players in an authentic way. Twitch and YouTube are often considered the most efficient marketing channels for reaching core gamers, so consider them in your plan. This channel is essentially word-of-mouth on steroids, gamers trust their favorite creators’ opinions.
- Email & Newsletters: Email may sound old-school, but it’s a tried-and-true way to keep interested players in the loop. Building an email list means collecting addresses from people who want updates on your game (for example, via a sign-up on your website or a link in a demo). Email allows you to reach fans directly with important news: beta invites, launch announcement, post-release updates, etc. The advantage is that unlike social media algorithms, everyone on your list will see your message in their inbox. Even a small mailing list of a few hundred super-fans can translate to day-one sales because those people are eager and waiting. How do you get people to sign up? You might offer a small incentive (like exclusive concept art, or a chance to join a closed beta) or simply invite those following you elsewhere to subscribe for big announcements. Keep your emails concise and meaningful, you’re building trust. One pro tip: send an email when your game launches or goes on sale; those are guaranteed to spark some conversions from folks who signed up and almost forgot about you until that reminder.
- Press Coverage (Gaming Media): Don’t overlook traditional press, gaming news sites, blogs, and review outlets. A single article on a site like PC Gamer, IGN, Rock Paper Shotgun, or even a niche indie game blog can give you a burst of visibility and credibility. Press coverage often reaches players beyond your own follower bubble. To get press interested, you’ll need a press kit or at least a solid pitch: clear info about your game, striking screenshots, and a hook (remember that USP!). Many indie devs send out press releases or personal emails to journalists a few weeks before launch or when a demo is available. You can also submit your game to sites that specialize in indie news. While press coverage is not guaranteed (and not all games will get it), it’s worth a shot because it can lead to thousands of readers learning about your game. Even smaller streamers and YouTubers often pick up news from press sites, so it can create a ripple effect. Think of press as critical hits, not every attempt will land, but those that do can have outsized impact.
- Community Building (Discord & More): Last but certainly not least is community building, creating a space for fans to gather, interact, and get invested in your project. Commonly, indie devs set up a Discord server for their game or studio. Discord is basically a chat hub where you can engage directly with your most interested fans: share progress updates, get feedback, organize beta testing, or just hang out and build excitement. Having even a small community (say 50 people) who are excited about your game can be incredibly valuable. They become your word-of-mouth ambassadors, they’ll bring in others, and their enthusiasm will keep you motivated. Other forms of community include forums, subreddit, or even a Facebook group, but Discord has become a favorite for gaming communities. The key is interaction: if players feel a personal connection to you and each other, they’re far more likely to stick around and support the game long-term. Community-building takes effort (answering questions, moderating, fostering a friendly vibe), but it pays off with a loyal fan base. Just remember not to neglect them: going days without responding to your community can cause you to lose the interest and goodwill you’ve built up. If you’re not naturally into socializing, that’s okay, even setting aside 20-30 minutes a day to chat with your community or post updates can make a big difference. Your community members are essentially allies in your marketing quest.
Each of these channels has its strengths, and you don’t need to use all of them at once. Start with one or two that make the most sense for your game and audience. For example, a visually striking game might thrive on Twitter and TikTok; a strategy game for hardcore PC players might focus on Reddit and specialized Discord communities. Over time, you can expand to other channels. The unifying idea is to be where your players are, engage them on those platforms, in the ways they like to be engaged. A recent study summed it up well: meet gamers on their preferred platforms and speak their language. Do that, and you’ll dramatically increase your chances of getting on players’ radar.
Common Indie Marketing Pitfalls
Even knowing the above, indie teams often hit similar snags when trying to market their games. Think of these as common traps in a level, but with awareness, you can avoid them. Here are some typical indie marketing pitfalls and how to avoid them:
- “If We Build It, They Will Come” Syndrome (Ignoring Marketing): This is the number-one pitfall: simply not doing marketing or starting way too late, assuming that a good game will automatically attract players. As we discussed, in today’s market this approach just doesn’t work. Shockingly, over half of developers admit they did no marketing for their game, and it shows in the sales data where about half of games make virtually no money. Don’t let your project become one of those forgotten titles. The “we’ll just go viral somehow” mindset is risky; virality is not a plan. As one expert bluntly put it, you can’t replace a 6-month marketing plan by shrugging and saying “We’ll just go viral.” Likewise, banking on a single big streamer to save the day isn’t a reliable strategy. Solution: Embrace marketing as part of your game development process. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, start small and steady, but start early. Even sharing your dev progress from an early stage, building a mailing list, or posting on a forum can begin the drumbeat of awareness. Recognize that marketing is the bridge between your masterpiece and the players out there. The good news is that if you’re reading this, you’re already avoiding this pitfall by educating yourself. Treat marketing as an integral part of making your game successful (because it is!).
- Blowing the Budget Too Early or All on One Tactic: Another common mistake is mismanaging a small marketing budget. For example, some devs might spend their entire budget on a single convention showcase or one round of ads months before launch, and then nothing is left for the crucial launch window. Or they put all their eggs in one basket, say, spending $5,000 on Facebook ads without testing if those ads resonate. Marketing funds, especially for indies, are precious; you want to spend them smartly and gradually. Solution: Think of your budget like mana points, don’t drop it to zero in one move. Plan your spending across different stages: perhaps a bit during early awareness (trailers, festival fees), some for a wishlist campaign, and some for launch promotions. If you do paid ads, start with small experiments to see what actually yields clicks or sign-ups before scaling up. Avoid the temptation to pour all your money into one flashy marketing stunt. Consistency and adaptability win the day, multiple smaller efforts, measured and tweaked, often outperform a single giant spend. And never underestimate free or low-cost tactics (community building, press outreach, devlogs); throwing money around isn’t a substitute for genuine engagement.
- Neglecting Audience/Community Building: Many indies focus all their energy on the launch and forget to nurture an audience before and after that. Ignoring your community or failing to engage potential players is a major pitfall. For instance, creating social media accounts but hardly posting, or setting up a Discord but abandoning it, can be worse than not having one at all, because interested folks who find silence will lose enthusiasm. “Oh, I don’t really do social media,” some developers say, effectively deciding to ignore the places where their audience lives. That’s a big mistake. Solution: You don’t need to be everywhere, but commit to some form of consistent player engagement. If you open a communication channel, use it actively. Try to respond to player messages, tweets, or forum posts in a timely manner (even if it’s just a quick thank-you or answering a question). Show that there’s a human behind the project who cares. If you truly dislike or struggle with community interaction, consider bringing someone on to help, maybe a team member or friend, or a volunteer moderator. The bottom line is to treat your early fans like gold. They are the ones who will spread the word and stick with you. As one marketing veteran advised, failing to utilize social media and online interaction is basically “ignoring the habits of your audience”, which is the opposite of what you want to do in marketing. So engage, communicate, and build goodwill. It will pay off not just in sales but in a supportive fan base that can sustain your studio for the long run.
- Spending All Energy on Development Until It’s Too Late: This pitfall is related to the above, and very common, you crunch to finish the game and only start thinking about marketing a week before launch. By then, you have no wishlists, no media attention, and your launch day comes and goes quietly. In the indie scene there’s a saying: “don’t market at the end, market along the way.” Solution: Even though development is your main focus, allocate a small portion of your time each week (or day) to marketing tasks, especially in the months leading up to release. For example, you might aim to post one dev update a week, or spend 30 minutes each day engaging on Twitter or Discord. Build a mailing list as you go. This way, by the time your game is ready to ship, you have an audience eagerly waiting for it. Marketing is a marathon, not a sprint, starting early prevents that last-minute panic and significantly improves your launch outcome. Remember, a decent game with a decent marketing buildup will usually outperform an amazing game that appears out of nowhere with zero fanfare. Steady, consistent marketing efforts beat a last-minute blitz.
By being aware of these pitfalls, you can course-correct and save yourself a lot of disappointment. Marketing isn’t a magic wand, but avoiding these common mistakes will dramatically increase your chances of success. In summary: don’t ignore marketing (start it early), spend your resources wisely, cultivate your community, and integrate marketing into your dev process rather than treating it as an afterthought. If you do those, you’ll be ahead of a large portion of indie devs who unfortunately learn these lessons the hard way.
Getting Started on a Plan
All this might feel like a lot to take in, but don’t worry. You can start small and simple. The key is to make a basic marketing plan that you can actually execute, rather than an elaborate strategy that overwhelms you. Think of it like building your first level in a game: you want it scoped properly so you can finish it, test it, and then build on it. Here’s a straightforward, step-by-step framework to get you started:
- Define One Player Persona: Start by writing down a description of your ideal player, your target audience in human terms. For example: “Alice, 28, loves narrative-driven fantasy RPGs but has limited time, spends a lot of evenings on Discord discussing lore.” Give them a bit of personality. This persona will help you make decisions later (like where to market and what messages to emphasize). It’s easier to speak to one hypothetical person than to a faceless crowd. Keep your persona in mind whenever you create marketing content: would this catch Alice’s interest? If yes, you’re on the right track.
- Pick One Core Channel to Focus On: Based on where your persona hangs out, choose a primary marketing channel to start with. Is your audience scrolling TikTok for game clips? Are they on Reddit in indie game threads? Do they frequent a particular Discord or watch certain Twitch streamers? Pick the channel that offers the best chance to reach your defined player. Focus your initial efforts there. For example, if you decide your core channel is Twitter, you’ll concentrate on tweeting dev updates and interacting with the Twitter gamedev community. If it’s Discord, maybe you’ll funnel people from a demo into a Discord server and engage them. Starting with one main channel keeps things manageable, you can always expand later, but it’s better to do one well than five poorly.
- Craft Your Core Message (USP) and Story: Take a little time to articulate your game’s unique selling proposition and how you want to present it. In step 1 you thought about who to reach; now think about what to say. What’s the coolest thing about your game that will hook people? Maybe it’s “a puzzle platformer where you can rewind time” or “a cozy farming sim with a magical twist”. Frame this in a player-centric way, how does it benefit or excite the player. For instance, “Experience a story where every decision actually changes the ending,” or “Master a one-of-a-kind grapple mechanic to traverse levels in style.” This core message will be the foundation of your posts, store description, press pitches, etc. Along with that, decide on the tone of your “brand”, friendly? Mysterious? Humorous? Make sure it fits your game and appeals to your audience. Consistency here will make your marketing feel coherent and confident.
- Set a Small Goal and Make a Mini-Content Plan: Let’s add a quantitative element so you can measure progress. Set one or two small marketing goals for the next few months. For example, “Grow Twitter followers to 500,” or “Get 1,000 Steam wishlists before launch,” or “Have 100 people in the Discord by the end of the demo period.” A concrete goal helps motivate you and guides your efforts. Now brainstorm a mini content plan for your chosen channel to achieve that goal. This could be as simple as: “Post one screenshot or GIF every Wednesday, share a dev blog every month, and interact in one relevant community discussion per week.” If you’re focusing on a mailing list, maybe “send a small development update to subscribers every 2 weeks.” Write down a few bullet points of what you’ll do, and literally schedule them on your calendar. Treat these like sprint tasks in development. By having a plan, you won’t be stuck each week thinking “uhh what do I post?”, you’ll have a backlog of ideas to execute.
- Execute, Learn, and Iterate: Now, start doing the plan. Don’t worry about being perfect, just be consistent and genuine. Share progress, talk to people, and keep at it. As you do, pay attention to what gets reactions and what doesn’t. Maybe you notice that your character art posts get lots of likes, but your long coding rants don’t, that’s a hint to adjust your content. Or perhaps you find that after a month on Twitter, a lot of your followers are fellow devs but not many target players; you might decide to pivot and spend more time in player-focused Discords or run a small ad to reach new eyes. Marketing is an iterative process, much like playtesting a game, you see what works and refine your approach. Don’t be afraid to tweak your plan. The idea of starting with one persona, one channel, and a simple plan is to minimize complexity so you can actually gather feedback and improve. Over time, you’ll gain confidence and can scale up your marketing (maybe add another channel, or invest more into what’s working).
- Stay Consistent and Don’t Be Shy to Ask for Help: Consistency beats bursts of effort. It’s better to do a little bit of marketing every week than to do a lot once and then go silent for months. Treat marketing like any other discipline in game development, something you can improve at with practice. If you hit roadblocks or find you really need help, remember there’s a community of indie devs out there sharing tips, and there are also professionals and tools that cater to indies. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. For example, you can use scheduling tools to queue social media posts, or platforms that connect you with influencers. If you need deeper help, you can also turn to supportive partners, for instance, fenfyre.com is a marketing platform specifically designed to help game developers and publishers. Teams like Fenfyre understand the indie struggle and offer resources to simplify outreach, influencer connections, analytics, and more. Whether you use a service like that or not, know that it’s okay to seek help, be it hiring a freelancer for a press release or using an automation tool to manage posts. In fact, industry advisors often say developers have three choices: do it yourself, use marketing automation tools, or hire an agency, any of these approaches (or a mix) can be valid. Choose what fits your budget and skillset.
By following these steps, you’ll have the skeleton of a marketing plan in place. To illustrate, let’s say you’re making a retro-style action game. You define your persona (“Loves SNES-era games, active on Twitter and watches YouTube retrospectives”). You pick Twitter as your main channel. Your USP message is “Modern action with true 16-bit nostalgia, feels like 1994 again!” You set a goal for 500 wishlists in 3 months. Your content plan is weekly pixel-art screenshots, short gameplay clips, and a few dev anecdotes about classic games that inspire you. You execute this plan, slowly building followers. A popular retro gaming account retweets one of your clips, boom, a spike in wishlists. You then adapt by reaching out to a YouTube retro channel, offering a demo. They cover it, bringing even more interest. By launch, you’ve got a modest but enthusiastic fan base eager to buy. That’s effective indie marketing in action, not expensive, not overly complex, just consistent effort and knowing your audience.
Final Thoughts
Marketing your game can feel like a side quest you didn’t sign up for, but it’s a crucial part of the journey to actually get your game played. The good news is, you absolutely can do it, even as a small team or a solo developer. Start with the basics: know your audience, highlight what makes your game shine, and get the word out through channels that make sense for you. Be genuine, be patient, and remember that every little bit of outreach helps. Importantly, you’re not alone in this process. There are tons of resources, communities, and tools out there to help indie devs with marketing. And if it ever becomes overwhelming, partners like fenfyre.com are there as friendly allies, focused on practical outcomes and ready to support you in leveling up your marketing game.
At the end of the day, successful marketing is really about sharing your excitement for your game with others who will find joy in it. You have something awesome you’ve created, marketing is simply the act of inviting people to come experience that awesome thing. So don’t shy away from it. With the tips from our “Game Marketing 101” guide, you have a starting toolkit. Now get out there and tell your game’s story. We can’t wait to see players discover and love what you’ve made. Good luck, and happy marketing!
