How To Create Content About Your Indie Game So It Attracts Potential Customers And Grows Your Wishlists

A Program Designed To Help You Find Players By Showing You How To Create Attention-Grabbing Marketing Content

If you're a small indie game dev making your first game, then one of the most important skills you can develop is the ability to create high-value content that draws your target customer in.

So, to help you build this skill in finding potential costumes, I came up with a program designed to help you create high-value content that will interest potential customers -- and help you increase wishlists.

Remember, marketing is an ongoing process. One-time activities like putting up a Steam page, paying for a fancy trailer, getting a YouTuber to showcase your game... these marketing strategies often fail in the long-term because they are static, one-time events.

The marketing that works is when you have a steady stream of new ideas, fresh new content, and new ways of showing your potential customers how your game is fun and interesting.

Why This Program You're About To Learn Works In Attracting Potential Customers

I've designed this program so you are forced to create marketing content that puts the spotlight on your target customer -- and less about you.

This works in getting attention because your game is actually TWO products.

The first product is all the moving pieces that make up your game work. It's your features, mechanics, art, story, theme, animations, and game engine. And this is the product you are very proud of because you spent a lot of effort making sure that these moving pieces end up as a final product.

So naturally, this is what you want to talk about and showcase when creating content about your game.

But, there is a hidden, second product. And the second product of your game is its FUNCTION. This is the product in ACTION. This is the product that does something for the player. It makes the player feel good, excited, challenged, less bored, satisfied, and hungry for more.

The second product is what actually sells the game.

Think about it this way:

The game engine you're using to build your game is also two products.

The first product is what makes up all the moving pieces of the game engine you're using. It's all of its features, UI, documentation, tutorials, and support.

But your game engine also has a second product: its function. And its function is to take all those features, UI, documentation, tutorials, and support, and help you make it easy for you to finish your game.

That's its function: to help you finish your game so you can sell it and make money and become a full-time dev.

It's the same with your indie game. The reason players play your game is because your game's function is to make their life better.

And if you can talk about the FUNCTION and instead of the features of your game, then you'll attract more potential customers, wishlists, followers, and game sales because you'll be creating content that will resonate with your target.

So, let's work on that right now. Let's create content to make it easy for your potential customer to see why your game will make their life better... will get them immersed in your game... will help them forget about their worries in their life... and make them feel happy or satisfied.

Introducing "How To Find Potential Customers In 20 Weeks" Program

The program will take you 20 weeks to complete. But don't worry... it will only require two hours of work each week.

And I'll provide you with a template to help you write attention-grabbing marketing content designed to attract and interest your target customer.

So how it works is, I've come up with 20 questions that you'll answer each week. I've designed the questions so that when you answer them, you will talk more about what the player will GET, and talk less about you.

Because remember, to grab attention, put the focus on your game's FUNCTIONS and talk less about features and technical stuff that the player doesn't care about.

The player only cares about if your game will be fun, immersive, challenging, not boring, and will improve their life at that moment when they are playing it.

So this requires you to shift your mindset away from what you want to talk about, and talk more about what the player wants to hear.

And that's what I did with these questions. When you answer them, it will force you to really challenge how you see your game.

And as you go through each week answering these questions, you'll start learning the basic marketing and selling skills you need if you want to grow a successful game studio.

Program Details

Let me explain how to get started, and what you'll be doing once a week for 20 weeks.

Step 1: Copy And Paste The 20 Questions

Below are 20 questions I like you to answer. So what I'd like you to do is to copy and paste them, and put them in your own Google document -- so as to make it easier to answer them every week.

Also, I created a Google doc with just the questions in one spot. Here's the link: How To Find Potential Customers In 20 Weeks, Blueprint

Step 2: Pick A Day Of The Week, And Block Off 2 Hours

In order for this program to work for you, you gotta put in the effort.

Yes, I can provide you with all the templates and blueprints. But at the end of the day, what counts is your discipline to do the work.

I say this because most people do not understand how much time, energy, and effort it takes for a small game studio to get off the ground and start finding fans. Building an audience takes time and consistency and patience. There are no productivity hacks... there are no "secrets" to finding customers... it just takes consistent, good ol' fashion work.

So commit one day a week. Block off 2 hours that day. And then here's what you'll do in that 2 hour block...

Step 3: Spend 20 Minutes Answering The Question

Set a timer. Read the question. And for 20 minutes, I want you to brainstorm and jot down in point-form, as many answers as you can to that question.

You're not aiming for perfection. You're aiming for a stream of thoughts. Because often it's when you're at the 15 minute mark, and you have no more ideas, and then BOOM you come up with a creative, new idea.

It's like that quote: "amateurs wait for the muse, professionals just get to work". Sometimes creativity and inspiration happens after you're mentally exhausted.

Step 4: Formalize Your Thoughts Into A Script Or Short Article

Once you're done with your 20 minute brainstorm, spend the next 40 minutes or so writing a script or short article.

VERY IMPORTANT:

At the end of your script / short article, always include a "call to action". For example:

If you think this game looks fun, then please check out my demo on the front page of my Steam store {then provide a link to your Steam store page}

Or...

If you think this game looks fun and and don't want to miss what's new, then click the Follow button on the front page of my Steam store to keep up to date {then provide a link to your Steam store page}

Or...

If you think this game looks fun and you'd like to support me, then click the Wishlist button on the front page of my Steam {then provide a link to your Steam store page}

Step 5: Publish It Online

Now spend the rest of the time posting your piece of content online.

I would recommend posting it on your Steam Community Hub. Because that's where your potential customers hang out. And by fostering a sense of community around your game using your Hub, you'll create loyal fans -- fans who are more likely to spread word-of-mouth for you.

Or if you prefer to use social media or YouTube, then take your script you created. And record a voice-over over gameplay of your game, and post it. Also, make sure to end the video with a "call to action". And provide a link in the description box.

And if you don't know which software to help you do this, use Davinci Resolve to help you. It's free. And there's lots of tutorials on how to easily create videos.

Don't Aim For Perfection And Be Patient

The goal of the "How To Find Potential Customers In 20 Weeks" program is to help learn how to write marketing content that attracts potential customers.

Remember, your game is two products: 1) the features and tech that make up your game and 2) the functions of your game.

So what happens is, most game devs get stuck creating uninteresting content because they only talk about the features and tech that makes up the game.

But if you learn how to shift your mind away from the process of making your game, and think about what your game DOES for the player, then you'll grab the attention of your target customer.

And this isn't easy. So don't worry if what you come up with isn't perfect. You're learning a new skill. It will take some getting used to to shift your brain like this.

What's important is that you are consistent and patient. Launching a small business and finding customers is really hard and it demands work. So don't give up. Just work at it. Get each week done. And you'll see you will start finding potential customers.

Ok, below are the 20 questions. Or grab the questions from the blueprint, here: How To Find Potential Customers In 20 Weeks, Blueprint

20 Questions To Help You Create Attention-Grabbing Marketing Content Designed To Find Your Target Customer

Important Note!

At the end of your script / short article, always include a "call to action". For example:

If you think this game looks fun, then please check out my demo on the front page of my Steam store {then provide a link to your Steam store page}

Or...

If you think this game looks fun and you'd like to support me, then click the Wishlist button on the front page of my Steam {then provide a link to your Steam store page}

Ok, here's the 20 questions...

Week 1: How is your game's theme or setting different from most games in your genre?

Explain how most of the games in your genre use a certain theme or setting. Then talk about how you decided to not follow this trend and do something a bit different.

Week 2: What other games inspired you to make this game?

Talk about your favorite games and how they inspired you to make this game.

Week 3: How is your game different from those games that inspired you to make your game?

Talk about some issues or frustrations you had with those games that inspired you, and how you're trying to fix those issues with your game.

Week 4: Who is your game made for?

Imagine a person sitting across from you. What other games do they like that you like? What shows or movies do they like? What games do they not like? If you're having trouble answering this question, then talk about why you made the game for yourself.

Week 5: What's your niche genre?

Clearly define what your game is and isn't. For example, there are a lot of top-down shooters. But there are games like Hotline Miami that are fast-paced. Then there are games like Door Kickers, which are more tactical and slow-paced. So what is your genre, and talk about what niche your genre is going for.

Week 6: What are 3 things that frustrate you about your genre?

Explain how the genre your game is in frustrates you. Come up with 3 issues.

Week 7: How does your game solve frustrations in your genre?

Last week you came up with 3 frustrations in your genre. Explain how your game aims to get rid of those frustrations.

Week 8: What mechanics or systems does your game have that aren't usually found in your genre?

The idea here is to show potential customers what new, innovative ideas you're trying to bring into your genre.

Week 9: What have other games tried to innovate in your genre, but failed?

This will require you to do a bit of research. Do a search on the history of your genre on YouTube: often creators will go through the important games that make up the genre -- and you can get some insights from that. Or you can post a thread on Reddit asking how other games tried to innovate but failed. But this is an important question because players have certain expectations of what a genre is and isn't. And when you talk about this, it tells potential customers that your game isn't going to make the same mistakes.

Week 10: How does your sound design make your game more immersive and fun?

List all the different sounds you use in your game, and explain your thought process on how they help your game feel and sound more satisfying.

Week 11: How does your first feature of your game work -- and what does the player get to do?

Ok, in the next 5 weeks, you're going to break down 5 key features of your game, explain how they work... but more importantly, explain what will the player get to DO.

For example:

Feature: Dynamic combat. How it works: change between melee, shields, bows. What does the player get to do: the player has to pay attention to the environment and quickly think on their feet and decide which combat would work best depending on the situation they observed.

Week 12: How does feature 2 work, and what does the player get to do?

Remember, explain in detail how the feature works... but then connect it back to the player by talking about what actions the player will get to do.

I.e. Dynamic combat. How it works: change between melee, shields, bows. What does the player get to do: the player has to pay attention to the environment and quickly think on their feet and decide which combat would work best depending on the situation they observed.

Week 13: How does feature 3 work, and what does the player get to do?

Remember, explain in detail how the feature works... but then connect it back to the player by talking about what actions the player will get to do.

Week 14: How does feature 4 work, and what does the player get to do?

Remember, explain in detail how the feature works... but then connect it back to the player by talking about what actions the player will get to do.

Week 15: How does feature 5 work, and what does the player get to do?

Remember, explain in detail how the feature works... but then connect it back to the player by talking about what actions the player will get to do.

Week 16: What's one mechanic, feature, or system in your game that no other game in your genre is doing?

This question will require digging deep and thinking hard. But there is something about your game that is truly unique that no other game is really doing. Explain what that mechanic, feature, system is.

Week 17: What obstacles did you overcome to make your innovative features work?

Explain how you discovered one of your features or game systems that make your game unique and innovative. Think back to how the process began. Was it a problem you're trying to solve? Did the idea just pop in your head as you were driving or in the shower? And then talk about the challenges you had to go through to make that idea work.

Week 18: How did you come up with your game's story or world?

Think back to when you were coming up with the initial idea of your game. How did the story or world all come together?

Week 19: How does your game art or animation make your game feel more immersive?

Art and animation isn't there just to look pretty. It's to get the player sucked into your game, and believe it's a real world. So, how does your art or animation help the player get immersed into your game so they forget everything about them. This isn't an easy question. And sometimes small indie devs don't have a lot of resources to make amazing art and animations. But still, there is some sort of reason or thought process you consciously put effort into when picking your art and animation. Talk about that.

Week 20: Why is your game fun?

Hard question, I know. But when you go sit down to play your game, what makes you want to keep playing it? What leaves you satisfied after a game session? Talk about your experience playing your game so that it's easy for your potential customer to resonate with your passion.

That's it my friend! Hope this gives you inspiration to put in the effort and start finding potential customers for your indie game!

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Dariusz Konrad
My Entrepreneurial Story
Work: Game devs I've helped so far