I recently contributed to a "Publication" forum post but the thread failed to remain on topic. It would be helpful to take another stab at it from a different perspective.
Let's presume someone (anyone) has a viable game and decides to self publish. The common industry royalty is 5 percent and to negotiate more, the game must have a proven track record in regards to sales. Personally, this is my foremost reason to self publish prior to pursuing a traditional publisher. I also want to avoid a traditional publisher stealing my concept, branding it with a different name and claiming it as their own. The idea of getting it into circulation quickly, even on limited scale, is very appealing to me. There is also the potential of a traditional publisher offering an agreement with the intent to later abandon it. Much expense is devoted to marketing and their goal is to keep public focus on the products in which they anticipate the greatest return with minimal investment. These types of things do occur. As with any business, profit is the bottom line.
How can self publishers effectively compete? Direct sales usually translates to a website, either waiting for prospects (often having no interest) to be directed by search engines or spending considerable money on pay-per-click advertising with no certainty of visitor interest. Marketing must be just as creative (if not more so) as designing the game. Without a traditional publisher, the task of marketing falls on the self publisher. Social media can attract visitors but rarely are they serious prospects. A direct sales website is only one channel that you may have experiences and ideas to contribute. Please also interject about unique forms of alternative marketing, unrelated to a direct sales website.
Independently owned (local non-chain) stores are often receptive to small orders if the product aligns with their other offerings. Gift shops are great when independently owned. Antique malls and consignment stores have potential as well. Figuratively, selling in your own back yard is a good first step. If this is difficult to do face-to-face locally, nationally will also prove to be a severe obstacle. Press releases submitted to newspapers and magazines, especially local ones, often result free editorials. Whether a full article or only a mention, every small effort is helpful. Game reviews are similar but like movie critics, few agree. A negative review is a realistic possibility.
There are many touring conventions that travel from city to city with a emphasis on gift item wholesaling rather than directly game related. This is an opportunity to be a big fish in a small pond as well as to meet many professional distributors. Their goal is to sell to business owners. Turn it around and promote why you should be of interest to them.
An alternative marketing approach that I have been exploring is creating a distribution alliance with other self publishers. All is profoundly formative so far. The combined resources and geographic network of the participants would generate strength in numbers and cover much territory. Doing so would have to be organized well and fair to every member. In summary, a group of self publishers would unite to expand and share wholesale agreements with a multitude of independent distributors. Any thoughts on how best to structure such an alliance? What other marketing alternatives exist?
I don't anticipate many replies on this topic but hoping a few creative ideas will be posted. Of course, not every game designer has a publishing objective. Many hobbyists design as a creative outlet with the ultimate goal being to share their endeavors with friends, family and peers. This is similar to modeling, like building ships in a bottle. Appealing to the masses and making a profit has little bearing. The sense of accomplishment and peer acclaim are the foremost prizes. There are many talented people in this forum. I'm here to learn all that I can from their experiences.
Thank you for following me on Twitter. I read your kickstarter.com project and saw that you plan to create a PC Game version. I'm curious about your marketing plan and decision to publish both a physical and virtual game. I presume that you plan to do so concurrently? Not at all questioning your experience and abilities, my first impression is a dual launch would be a huge undertaking and dilute focus between the two. This would be a huge task for any company, large or small. It tends to be more common for companies to do one and then, spring board (leverage) the second launch after the peak of the first. From a marketing perspective, the benefit is more "hang time" in the public eye. I am very much interested in hearing more about your marketing strategy but also realize that there may be aspects you prefer not to mention in an open forum. Please do share what you feel comfortable disclosing.
To everyone: Are there any alternative marketing techniques or campaigns that you thought were especially clever and/or unique to promote new games?
-- Wayne