How to promote your game without alienating your friends

Andy of “Amazing Ants” asks:

Just releasing my first Indie Game and wasn’t sure if I should bother friends and family too much.

Not wanting to spam friends and family is a common issue, especially when it comes to launching a first game.

It is a difficult balance to strike, but we strongly believe that they can be one of your strongest assets when trying to get the word out about your game. In the early days every single player counts.

Also consider, if you are struggling to talk to your friends and family about your game, those who know you and are likely to have a lot in common with you, then how are you going to fare when it comes to complete strangers?

Remember, the real benefit of telling your friends and family is not just that they’ll play your game, but that they might tell their friends and family too.

That said, no one wants to annoy people, let alone your friends and family. So we’ve put together a few thoughts that should help Andy and you out.

Be polite

It shouldn’t really need saying, but countless times I’ve seen people almost demanding people play their games. Whether it’s thrusting it in front of them in the pub, or simply telling people on Facebook to download it, people won’t like it if they feel pressured. Always ask them rather than tell them.

Be selective

Everyone has a few friends that they’re closer to than others. People that are genuinely interested in what you are up to. Take the time and effort to talk to them individually (at the minimum a seperate email / facebook message). They’ll be more inclined to play your game and much less likely to see further public posts / conversations as spam because they’ll know what you’re trying to do and how important it is to you.

Be self restrained

Lastly, and probably the most important – don’t bombard people. If you’ve already told someone about your game, don’t keep telling them again and again.

This should be all pretty much common sense, but understandably when it comes to friends and family you really don’t want to irritate them. So below we’ve included the steps we’d take

For example, a handful of public updates (I.e to all friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter) is unlikely to irritate anyone. But a daily request to play your game likely would.

Step 1

Write (by email, private Facebook message etc) to close friends and family (or tell them in person) that you have been working on a game and that you’ve finished it. Explain that it would mean a great deal to you if they would play the game and let you know what they think. Let them know that it would be a massive help if they liked the game to tell other people about it.

Step 2

Post to your Facebook/Twitter/social network of choice a few times. Spread it out over a couple weeks (this is really subjective, if you normally post a lot, you can feel comfortable posting more than once a week). Try to make the post interesting, not just linking to the game.

Step three

Publicly say thank to all the people that have played your game (and privately too).

You shouldn’t underestimate the good will people have for start ups and indie studios (we are constantly surprised at how often people are willing to help out with our projects!). Doing your own thing brings a slightly heroic status which people often enjoy supporting. You have to ask though, so take advantage of it.