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Ask HN: How to promote mobile game?

1 points by ethread ↗ HN
I've released my first mobile game for Android and iOS but I'm having a hard time promoting it outside of family and friends.

Does anyone have any tips for promoting games on the App Store and Google Play? Or is it almost impossible for a first time indie developer without a marketing budget to get any attention?

I've tried Twitter, posting on various forums, emailing bloggers and YouTubers, etc. without much luck beyond a few downloads and some generally positive feedback.

2 comments

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benologist
It's not impossible but it is hard and not because you're an indie developer without a budget but because publishing a game is a different skill to making a game, you'll get better at it with practice and experimentation.

I would push quality/content updates to the game so there's fewer reasons for bad ratings, and each update represents a news item someone might blog about so you can push for press every time. If you still fail to get any downloads at least you will improve the product and maybe you can attract a publisher.

ethread
Yes, marketing/publishing a game is definitely a different skill then making one. It's a skill I should have started working on long before I finished the game.

Thanks for the suggestion about updates. I do plan to make one or two more significant updates before deciding whether to move onto something new.