6 Tips to Get More Subscribers on your Game

How many time you thinked "Oh! C'mon player click and subscribe!" ... ?

We already talked about how the first players of your new game should be the players of your previous game, inspired by several posts and books of Seth Godin.

If the player click on subscribe it's easier and faster. In fact when you will put a news/update on your indiexpo game page, every subscriber will receive an email about it.
And the 85% of subscibers open their emails on smartphone and check/open them.

So... how to increase your subscibers with news/updates ?

1. Create remarkable content. Your content needs to be amazing if you want people to stay subscribed and forward your games to their friends, family, and colleagues that aren't already on your list;
2. Promote an online contest, like a free giveaway (and don't forget to promote your contest on social!);
3. Add a link to your followers' signatures that leads people to a landing page where they can sign up for your game (you can also use the image that you can see in the Statistics Area)
4. Promote one of your lead-gen offers on Twitter or Facebook. Create a "Sociali Campaign" to promote your free resource to your followers;
5. Run a promotion on a partner game page or social page that targets a new but appropriate audience to collect new followers;
6. Add a QR code to your print marketing collateral (you can find it also in the Statistic Area) that people can scan to opt in to your "database".

The top of the pile

Seth Godin says that few busy people show up at work eagerly seeking more stuff they can add to the pile.

Which means that when you interrupt a busy person with your new project, new game, new idea, bugs, need to know, memo, update, offer or invitation... it's only going to be acted upon if it's worth being at the top of the pile.

Not worthy for you to put it there. Worthy for the person you're interrupting to put it there.

We need an empathy of attention. Attention is something that can't be refunded or recalled. Once it's gone, it's gone.

So, what have you done to earn it?

How can your game compete with Pokemon GO ?

How can your game compete with Pokemon GO ?
Scale is often the secret to a commodity business and if your game to be better than GTA V, the only possible outcome doesn’t look good.

But what happens if your game decides to race to the top instead?

What if they say, “we’re always a dollar more than GTA V”?

And then they spend that dollar, all of it, on the music ...


What kind of person buys your game with the inaudible music?

GTA V becomes the bottom fisher, and your game is the place you go once you've proven yourself...
And a game should be a good way to relax.

Seth Godin that speaks about this topic, makes an example with the fast food :
what would happen if your fast food place said, “we’re the place that charges you a dollar extra at lunch,” and they spent all that dollar in paying their employees and their suppliers a living wage?

Some people will always want the cheapest, regardless of what it actually ends up costing them. But in market after market, the list goes on. Projects and organizations that proudly charge a dollar more.

Not merely a dollar more.

A dollar more, and worth it.

The first players of your new game should be the players of your previous game.

Few days ago we talked about the Fan Base, now we can see why it's so important.
Did you published a new game but you haven't the same downloads of your previous game ?

You have to follow and study your fan base when you're developing your new game.

First of all analyze which kind of gamers are following your projects and will play your new game. Because the first players of your new game should be the players of your previous game. It's more easy share something to someone that already know how you work.

On our Facebook fan page we made a poll, analyzing 6 kind of gamers : The Artist, The Performer, The Collector, The Thinker, The Quester and the Achiever.
The results ? Several "Questers".
How use this result ? We posted, after this poll, a post about a famous rpg game, Nocturne. The result : several Likes -> Test Passed (Fan Base confirmed).

Now let's analyze your games and your fan base.
If you developed a Puzzle game to play in the free time on your mobile phone... you should focus your attention about this kind of gamers. Where do they play my games ? In the metro ? At the bus stop ?
Ok. So, if you will develop a long Rpg ... you can lose your fan base.

Seth Godin (an famous American author, entrepreneur, marketer, and public speaker) says :

"You must develop products, services, and techniques that the market will actually seek out"

And you can start with your little "market". Not all the players in the world... but only your fan base (already created with your previous game).

Let's think about a singer like Michael Bublè. Jazz, Soul and Pop. His fans love him and his music. And when he releases a new album... you know that there are Jazz, Soul and Pop tracks. But.... what's happen if Michael Bublè releases a Hard Black Metal Album ?! His fans don't love the Metal Music... so if he will organize a tour... nobody will come. Neither his fans nor new fans of the Metal (becase he's new in this area).

So, analyze your game. What's the main feature of your game ? Not according to you. But you ask it at your fans. Meet them or chat with them.
Discover what they love of your game.
They love your graphics ? Good. In your next game, use the same graphic style with something of new.
They love your plot ? Good. Analyze the main aspect of your plot and make a new plot like the previous, in your next game.
They love your gameplay ? In your next game use the same gameplay but with something of new.

Think to GTA. It's one of the best game ever made. It changes its graphic style, his features but it has always a gameplay focused on an open world where the player can choose missions to progress an overall story, as well as engaging in side activities, all consisting of action-adventure, driving, third-person shooting, occasional role-playing, stealth, and racing elements.
It works and the Rockstar Games know it.

Remember that all the gamers have the same importance, you as a game designer, you should really think about your  kind of gamers during your design phase and ask yourself if the game has the same strength of your previus game (adding always something of new)

Is it works ? If you're thinking "oh my honey, it's easy to quote the success of a game like GTA... ! But about an indie game ? Where are the examples ?"

You can see Andrea Ferrara (Aprilskies). He released before Coline et le Trésor, then Donald Dowell. They are all funny point & click with easter eggs and a funny graphics. Game by game, the downloads growed up. And also with only a very short demo (Tales) the downloads were good. Because the fan base was the same. When he released a race game, Red Hot Overdrive ... the downloads falled.