This guide is designed to be your indie game marketing “train station”. Each section is a different “platform” you can hop onto based on your needs. Feel free to read straight through or jump to the part that’s most useful to you today.

NOTE: I’m constantly learning, and I’ll update this as I progress. So if you see any missing sections. I will get to them in time.

So if you want to learn how to market well as an indie can;

• Allow you to create content more easily
• Give you confidence to move forward with projects
• Build a skill set from one release to the next

        ; then this guide is for you

Table of Contents

• What is Indie Game Marketing?
• Laying the Foundation – Audience, USP, Goals
  • Defining Your Target Audience
  • Building Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
  • Setting Realistic Goals
• Building Your Online Presence – Website, Email, Social
  • Website Essentials
  • Social Media Channels
  • Email Marketing and Newsletter
  • Community Building
  • Running a Discord Server
  • Content Marketing for Indie Games
  • Influencer & PR Outreach
• Game Festivals, Awards & Expos –
  • Submitting to Festivals
  • Steam & Store Page Optimization
  • Video content (trailers/teasers)
  • Paid Advertising (Optional)
• Launch Strategy – Streamers, Press, Social, Oh My
  • Post-Launch Marketing
• Tools & Resources
• Final Thoughts

What is Indie Game Marketing?

Indie game marketing is the plan you put in place tosellt copies of your gamd.

Why It Matters

Thenumbert of games released on Steam has doubled in the last 5 years.

With 18,992 sold in 2024 ALONE.

 With AAA games taking longer, the majority of this growth is in the indie space.

So how can you stand out?

• Your development skills can only improve so much.
• You can only get so much faster.
• You can only hire a limited number of people (if any).
•  Everyone has access to the same tools

The answer? Marketing.

Many devs still shy away from it. Doing the bare minimum. Then they blame market dynamics for the reason their game didn’t sell. You can use the information below to stand out from the crowd.

While building an audience and community that will grow with your career.

Internal links

[LINK: statistics that will make you market your balls off]

Laying the Groundwork for Your Marketing Strategy

The first few steps required to market your game from conception to release.

Find Your Fans Before They Find You

The cardinal rule of marketing

 If I asked you who exactly your game was for, could you tell me?

Who you’re talking to should determine how you talk to them. And any business needs a rough outline of the person they’re selling to.  This characterization is typically referred to as a buyer persona.

But in the indie game marketing context, let’s call it the “ideal player”. This player will not JUST buy your game. They will shout your praises from the rooftops. You’ll know what they play, why they play it. Their gripes with the genre. What language do they use? All gathered through consistent research.

Why It Matters

Imagine describing your game to a crowd of 100,000 people.

Now imagine describing it to your best friend.

 It’s less scary when talking to one person. You attract your ideal player more efficiently and filter out the players who would not enjoy your game. Because nothing is worse than buying a game you thought was in one genre. Just for it to be something else.

 Fewer unhappy players, fewer bad reviews.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Find two games that you drew inspiration from
2. List what they have in common with your game (mechanics, atmosphere, etc.)
3. Draw adjectives from those commonalities
   • EX: Melee combat against hordes of enemies =  high octane combat power fantasy

Internal links

[LINK: determining your ideal player]

Why Should Anyone Care? Stand Out with a Strong USP

Many developers get too artsy when describing their game.

They often say things like:

*Pinky up*

“Our game is a top-down twin stick shooter with novel mechanics in the vein of Code Vein. With art inspired by Hiroshima after the atomic bomb dropped, yada, yada, yada.”

Do you have any idea what type of game that is?

Your unique selling proposition(USP) is a one-sentence description of your game that creates a picture in your ideal player’s mind. I suggest shouting out one game that inspires you. This grounds your game in something familiar to the ideal player. Then include what your twist on the genre, gameplay, etc.

I call this the Grounding and Twist technique.

Let’s say I was marketing Destiny 2, I’d say:

 Destiny 2 is Halo with looter shooter elements.

Halo fans imagine intense gunplay and cinematic moments. While “looter shooter” implies getting loot, obviously.

Why It Matters

A clear description of your game, tailored to the ideal player, enables more effective marketing. This results in more wishlists from people who are confident they will love your game. Every piece of content you make is no longer in a vacuum. They’re bricks that allow you to build an enticing house that makes your ideal player want to enter.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Choose a ground game(s)
2. Define your “twist(s)”
3. Make a few combinations
4. Repeat

Internal links

[LINK: Grounding and Twist]

Setting Smart Goals for a Successful Indie Game Launch

FACT: The majority of devs don’t create a commercially successful game until after multiple releases.

The revenue in the chart doesn’t matter. What matters is the increase with each release.

We’ve all been there. You become interested in game development, and your mind immediately goes to “dream game”. However, you lack the skills, experience, and knowledge to pull it off. So it fails.

And when it does, you realize 3 things:

1. You probably bit off more than they can chew
2. You didn’t market nearly enough
3. You had no idea how much goes into making a game, let alone a commercially successful one.

Most devs don’t get past this part. They’re demoralized, and they quit.

Why It Matters

Setting appropriate expectations from the get-go allows you to fail fast, learn faster, and stack the skills and knowledge simultaneously. You don’t want to learn a lesson in 3 years that you could’ve in 1.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Be brutally aware of the stats.
2. Compare your game against others in genre, price range, and quality.
3. Make games on a faster timeline than you’re comfortable with

Internal links

[LINK: How to set expectations for your game]

[LINK: Resection and how it can save your career]

Building Your Online Presence

Making sure people know about you and know where to get more.

Website Essentials & Carving Your Spot on the Internet

Act like a professional, get treated like one.

A key to success is planning like it’s inevitable, but working like it’s impossible.

A proper website becomes your CV and direct line to you. It should be your home online. Where you graciously invite people in to get to know you and your games.

Why It Matters

 Having a decent website adds credibility to you as a game developer. An easily accessible press kit enables journalists to write about your game without needing to email you. This means more people will cover your games, contact you, and play them.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Take your ideal player’s perspective. What would they find useful on your website? How would they go through it?
2. Look at other developers’ websites. From AAA to indie. Notice what translates throughout.

Internal links

[LINK:Setting up your website as an indie dev]

[LINK: Press kit outline]

[LINK: How dev blogs fit into game development]

Scroll-Stopping Indie Marketing: Where to Post

I forget who said this, but they are batting 1,000.

Humans will bond over anything. Networking, community building, and audience growth revolve around having something tying everyone together. Social media is a way to show that tie. You follow someone because you are attracted to what they post, physically, emotionally, religiously, and mindset-wise.

Why It Matters

Like a fire, consistently feeding the bond will grow it. People may view your content multiple times without taking action. But that one extra time they see it is when they wishlist or make a purchase.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Take an interest in other people. They will reciprocate.
2. Learn what a Call to Action(CTA) is.
3. Test the waters by showing different sides of you.

Internal links

[LINK: Twitter/X]

[LINK: TikTok/YT Shorts]

[Link: LinkedIn]

Your Own Persona E3: Email Marketing and Newsletters

Email marketing is like having your own personal E3.

People join a list because they care about the person or company.

Unlike social media, there are no algorithms you have to worry about. You’re not competing for attention like you are with other creators. Instead of being incentivized,  you are actually punished for sending stuff every day.

Why It Matters

Email lists have a higher ROI in terms of wishlists/sales compared to social media. Since emails are often sent once a month, there is less pressure to create content. Most services start with a free membership.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Set up your email list right now.
2. Seriously
3. Stop reading and make it

Internal links

[LINK: How to set up an email list]

From Solo Dev to Cult Leader (of Fans)

Bringing people together for a common cause.

Community is simply the existence of an in-group and an out-group. The little jokes only the group would understand. The stories they tell each other. Their communal gripes.  All of that culminates in us being part of something bigger.

For you and your potential ideal player. What ties you together may not be your game. It could be the games that inspired you to make it. Or the gameplay elements that you want to emphasize. Or maybe it’s the background of the story you want to tell.

Why It Matters

Having a community is crucial for a game developer. And the “champions” are going to participate in the betas, provide feedback, purchase your game, and share their experiences with their friends. They are the base on which you build the house. Once you have a community, you skip the most challenging marketing phase of all: trust building.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Learn basic community management and PR.
2. Join existing communities before attempting to create one.  

Internal links

[LINK: How to build your community]

[LINK: Why community matters for indies]

Your Indie Game’s Living Room: Starting a Discord

Discord is like a terrarium.

 If you set it up correctly, it can last indefinitely. Set it up too early, and you’ll have to keep it alive yourself. And that’s one more thing on your plate. It’s best to have it set up, but don’t push it till your players have a version of the game in their hands. Anything from the alpha to the Next Fest demo, Discord is valuable for.

Why It Matters

Having a thriving Discord keeps your game in the minds of players, builds community with minimal effort on your end, and provides another platform for communication.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Push it closer to the first playtest. Use it to take the temperature of the room.
2. Research group psychology and mob think
3. Remember, Discord is for the community, not the audience.

Internal links

[LINK: running your first Discord server]

Content That Clicks: Long Form Indie Game Storytelling

Is it easier to find 100 pebbles or create 100 pebbles out of a boulder?

Devlogs and behind-the-scenes content are often longer-form content that gives your ideal player a peek behind the curtain. It can take the form of blog posts, podcasts, or scripted videos.

These long-form pieces of content can then be shared on social media.

Why It Matters

A consistent dev blog practice creates content that can be used for your email list, Steam blog and social media.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Aim for 8–10 pieces of content per dev blog.
2. Learn what “instruction book content” is

Internal links

[LINK: Devblogs; the right and wrong way]

Sliding Into DMs Like a Pro: PR That Works

There are two marketing avenues that have the highest ROI for game devs

1. Content creators/streamers
2. Festivals

The issue is how to reach content creators. They are constantly peppered with requests from devs. Requests that feel more like homework than being able to check out an interesting game.

Here you’ll find out how to present your game in a way that feels like a treat, not homework.

Why It Matters

Reaching the right content creators in the right way enables an increase in success, visibility, and wishlists.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Understand “they don’t care about you, they care about themselves”
2. Create a template that can be customized
3. Learn what matters to each content creator

Internal links

[LINK: How to reach content creators]

[LINK: Crafting a press release]

Game Festivals, Awards & Expos

Go Where the Eyes Are: Event-Based Marketing

Who’s ready for Fyre Festival 2?

Steam hosts numerous festivals because they attract people to the site. All you need to be in a festival is a steam page. But to get the most out of it, you need a demo.

The only bottleneck to how many festivals you can be a part of is theming. Most are centered around a theme.

Festivals are one of the best sources of wishlists. Though their efficacy is .75 that of a natural wishlist. But some wishlists are better than no wishlists. And as an indie dev, you need all the help you can get.

Why It Matters

Entering festivals isn’t difficult and has one of the best ROI’s in terms of wishlists. Each one can act as a marketing multiplier. Press and streamers often use festivals to find games.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Find a festival tracker you trust
2. Apply at least 6 weeks in advance
3. People run these festivals. Follow up with them beforehand to make sure your game is in.

Internal links

[LINK: How to join festivals like a pro]

Your Store Page Is Your Sales Page—Treat It Like One

 There is a difference in vibe between walking into a Chanel store and a bodega with bars on the windows.

A Steam page is for both your ideal player and Steam itself. So make sure it is both inviting and easy for both parties to understand.  Great news is that if your page is rough, it’s not a death sentence.

Capsule art is the biggest factor on a Steam page. This is the one thing I recommend you spend money on. Even if it’s your first game, put money aside for it. It’s what everyone sees before they decide to click on your game or not.

Why It Matters

Every change you make can have a positive impact on click-through rate (CTR), wishlist, and sales. A well-made page tells Steam who to show your game to and gets those people to wishlist, buy, join the email list, or Discord.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Take Chris Zukalowski’s Steam page course
2. Find an artist to do your capsule art
3. Understand the genre tropes
4. Have examples of capsule art to show them

Internal links

[LINK: Crafting a killer steam page]

[LINK: Wishlist strategies]

[LINK:Using Steam backend tools (visibility rounds, events, etc.)]

[LINK:Dealing with reviews and community feedback]

Trailer Time: Sell Your Game in 30 Seconds or Less

Not all trailers are the same.

 Trailers aren’t all made for the same audience, with the same knowledge base, or for the same event. It’s important to understand both the technical and psychological aspects of creating one.

Why It Matters

Having good trailer skills expands the amount of reach and social channels available to you. It’s also a way to tempt outlets into covering your game.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Check out This is how we make trailers at Coffee Stain Studios
2. Learn the bare minimum of the psychology of your audience
3. Make sure the first 5 seconds catch them

Internal links

[LINK: what it takes to create a trailer]

Ads Without Regret: Spend Smart, Not Blind

1. What it is (Overview)

Start with a 1–2 paragraph explanation of the concept in simple terms. Assume the reader is intelligent, but not a marketing pro.

An IV won’t bring someone back to life.

2. Why it matters

Give a clear, 2–4 sentence rationale. Think benefits: more wishlists, stronger community, better visibility.

3. Quick Action Steps:

Use bullets to break down 3–5 actionable ideas, tips, or subtopics.

4. Internal links

Link out to your deeper guides (or placeholders if you’re writing them later). For now, just note them like: [Link: How to Build a Press Kit]

• Should indies run paid ads?
• Steam ads, Reddit, Meta, Google – pros and cons
• Budgeting and ROI expectations

Launch Strategy

You’re almost at the finish line.

What a nightmare it would be to trip on your own laces. Adrenaline pumping and everything feeling like it’s going 100mph. That’s why it’s important to have everything you need to do written down and already in the pipeline. From reaching out to press/influencers to providing them with all the necessary information, and everything in between.

It can be overwhelming, but a plan will keep you steady.

Why It Matters

Launching a game without hitting the marketing beats will result in less-than-stellar results. The same can be said for not launching it properly. With a plan, you will capitalize on the work you already put in AND stick the landing.

Quick Action Steps:

1. Dedicate a month to launching your game
2. Take a breath. You’re almost there
3. Understand what’s gonna happen is gonna happen

Internal links

[LINK:Building hype: pre-launch checklist]

[LINK:Creating a launch timeline]

[LINK:Influencer embargoes and early access]

[LINK:Managing launch day stress]

Post-Launch Playbook: Keep the Hype Alive

1. What it is (Overview)

Start with a 1–2 paragraph explanation of the concept in simple terms. Assume the reader is smart, but not a marketing pro.

2. Why it matters

Give a clear, 2–4 sentence rationale. Think benefits: more wishlists, stronger community, better visibility.

3. Quick Action Steps:

Use bullets to break down 3–5 actionable ideas, tips, or subtopics.

4. Internal links

Link out to your deeper guides (or placeholders if you’re writing them later). For now, just note them like: [Link: How to Build a Press Kit]

• Keeping momentum after launch
• Running sales and discounts
• Post-launch content & updates
• Retention and community management

Tools & Resources

If you want inspiration or tools and don’t want to hear me yapping. Here are some recommendations I have.

Marketing Tools	Templates and Swipe Files	Communities and Courses
Hype fury – Social media scheduler	Marketing a Circus
Notion –  Second Brain
Kit –  Email list

You’re Not Just a Dev—You’re a Marketer Too

The chase is the only constant.

Your game may sell 5 copies or 5 million. If you followed this to the best of your ability. Breathe easy. Now it’s out of your hands. No matter how it turns out, be grateful that you dared to go after your dreams.

Then carry that courage into your next project. If you so choose.