| Build Your Own Fan Club: How to Use Your Email List |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ5H6DeaKKs&list=PL2e4mYbwSTbZkUdVQD0zM3QEyoHhrl_1U&index=24&t=614s |
In this 2019 GDC talk, game developer Chris Zukowski explains why a well-run email list can be 10 times more effective than Twitter and 5 times more effective than Facebook, and teaches techniques that will get players to join your mailing list, boost your open rates, and turn new players into super fans. |
A great talk to help push people into caring about email marketing. |
| Failure Marketing |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIMpT7ttyp8&t=56s |
In this GDoCExpo 2020 talk we'll hear Victoria Tran of Innersloth tell us all about her marketing campaigns that flopped. |
Look, we’ve all been there. This will make you feel better and help you learn more from failed marketing plans. |
| Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction |
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30901608-hit-makers |
Nothing "goes viral." If you think a popular movie, song, or app came out of nowhere to become a word-of-mouth success in today's crowded media environment, you're missing the real story. |
How things really get popular. A great read and helps make you think a bit differently. |
| Building a Community for Your Game from Scratch |
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1025706/Game-Discoverability-Day-Building-a |
There are plenty of talks out there about community building and management, but not so many about how to even start a community for your game in the first place. Mike Rose from publishing label No More Robots ('Descenders', 'Not Tonight') has built numerous successful communities via Discord for his games over the years, with thousands of eager members for each - and in this talk, he'll share exactly how he did it, and how any developer can follow his steps and bring together their own community. |
A deeper look into Discord and how to utilize it as a tool for building a community. I watch this sometimes just as a refresher because it’s easy to get distracted with Discord. |
| **Unpacking the social media phenomenon: |
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| towards a research agenda** |
https://beedie.sfu.ca/sms/admin/_DocLibrary/_ic/7ce3fc770bca8d3b3bd39d22c82bb410.pdf |
"In this paper, we highlight some of the challenges and opportunities that social media presents to researchers, and offer relevant theoretical avenues to be explored. To do this, we present a model that unpacks social media by using a honeycomb of seven functional building blocks. |
Great read for the relation of social media and research and how to use it as a foundational tool. |
| Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content |
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23001125-everybody-writes |
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Perfect to brush up on some better copywriting techniques |
| What to Write So People Buy: Selling Your Game Without Feeling Sleazy |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMGTcgsEN68&list=PL2e4mYbwSTbZkUdVQD0zM3QEyoHhrl_1U&index=38 |
In this 2020 GDC Virtual Talk, Chris Zukowski teaches you the basics of Copywriting in a way that doesn't feel sleazy. |
More great copywriting content. |
| Discord Moderator Academy |
https://discord.com/moderation |
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A great tool to help people learn more about Discord moderation |
| Making Games That Stand Out and Survive |
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1025773/Making-Games-That-Stand-Out |
The market for games becomes more crowded every day and shows no sign of slowing down. Hear from Monomi Park CEO and 'Slime Rancher' Game Director Nick Popovich on how you can make your game stand out and survive amongst the thousands of games released every year. Here's a hint: it doesn't involve spending a bunch of money on marketing, but it's also not easy. |
A bit of depth for a look inside indie games and how to make them stand out. |
| How Killer Queen Built an Esports Scene on an Indie Budget |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP4Kak2-S6c&list=PL2e4mYbwSTbZkUdVQD0zM3QEyoHhrl_1U&index=3 |
In this 2019 GDC talk, Funktronic Labs' Alan Dang explains how the team behind Killer Queen managed to create a national esport without having to spend like a AAA gaming studio. |
I found this extremely fascinating and it’s totally worth the watch especially if you work around Esports. |
| Whose Game Is It, Anyway? How Community Relationships Shape Games: Lessons from Warframe |
https://youtu.be/r8_8wotJOUM |
In this 2018 GDC session, Digital Extremes' Rebecca Ford explains how the Warframe team has worked in tandem with the community team to make strategic decisions, effectively receive positive and negative community feedback and run a successful games-as-a-service title. |
A look into how community feedback helps shape games. |
| The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization |
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6801452-the-art-of-seo?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=THuz5Vh9mp&rank=3 |
Four acknowledged experts in search engine optimization share guidelines and innovative techniques that will help you plan and execute a comprehensive SEO strategy. This second edition brings you up to date on recent changes in search engine behavior. |
If you work around SEO or want to know more about SEO this is your bread and butter book right here. |
| Video Games Have a New Way to Find an Audience: TikTok |
https://www.vice.com/en/article/93yk7a/video-games-have-a-new-way-to-find-an-audience-tiktok |
The social media platform that many game developers don't understand might also be their best way to reach new people. |
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