Thanks to the advent of cross-platforms like Unity, bringing to life your vision for the next multi-million dollar hyper-casual mobile game has never been so easy. And yet, there’s a little more to a successful game than just exciting gameplay and eye-catching graphics!
So, if you are about to launch your next game, it might be time to focus on marketing and create a bulletproof promotion strategy. The beginner-friendly tips to mobile gaming market below can help you get started!
1. Take a Hard Look at Your Competition – And at Your Ideal Audience
When launching your mobile game, you’ll have to face roadblocks such as high player churn rates – or, the number of players that leave your game and never come back. And, this rate can be as high as 80% for mobile games and 90% for hyper-casual games.
So, how can you fight this issue?
It all truly comes down to the audience you are targeting and how well you can hook your players. And, to do so, you’ll need to understand your user persona’s desires and pain points, as well as the benchmarks set by your competitors.
2. Learn the Secrets of App Store Optimization
While developing your app and getting it ready to launch, you have probably come across the term App Store Optimization (ASO).
And, if you are now wondering whether it is worth spending time and effort optimizing your app store profile, keep in mind that statistics by Think With Google have shown that over 50% of users use app store browsing as their main app discovery method.
But how do you go about optimizing your app store page?
Some key ASO tasks include:
- Choosing accurate keywords
- Creating compelling titles
- Crafting engaging descriptions
- Suing media, such as screenshots and trailers, to enhance descriptions
- Leveraging reviews and feedback
- Tracking metrics and KPIs such as Cost per Install, Lifetime Value, and Churn Rate
3. Outsource Your Marketing to a Specialized Agency
If you are a skilled game developer but marketing just isn’t your strong suit, you might consider outsourcing this non-core aspect of your project to a specialized marketing agency.
Companies such as Upptic provide developers with the chance to tap into the expertise of a team of marketers who specialize in promoting web3 products and mobile games.
What’s more, working with an outsourced team will give you access to premium marketing tools and techniques that you might not be able to leverage otherwise.
Validate your concepts for performance during the design stage with AI-generated attention analytics
4. Consider Pitching to a Game Publisher
As an independent publisher, you might be competing against giants in the mobile gaming market who can count on large marketing budgets and significant resources.
If your true passion is developing games and designing always more exciting gameplays for your users, you might consider pitching your product to a game publisher.
This might cause you to give up some creative control and a portion of your profits, but it will free up the time you need to continue working on new games.
5. Craft a Monetization Strategy
Your chosen monetization model is an integral part of your marketing strategy and one that will determine the right call of action to use in your promotional campaign.
For example, Free To Play (F2P) games are among the most popular ones, especially as over 50% won’t pay to download a game. In this case, you might use a “Download for Free” call to action, but you might have to deal with ads impacting your gameplay.
Some monetization strategies to consider include allowing in-app purchases, creating an in-game currency, or using rewarded or playable ads.
6. Be Ready To Pivot
The mobile gaming market is evolving at an unprecedented rate, and it is quickly becoming the most profitable niche in the digital entertainment sector.
Nonetheless, new trends – even the top UX design trends – emerge and fade away at lightning speed, leaving developers scrambling to catch up with a new craze or customer demand.
Make sure to keep your project nimble, responsive, and ready to pivot into new markets as needed.
