My Game is NOT Selling on Steam?

Jim Kesselring
Nov 6 · 4 min read

In the three years I have been helping indie developers a common theme has arose, and often the blame is pointed at too many indie titles being released daily on Steam. But is this truly the cause, or is this a failure on both the developer and flood of new titles? Let’s take a look at how you prepared for your release.

The Hype

You should always have two pages or domains registered. One for the game and one for the studio.

You do plan on publishing more than one game right?

You want to make sure your SEO scorecard is increasing on your studio page which will help you with future titles. Look up SEO on google if you don’t know what that term means. It’s as important as your game. Example Google Analytics. Im a big fan of using this site for my own personal score.

  1. A daily tweet or post to a facebook page is always important to constantly remind your fans you’re alive, progress is being made, and tease them with new screenshots of the game. In both cases make sure the profile includes not only your home page but if you have a “Store Presence” setup on steam (which we will talk about later) link that as well.
  2. A game trailer and WIP’s are an absolute MUST!! But for the love of all that is good DO NOT tweet the same screenshots or WIP’s over and over.
  3. Your posts, tweets, should be organic. Did I lose you there? Check here:

Steam Visibility

Steam has provided some great material on their marketing page, and pay close attention to your update rounds (you get five). Store Presence is everything on Steam so read all the material provided, but do some homework on IndieDB and other developer forums on tricks and secrets to getting your game on the front page of Steam. You want to be on the front page as often as possible!

Community

Don’t be afraid to Follow other indie development teams on twitter!

More often than not I have seen many developers reply to each other on twitter, from commenting on each others screenshots to advice on issues with code. Why does this matter to me Jim? One word “Followers”

If you just read this article and don’t have a twitter account you don’t have a single follower, worse no one even knows you exist!

Not only has the Breaking Walls featured other indie projects in their tweets they actually leave comments to your replies to them. This is called peer networking and it’s powerful, and many developers do it!!

DISCORD

Discord is a great place to add to your page and Twitter profile for fans of your game to hang out as you develop the game. You’ll have an army of people with suggestions, beta testers, and fans at your disposal.

Media Promotion

Other than BEST OF SHOW trophies, nothing looks better on your Steam store page than quotes from PCGamer, or RockPaperShotgun, and the hundreds of other online gaming publications. Contact as many as you can to review your game or demo. You might be surprised who will agree to review you without having a PR with a pocketful of contacts (Note I said Demo)

Conclusion

I think the biggest failure on the part of indie developers is a combination of the following.

  1. Poor communication and not engaging gamers or networking with peers. Don’t under estimate the power of a community.
  2. Poor understanding of setting up their Steam Presence
  3. Keeping your customers informed on the Steam forums, and try to respond to both the negative and positive reviews. Always put yourself in the shoes of the gamer that purchased the game and just cant play it. They literally only have a very brief time to get a refund and sadly this often ends up with a negative review.
  4. Missing a Demo. I think having a demo speaks volumes on how your game will perform on a buyers machine before they make a purchase. Its not only a good way to troubleshoot but a great way for customers to see your award winning game!

Be honest and positive. Even if your project is in Early Access one bad patch can turn a playground of kids into a hoard of flesh eating zombies!

Forest Gump said it best “SH*T” Happens, and “Have a Nice Day”.

Don’t be afraid to ask your peers for help

Jim

RazorsEdgeGames.org

Jim Kesselring

Written by

I run a non profit community to help indie developers. http://razorsedgegames.org/

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade