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[Ramos]

Email Marketing




What did I do last week while my partner was fixing the last few bugs left? I did a bit of email marketing.

And this is how I split & organized my email marketing priorities until 24 March:

List 1 (past) - for Exclusive Beta footage (I think I posted about these results in the past, I only sent the press kit to 5 YouTubers that I have been following and genuinely engaging in their communities for some time such as Nook, Frazz, Splattercat, and so on) aim here was to create quality branding, not quantity. This list got converted 5/5





List 2 (present) - here I aimed for YouTubers that do upcoming indie games announcements, my list was custom made, again with engagement in time but unfortunately from the 5 YouTubers I aimed, only 2 responded but still, I consider this a success. Please note that for this category I haven`t sent the game only the trailer, release date, and a gameplay video from one of the YouTubers that did one during Beta.

Because indie games fans:
 



Because strategy game fans:

https://youtu.be/oYn8jhBVKAI


List 3 (Next) - Here I will target game Journalists, again my list will be small(5-6 Journalists) but I will do solid research first and active engagement. I will also include here a game version with locked content(I don't want too many spoilers out there + I am still doing the exclusive approach not just because I want better chances at bigger people but because I aim for quality in branding)

List 4 (after) - Here I will target very big Youtubers, it will be a 50-50 shoot in the dark because I did not have time to research and engage in all their communities, this list will probably have 10-15 people and if even 1 of them will make a video the goal will be reached.

List 5(after) - here I will target medium size YouTubers, this list will probably consist of around 30 YouTubers, I will also not have time to do many engagements but if branding from List 1 and 2 worked then this should not be a problem and should increase the exposure more as we are getting closer to the release date

List 6(same time with the release) - here I will target the people who subscribed to my site with their emails, ofc here will be just an announcement so there will be no actual game press kit attached. I aim for a big boom so I will try to synchronize this with the Gamejolt & Itch.io free vertical slice release and probably I will also give some keys on Keymailer and Indieboost although tbh in the future I plan to stop using those sites entirely, exclusivity works so much better than paying YouTubers and risking your keys to end up on third party sites on sale.

List 7 (removed) - here the aim was people who do Streams, unfortunately, I will skip this one because I am lacking time & I am exhausted, I hope it won't bite me in the ass at the end but I do hope some streamers will pick it up organically

As an extra note:
I will be using Gmail when sending out the pres kit because it is most likely not to get into the spam folder.
If you have anything else do check your email chances of reaching into the spam folder here: https://www.mail-tester.com/test-kc6vi0zve or just google for any mail testers.
After you send your email I also recommend dropping a message or a tweet politely asking if the email reached in good condition and if they need additional info, mostly this works best if you already established engagement in their community or a Twitter account. On my list 1, I had this luxury but for future lists, I did not have time to establish a basic engagement with everyone.


What do I scan when creating my email lists for YouTubers:
- the number of subscribers
- the amount of engagement per video(likes and comments) in the report to the subs
- the flow on which videos are released
- the type of content must include my target audience
- the quality of his videos
- last time he was active



This being said, I had a long chat with my partner Sergey who does the programming and brings my design to life(I have huge respect for this man, in 4 years he ALWAYS provided 2 updates per week, no breaks no computer broken no shit excuses) the chat was in regards to the future after release. For me, it is too much to do both A. art, design, testing, story and B. PR, marketing, community management, so after this project I want to choose just one of them, either A or B, I personally incline more for Marketing and PR but we shall see, the decision is not final yet.


I hope you Gentlemen found some useful information through my post.

I salute you!  

[Ramos]

I am curious if all worked out?

I posted results here: https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=73249.0

[Ramos]

Almost all email servers aim to make a profit, and this is quite natural. That's why most free domains function somewhat incorrectly.

They work fine, you just need to know how to use them

[kason.xiv]

There's a really good GDC talk on this subject as well, for anyone interested:

[siyasharma]

I saw and play once. goodjob

[Ramos]

I saw and play once. goodjob

Thank you! I hope you had fun 

[Ramos]

I don't think that email marketing is any effective today. In most cases, people don't read emails.

Maybe so, but it worked for me

[ThemsAllTook]

(post being replied to was a spambot who is now removed. Unfortunately, a lot of those are attracted to this thread.)

[michaelplzno]

Thanks thems for explaining that, this thread was driving me crazy lol.

[Ramos]

(post being replied to was a spambot who is now removed. Unfortunately, a lot of those are attracted to this thread.)

Is it because I posted the link for my case studies posts from this forum on Discord communities and some other places or is it random?

Thanks thems for explaining that, this thread was driving me crazy lol.

You drive me crazy 

[ThemsAllTook]

I think it's probably just a keyword thing. There are a few other threads around with titles that vaguely imply the sorts of things a spambot would be interested in that also get a lot of suspicious posts in them. Nothing much to be done but to keep an eye on posts from new users that look out of place and see if they edit in their hyperlink payload after a few days as seems to be the common pattern.

[AntinZaiss]

Wow! Email marketing is so old that I thought no one was using it anymore. When I started working in the marketing industry, I remember we actively used email marketing as our main marketing strategy. However, as the industry evolved, we started using other strategies. For instance, from my perspective, SEO is a very beneficial marketing strategy. Anyway, I am glad that someone still trusts old-school marketing forms. Moreover, if I am not wrong, the [spam link removed]  platform also uses this marketing strategy.

[Ramos]

Wow! Email marketing is so old that I thought no one was using it anymore.

I am a Dinosaur

[michaelplzno]

[peaket]

How do you measure the effectiveness of email marketing? It seems to be an obsolete method to create targeted and personalized messages. An easier way would be to get email address from linkedin increasing your database with new potential clients. Thus, you won't waste money on irrelevant and inefficient campaigns.

[Ramos]

How do you measure the effectiveness of email marketing? It seems to be an obsolete method to create targeted and personalized messages.

I am not using email marketing for customers, I am using it for content creators, there is a huge difference. Did you even read my post ?

[ThemsAllTook]

Count how many days before they come back and edit a spam link into their post. Sometimes it happens right away, sometimes they wait a few months.

Edit: There it is. The answer was 19 days.

[Ramos]

Count how many days before they come back and edit a spam link into their post. Sometimes it happens right away, sometimes they wait a few months.

ahhhhhhhhhhh   

[SummerFrog]

How do you measure the effectiveness of email marketing? It seems to be an obsolete method to create targeted and personalized messages.

I am not using email marketing for customers, I am using it for content creators, there is a huge difference. Did you even read my post ?

I understand that you are not using email marketing for customers, but instead, you are employing it for content creators. You're right; there is indeed a significant difference between the two approaches.

Using email marketing for content creators typically involves reaching out to them for collaboration, sharing updates, or notifying them about relevant opportunities. It can be an effective way to engage with content creators and build mutually beneficial relationships.

If you have any specific questions or concerns related to using email marketing for content creators, feel free to share more details, and I'll be happy to provide further assistance or insights based on your unique needs.

[Ramos]

How do you measure the effectiveness of email marketing? It seems to be an obsolete method to create targeted and personalized messages.

I am not using email marketing for customers, I am using it for content creators, there is a huge difference. Did you even read my post ?

I understand that you are not using email marketing for customers, but instead, you are employing it for content creators. You're right; there is indeed a significant difference between the two approaches.

Using email marketing for content creators typically involves reaching out to them for collaboration, sharing updates, or notifying them about relevant opportunities. It can be an effective way to engage with content creators and build mutually beneficial relationships.

If you have any specific questions or concerns related to using email marketing for content creators, feel free to share more details, and I'll be happy to provide further assistance or insights based on your unique needs.

I don't have any questions, I am learning everything myself with trial-error and documentation.