24 Board Game Marketing Tips for 2024
Howdy there board, war, and tabletop games reader. I wrote a lil’ article for Linkedin, and figured it couldn’t hurt to repost it on my own blog. Enjoy!
Are you somewhere between the “I have an idea for a board game” and “I have created, play tested, and developed my board game”?
Great :) legitimately happy for you. But you have one final mountain to climb: MARKETING. Ideally this is something you have been doing for months (if not years), because unlike promotions/advertisements, marketing is an on-going, ever evolving process.
And yes, you will need to do marketing, simply because relying on word of mouth is more romantic daydreaming than reality. The truth is straightforward:
No one can play your game if no one buys it…
And no one can buy it if no one knows about it…
And no one can know about it if you don’t communicate with them…
And you can’t communicate if you are never have player attention.
That is marketing: clearly communicating your value to the right people at the right time. Every B2C business needs to do it, and your board game is no exception. You might read this article and think: “None of these ideas are revolutionary… ”. Damn right, and if it was, you probably shouldn’t trust it. Marketing is about being clear and effective, not clever and original.
Below are 24 tips to guide any board game developer up “Marketing Mountain”. It assumes you have already done the following:
Keep a “Game Development Journal”
Of course, if the game is said and done, then you’ll need to rely on your memory. But if not, then you need to start recording ASAP! What should you record? Ideas, experiences, and moods as the game was created. Why record them? Because this will serve as a GOLD MINE for future content, allowing you to provide a genuine and engaging story your players and backers can be a part of. People who are supporting you want a peak behind the curtains.
Budget Time and Money Accordingly
This is a no brainer, and yet many brains don’t seem to realize the magnitude of an investment selling a board game is. Simply put: development costs aside, just marketing and selling your board game will cost you thousands of dollars (anywhere from $10k-$50k). That’s for video production, copywriting, social media management, etc., and around 60% of that will be before you even launch your game. That said, the more hours you devote to doing it yourself, the less money you spend. Regardless, it will cost you A LOT of something that is valuable, so count the cost.
Don’t Forget “Board Game Fundamentals”
Weird phrase, but this is what I mean: never forget WHY people play board games, and why they will play YOUR board game. Selling is the transference of emotion… so what emotional benefit do people get out of playing board games in general? Not to get too lofty, but what existential needs do players get from playing tabletop games? But to do this correctly, you need to understand the next tip…
Know EXACTLY Who You Are Selling To
Your ideal customers… the ones that love your board game the most… are your “target audience”. And they are the ones you direct your marketing towards. If other people buy your games, that’s great, but that is not who you are directing your attention towards. They are the ones that form the perfect product/market fit; they will have an innate urge to buy your game and support your game development. They are your new North Star for all marketing imaging, messaging, and strategy… , guiding every element of your marketing from start to finish!
Get in Your TA’s Heads
Now that you have identified the populations that comprise your target audience, you need to “get to know them” by creating “customer avatars” (at least 3). Imagine you are sitting at a table across from three of your ideal customers… what are they wearing? What do they look like? What mood are they in? Why do they love board games. Your marketing messaging should be as though you are speaking directly to THEM.
Sales Proposition
In all my experience as a copywriter, this is the number one thing businesses are missing, and it’s because they didn’t do their homework for tip #4. Because here is the sneaky truth that every business owner forgets: the customer is not you. They do not have the intuitive grasp of your board game that you do… so it is not clear to them WHY they would find it fun and should support/buy it. So spell it out for them: be CRYSTAL CLEAR describing what kind of game you have and why THEY will find it hella fun.
Differentiate Your Board Game
Let me scream this from the rooftops… WHY ARE YOU SPECIAL?!? What makes you different from aaaaaaaaall the other board games out there? What is your niche? It might be a brand new mechanic, a never-before used theme, or as simple as a bonus with every purchase. It doesn’t matter… you need to find SOMETHING (and don’t get discouraged if you struggle… this can be one of the hardest parts of branding and marketing).
Identify Your Values and “Rules”
Yeah, weird wording, but it just means find 3-5 things you care about. These are the virtues and aspirations that define you/your team/your company. Ideally they are shared by your target audience… and it is more than likely this will happen naturally. Regardless, do NOT violate these values for any reason.
Build a Brand Packet
If you have already invested in graphic design, you have probably already done this to a certain extent. And it goes beyond a mere logo; branding is your the consistent message you send to potential customers, trying to form a business identity in their heads.This is all the marketing messaging and values combined with the themes, colors, tone, logo… anything and everything that forms your brand identity. Get it and make sure everyone on your team has it handy and refers to it as they embark on their marketing journey.
Create Your Marketing Funnel
A funnel is your plan to take strangers and turn them into customers (or even better, die hard fans!). It is designed to turn away people who wouldn’t like the product anyways and walk the curious closer to a sale. You will need a pre-launch, launch, and several post launch sequences. Each of these involve orchestrating multiple channels so they complement one another. It is the core of any marketing strategy, very complex, and will require someone with marketing experience to create.
What Are Your “Call to Actions”?
This just means “what do you want them to do?” Now, it depends on the funnel… some people you want to follow on social media… others you want to become a backer… and others you want to tell their friends about the game. Each stage of the funnel has a different CTA encouraging your potential customers to do something in their best interest.
Select Conventions to Attend
Anyone and everyone in the tabletop gaming world will be at GenCon, Origins, or Pax Unplugged… including game publishers and developers. If you want to go that marketing route, then picking the right convention for your game is a MUST. But if you are going the local/kickstarter route, then it is optional…if you have the time and money, then go and have fun! Just strategize before hand: will you have a banner or tv? Will you have tables for people to play your game? Will you be in a cheaper area or a high traffic area? Will you focus on players or distributors?
Pick a Customer Acquisition Strategy
That’s a fancy way of saying “How will people find out about you?”. There are three main ways for ecommerce businesses to execute outreach: A) Use SEO and blog posts to drive organic traffic to your site. B) Purchase Google/FB ads, and C) hire an influencer(s) to promote your game. Each lead generation tactic comes with its own strengths and weaknesses, but all require that you send these potential customers somewhere: your website or kickstarter page.
Create Your Website
A website communicates professionalism, so at a bare minimum you will want a single wordpress page that links back to your kickstarter page. However, if you plan on developing/have developed other board games, or sell merchandise related to your game, then you will want a home page (brand building), about page, and online store. And make sure there are TONS of CTA’s directing people to buy your game, follow on socials, and sign up for emails!
What if I Do Kickstarter?
If you are hoping to self publish, then crowdfunding is the most realistic option (it’s no accident that it is so popular for board game developers). Whether you choose Kickstarter or Indiegogo, a crowdfunding campaign is a whole other beast, and deserves a post of its own. It is one of the LAST STEPS… not first steps… of marketing your board game. Quick summary: if you want to crowdfund, you will still need to follow every step on this page and apply it to your kickstarter page, which is basically a super-duper sales/landing page. But crowdfunding page includes two additional elements: incentives and levels. Incentives are bonuses you will add to the final product as you gain funding, and levels are tiers that use exclusivity to incentivize more backing.
Pick a Customer Retention Strategy
It is 3x easier to sell to someone that has already purchased from you, and if you created a great board game then they already trust the heck out of you. So how do you keep them around… how do you keep the lines of communication open and not lose them? This is where email, Patreon, and Discord come in handy: they are formats for building more intimate relationships with your fans. You can use this community to help test future games, survey them for ideas, and even allow significant backers to have a say in future game development.
Make Important Videos
This is especially true if you go the kickstarter route, but even on your website these videos will be helpful. You should have at least three videos: one introducing the game, another teaching people how to play, and a final video that hypes people for the game's launch.Remember: you want to remove every obstacle people may face when trying to play your board game!
High Quality Product Photos
Another “duh” one, but its good. Take at least 10 GREAT photos of your board game… preferably like 50 photos. They need to be high quality too, because audiences will associate the quality of your game with the quality of the images. Don’t skimp out on this either: get a friend who knows what they are doing or hire a professional photographer. Get in a studio, get good lighting, get different angles, different arrangements etc.
Get “Hero Shots”
This is the “not so duh” photos tip. Get images of people PLAYING your game. And when they are playing, have the image match that sale proposition, your themes, tone, etc. Is it a horror game like Arkham? Then make sure the players are serious and full of suspense. Is it a simple, hilarious party game? Then have a group of friends laughing hysterically on couches. The people in the shots should be relatable for your target audience, and the emotions communicated are making a promise to potential buyers: “This is what you will experience if you play our game”
DO NOT SKIP EMAIL
Yes, it is still insanely relevant and profitable (ROI $36:$1). Even if your target audience prefers social media, I guarantee the majority of them still use email. For perspective, 99/100 marketers would prefer a 500 person email list to 5000 followers on ANY social media platform. You’ll need drip emails (once a week/month) and trigger emails (abandon cart, purchase, etc.) Furthermore, email is the easiest to segment, test, and adjust, and for that you will need an automation and tracking platform as well.
Social Media Platforms
If you have a social media manager than can be everywhere at once, great! But if not, then you have to pick which one (or two) that will receive 99% of your attention. At a bare minimum, you will want to post daily and comment on multiple other posts as well. What should you post? Anything related to your board game, discounts, announcements, info about your team, the development process (good thing you have that “Game Development Journal”... huh?).
Build a Team or Hire an Agency
This is just a “top tip list”... and yet it might already feel overwhelming. That is because marketing is, ya know, a big, complex chore. And you aren’t meant to do it alone; you’ll need a team. If you use volunteers it will take longer, if you use freelancers it will require your constant involvement, and if you use an agency it will cost like 5x more (ie. at least $25k).
Connect With Your Local FLGS
By nature of you being a local, your tabletop community is naturally going to be the most receptive to playing your game. And you should go to as many as you can within a 2 hour radius. But don’t just walk in and ask them to sell your game. Connect with the owners (take them out to coffee), present your game, offer to run a free event where you teach people the game. Even if you live somewhere rural, your FLGS is your best place to get some initial positive reviews.
Collect Customer Testimonials
I’ll be frank… every good copywriter knows that “proof” is more important than “persuasion”. There are all sorts of psychological studies and examples on this, but just take my word for it: detailed, personal, verified positive reviews will do more to sell your game than any discount, ad, or persuasion tactic. You cannot get enough, and as soon as you have some post them wherever you can.
These tips form a board game marketing guide to help you gain support for your board game. Most of them you should be working simultaneously as you playtest the hell out of your game with your team and other gaming groups.
Regardless, marketing is all about one thing… RESULTS. There is no true “setting and forgetting”... you need to implement your board game marketing, measure its results,and adjust accordingly.
