Publishing lessons

People often ask me for recommendations about which content creators they should work with for their Kickstarter, to which I always answer, it depends!

I typically walk them through 3 steps:

1. Preview vs review

Not every content creator creates preview videos for crowdfunding campaigns, many prefer to wait until they have a final version of the game and can create a full review.

There are many reasons for this such as not wanting to cover a game that may change later on, as if that happens all their hard work would be wasted.

No matter the reason, when looking for creators make sure you look through their videos, read through any information they may have available, and confirm they make preview videos before reaching out to them.

If you don’t, you risk creating a bad impression that may impact the chances of them reviewing your game later on.

2. Free vs paid

Creating content takes time and some creators choose to cover the cost of that time by charging for preview videos. Other creators choose to make videos freely and it’s up to you to decide how much you are willing to spend.

For reference, I’ve seen preview videos range from $100 to $1,500 and you’ll often want several videos on your campaign page. This means you need to decide on your budget and make your decisions based on what will give you the best possible outcome.

Will one $1,500 creator be as valuable to you as four $375 creators?

Perhaps as a new publisher, you don’t have the budget for paying for videos and that’s absolutely fine. You will be able to find someone, just remember they are doing the work for free, you should not be demanding in any way, and you should provide them with as many resources and as much time as possible to make the video.

3. The game itself

There is no point in sending a 3-hour complex game to someone who typically enjoys 20-minute card games, and equally sending a competitive game to someone who likes co-op games is a bad idea.

While researching creators you will want to look at the types of games they cover, watch some of their videos and try to understand what they enjoy and what they don’t. Picking a creator who typically enjoys games like yours will often result in a better video. Not just because they are more likely to like it, but because they’ll have a better understanding of similar games to compare it to and have an audience interested in games like yours.

Where to find content creators?

I recommend finding content creators by browsing Kickstarter and looking to see who other people are using.

Try to find games that are similar to yours, projects that share an audience, and publishers who are a similar size. If you’re a first-time creator, there’s little value in trying to copy a giant publisher and I recommend you focus on other successful first-time projects.

Here are a few successful first-time projects to get you started:

• CoraQuest
• Forests of Pangaia
• Earthborne Rangers
• Bark Avenue
• Dog Park
• Damnation: The Gothic Game
• Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum
• Floating Floors
• Scrumpy: Card Cider

Once you have selected some creators to work with, send them an email and see whether they are interested in working with you.

Try to include all the important details in the email, including timelines, a short description of the game, and what exactly you are looking for. First impressions matter and these emails may lead to a longlasting relationship for years to come.