BGMP 036 Stars of Akarios with Brendan McCaskell

BLOG TITLE: Stars of Akarios with Brendan McCaskell   In this episode, host Nalin talks with Brendan McCaskell about the marketing process for Stars of Akarios. What did they do to build their email list? Where did they promote their game idea before running ads? They discuss the importance of creating a community environment that's comfortable for everyone and where you can get feedback from your audience.   We discuss:   [2:03]: How Brendan went from launching a couple of games through crowdfunding to being a game designer full time.  [4:10]: The way the marketing process can be affected when you have to change the game's name, and how you can include the community to come up with the new name.  [5:30]: Brendan started writing about the game idea on a gamer's blog before really pumping the paid marketing and social media as a pre-launch strategy.  [12:50]: The best investment for Facebook paid ads is not for people to like your page, but for them to sign up for your newsletter. In the end, they got a cost per email collected of around $1. The most important thing is to have great engaging ad content that hypes up people about the game. [18:22]:  The importance of having a great landing page with all of the information and a clear call to action for the visitors. [20:49]: Not only relying on ads but actually taking the time to create a good community atmosphere on the live campaign so everyone feels comfortable and heard.  [23:55]: How they chose a marketing agency to work with. [25:29]: Their marketing strategy after the live campaign while keeping their pledges open. [28:31]: Getting a lot of traction on day 1 will always be a great marketing push for the rest of the live campaign. Paid ads won't do anything for your campaign if you're not connecting and resonating with your audience. [33:22]: What's coming up for Brendan and how you can get in touch with him.   Thanks for listening to the Board Game Marketing Podcast!   Meeple Marketing Giveaway! Win a Stars of Akarios! meeplemarketing.com/giveaway OOMM Games website: https://www.oommgames.com/ OOMM Games Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/p/CIKP0T4BvKI/ Stars of Akarios Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mccaskellgames/starlight-2   For more information on how to market your game, be sure to check out the Meeple Marketing Blog.