If you follow me on Twitter or read this blog, you probably know that we’re trying to develop some PR services that will help indie devs get the word out about their games without breaking the bank. We’ve been working with a few indies behind the scenes to help us come up with a solution, but we need some more help! I’m hoping to get some feedback from developers and media (and hell, even PR folks).
What we’re trying to do
Quite simply, we want to create a line of PR services that are affordable for cash-strapped indie devs, but which still allow us to operate a business with employees and all that.
The challenges of indie PR
Any indie who’s tried to run their own PR/media relations knows that one of the key issues facing indies is a lack of media contacts. While you may know a few people and while a lot of legwork can help you get some coverage, wouldn’t you rather be spending your time making your game as good as possible? Dealing with reviews alone could chew up anywhere from 10 to 20 hours… and particularly on launch day, developers have far more important issues to deal with.
Of course, there’s the small matter of costs. If I ask a lot of indie devs how much they’d be willing to pay for PR services, the answer is often, “Uhhh… how about we send you a copy of the game and give you a shout-out in the credits?” Unfortunately, our team needs to eat, too. As such, I can’t just say, “okay, it’s $50 to write a press release and another $50 to send it to our media contacts”… while that would be the most indie-friendly way to do it, that sort of pricing just wouldn’t be sustainable in the long run.
How you can help us
At this point, we’re trying to craft a system that makes sense (and is effective) for indie devs, media and for us as a business. Below I’ve posed some questions… I’d love to get some feedback, so let us know either in the comments here or by emailing us (or let me know on Twitter, whatever).
Developers:
- What are some of the services you’d be interested in receiving? Press release writing, preview events, review distribution… eh?
- What is the most you would pay for PR services on a game? In other words, what do you think is a reasonable PR budget? If you want to break this down into “How much I’d pay for a press release” or something, that might also be helpful…
- What are your concerns about working with a PR agency?
Media
- You already get pitches/emails from Evolve… how would you feel about getting announcements sent through us, but from developers rather than the Evolve team (i.e. their name in the “From” line)?
- Do you foresee any issues with an increase in pitches from indies? I know you’re already very busy, and if we do this well, it might mean that indies who previously had issues reaching you would now have open lines of communication (though still with oversight from the Evolve team).
- From your perspective, what are some of the key ways you feel indies could be helped? How are their current efforts ineffective?
I think that about does it for now… we just want to create a bit of an ecosystem where indies have a better chance of getting their games seen by media (and thus by gamers). Every great game deserves to have its moment to shine… how can we make that happen? Again, email us, respond in the comments or hit me up on Twitter with feedback. Thanks!