The recent growth of blockchain gaming was nothing short of explosive. We saw the rise of games like Axie Infinity, Alien Worlds, and Splinterlands.
You’re probably wondering how did these games become so popular? Why do they have so many monthly users and active communities?
The answer lies in a well-executed marketing strategy.
Here’s all you need to know about blockchain game marketing and how to get more players for your game.
1. Create a Website
Because of the play-to-earn model, players can’t find blockchain games on traditional platforms like Steam or app stores. Instead, blockchain games are usually accessed through their websites.
This is why creating a website is essential. Moreover, your website should be the main information hub for the game – it’s where you need to explain and show what the game is about and how it works.
Here’s what you need to include.
Game Basics
When people land on your website, they should easily be able to find out the basic information about the game right at the top – genre, gameplay, main features, etc.
You can either explain in written form or include a short trailer. Make sure to use simple language because many of the potential players are people who are just getting into blockchain gaming.
Advanced Game Info
The next section of your website should contain more advanced stuff, so to speak. It’s for those who want more in-depth information
That can include info on NFTs (types, rarity, etc.), token(s), tokenomics, ways to earn, rewards, etc. This is where you can get a bit more technical, however, it’s still best to keep it as simple as possible.
It’s also very useful to post a “How to play” tutorial on your website, as well as a FAQ page.
Roadmap
When choosing a blockchain game to play and invest in, most people check out its roadmap, as the majority of games are in the early stages. In other words, they’re not necessarily choosing it because of what it is right now, but the potential it has.
This is your chance to lure people in.
However, make sure that the roadmap has exciting but realistic milestones that are fully transparent.
Whitepaper
Your website should also be the home to your whitepaper – a document that provides all the necessary information about a project.
Moreover, it is the perfect way to present your project not only to potential investors, but also players, partners, and the media. It is considered to be one of the most powerful marketing tools – if you do it right, you can end up with thousands of new players.
To learn how to craft an investment-worthy whitepaper, check out my whitepaper writing guide.
Team Info & Partners
One of the biggest issues in the blockchain gaming ecosystem are scams. To avoid them, people investigate the project’s team and look at the partners a game has.
Place both team info and a list of partners on your website to signal that your game is legit.
Social Networks
Finally, make sure to link to all social networks and encourage people to join your Discord channel, as this is where you’ll bring together the core community.
2. Utilize Content Marketing
The main way to promote a blockchain game and get more players is through content marketing on various social media platforms, as this is how most people discover new games.
Best Platforms for Blockchain Game Marketing
Some social media platforms lend themselves well to marketing play-to-earn games, while others are a waste of time.
The main ones you should focus on are Twitter and Discord. The former should be your main channel for reaching a large and broad audience, while the latter is more for building a community of loyal and dedicated players, just like Telegram.
Reddit is another good platform for marketing P2E games. Instagram and Facebook are optional – they work for some games, but not for others.
When it comes to video and streaming platforms, go with YouTube and Twitch.
Medium is very effective for written content. You should also send out newsletters with various updates to keep players in the loop.
Blockchain Game Marketing on Twitter
As I mentioned before, Twitter is the main social media platform for marketing blockchain games. The goal is to reach as many people as possible and introduce them to your game. Then, you’ll direct your biggest fans to your Discord channel and start building a community, but more on that later on.
Here are some tips on how to make a splash on Twitter.
The main thing is to tweet a lot. Don’t go into this thinking you’ll get away with one post a week. However, make sure you’re posting quality content.
The type of content you post should vary and include:
- All types of updates, particularly important milestones you’ve reached
- Educational content that helps people learn how to play and earn
- User-generated content
- Video content
- Live streams
- Q&A and AMA sessions
- Contests, giveaways, and quizzes
- Promote Discord and other channels
Furthermore, you need to actively engage with your Twitter followers. That includes answering their questions and comments, retweeting, etc. This can quickly get overwhelming so it’s best to hire a community manager to handle it.
3. Work on Community Building
Most blockchain games are still in the early stages and many of them don’t have any exciting gameplay elements. So what makes them so popular that people invest money in them?
The answer lies in community building. It’s what separates successful blockchain games that have the potential to become truly sustainable from those that will never see the light of day. That’s what makes community building an essential part of blockchain game marketing.
As I mentioned, Twitter and other social media channels are great for reaching a broad audience and getting more eyeballs on your project. Some of them will become investors and loyal players – these are the core members of your community. The goal is to expand it and gather more people who share the same goal.
For example, chart-topping games like Axie Infinity or Alien Worlds got to where they are and stayed relevant because there’s a strong and loyal community behind them that supports them.
Here’s how to accomplish that for your game.
Tips on Building a Community for a Blockchain Game
When communicating with your community, you need to establish and reiterate the shared goal you have because you’re in this together. Make it clear that they’re an integral part of this project and if it becomes a huge success, everybody will reap the benefits.
Many blockchain games operate as DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations), which means token holders can participate in governance and vote on important proposals. That, of course, makes the community feel like they’re truly part of something big and that their opinions are valued.
If your game has a DAO, make sure to emphasize its governance system and encourage users to participate.
Blockchain Game Marketing Strategy for Discord
When it comes to social platforms, Discord is by far the best one for building and expanding a gaming community.
You can control who gets in and what the requirements to post are, which is great for weeding out bad actors and disruptors. Furthermore, Discord is a place where your team can directly communicate with your fans and answer all their questions.
Your main goal on Discord should be to engage people and keep them engaged. Some of the best ways to do that are various contests (e.g., meme contests, art contests), giveaways (e.g., cash or token prizes, access to exclusive content), and games (e.g., trivia, quizzes).
Essentially, you’re gamifying your Discord channel to drive maximum engagement.
If this sounds like too much work, luckily various Discord bots can help you engage and manage your community.
4. Develop a Referral Marketing Strategy
Games that manage to cultivate a loyal fandom early on reap many benefits. The obvious benefit is getting more players and investors for your game. But having a strong community behind you means that those people will also help you with marketing activities by posting, creating, and sharing game-related content.
In essence, you can promote your game through existing players and you probably know how much people value recommendations from family and friends.
To encourage that type of promotion, you should develop a referral marketing strategy.
Incentivize community members to refer your game, either by word of mouth, sharing, or posting. You can make it a game and reward community members for sharing content.
For example, Splinterlands has social media challenges where the goal is to get the game trending by sharing Splinterlands content and tagging the game.
Another way to leverage referral marketing is to hire influencers – learn all about it in the following section.
Implement Influencer Marketing for Blockchain Games
A quick way to get more users for a blockchain game is to hire influencers and streamers to promote it. It’s a tried and true method that works for all types of games so there’s no reason it shouldn’t work for blockchain games as well.
You can search for influencers by using tools like Social Blade and Upfluence. When choosing an influencer, make sure they fit your needs.
Here’s what you should look for:
- personality and style that matches your game
- interest in blockchain gaming
- has loyal followers who are open-minded (ideally, with an interest in blockchain gaming)
- understands their audience and know how to influence them
ALWAYS check the influencer and his/her Twitter followers for fakes, as well as check for fake engagement on their posts, otherwise you might just be wasting your money.
Blockchain Game Marketing: A Summary
These are the basics of blockchain game marketing. If you follow these steps, you’ll get more players in no time.
However, if you’re feeling stuck, feel free to reach out – marketing is what we do best!
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