Find new players. Grow wishlists. Increase game sales. Mainquest Marketing

Download: "Wishlist Workshop Part 1 Blueprint (PDF)" Here


Wishlist Workshop Part 1: How To Grow Your Wishlists If You're A Small Indie Studio

If you're a small game studio, and you're having doubts about how to grow your wishlists, then here's a step-by-step guide to get you building your fan base.

And in this "Wishlist Workshop", I'll be sharing with you some new ideas that might go against what feels intuitive. But stay with me. Success is often counter-intuitive.

Also, my goal here is to help build a "wishlist system" that works long-term, and is sustainable. What I mean is, a game dev might see a huge spike in wishlists because a YouTuber mentioned their game... or they were part of a Steam Fest... or a Reddit post got some interest... or they put out an ad... but then after a few days, wishlists slow down, and they plateau.

Chasing spikes isn't a good strategy because you're relying on other people and other platforms.

No. In this Wishlist Workshop you're about to learn is focused on slow, long-term, sustainable growth. You'll learn how to organically grow your wishlists. So that you're not always chasing spikes, and you're relying on yourself rather than relying on other people and platforms.

Also this is part one of seven. In part one I'll show you how the whole framework works. Then in later parts, I'll go into more details. So don't forget to subscribe and like so you don't miss the next parts.

Also, my goal isn't to just give you ideas and make you go "hmmm interesting.. I'll remember that". No. My goal is to get you off your butt and get you to start taking ACTION.

So this workshop is NOT a quick-fix. It will take time. And if anybody tells you that you can get 10,000 wishlists by doing "this simple trick" they are clickbaiting you and lying.

Success takes work, commitment, and perseverance.

So if you're with me... if you're looking for a solid strategy that will help you increase your wishlists, organically, over time, and so that when you launch your game it'll be a financial success, then here's what you need to know, and what to do:

How Building Relationships (And Not Marketing) Leads to Wishlists And Game Sales

When you're a small indie game studio, and you don't have a budget to spend $15,000 on Facebook or Google ads... or if you don't have connections with some big YouTuber with over 50,000 subs... or you don't have a fanbase that will spread word-of-mouth for you, then you need a different marketing strategy.

In fact, it's NOT marketing that you need. Even when small game studios do have a budget, and industry connections, they still might fail at building sustainable wishlists and getting game sales.

Like I said, a game dev might see a spike in wishlists because of an ad or a YouTuber. But then when wishlists slow down they gotta go do another ad push.

And if you have the resources and money to keep doing ad pushes, then great, keep doing what is working.

But if you don't have the resources, connections, or money, what you need is a relationship-building strategy.

Let me show you why this works. Then later I'll give you a step-by-step strategy you can easily follow to start growing your game's wishlist right away.

Ok, first let me share a quick story of how all of this works...

Back in 2024, my family and I were visiting Amsterdam. We were at the Zoo downtown. And I saw another family, and the Dad was wearing a Toronto Raptors hat. Being from Ontario and a Raptors fan, I struck up a conversation with him right there. And I never just start talking to strangers -- because it's weird and I don't want to interrupt people doing what they're doing. But because me and this guy had something in common, it felt natural, and it didn't feel like I was interrupting him.

So, what's my point here? How will this help you grow your game's wishlist?

Well, as a game developer, you're interested in the details of making games. So naturally that's what you gravitate to when talking about and marketing your game. The process of making games is what is interesting to you. So that's what you feel comfortable talking about.

But because you're so close to the process of making games, you're blind to what players gravitate to.

In other words, players don't care about the process of how you made your game. They only care about why your game is fun, or interesting, or entertaining.

And this is one of the chief reasons why developers fail to grab player's attention, and why players don't wishlist games: game devs fail to appreciate the player's side.

Think about it this way. Let's say you're in public and you see someone wearing a hat with the Celeste logo on it. You're like "oh! someone who loves indie games!". So you go up to them and strike up a conversation. And you tell them you're an indie game dev... and then you talk about the process of game design and code and art.... that person isn't going to care. In fact, the person will feel like you interrupted them, and will probably want to leave.

You see, there's a communication mismatch because your interest in game development doesn't match their interest in Celeste. There is no common ground to begin a relationship.

My point here is, most game devs approach potential fans wearing their game dev hat. But if you just take off your game dev hat, and put on your player hat, you'll grab their attention.

Why?

Because as a small indie game dev you can't "market" at players. In fact, "marketing" doesn't work for small indie game devs. That's because to the player, all this self-promotion feels interruptive, and doesn't feel natural.

A better strategy is to stop "marketing" at players. And instead, to focus on finding like-minded people, and start building a relationship based on a common interest.

So let me show you exactly what I'm talking about.. Here's a step-by-step strategy you can easily use RIGHT NOW to start growing your wishlist numbers.

Grow Your Wishlist, Step 1: Find Common Ground With Players

What I'm about to share with you will be counter-intuitive to what you've probably heard. So stick with me here.

Ok, first... the idea here is NOT to market your game. Forget about talking about yourself... forget about your game features... forget about trying to get "your name out there"... and forget about trying to self-promote.

Right now, your focus is finding a common ground so that you can connect with potential fans.

How?

Well, you gotta meet them where they're at. You gotta find a commonality. Just like that dude with the Raptors hat... we had a commonality, and it wasn't weird to talk to him. It didn't feel like I was interrupting him and his family.

It's the same with your game. When you just pump out content and focus only on self-promotion, all you're doing is adding to the noise. And to a player, it just feels like all this crap content is interrupting them and trying to steal their attention.

But a better strategy is not to interrupt people with self-promotion and marketing... but to find common ground with players, and have them COME TO YOU.

In other words, don't market. Give people something interesting so they come to you.

Let me show you...

To find a commonality with your potential fans, think back to what motivated you to make your game in the first place. Because chances are, other people probably feel the same way as you do. But you gotta COMMUNICATE that.

How? Well... here's some questions:

By answering these questions, you're thinking less like a game dev and more like a player.

And btw, you can download the Blueprint, and work on this strategy after you read this aricle. Here's the link:

Download: "Wishlist Workshop Part 1 Blueprint (PDF)" Here

This subtle difference is very important because if you want to cut through all the noise, you need to connect where your player is.

Again, think about my hat example. If the message on your hat says "Godot Game Engine". And when you go talk to a player, and they have a hat that says Celeste", the person will be confused as to why you're bugging them.

But if you put on your "Celeste" hat, and you approach another person with the same hat, it cuts through the noise. You and your player have an instant BOND because the message is clear. There is no noise in between your messages.

That's why I want you to answer those questions above. I want you to start making your message to potential players more clear so that there is no noise between you, your game and players.

And I want you to think like a player thinks. Because when you think like a player, and you go talk to them, they won't feel like you're interrupting them and just self-promoting. But if you just try to self-promote and talk only about you and your game, then people will just ignore you because all day players are bombarded with marketing and self-promotion.

Ok, next...

Grow Your Wishlist, Step 2: Go Where Your Players Are Hanging Out

This will sound counter-intuitive, but your potential players are NOT hanging out on Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, or TikTok.

Think about it this way: It's like having a comedian as an opening act at a rock concert. There's an audience expectation mismatch. At a comedy club, fans are quiet and attentive. But at a music concert fans are loud, moving around, and excited. And jokes rely on pauses and audience attention. And at most concerts, people are impatient and want the band to start playing -- they're not going to give the comedian the attention they need to pull off jokes.

My point is, yes, social media has a HUGE crowd. But there is an audience expectation mismatch between your game and that audience on social media. Most people are NOT on social media to "window shop" for a small, niche indie game.

I'm not saying that social media can't work. There are games that have successfully used social media to get wishlists.

But if you tried social media, and it didn't work for you consistently, then you know what I'm talking about.

So what do you do then?

Go where your potential fans are, and forget about social media.

And where are your fans?

On Steam!

Steam has a built-in content platform where you can start connecting with players right away: the Community Hub.

The Community Hub is where you can start posting content, and directly connect with players.

Another issue with social media, people rarely leave the platform. For example, a person might scroll TikTok, find your game, and give a like. But they will rarely go into your bio, search out your Steam link, go to your Steam page, and then wishlist your game. People are lazy. And if they have to take extra steps, they won't.

But if that same person finds you on Steam, they are more likely to click your Wishlist button because 1) there are no extra steps, it's easy. And 2) there is NO audience expectation mismatch... they are on Steam to shop and explore for new and exciting games!

So in this step, I want you to make sure you have your Steam page setup. You don't need to have a professional Steam page done, though. And don't worry if you don't have any art or screenshots or trailers that are marketable. You can have a "coming soon" page up.

Right now, the goal is to start getting the "snowball" rolling as soon as you can. Because if you're 3 months before launch, then it's too late. So start as soon as you can.

Again, it seems counter-intuitive. How can you market your game if you don't have good marketing material ready yet, right?

But remember... you're not marketing. You're trying to attract like-minded fans, and building a relationship. And relationships take time to build.

And quick note: if you ARE three months before launch, then start doing this anyway. Even after your game launch, you still can build an audience and grow your game sales.

Ok. Let's keep going with...

Grow Your Wishlist, Step 3: Commit To Posting Once A Week On Your Steam Community Hub

Ok, so you know how in Step 1, I asked you these questions:

And remember, you can download the Blueprint, and work on this strategy after you read this aricle. Here's the link:

Download: "Wishlist Workshop Part 1 Blueprint (PDF)" Here

What I want you to do is, in your Steam Community Hub, there is a News tab. In the News tab, I want you to take the first questions, answer it, and post it.

Then next week, answer the next question. I basically gave you 11 weeks worth of content -- content that is designed to attract your target player.

And I promise you, when you answer these questions, you'll get MORE ideas on interesting content. So you'll never run out of content to post.

But here's the key: most game devs tell me that they tried posting on their Community Hub, and still got no results. But then when I checked their Steam page, they posted maybe 2 or 3 times.

But remember this, when a big studio pays Facebook $15,000 for ads, they probably reach say 10,000 people. In ONE shot, this studio reached a lot of players.

That's why it's so expensive to advertise: you get access to a lot of people right away.

But when building relationships with fans, it's not a ONE TIME thing. It's like going up to a new person and saying let's be friends. It doesn't work like that. Relationships take time to build and nurture.

And so a post here and there isn't going to work because relationships aren't built in one day.

And yeah, if you have the money to spend on advertising, you can short-cut all of this. You can pay Google, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok... and they'll show your game all at once to a lot of people. And your wishlists will spike for a few days. Then they will plateau. And then you gotta pay for another marketing push and do it all over again, because that's how advertising works.

But if you're a small indie game studio, and the only marketing you can do is free marketing, then your strategy needs to be long-term, sustainable, growth.

And that means making a commitment to posting once a week on your Steam Community Hub. And talking about what players want to talk about. And OVER TIME, players will find you, and become die-hard fans -- fans that will wishlist and buy your game.

And at the start, it will go VERY slow. But as more and more people find you, the faster your "snowball" of wishlists will grow.

But it means that you have to focus on long-term, sustainable growth. It means that you have to put the focus on the player and talk about what they want to talk about. It means that you have to commit to posting once a week.

And I promise you, your commitment and persistence will pay off. Players will find you. Players will connect with you. But you can't just do this once. Building relationships takes time.

Your Action Step Right Now To Start Growing Your Wishlist

So do this right now. The first question for you is:

Then go to your Steam Community Hub. And in the News section, answer that question. This is your VERY first step into getting people to find you, and wishlisting your game.

Then next week, go answer the next question... and do this for the next few weeks with the rest of the questions.

Alright, that's it for Part 1. Remember to bookmark this and come back for Part 2 when it comes out.

Later! And good luck marketing your indie game, and growing your wishlists! Thanks for reading.

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Dariusz Konrad
Email: dariusz at mainquestmarketing dot com
Discord Username: dariuszkonrad
LinkedIn: My entrepreneurial successes
Work: Game devs I've helped so far