VN Discussion on how to promote your visual novel game

[dakidogames]

Hello, everyone! I'm new here, but I really like the forum and the fact that many people are engaged in discussions. I enjoy communicating with all of you here, and thank you for the responses and the warm welcome. I would now like to talk to you and have as many of you as possible join this conversation on the topic: How to best promote your visual novel game? Thank you all for your responses; you're truly wonderful!

P. S. I saw that there's a similar topic to this one here, but it's quite old from 2018. That's why I'm starting a new one, and thanks to everyone who joins the discussion.

 

[Doorknob22]

Most of what I do to promote my game is around this site:

1. Stick around. Have patience. It takes 1-2 years to really develop an audience. Many developers fail this and despair too soon. If you wait long enough and continue working on your game, people will notice. Some will even promote your game by recommending it to others in posts and discussions.

2. Be active on F95 while having your game in your signature (sort of what I'm doing now, really). It's amazing how many developers here don't do it and lose an amazing, free marketing tool. While you're at it, stay fucking positive, don't get into fights and don't make enemies: it's a total waste of time and energy and it's also the opposite of what you're trying to do.

3. Be active in your game's thread, using the same principles from the precious bullet: stay fucking positive. Don't argue with people for the same reasons I have specified before, total waste of energy. If a troll really derails your game thread, he is probably breaking the site's rules, Report him but don't get into arguments.

4. Outside F95, some developers use Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit to promote their games. Not sure how effective these other channels are but remember that the audience of F95 is already your target audience (since they already know what an AVN is) while Twitter and the rest are less so.

5. Platforms like Steam and Itch.io will also promote your game based on the tags you add. I've had great success with Itch.io from the first release but I feel Steam is more suitable for when your game is more mature.

Good luck!

 

[dakidogames]

Oh my God, this is such a detailed response. Thank you for your answer, for your support, for the motivation. I believe it will mean a lot to anyone who comes in and reads this. It's so nice to see selfless people sharing their valuable advice. Truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart! <3<3<3