Category "they write to us". How to spend the advertising budget?
Svyatoslav turned to me with this question:
“Good afternoon.There is an established rumor that the average budget for the initial promotion of the game is 30k.
At the same time, few people know what exactly it consists of and how it should be distributed.
Share your opinion?”
A little later I found out that:
- It’s a game
- This is a paid game
- There is an internal inap
- There is a cut-down frishka
- There is support for many languages
- It will probably come out as a universal one – but it can also be as a regular HD.
First of all, I’m hung up on so many titles %) Each title is another line in the marketing budget, but on the other hand, why not.
To begin with, let’s analyze the pros and cons of this approach:
What’s delicious:
- you can scatter titles into different categories and eat from each category.
- if you also divide by iPhone HD, then you can play with the prices for the iPad in the paid version by raising it more.
- By separating the iPhoneHD, you can reduce the weight and try to get into 20MB – getting yourself mobile Internet users.
- You can cover a large range of keywords with different titles
- You can transfer traffic from one title to another.I received the installation of frishki (+1 to the frish top) and converted the player into a buyer of the full version (+1 to the paid TOP and +1 to the TOP Grossing). And In the case of inap – the internal purchase gives only +1 to the TOP Grossing. (+1 means plus some score and not the top line of course %))
What could be the problem:
- Difficulties with word of mouth. A friend told me to “swing the figasters” – and after searching, I found a whole car of them. It is not known what I will choose – paid or free.
- Frustration from the fact that I, as a player, having bought the paid version and knowing that there is a free one, I expect that this is the FULL version – and there is also an inap in addition.
- You can theoretically get a cap from Apple for spamming the appstore (duplication of content – merge everything into one and make an inap – that’s what it was created for). But it’s unlikely.
- Difficulties with marketing – as many titles, so many advertising companies. Reviews often put only one link and there is only one chance to get a review on one resource. I.e., this complicates marketing.
First of all, it is necessary for each title to register its goals in the general scheme.
1. Free version.It is promoted by purchased installations (banners, etc.). It is tied up in traffic exchange systems with other frish games.
Goal: Collects top traffic and pours on the payer (of course, there should be an advertisement for the payer at the end). Engages in the game.
Cons: Reduces purchases “in the mood”. These are purchases of people who took it into their head to buy “this game”. If there is a frish version, he will try frishka from the beginning and if he does not like it, he will not buy it. In the absence of frishka, he would have bought it. There are many such people.
Features: In no case do we write “Fries” on the icon or in the name. Verified – downloads are decreasing. The reason is simple: If they write that frri or lite means there is a full one somewhere, then it is most likely impossible to play this game normally and they will want money very quickly. We need frequent updates to remove the cries of “she wants money almost immediately.”
2. Paid version.It is being promoted with gravy from frishki +
At the start of paid reviews on the upstore to accumulate stars and delights. It also collects traffic from the Paid category and grossing.
Goal: Monetizes all types of traffic, lives off gravy from frishki and traffic from the Top.
Cons: Strongly filters incoming traffic by the fact that it is initially paid and not freemium. It is not effective if it is twisted through banner networks (there are a lot of clicks – there are few installations. If a click costs 0.10, then you need to buy at least every 7th if the price is 0.99 – and this is an unrealistic IMHO CTR when working with PPC for a payer).
Features: If there is socialism in the form of all sorts of game centers and Facebook, then they are built right here.
To the account of the figure of 30,000… it’s hard to say here. You can also spend $100,000 with low efficiency and only at the end find a “topic” that will eat only 2-3K per month.
So the size of the budget is rather limited by luck in finding exactly those sources of traffic that will be acceptable in terms of price quality.
My recommendations will be only on behalf of K.O. and I will not make any “discoveries”. As in other things, I will not answer the question “how much money do I need?” since the answer is sorry “HEZ”.
If this is your first experience, you are already looking for a publisher. The publisher will want a percentage – but he sells an experience that costs more than 30K. As far as I’ve heard, publishers refuse to work with games that have already died on the store and do not want to kick stillborn, so then they won’t be able to replay it.
Most likely, the publisher will require changing the monetization model to free + inapp, if this publisher has more positive experience with such models. Plus, he will ask you to add another wagon of pieces that will postpone the long-awaited release and possibly start eating through the marketing budget due to additional development.
In general, I would not risk trying to conquer the store on my own for the first time without experience, when an expensive title is in my hands. It’s better to get into the tops and share the loot by earning a positive experience.
But, if the publisher is not considered, then cut the budget into 2 pieces at once:
- On trial.
- To a real start.
Without exaggeration – if you take 20 methods of traffic sources that everyone can hear, then only 5-6 will be useful. Money will be thrown away for the rest. And if the success of the whole direction depends on the success of this title, and there is no brand and community yet, then I would not risk going on an independent voyage.
PS This is my IMHO. P.P.S. – I am not a representative of a publisher and I am not going to persuade anyone to anything specific.
P.P.P.S. I would do exactly that now having my own experience.
But I would not have listened to this advice when I tried to conquer the TOP% myself at the time) And I’m glad of it if it’s garlic %)
