More TTRPG Designers Should Steal These Business Tips (Game Dunk Online 2021 Presentation)
Today I gave a talk at Game Dunk Online about the business tips I think more TTRPG designers should steal - if they want their games to be played by other people.
You can download the slides: Download slides
The 3 main pillars I think the TTRPG Designers could benefit on focusing on are:
Community
Emails
Systems
Community
The first pillar is community. This is all about getting rid of the idea of the artist in isolation. We know people tend to buy things from people they know, like, and trust. This is sometimes known as the KLT factor.
If you want people to say yes to playing your game, testing it, buying it, having built up communities around you is a great way to do that.
Some suggestions:
Be an active and helpful member of TTRPG related Discord Servers
Be an active chat participant in TTRPG streams you like
Be an active and helpful member of any social media communities you’re part of.
You get the picture.
What we’re building here are the networks required to distribute your game more efficiently and effectively.
Emails
Every year the internet extols that it’s the year that email marketing dies. And every year that’s never true.
Here’s the main reason why I think building an email list is the most valuable thing a TTRPG designer can do:
It makes it easy for people who like your work to get your work.
One of the biggest issues I have as a TTRPG enthusiast is that it’s often really hard to stay up to date with what a designer is doing. Sure, you might send out 10 tweets, but I look at Twitter maybe a few times a week. Chances are, it’ll get lost in the flood of communication.
But if you email me… directly… and I know like and trust you…. I’m way more likely to open that email and see what you’re sending me.
It’s targeted, you own the list (unlike social media), and it can really help you to grow (people who like one of your games are likely to enjoy more of them).
Systems
Maybe it’s just because I’m a Virtual Assistant in my day-to-day life, but having a repeatable system for the distribution phase of your game can help make it run just so much smoother.
And honestly, any system will do. It’s just whatever works for you. Whether it’s a checklist, a bullet journal, or if you’re using a fancy app. Find something that helps you to easily distribute and maintain momentum behind a game’s release.
Those are the cliff notes of the presentation. The full video will be posted soon.