Try doing it

Let’s say you’re starting to work on your own indie game.

You know you have to market it.

But how are you going to do that?

Should you make a Twitter account and tweet every day?

Should you start a YouTube channel and post weekly devlogs?

Or maybe post GIFs of your game on reddit every time you have anything to show off?

The answer is actually pretty simple.

Try doing it.

Tweet every day for a week.

Publish 2 devlogs on your YouTube channel over the next 2 weeks.

Make 1 GIF of the latest feature you implemented and post it to multiple indie gaming subs.

Here’s what you’ll find out:

1. If you like doing it.
2. If you get good results when you’re doing it.

If you don’t like doing it, then stop it. Even if you get some results.

There are people who like it. And you don’t want to be competing with them…

…if it takes you twice as much motivation and effort to get a worse result than them.

Any substantial reward you’ll get will only come from doing something over a long time. 

And you can’t do that if you don’t like doing the thing in the first place.

If you like doing it but don’t get any results, try doing it some more.

Sometimes, you just need to improve your skills before you can get any results. 

If it still doesn’t work, try doing it from a different angle. 

Instead of posting devlogs, try posting tutorials. Try a different editing style. A different length.

Every platform has strengths and weaknesses. 

The one you like might not be the most optimal to reach your goal. 

But you’ll get better results by being good and consistent on an OK platform…

…than posting half-assed content on a great one.

Here are some examples from my own experience.

I tried tweeting a lot. The results were… mediocre / okayish, but I hated it so I stopped it. It just doesn’t fit my personality.

I tried posting articles on my website. The results were OK but I hated having to write for SEO (search engine optimization) so I stopped.

I tried writing weekly emails for this newsletter. I kinda enjoy it and I’ve been doing it for a year now.

I started posting YouTube videos about a month ago. The results have been good and I’m enjoying it, so I keep doing it.

Most of the time, when you try something you’ll find out it’s just not for you. 

And that’s good. Because it removes the possibility from your mind.

It allows you to focus on the things that are actually a better fit for your personality.

Try a lot of things, keep the ones you like and forget about the ones you don’t.

Best,

Thomas