I gotta start somewhere… why not start with some honesty?
For my first blog post on marketing and copywriting for the board game industry and tabletop games world… I want to make one thing excruciatingly clear:
I AM NOT TRYING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL.
I am not the Michaelenagelo of board game marketing
I am not the Dante Aligeri of customer acquisition
I am not the Sun Tsu of tabletop content strategy
There is almost no insight I will have that will be truly original. I am not a guru enlightened by the very essence of board game marketing, sending out my previously unheard teachings via this blog. No “board game marketing maxim” that will make you want to sit at my feet and become a disciple.
Ya know, “nothing new under the sun” type of thing.
And you know what? THAT’s OK!
Because if I did, I would probably be spewing hot garbage that SOUNDED helpful… but would just be empty promises.
Because here is the truth: the ESSENTIALS of marketing are the things that have been TESTED and PROVEN over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over… (keep doing that for 10 more seconds)... and over and over and over again.
“Original” marketing strategies almost never work… and that is true for board game marketing.
That is because while the method of marketing delivery may change (and for all you Marhsall Macluhan-ites out there… yes I am saying this knowing the medium IS the message…), the essentials stay that same:
People have needs that cause pain and desires that might bring joy…
People are looking for solutions to those needs and desires…
Some people would find the thing you have to be a solution…
But they don’t know you exist or trust you…
So you have to get their attention and prove why they should trust you.
That’s it. That is marketing. That is all it is.
No matter what marketing strategy you take, or what someone suggests, whether it be SEO, or Google ads, or cold emailing a publisher, or becoming a Tik Tok star…
All marketing follows those essentials.
What I am doing here with this blog is sharing those essentials to marketing applying them to board game designers, DnD and TTRPG creators, FLGS owners, and anyone in the tabletop industry.
Sometimes they will be stories with a lesson
Sometimes they will be well researched, structured posts on a topic
Othertimes they will just be ol’fashioned blogging: a stream of consciousness (like this post!)
To conclude, I just want to point out that funny thing is… this is the FIRST blog post. If you are reading this it is almost certainly because you are going back through my old posts and have finally arrived at the very beginning. Heck, you might even be from the healthcare industry, wondering “whyyyy am I reading about board game marketing?”
And I’ll admit, there is a good chance this will be my WORST blog post… one I will need to updated regularly in order to avoid professional embarrassment.
But there lies the first lesson for board game marketing:
IF YOU PLAN ON MAKING A TABLETOP GAME, JUST START MARKETING NOW:
Start posting on board game reddint boards
Start talking with other kickstarter creators
Start your own blog on your site
Start emailing and talking with as many FLGS owners as you can
Start somewhere.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be planned. It doesn’t even have to be good…if you get 1% better each day you will be fine.
Eventually you will need to partner with/hire a graphic designer, copywriter, marketing expert… but if you are here because you have a board game idea and are wondering about marketing, here is my first board game marketing tip:
Start genuinely connecting with players who will eventually be your advocates, supporters, partners, and customers.
If you are beginning, and everything about board game marketing feels uneven, it’s the only sure step you can take!
