Sharing your development process while working on your game through Game Jolt Devlogs will not only keep your current audience up to date but will also help you reach new fans. As an indie dev, this is a huge advertising opportunity that doesn’t require a marketing budget.

Post early and post often

You don’t have a playable build yet? It doesn’t matter, start a devlog from the concept stage. Earlier the better! Grow an audience by posting at least once a week to show users you’re active and the project is not abandoned.

Use it like Twitter

Long posts are fine every now and then, but if you’re posting often, people want to see quick snapshots into your dev life. Post WIP images, models, videos and announcements.

Images! Videos! Gifs!

A picture says a thousand words, right? Accompany your updates with images. They’re better at catching someone’s attention than a bunch of words.

Involve gamers

People want to be part of your gamedev process. It’s way more fun than waiting until the game is finished. Can you imagine how you’d feel if you could follow the development and speak with the people that made your favorite games? Have your fans test your builds and report bugs.

Topics

Not sure what to post about? Here are some ideas!

What motivated you to work on this game? Who’s your team? Which games influenced your project? Did you like someone’s Let’s Play of your game? Did someone write an article on your game that you’d like to share? Do you have merchandise? Are you looking for testers? Are you launching a Kickstarter? Do you have an alpha/playable build? Are you exhibiting at or attending a conference or a meet-up? Are you running a sale? Is your game finished? What common feedback are you addressing? Did you participate in a game jam recently? You get the idea…

Jam Games

People are following your devlog because they like your style. Your project might take a long time to finish, so why not participate in a quick 48 hour or 72 hour jam to break the monotony? Let your audience know they can check out some of your jam work while you’re still working on your main project.

Get creative

Run contests that encourage fan content. Anything that celebrates your game during development will draw attention to it and show interest in those who support you.

RESPOND!

This goes without saying, if someone takes the time to tell you they like your game or give you feedback, take the time to thank them or acknowledge what they’re saying. Yes, this takes time away from gamedev but it’s important. You’re talking to people who will be buying your game, so don’t ignore potential customers.