如果你們的團隊與我所合作過的團隊一樣，那么你們便是一支由出色的開發(fā)者與設(shè)計師組成的個人發(fā)行開發(fā)團隊。也就是說，在你們的團隊中沒有人擁有足夠的市場營銷/PR經(jīng)驗。這便意味著在看到《I Am Bread》獲得成功之后，即使你們?nèi)匀幌Ｍ麆?chuàng)造下一款出色的游戲，你們也不可能擁有與他們一樣高的成功幾率。因為不是很了解自己的用戶，你應(yīng)該更加專注于市場營銷方面，并開始有效地宣傳自己的游戲，從而節(jié)省更多時間和成本。在本文中，我將假設(shè)你已經(jīng)擁有一個網(wǎng)站，設(shè)計啊賬號（如Facebook和Twitter）以及Google Analytics。如果你覺得這聽起來不像是自己該做的事，也請別急著離開，這里還有一些你需要掌握的小竅門。
分析
在了解玩家的過程中一個最重要的元素便是確保有戲設(shè)置你的分析，并且這是你能從中獲得價值的記錄數(shù)據(jù)。我個人便非常喜歡用Google Analytics去審查數(shù)據(jù)。這是一種免費工具，這里擁有許多統(tǒng)計資料能夠幫助你解決任何問題。在設(shè)置/審查你的Google Anylytics時你需要注意：
分析是否是基于數(shù)據(jù)去記錄目標用戶群體及其興趣？
這些數(shù)據(jù)是非常有價值的（游戲邦注：特別是當你的游戲支持除英語以外的其它語言）。一旦你擁有有關(guān)目標用戶群體及其興趣的報告，你便能夠收集有關(guān)你們當前玩家以及潛在玩家等有價值的數(shù)據(jù)。
你是否擁有適當?shù)幕顒?目標？
如果沒有KPI（關(guān)鍵績效指標），世界上的所有數(shù)據(jù)便毫無意義。舉個例子來說吧，我所追蹤的一些活動包括：點擊圖像，點擊外部鏈接，點擊內(nèi)部鏈接，用戶何時播放/暫停/完成觀看你的YouTube視頻。
當你在追蹤哪張圖像獲得最多點擊時，你可以將這一數(shù)據(jù)與目標用戶及其興趣相結(jié)合去了解什么類型的玩家更喜歡這類型圖像。例如我發(fā)現(xiàn)35歲至44歲年齡層的人更喜歡能夠激發(fā)他們探索欲望的美景圖片，而25歲至34歲年齡層的人則更喜歡有關(guān)一個以上的玩家正與boss進行戰(zhàn)斗的圖像。
這讓我決定對不同圖像進行A/B測試并真正了解哪種類型的玩家喜歡哪種類型的圖像。如此我便能夠以漏斗的形式去呈現(xiàn)出適合用戶頁面的流量了。
我想要追蹤的一些目標包括：點擊Steam頁面，點擊Humble商店以及新聞訪問量。
當你將目標用戶及其興趣的報告與活動和目標相結(jié)合時，你不僅能夠了解哪種類型的玩家對你的游戲更感興趣，你也能從中了解哪種類型的玩家對你的游戲不感興趣。你還可以掌握哪個網(wǎng)站擁有最佳流量，并且如果你的游戲能夠支持多種語言，你便能夠進一步了解哪個國家擁有更適合你們游戲的用戶。
調(diào)查
如果你不想的話，調(diào)查通常不會花太長時間。你可以通過多種方式進行調(diào)查。例如你可以親自去調(diào)查，也可以使用Skype或電子郵件。就我個人來講，我更喜歡通過電子郵件進行調(diào)查，因為當我擁有足夠時間時我便能夠不斷研究調(diào)查結(jié)果。在組織調(diào)查時，你應(yīng)該確保自己所提問的問題能夠獲得有價值的答案。例如我總是會先問一些這樣的問題，“你多大了？”“你來自哪里？”等等，這便是目標用戶數(shù)據(jù)。
而在收集心理學(xué)數(shù)據(jù)時，我會問這樣的問題，“為什么你要玩電子游戲？”或“你喜歡我們的游戲什么？”這些問題能夠幫助我們基于角色創(chuàng)造過程去劃分不同玩家。
過去在組織調(diào)查時，我總是會通過Steam上的討論以及Reddit去接觸玩家。當然了，你也可以通過其他渠道去接觸玩家，如Craigslist。如果你沒有額外的預(yù)算能夠用于調(diào)查獎勵，你可以尋求幫助。但是通常情況下玩家都是一些很善良的人，他們希望自己的付出能夠幫助你的游戲獲得成功，
關(guān)于你需要進行多少調(diào)查，這也要根據(jù)情況而定。通常當你知道該問哪些問題時，你便能夠著手調(diào)查了。
有趣的小竅門！
當你已經(jīng)從調(diào)查結(jié)果中獲得數(shù)據(jù)時，你便能夠制作一張電子數(shù)據(jù)表幫自己更好地理解這些數(shù)據(jù)。例如你可以按照年齡，性別等等方式去劃分玩家，并比較他們的不同回答以明確任何發(fā)展趨勢。如果你能夠找到這些趨勢，你便可以將這些數(shù)據(jù)與你的Google Analytics數(shù)據(jù)進行比較去驗證這些趨勢。
成為一個爬行者
檢驗分析數(shù)據(jù)并開展調(diào)查是很有趣的，但關(guān)鍵是你要成為一個爬行者。這就需要你：1.已經(jīng)以某種形式（讓玩家能夠訪問一些較早的內(nèi)容或發(fā)行演示版本）發(fā)行了游戲，2.對于即將發(fā)行的游戲已經(jīng)進行了一定的宣傳。例如發(fā)布新聞稿之類。
如果這兩種方法都不適合你，你也可以轉(zhuǎn)向一些類似的游戲。
我所謂的爬行者是指你應(yīng)該盡可能地多閱讀。即閱讀來自媒體文章的評論，閱讀Steam上的反饋，并聽取論壇上玩家的批評。也許一開始你會覺得很難（游戲邦注：特別是當存在許多消極評論時）。但當你不斷嘗試，你便會不斷擅長過濾掉那些負面評論并從中獲得一些有幫助的東西。
我的意思是，盡管玩家可能是一些很善良的人并且會在許多網(wǎng)絡(luò)社區(qū)提供有利的貢獻，但當提到你的游戲時他們也可能變得很殘酷。你應(yīng)該有所保留地去迎接玩家的批評。舉個例子來說吧，如果有人說“游戲簡直糟糕透頂！”時，這可能有多種含義。即玩家有可能陷入特定關(guān)卡中，或者他們今天過得很糟糕，亦或者他們的媽媽未兌現(xiàn)承諾而讓他們非常難過，再或就是你的游戲真的很糟糕。
這類型的評論都是你要學(xué)會如何略過的內(nèi)容。通常情況下只有當玩家回來并留下一個更具體且更具實踐性的評論，他們原先的評論才有可能成為過去。在瀏覽評論區(qū)和論壇時，你將能從中看到一些趨勢。這些內(nèi)容既有可能是你的游戲的閃光點，也有可能是那些需要重新評估的部分。同樣地，不管何時當你有機會快速解決玩家在你的游戲中所遇到的問題時，你都應(yīng)該牢牢把握住該機會。這不僅能夠幫助玩家解決問題（并獲得他們的喜歡），同時也能告訴社區(qū)成員你對他們的重視。
現(xiàn)在該做什么呢？
這時候的你應(yīng)該獲得一定的表揚。你已經(jīng)采取了一些行動去了解哪些喜歡你的游戲的用戶。通過這么做你將更清楚什么類型的內(nèi)容更適合出現(xiàn)在你的博客或社交媒體文章上。同時你也將更好地理解如何分配市場營銷成本。例如，如果Facebook能夠為你的網(wǎng)站帶來更高的流量，你就應(yīng)該創(chuàng)造一些基于網(wǎng)站轉(zhuǎn)換的Facebook廣告。
如果你注意到Reddit能夠提供高質(zhì)量的流量，但是自己在該網(wǎng)站上卻并不活躍，那么這時你就應(yīng)該想辦法獲得一個subreddit版塊并活躍于社區(qū)中。
如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)一些Twitch用戶能夠創(chuàng)造不錯的流量，你便應(yīng)該去接觸這些人并提供給他們一些免費試用的游戲內(nèi)容。
不管怎樣你都應(yīng)該更好地了解自己的用戶以及他們對于你的游戲的看法。如此你的游戲才更有機會擠進成功的個人游戲名單中。
（本文為游戲邦/gamerboom.com編譯，拒絕任何不保留版權(quán)的轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)，如需轉(zhuǎn)載請聯(lián)系：游戲邦）
Learn How to Better Understand Your Audience
by Logan Williams
If you’re like the teams I’ve worked with, you’re a lean mean, self-publishing development team of talented developers and designers (if you’re super indie, this might all fall on one super hero of a developer). With that being said, you might not have someone on your team that has extensive Marketing/PR experience. This means that while you’re working on the next best thing since I Am Bread, your chances of success won’t be nearly as high as they could be. With a little knowledge of your audience, you can better focus your marketing efforts and begin to spread game awareness more efficiently and more importantly, save time and money. In this article, I’m going to assume that you already have a website, social accounts (FB & Twitter) and Google Analytics. If that does not sound like you, please don’t leave yet; there still might be some juicy tips to be had.
Without further ado, let’s learn about our players!
Analytics
One of the most important aspects of learning more about your players is making sure your analytics is setup properly and is recording data that you find valuable. I personally prefer using Google Analytics for reviewing data. It’s free and if you ever get stuck, there’s plenty of documentation to help resolve any of your issues. Some things to look out for when setting up/reviewing your Google Analytics:
Are Analytics recording demographics and interest based data?
This data is incredibly valuable (especially if your game supports languages other than English). If this is not setup, you can learn how to do this here (link goes straight to Google documentation). With demographics and interests reporting enabled, you’re now gathering valuable data about your current players, potential players and randos.
Do you have events/goals in place?
All the data in the world is nothing without KPIs (key performance indicators). For example, some of the events I track are: clicks on images, external link clicks, internal link clicks and when users play/pause/finish YouTube videos.
When tracking which images are gathering the most clicks, I can combine this data with demographics and interests to see which types of people prefer which types of images. For example, I was able to see that users ages 35 – 44 seemed to like screenshots that focused on beautiful landscapes that provoked exploration vs. users ages 25 – 34 who preferred images showing more than one player on the screen and boss battles.
This allowed me to A/B test pages with different images and see which types of players like which images. In doing this, I’m now able to funnel traffic to pages that are better suited for the visitors.
Some of goals I like to track are: clicks to Steam page, clicks to Humble store and newsletter sign ups.
When you combine the demographic and interests reporting with events and goals, you are setting yourself up to learn not only what types of gamers are more interested in your game, but you’re also learning what types of players aren’t very interested in your game. You can also better understand which websites send the best traffic and if your game supports multiple languages, you can better understand which countries have the best audience for your game.
A helpful video on how to setup various events and goals in Google Analytics can be found here. It’s a few years old. However, the content is still relevant.
Surveys
Surveys don’t have to be time consuming if you don’t want them to be. There are plenty of ways that you can conduct surveys. You can do them in-person, through Skype or even through email. Personally, I like to do them through email because I can always review results when I have the time. When conducting surveys, make sure that you’re asking questions that will give you valuable answers. For example, I like to start by asking some simple questions like “what’s your age?” and “Where are you from?” This gives me demographic data.
When gathering psychographic data, I might ask something like “Why do you play video games?” or “What do you like about our game?” These questions help me sort players into segments in the persona creation process. The best article I’ve ever read about creating and understanding personas can be found here. If you don’t already regularly visit Moz’s blog, do yourself a favor and bookmark them now. If you’re stuck on what to ask during your surveys, Indie Game Girl has an excellent article with some questions to get you going.
When conducting surveys in the past, I’ve reached out to players via Steam discussions and Reddit. However, you can reach out to players wherever you believe they are. This includes Craigslist. If you don’t have the extra cash for incentives for the surveys, simply ask for help. For the most part, gamers are really good people and they want to see your game succeed as much as you do.
When it comes to how many surveys you need to do, it really depends. The general rule is that when you’re able to predict answers correctly, you’re good to go.
Fun Tip!
When you’ve gathered data from survey results, you can create a spreadsheet to better absorb the data you’ve received. For example, you can group users together by age, sex or whatever you want to group them by and then compare the answers to see if there are any trends. If you’re able to find trends, you can then compare this data to your Google Analytics data to see if you can validate the found trends.
Be a Creeper
Monitoring analytics data and conducting surveys is fun and all, but being a creeper is where it’s at. This really requires that you either A.) have already released your game in some capacity (early access or demo is fine) or B.) have some sort of buzz surrounding your upcoming title. For example, this could be a published article by the press.
If A and B don’t apply to you, you can still get your creep on, you just start creeping on similar games.
What I mean by being a creeper is that you should read as much as you can. Read comments from articles by the press, read feedback left on Steam and listen to player criticism on forums. It might be hard to start (especially if there is a lot of negative comments). However, the more you do it, the better you should get at skimming past bad comments and getting to the good stuff.
What I mean by this, is that while players can be great people and positively contribute in many online communities, they can also be absolutely brutal when talking about your game. You should take some criticism with a grain of salt though. For example, if someone were to say “game x sucks d**k”, this can mean many things. It can mean that the player is frustrated with a certain level, they could be having a bad day, maybe their mother didn’t buy them that pack of Yu-Gi-Oh cards they were promised, or your game might just suck d**k. However, more times than not, this is not the case.
Those types of comments are the types that you should learn to skip. They should be skipped until the player returns and leaves a more specific and actionable comment. When creeping on comment sections and forums, you should start to see trends. These can be good things about your game, or they could shed light on a certain aspect of your game that should be re-evaluated. Also, whenever you have an opportunity to quickly resolve someone’s issues with your game, you should jump at the opportunity to do so. This will not only help that player out (and possibly gain their undying love), you are also showing other community members that you care.
What Now?
At this point, you deserve a pat on the back. You have taken actionable steps to learn more about the people that love your games. In doing this, you should have a better understanding of what types of content will do better in your blog and social media posts. You should also have a better understanding of where your marketing dollars should be spent. For example, if Facebook is driving the highest quality traffic to your website (highly unlikely), then it might be a good time to create some Facebook ads focused on website conversions.
If you notice that Reddit is referring good quality traffic, but you’re not very active (or not at all) on the website, it might be a good time to get a subreddit going and be active with the community.
If you notice that a few Twitch users are referring good traffic, it might be good to reach out to those streamers and give them some extra keys for a giveaway.
You should have a better overall understanding of who your audience is and where your game is going. With the chatterings of an indiepocalypse, this could be the leg up that propels your game into the ever-shrinking category of successful indie games.
