Charting A Course: Marketing Tips from TTRPG Pros
Let’s talk about a topic that most of us avoid at all costs—marketing ourselves in the TTRPG community. I get it, the idea of self-promotion can be intimidating and thoroughly uncomfortable even when you have all of the faith in the world in whatever it is you’re offering. But, despite how unfun it sounds, it's an absolutely crucial part of building a successful career in this industry.
Here's the beautiful and terrible thing—the TTRPG community is a crowded and competitive place. There are many talented people out there, all vying for the same attention and opportunities that you are. If you want to stand out and make a name for yourself, you need to be proactive about getting your work in front of people. That means taking control of your own marketing efforts and being strategic about how you present yourself and your creations to the world.
"But Jess, I just want to create and let my work speak for itself!"
Of course, you do. We all very much wish that we could do exactly that. But the reality is, whoever your target audience is for what you’re doing (no matter if that is producing TTRPG games, running an actual play, or painting miniatures), already has a crowd of creators doing the same thing standing in front of them. Expecting that audience to just happen upon you and what you’re doing in that (often, very loud) crowd is a lot like expecting to hit the Powerball in order to pay your rent.
So, how do you go about marketing yourself in the TTRPG community? There are tons of well-written articles out there on general marketing, which are definitely worth checking out. But it’s always better to hear from folks navigating similar waters to find out what they’re doing, so I’ve compiled some materials to get you started on your journey from people in the TTRPG community. Check them out below and keep your eyes on these helpful folks via your channel of choice (I’m a fan of newsletters, myself).
1. Marketing Your RPG Product - Mike Shea (Sly Flourish)
Tons and tons of valuable info in this article from the Lazy DM himself. Check out all of the links that he suggests, he pretty clearly knows what he’s doing.
2. What I Learned So Far In TTRPG Marketing - Christian Zeuch (CZRPG)
Highly recommend looking through all of Christian’s articles for invaluable beginner information, but this article specifically serves as a great summary.
3. Gaining Advantage 023: Gaming and Inclusive Design - Dale Critchley (Wyrmworks Publishing)
Technically, this video is not specifically focused on marketing, but Dale takes the first few minutes to discuss marketing without using Twitter, which is something that a lot of folks are reasonably interested in.
4. My Experiences in RPG Self-Publishing Part 1 - Adrian Kennelly (Azukail Games)
This is a 3 part article series, part 2 of which focuses on pricing and marketing, but all 3 parts are certainly worth the read, so why not start at the beginning?
5. First Steps in Marketing Your Game - Peter Rudin-Burgess (PPM Games)
After you give this one a listen, go back to the front page of Peter’s blog and search “Marketing”. You’ll find many articles of varying complexity on the subject, all incredibly useful to your goals.
BONUS. How to Market your Game - Chris Zukowski
This one is a bonus and not specifically targeting TTRPGs, but from what I’ve seen there’s a lot of useable information here and it was suggested to me by M.T. Black, so who would I be to keep that from you?