How To Sell More Games on Steam! (Store Page Optimization)

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  • Опубликовано: 8 июн 2024
  • How do you make a great store page for your indie game on Steam to get more wishlists, downloads and ultimately sales? Professional indie game marketeer Chris Zukowski shares his best marketing and optimizations tips and tricks to make sure your Steam page gets the visibility it deserves. This video is a must watch for everybody who wants to succeed as a full time indie game developer.
    ● Check out Chris' free course on how to set up a better Steam page: howtomakeasteampage.com/
    ● Subscribe to Chris' free indie game marketing newsletter: howtomarketagame.com/free/
    ● Wishlist Will You Snail on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/11...
    0:00 - Intro
    MY STEAM PAGE FOR WILL YOU SNAIL
    0:31 - How People Browse Your Steam Page
    5:30 - How To Tag Your Game on Steam
    12:23 - Best Practices for the "About This Game" Section
    16:47 - How Many Wishlists Should You Have? (My Analytics)
    21:05 - How To Promote Your Game to Get More Wishlists
    24:15 - How To Analyze Your CTR on Steam
    26:22 - How To Get Visibility From Discovery Queue
    STEAM PAGES BY OTHER INDIE DEVELOPERS
    29:16 - Karlson by Dani
    34:58 - Hollow Knight by Team Cherry
    40:17 - Glitcheon by Yän, River and Bonicle
    46:29 - Slimekeep by BenBonk
    52:52 - Dorfromantik by Toukana
    1:00:11 - Outro
    ● Join the Will You Snail Discord: / discord
    ● Join our creative game dev community on Discord: / discord
    Please be so kind to share this video with your developer friends to make sure I can keep making these. :)
    Hope you enjoy!
    #gamedev #indiedev

Комментарии • 573

  • @howtomarketagame
    @howtomarketagame 3 года назад +790

    Hi folks Chris (the guest) here in the Comments. Feel free to ask me anything

    • @prettyfrenchgames
      @prettyfrenchgames 3 года назад +36

      Hey Chris, I'm a nobody in the game industry, working on my first game. Is there an optimal way to use the "marketing beat" of releasing my first trailer to bring people to my Steam page or should I just post it on youtube and move on?

    • @GonziHere
      @GonziHere 3 года назад +6

      Hi, thanks for an incredible breakdown. I just want to ask about a steam page ASAP - could you define "as possible"? Vertical slice might not have different zones (for screenshots), there might not be enough ready for the trailer... or is art that will become obsolete fine? Can "empty/bad" steam page hurt me? Thanks.

    • @TheRealPunkachu
      @TheRealPunkachu 3 года назад +10

      I have a question. You mentioned that games with lower than 10,000 wishlists were hit hard by Steam's algorithms. Is there anything you can do to combat this when developing a game with a smaller marketing budget and shorter timeframe? As in, if your game has a smaller target to hit. In my particular case I don't know if my game would benefit from that level of marketing. Or do you maybe think I'm overestimating the difficulty of hitting 10k?
      Thank you so much for the insight shared in this video! It's incredibly useful intel.

    • @howtomarketagame
      @howtomarketagame 3 года назад +37

      @@prettyfrenchgames Hi! I know you. Yes contact as many press people as possible. 99% will ignore you. The 1% can do good things.

    • @howtomarketagame
      @howtomarketagame 3 года назад +13

      @@GonziHere It is ok if art becomes obsolete because then you can do a news beat describing what changed. Do it! make a steam page.

  • @nebulaxis7849
    @nebulaxis7849 3 года назад +665

    “Most people on steam don’t watch the trailers”
    I’m not mad that he’s wrong
    I’m mad cause he’s right

    • @CooLooZ
      @CooLooZ 3 года назад +35

      Well videos on steam store are extremely buggy, so I'm not surprised at all.

    • @TheSimonCle
      @TheSimonCle 3 года назад +38

      Ill watch the trailer if the screenshots and description captures my interest, and clearly shows the gameplay. I’m amazed how well I for into the user he is descriping

    • @MotraZotra
      @MotraZotra 3 года назад +6

      Game developers don't play as many games as non game developers. Because we are busy developing.

    • @studioprimitive
      @studioprimitive 3 года назад +11

      Trailers are a waste of my time. They are a pain to find what you want. I just look at the screenshots and read the description.. exactly what he said people do.

    • @MotraZotra
      @MotraZotra 3 года назад +3

      @T R gamers play games every day. You work on your game every day. It's not even on the same scale.

  • @bluerhino1046
    @bluerhino1046 3 года назад +161

    Jonas is talking like when I talk to my teachers. "uh-huh" "yep" "I see..." "definitely"

    • @evon2543
      @evon2543 3 года назад +11

      He is

    • @JonasTyroller
      @JonasTyroller  3 года назад +71

      That's because he definitely was my teacher here.

    • @PumpyGT
      @PumpyGT 2 года назад

      @@JonasTyroller Lol

    • @user-dz6on9or5d
      @user-dz6on9or5d Месяц назад

      ​​@@JonasTyrollerhey, I have a problem with the achievement section, it's not checked in steamwork :( please help me 😥😥

    • @Ziziwai
      @Ziziwai 13 дней назад

      @@user-dz6on9or5d Did you get it figured out? I know there’s a separate section where you add achievements, but there’s also another section where you checkmark that there *are* achievements. Maybe you added them but missed the second thing?

  • @Danidev
    @Danidev 3 года назад +934

    Awesome video, and thanks for the feedback, ill definitely make some changes :o

    • @Jayden-rk5fl
      @Jayden-rk5fl 3 года назад +27

      dont add more billy

    • @solidboots
      @solidboots 3 года назад +3

      *e*

    • @syedsadiq8631
      @syedsadiq8631 3 года назад +4

      ruclips.net/video/r1XCCL7Ov84/видео.html

    • @funnyassclown8869
      @funnyassclown8869 3 года назад +1

      Hi dani

    • @fahimjunayed5894
      @fahimjunayed5894 3 года назад +22

      Looks like our good old friend unity's particle system has to add some juice to these screenshots.
      Because as a wise man said,
      "Particles are mandatory." - Plato 2021

  • @KlausWulfenbach
    @KlausWulfenbach 3 года назад +125

    Step 0: Finish your dang game and put it on the Steam Store.
    I'm still working on that one.

    • @maciekpryc3416
      @maciekpryc3416 3 года назад +13

      Nah, you definitely don't want to wait until your game is done with creating Store page... but yeah, it's good to finish your game, sometime xD

    • @omerfarukbykl6097
      @omerfarukbykl6097 3 года назад +1

      ​@@maciekpryc3416 agree with you

    • @10dvvks.d.r.tharun15
      @10dvvks.d.r.tharun15 3 года назад +1

      lol

    • @fahimjunayed5894
      @fahimjunayed5894 3 года назад +3

      step -2: repair your pc
      step -1: find a game idea
      these need to be done first for me.

    • @AstralStudioGames
      @AstralStudioGames 3 года назад

      Same

  • @BenBonk
    @BenBonk 3 года назад +217

    Thanks so much for the feedback! Definitely going to make some changes right now, and work on improving the steam page later on into development.

    • @LeMellow
      @LeMellow 3 года назад

      Heya!

    • @flashplays6489
      @flashplays6489 3 года назад

      Good luck then

    • @jaochao9614
      @jaochao9614 4 месяца назад +1

      not gonna lie, just checked out your page, i was hesitant when watching the video to check it out, but i genuinly want to try out your game now after checking your page. looks fun, respect

  • @ollie-d
    @ollie-d Месяц назад +3

    This might be the single best video on optimizing a steam page. I’m sure the meta has changed slightly over the years, but it at least teaches you how to assess steam through a specific lens

  • @richardstevenson371
    @richardstevenson371 3 года назад +76

    I do exactly what he said people do with trailers lol. And he’s right that I’m looking for gameplay.
    I occasionally binge through the discovery queue which leads me to a lot of games I don’t want, and I want to get through those quickly.
    I will look at the description, gameplay, and review score. Because I have so many steam games, I am almost always not wasting time looking at anything below Very Positive.
    There are some times I will go with a mostly positive or mixed if it is really affordable and the idea fascinates me and clearly it was too niche for people based on the comments.
    I will say I skim the text, not ignore it completely. It’s where I go when I like what I see in the screenshots, etc.

    • @NoNameAtAll2
      @NoNameAtAll2 Год назад

      but how many of the games you got have you actually played?

  • @jwddwj9
    @jwddwj9 3 года назад +17

    Literally paused to video to go dump the indie tag from my game lmao. Fantastic colab, this was so helpful.

  • @WesleyVanroose
    @WesleyVanroose 3 года назад +60

    This is pure gold! This such a big hurdle for indie to get their games to the big market.

  • @richardstevenson371
    @richardstevenson371 3 года назад +21

    “Overcome a predictive fully-voiced AI and his robot army in this fast-paced action platformer.”
    Something like that that really highlights your set-apart features:
    1. Predictive AI
    2. Boss Fights
    3. Hybrid Gameplay Elements (Tower Defense, Basketball, etc.)
    Not sure how to word that last part concisely but this would grab my attention on what is special and awesome about Will You Snail.

    • @ThePC007
      @ThePC007 3 года назад +1

      I like how you put emphasis on the fact that it is fully-voiced simply because it makes it easier to connect the description to what is seen in the trailer.

  • @babasheep2828
    @babasheep2828 3 года назад +156

    Great! Now I can sell my master piece! It’s about a plumber, that goes to save the princess from a dragon looking guy! I think it’s pretty ingenious.

    • @typodoeseverything
      @typodoeseverything 3 года назад +10

      UhH tHaT's JuSt MaRiO bRoThErS

    • @kayyy5034
      @kayyy5034 3 года назад +22

      Wow never heard from that idear befor. It will be great

    • @babasheep2828
      @babasheep2828 3 года назад +5

      @@kayyy5034 right!

    • @enderguardian7443
      @enderguardian7443 3 года назад +15

      I think it will change the gaming landscape

    • @babasheep2828
      @babasheep2828 3 года назад +3

      @@enderguardian7443 yeah!

  • @emanueltejadacoste2250
    @emanueltejadacoste2250 3 года назад +17

    Cant believe i watch this complete video at first recomendation and Im just a web developer

  • @sanderambroos5210
    @sanderambroos5210 3 года назад +7

    The best thing about this channel is the fact thas Jonas is willing to learn himself through showing us these discusions! Thanks for sharing!

  • @HelperWesley
    @HelperWesley 3 года назад +34

    This was an awesomely informative video!
    As a solo developer myself, I love seeing this sort of thing and I'm sure others do as well. Thanks for sharing. :)

  • @broganking9830
    @broganking9830 3 года назад +17

    Goes for 1 hour, felt like 5 minutes. What a power house of knowledge! Thank you so much for the video. I've signed up for the course and newsletter!

  • @izzyhope58
    @izzyhope58 3 года назад +4

    11:02 Getting Over It, Psychological Horror. Lol, That tag SOOO true

  • @YaenGamedev
    @YaenGamedev 3 года назад +47

    Oooh boy, Glitcheon is in this. Chris knows what he's talking about so I'm kinda anxious to hear what he has to say but hope we can improve our presence with the feedback. (haven't watched yet)

    • @YaenGamedev
      @YaenGamedev 3 года назад +14

      Quite helpful and actionable! That's how I like my feedback. Thanks a lot!

    • @flashplays6489
      @flashplays6489 3 года назад +1

      Its nice u guys are happy with this keep it up

    • @flashplays6489
      @flashplays6489 3 года назад +1

      I played glitcheon amzing game btw

    • @indigu6624
      @indigu6624 3 года назад

      Good luck! Excited to see how creative you get with the improvements on your page.

    • @YaenGamedev
      @YaenGamedev 3 года назад +1

      @@flashplays6489 Thank you! Glad you like it so far

  • @ibrahimouhamou9732
    @ibrahimouhamou9732 3 года назад +26

    I just want to say that sometimes I ignore the games just because the trailer doesn't exist

  • @mementomori7160
    @mementomori7160 3 года назад +22

    Jonas, I thought about it a lot and I think you're one of the greatest game devs on YT, your videos always teach a lot of useful stuff I don't see in other places(maybe I don't look hard enough, but YT is like steam, you only have a few seconds to interest people)
    And I like that you wishlisted the game while recording, just because you felt it in the moment

  • @igpaygames
    @igpaygames 3 года назад +10

    A good follow up video would be to implement Chris's suggestions about tags and stuff and then tell how it affected your numbers.

  • @UnderfundedScientist
    @UnderfundedScientist 3 года назад +18

    Such great advice, I'm about to re do my itch page

  • @SnutiHQ
    @SnutiHQ 3 года назад +5

    This is a colab video we're hyped about!! 😍 Thank you Jonas and Chris for taking your time! 🎉🎉

  • @geniusapple6471
    @geniusapple6471 3 года назад +46

    This really was insightful, and definitely helpful to people like me who are trying to make an Indie game.
    Good work Jonas :D

    • @AstralStudioGames
      @AstralStudioGames 3 года назад

      Definitely going to help me on my upcoming indie game VOID! (Although that game won't come out for years since it just started coding a few months ago)

  • @tuatarian6591
    @tuatarian6591 3 года назад

    I appreciate that you record & upload these to your channel, this is super useful for everyone

  • @jonathanlorenz-indiedev
    @jonathanlorenz-indiedev 3 года назад

    One of the most informative video on your channel so far, while still being about your journey releasing your game. Good job!

  • @ItzRyanF00
    @ItzRyanF00 3 года назад +3

    I had never thought about it like a product inside a store, that makes so much sense but went over my head so fast. Thank you!

  • @CaptainNinjaKid
    @CaptainNinjaKid 3 года назад +1

    I can't believe how useful this video felt. Good work

  • @VitorGuerreiroVideos
    @VitorGuerreiroVideos 3 года назад +1

    This is awesome! Thanks a lot for sharing Jonas and Chris! Awesome insights here!

  • @Zeraxxus
    @Zeraxxus 3 года назад +6

    This is a really great interview / learning session. So much good knowledge is poured out. Worth the whole hours watch from start to finish! Well done Jonas and Chris . *clap* *clap*

  • @korixioo
    @korixioo 3 года назад

    Great guest! I'm in his newsletter, very useful information!

  • @SchneiderRob
    @SchneiderRob 2 года назад +2

    Dude, awesome video. Chris has great feedback. It's cool to see you receiving feedback because I love your game test videos and think the feedback you give is awesome. So when I see you keep an open mind and learn from others, that just reaffirms that you are a great teacher.
    One who accepts they can improve will improve. One who thinks they are the greatest will never be great.

  • @brannonharris4642
    @brannonharris4642 3 года назад +5

    Holy shit. This was a great video. Jesus, man. Way to just crap on the rest of the devs trying to sell us full time courses. I appreciate you, man

  • @nilsmuller-cleve6769
    @nilsmuller-cleve6769 3 года назад +1

    Saw one of the GDC talks and it was great.
    Nice to see this advice applied to real examples.

  • @UnderfundedScientist
    @UnderfundedScientist 3 года назад +1

    Seriously awesome of you to show your numbers to help educate

  • @Nomadnetic
    @Nomadnetic 10 месяцев назад +1

    This is amazing, thank you for putting this video together.

  • @jwakeuplink7671
    @jwakeuplink7671 2 года назад +3

    There's so much mixed and vague information about indie game marketing out there, but this was a really great, in-depth look at some of the practical steps you can take to improve your game's Steam page performance. Thank you both for this :)

  • @weenyboi
    @weenyboi 3 года назад +6

    I definitely just click through the trailers looking for something interesting just like he said lol great video

  • @anhedonie92
    @anhedonie92 2 года назад +2

    I see that you implemented the changes that were talked about here, I would love to see a followup video with the results of the update. Thanks for the great and informative content!

  • @FlatThumb
    @FlatThumb 2 года назад

    Very interesting and useful. Subscribed to the newsletter Chris!

  • @saultoons
    @saultoons 3 года назад

    Very helpful, will definitely refer to this in the future, thanks Jonas and Chris!!!

  • @szepad3687
    @szepad3687 3 года назад +3

    This is gold mine right here and it's also free! Thanks Jonas and Chris!

  • @TheShelfman
    @TheShelfman 3 года назад +4

    This was a really useful and insightful video. Really glad you and Chris talked about all of this!😁

  • @makemypetgamedevprocess6475
    @makemypetgamedevprocess6475 3 года назад +1

    Thanks for this video Jonas, no one really talks about it. Keep it up ❤️

  • @strollingstickgames6407
    @strollingstickgames6407 2 года назад +1

    Awesome advice, there is so much to think about when launching your game but if you get the basics done you can increase your chances of success a lot!

  • @thedjsente5858
    @thedjsente5858 2 года назад

    This guy is spot on for how I look through a steam page... I even skip through the videos like that... and I am trying to find out what the gameplay is like... probably for you all as well.

  • @TinCanToNA
    @TinCanToNA Год назад

    Thank you so much for this! It feels like enormous value added for free

  • @yigithanion
    @yigithanion 3 года назад +3

    I didn't know I needed this. Thanks.

  • @ThousandAnt
    @ThousandAnt 3 года назад

    Terrific conversation! Thanks so much for doing this guys. Lots of great info.

  • @dragoran149
    @dragoran149 3 года назад

    Awesome interview/workshop. I stopped game dev but this is a must watch for all indie.

  • @TheLegendsOfTynedale
    @TheLegendsOfTynedale 2 года назад

    An incredibly useful video! I've learnt loads. It's interesting to know my click-rate is high but my wishlist conversion needs improving and how to do so. Thanks so much and please do another video like this!

  • @JustDaZack
    @JustDaZack 9 месяцев назад

    So much to learn here! 🙏
    Great vid! 🙌

  • @AntiqueGear
    @AntiqueGear 3 года назад

    Dude, this video is a marketing goldmine! Very helpful! Thanks!

  • @dirzz
    @dirzz Год назад

    Priceless information, thank you!

  • @thisgamedev
    @thisgamedev 2 года назад +1

    This is really helpful, thanks again Jonas for an amazing video :)

  • @kintrix007
    @kintrix007 3 года назад +2

    Can't wait to watch through it! :)

  • @hristoborisov3713
    @hristoborisov3713 Год назад

    this is amazing info/advice thank you so much!

  • @fear-the-phantom
    @fear-the-phantom 6 месяцев назад

    This is a pot of gold. Super useful, thanks for putting this together!

  • @gazzagamesstudio
    @gazzagamesstudio 3 года назад

    Wow, time to start taking notes. Great advice!

  • @yespa
    @yespa Год назад

    This information here is actually really really valuable!

  • @blackcitadelstudios
    @blackcitadelstudios Год назад

    Currently building my steam page now. Just to get early wishlists. Thanks for the insights. ☺️🙏

  • @ViroidGames
    @ViroidGames 2 года назад +1

    Finally had time to watch the whole thing. Thank you for this.

  • @luisspielzeit6581
    @luisspielzeit6581 3 года назад +1

    Danke für dieses Video! Das hilft mir bei meiner Spielentwicklung sehr weiter :)

  • @j.vonhogen9650
    @j.vonhogen9650 3 года назад

    Really awesome video! I've learned a ton of stuff by just watching this video. Thanks a lot!

  • @wizzlez9615
    @wizzlez9615 2 года назад

    I feel like an expert on this now, very well explained and has awesome tips! Definitely going to have to come back to this when I release to Steam someday!

  • @mcart567
    @mcart567 20 дней назад

    I wish I would have seen this video a couple years ago. Still, I'm super happy I got to see it at all!

  • @johnhickersantilan4295
    @johnhickersantilan4295 Год назад

    This is really interesting, thanks for the information

  • @NotFamousReal
    @NotFamousReal 3 года назад

    Really really great advice here and a lot of detailed specifics. I just launched my games page, but haven't got much of any traffic or wishlists quite yet. Lot of work to do!

  • @editdev
    @editdev 3 года назад +2

    super insightful! thanks jonas

  • @LetsPlay4Free
    @LetsPlay4Free 3 года назад +1

    Just checked the new description. Much better 👍 ;)

  • @PhillipAmthor
    @PhillipAmthor 2 года назад

    This is perfect, thank you for showing all sides of a modern game!

  • @oh-facts
    @oh-facts 2 года назад +1

    man, the stuff you said about people shopping on steam . sooooooo true, that is exactly what I do when I'm casually looking for games

  • @computery
    @computery Год назад

    Literally the most informative video I have ever watched

  • @HyperNova137
    @HyperNova137 2 года назад +2

    I was expecting some generic advice from a video like this, but stuck around because this was some REALLY important and useful info... Especially since some of it is a bit counter-intuitive and not the kinda thing you would figure out on your own, even after lots of trial-and-error experience. Great vid.

  • @TheAsbj0rn
    @TheAsbj0rn 2 года назад

    this is very insightful. thank you for sharing!

  • @Gilel5
    @Gilel5 3 года назад

    Just wanted to say great video man its super interesting and insightful

  • @porchettogamedev7540
    @porchettogamedev7540 3 года назад

    Thank you man! This is GOLD!

  • @10dvvks.d.r.tharun15
    @10dvvks.d.r.tharun15 3 года назад +1

    wonderful video ! love ur content keep posting videos like this

  • @XanderwoodGameDev
    @XanderwoodGameDev 3 года назад

    Such a useful video. I will eventually be looking to get my game on Steam. I'll be coming back to the this a few times before then I think!

  • @pieTone
    @pieTone Год назад

    I've changed my mind. Even though this is the 3rd time rewatching this video, THIS IS THE BEST GAME DEV CHANNEL YOU COULD EVER HOPE FOR.

  • @mdhsoftware9031
    @mdhsoftware9031 2 года назад

    Awesome - that's a real eye-opener!

  • @SteinMakesGames
    @SteinMakesGames 2 года назад

    Great video! Wrote down plenty of useful notes for a future Steam page :)

  • @Lugmillord
    @Lugmillord 3 года назад

    Wow, fantastic information. This goes right into my favorites!

  • @Novemtails
    @Novemtails 3 года назад

    Great video. I really enjoy each minute. Thanks

  • @woeliewoeliewoelie
    @woeliewoeliewoelie Год назад

    Such valuable insights! Thanks a lot

  • @razvaniuga9164
    @razvaniuga9164 3 года назад +1

    Great video! Thanks!

  • @PropulsorLab
    @PropulsorLab Год назад

    Best game advertising ever made. I'll definitely snail! :)

  • @LibonatiDesign
    @LibonatiDesign Год назад

    I learned sooooooo much from this video! Thank you so much!

  • @-highlyne-8679
    @-highlyne-8679 Год назад

    I have a huge steam game catalog and it feels like this dude is reading my mind when it comes to buying games. certainly some great advice to take into account when trying to market your game on steam.

  • @Itsysss
    @Itsysss 3 года назад +19

    Woah I'm pretty early, *Early gang*

  • @jampgames2955
    @jampgames2955 2 года назад

    I learned so much from this, a very informative video.

  • @pranavbadrinathan6693
    @pranavbadrinathan6693 3 года назад +1

    The first thing that catches my attention is the Title and the thumbnail art. After that, I usually watch the trailer. Honestly, it's trailer and THEN the game description for me lol.

  • @evon2543
    @evon2543 3 года назад

    Extremely useful video!

  • @arthank1263
    @arthank1263 6 месяцев назад

    This was very informative and will be really useful in a month or two.
    I'm so thankful to Jonas for bringing in all this free top-quality information

  • @cavas5349
    @cavas5349 2 года назад

    300+ Steam-Reviews in less then 24 hours. ALL (!!!) positive. I think you won on Steam ;-) Congratulations Jonas!

  • @rakshasharma6656
    @rakshasharma6656 3 года назад +16

    You inspired me to make my own game, I'll release it one day, currently working on it...

  • @ahmedelborki5982
    @ahmedelborki5982 3 года назад

    Thanks man for this video

  • @sashamakeev7547
    @sashamakeev7547 2 года назад

    For real thanks on this vid. I will consider many new things i learned when i will ship my game on steam.

  • @MG-nn8dy
    @MG-nn8dy 2 года назад

    great work!

  • @rotub
    @rotub 9 месяцев назад

    This sh*t is so interesting. Thank you to both of you!