How To Contact Press (And Increase Chances To Get Press Coverage)
Here is PixelProspector’s comprehensive take on “How To Contact Press”.
Here are a few important things that the guide covers: Have a newsworthy game, contact only relevant sites (sending an iOS game to a PC only site or a beat em up to a site that focuses on adventure games is not a good idea), have a descriptive subject line (that tells the editor instantly what the game is about…), provide the basics (short description of game and link to screenshots, trailer, demo, website…)
Download the guide (32 pages / 1 MB) or scroll down to read the embedded pdf version.
Table Of Contents
1. Understanding – Observations of the recipient
- 1.1 Understanding the editor
- 1.2 What happens when an editor receives a mail
- 1.3 The Press Kit
2. Writing – How to contact
- 2.1 The Preparation – Essential things to consider before writing mail
- 2.2 The Form – Essential things to consider when writing a mail
- 2.3 The Content – Essential things to consider when writing a mail
- 2.4 Putting it together – Example mail
3. Sending – Whom to contact
- 3.1 Gaming Sites
- 3.2 YouTubers
- 3.3 Retro Sites
- 3.4 Non Gaming Sites
- 3.5 Game Dev Sites
- 3.6 Compos / Festivals
- 3.7 Press Release Sites
- 3.8 Print Magazines
- 3.9 TV
4. Reflecting – Post Sending Phase
- 4.1 What to do after you have sent your mail
- 4.2 What to do when your game gets featured
- 4.3 Possible reasons why your game wasn’t featured
- 4.4 Writing a follow up mail
5. Recommended Further Reading
Leave a comment
Fantastic article, could almost be called a book. Thanks for taking the time.
Bill
September 5, 2012
It’s just too awesome. Thanks!
Vincent
September 5, 2012
Niiiice! I must say this is one of our weakest aspects as a studio. It’s really difficult to get the attention of editors with large audiences. Hopefully this will give some of us a leg up :-) Cheers.
richtaur
September 5, 2012
I plan to release my first iOS game: Battle Box in this month…thank GOD i surfed to PixelProspector and found this great ebook.
Thank you very much for sharing!
Is there any way to feature my game in PixelProspector?
It’s indie too :D
Andre Khrisna
September 6, 2012
Could you please go back in time and post this about a month ago? Thank you!
(I’m the sole developer of Island Forge, and my Kickstarter campaign is almost up. One of my biggest challenges has been contacting press/news/media/review sites to get any notice. Your text is most appreciated.)
Nyhm
September 7, 2012
[...] journalists with Pixel Prospector’s excellent and thorough guide published earlier this week: How To Contact Press (And Increase Chances To Get Press Coverage). There are other potential services he wants to see solve common problems that indie [...]
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September 7, 2012
Nice piece – well thought through. Hey. You can add our Indie channel at PCGamesN.com to your press list!
James
September 11, 2012
[...] How To Contact Press (And Increase Chances To Get Press Coverage) business [...]
Superlicious | Superlevel
September 26, 2012
can i add you to my press lists? i have 2 cool clients, a graphic tablet and 3D software.
regards,
dw
daryl wise
November 11, 2012
I prefer short mails! For me the game description are just lines extra that add to the chance that I don’t get to the end of the mail.
When a game is good just salute and present the game with a line or two saying what makes it unique/great. Providing then a couple links with a review copy and a press kit makes the life much easier! Just write the details (description, price, where can it be bought, etc) in the press kit .
Also, if you have your own web site, consider building a “private” page (that can’t be accessed from the main site) that has the press kit contents -doesn’t need to be anything fancy.
To us it saves time downloading and extracting ZIPs and, to the devs, it gives you a chance to expand and fix info after the mail has been sent.
Oscar
April 11, 2013
[...] How to Contact Press (PixelProspector Blog) – a great, comprehensive document [...]
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April 20, 2013
I have this bookmarked. Preparing for press release distribution soon. Thanks. This definitely comes in handy.
Verne Ornitier
April 23, 2013
[...] How to Contact Press (And Increase Changes To Get Press Coverage) (oriented around promoting indie games but the essentials are there) [...]
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May 6, 2013
[...] How to Contact Press (And Increase Changes To Get Press Coverage)(oriented around promoting indie games but the essentials are there) [...]
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May 7, 2013
Very well written and to the point. Hope to use these tips our game press release.
liz0802
May 14, 2013