Game developers 'How to': Drawing more attention to your Flash games?

As an independent Flash games developer, you should know by now, that marketing and exposure are the best ways, and the only right way, of making money. You might use Mochiads/GameJacket for monetizing your intros with PPC ads, you might use new platform swith Google Adsense abilities, and you might implement local API's like Kongregate's/NewGrounds's/HallPass's etc. Nevertheless, you'll always need the right amount of pushing and pumping skills and/or tools.

When you launch a new casual Flash game without any sponsor, you are probably using one of the mentioned methods for monetizing your art. Lets talk about them for a sec:

1. Mochi And friends: Mochimedia and its copycats, are serving a great service of mediating between companies how need ad space and companies how needs advertisers on their empty ad space. Simple yet powerful. You can make about ~$1 for 1000 gameplays.
2. Xpogames is actually NewGrounds, HallPass and Kongregate all together. They're all great within their own closed borders. However, there are great communities there. with millions of gameplays per day. So if you integrate their API and upload your games, they'll get the kick start you need, the testing (and hostile I might add) environment. From my own experience, they're mostly about "will give you cash, but we will be very happy if you could you spent it here", but you don't have to. The word says it's about $2 for 1000 gameplays.

Now, lets see what you can do to push you game farther, to the next step of exposure:
1. If you've implemented Mochi (or any other similar service of pay per click ads), boost it! Upload to all mentioned now! (Don't try Kongregate, they don't want others ads).
2. Share your avatar, update your status, describe you and your work, 'go down' to the community, be social.
3. After realising the first version of the game, use the community words to improve the game. Launch 'V.2' as a new different improved game.

The best six tips for Flash game developer to make money

There are a lot of tips which I can blurb (and already blurbed) about, in money making methods and the ongoing marathon। However, now – today – you've just came across the best six tips for Flash game developer about 'how to make money from Flash games developing'.

1. The oldest way to make money is getting the game sponsored – You do it after developing it, getting the best audio and graphics you can. Pros: It's cash. Cons: Hard to get.
2. Host your games and draw the players in – There are several independent Flash game developers who activated personal sites for own games hosting. They put ads around it, they have millions gameplays. Pros: No middle-man. Cons: You should understand SEO.
3. In game ads – Their simple, gets you a fluent income and possible to combine with 1 + 2. Pros: Very fast integration. Cons: Less than $1 for every 1000 gameplays.
4. Sell the game/your abilities – McDonalds, CNN and other great companies are looking for game developers for commercial needs. Be the one. Pros: Lots of money. Cons: Very hard to get.
5. Good game is a one with lots of "I die for this game" users. So make a better version and take money for it. They'll buy it. You'll make money. Pros: You make money for a game 90% already developed. Cons: You should first develop a hit.
6. API Integration – Hallpass, Kongregate etc, might pay you for integrating their API into your game. This way, you'll be sending highscores directly into their database, and get paid for each user/integration/game. Pros: Trendi, very important for public relation and social marketing. Cons: It's the end of the tip.

Big changes – Kongregate is getting social

One of the only (and lonely) independent game developers community sites, is as well known – Kongregate। K gives a very profitable business model for game developers and recently changed their whole interface in order to become more social. Is it all about a new gamers/developers social network?

Since early 2007, young/old, companies & independent game developers has finally got the right web support they needed। Mochiads started serving in game advertising (as Google does since last month), NewGrounds became more serious and two American brother & sister established Kongregate.
The K interface changed few weeks ago living no doubt: Kongregate needs the casual gamers and is whiling to invest in socializing tools. As long as K's developing community stays in-house (as they called to stay since the restriction of using other in-game advertising methods), that just might work.

However, since the launch of the other gaming social networks for game developers, there are rumors about amazing socializing and marketing tools for game developers. The business model is the same as K's (without the restriction) + the Google Adsense revenue sharing.

Three web sites no Flash game developer can avoid these days

As a Flash game developer, you have 3 reasons to check out new/leading web sites: 1. You take a break (and this is what porn sites are for). 2. You have to see others work & trends. 3. You have to make money from your casual games and you're looking for monetizing methods. Well, drop the porn sites, and I'll show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

1. ArmorGames - a। The first thing you should know is that they have no porn content. Sorry. b. Armorgames is an amazing place for casual games. They have it all - they sponsor games, they hire game developers - they need new games in order to pass the next month, and as a content creator you are wanted!

You also have MiniClip, Meez, Cafe, NewGrounds etc - Don't worry most of them are unique and special in it's own way। Flash game developers should take advantage over the differences between these great sites. Mochiads is a little different - they're all about giving you great business modal.

2. Facebook - a। They know gaming (especially social gaming) is the thing that makes it going, so they invest in game developing and the usabilty of their applications. b. They have more audience that you need.

Myspace as Facebook, Bebo (with the dual support of facebook applications as well as OpenSocial methods by Google) all give a great stage for gaming between the virtual worlds they create around you। Use them to market.

Good old Kongregate (which disallow having in game advertising rather then they're own), give flash game developers the opportunity to upload games, having them monetized by in game and around game ads, socialize and getting the suitable stage as been a real content creators. Kong treats game developers as YouTube(/Google) treats film makers.

Getting to know the gaming scene and the game developers communities & social networks

There are many places to expose your work (flash games I mean) via free to use Internet tools. There are social networks, game developers communities and places where most of your kind hangs out. If game exposure is all you need (and it's not as the marketer of your own games), you know enough already and with this short tip you can handle it perfectly: Use social networks to draw the right amount of attention into your blog/site/portal. However, to get really socialized, to take advantages of the free tools, and the special abilities if every network and/or community, you really need to understand the background of each one: Lets take a deep breath and dive into: Kongregate, Newgrounds, Cafe.com, Meez and more.

Kongregate:
K' is unique. Rather then XPOGames.com promising yet to go online social network, Kong is the only place which aims his major themes to three audiences: casual gamers, independent flash games developers and addicted online gamers. Every one can open a profile page, collect friends, badges and get socialized. The community will mostly help you understand what you've done wrong and/or how good or bad is your game. As flash game developer you can join weekly contests, challenge online friends and earn money for being a content creator.
NewGrounds:
NG is also unique. Rather then it's amazing game index, it is a flash portal with movies and art creations with the cool Adobe(/Macromedia) technology. The flash game developers community is hostile. Yes, hostile - they'll kick your aXX virtually and actually। There is great technical help in NG forums, but don't expect anyone to be nice and smile (there wont be any!).

Meez + Cafe:

Meez and Cafe are similar, because of it's closed platform। Meez runs currently a great game development contest however it is a close one which you need to use the Meez API in order to make it a Meez game. Cafe is pretty much the same - there are inside games made by professional yet insiders developers.

Facebook:

It's not a gaming platform and i have no need to introduce Facebook to most of you। However you should remember that marketing is finding you audience and give them what they need. Facebook users need to d something so Facebook enabled social games among it's users. You can use others application and/or create your own. By that, you'll get an amazing expuser for your games. Keep i min three things: 1. Social networks are for socializing and time passing, combine them and it's a hit! 2. Facebook always give you the feel that if you don't like what you see/get you ca go fuXX yourself. It's true, and if you'll try otherwise, they'll close your account in no time.3. If you have a personal account in Facebook, use a different more professional 'flash games developer' kind of account.

MySpace:

Well, as long as Myspace is twice as big as Facebook among US users, you should think of getting to know it's new application platform, which suppose to be following the Google openSocial API and therefor makes your application suitable for at list 35 other social networks। Use an application to show your games, and get millions of social eyes on it.

GalonaG.

(Ohhh I almost forgot...this blog is about making money by developing great games, so I have to tell you about Mochiads competitor - BigWig.com, the new kid on the block. Check it out - in games advertising with revenue sharing methods).