How to Promote a Board Game for Free

The best way to promote a board game for free is to go where your players already are: their Facebook groups, subreddits, favourite reviewers and blogs. Build a page and an email list, then join those communities and give before you ask. If you are wondering how to promote your game with little or no budget, here are ten free ways, the discovery side of how to market a board game.

10 Ways to Promote Your Game

1. Build a Facebook page. A page for your game helps people follow you. Add YouTube, Instagram or other platforms where your audience is, post regularly and reply to followers. Facebook no longer shows page posts to many people, but keep the page for credibility, and ask happy players to leave 5-star reviews there.
2. Send marketing emails. Write 5 to 10 emails for your audience: news about the game, upcoming events or special offers. Use a service such as Mailchimp. You first need a place to collect emails, so build your website first.
3. Polish your personal Facebook profile. This matters even more than the page. When people check you out, your profile should show who you are and the games you make.
4. Join relevant groups. Join the Facebook groups, subreddits and, for some games, BoardGameGeek communities where your audience spends time. Take part constructively and share your game when it fits.
5. Find reviewers and community leaders. In those groups, look for people with an established following who get the most engagement, and ask them to mention your game.
6. Reach out to YouTube reviewers. Do not overdo it: many reviewers will not bring sales directly, but they create great user-generated content you can reuse in your ads. Start with our lists of hobby board game reviewers and family game reviewers and channels.
7. Get featured on blogs and in the press. Find active board game blogs that fit your audience. Beware of blogs that charge a lot and bring little traffic; check their traffic with tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush. Paid press releases on Fiverr or Upwork can get your game into news sites, but expect little traffic.
8. Donate games. Give copies to charities, hospitals or game clubs. People who play there may look your game up later.
9. Host giveaways. Giveaways can raise awareness, but they can also become an expense with no direct result, so use them with care.
10. Reward referrals. Offer existing customers a benefit for referring friends. Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful forms of marketing.

Start with Your Audience

Before you invest time in any of these steps, identify your game target audience. Your audience decides your tone of voice, your message, the platforms and groups you join, even your colours.

Next Step: Paid Reach

Free board game promotion builds trust and a community. To reach people faster, add paid ads with our guide to board game advertising.