Board Game Advertising in 10 Steps

Board game advertising works when you advertise on at least two platforms where your players are, test several ads at once, and keep the ones that bring sales or sign-ups at the lowest cost. Plan a steady budget for several months: the platforms need time and data to find your audience. Here is how to advertise your game in ten steps.

Read how to market a board game and the free ways to promote a board game first: ads work best when your audience already finds a community and a good website. Each step below is a field of its own, so you may want to learn more about each one, or hire a professional.

Where to Run Board Game Ads

Small independent reviewers and pages are rarely worth paying for ads.

10 Steps to Advertise Your Game

1. Choose at least two platforms. Advertise where your audience spends time. If they live on Facebook, start there; if they shop on Amazon or watch YouTube, reach them there.
2. Find the keywords your audience uses. Use keyword tools such as Google Ads Keyword Planner, SEMrush or Ahrefs. Keywords are not only words but what people want: if they search for fun card games, show them that your game is fun. If unsure, ask what you would search for in their shoes.
3. Pick the cheapest keywords that convert. Compare cost per click with how often each keyword turns into a sale or sign-up, and favour low competition with high conversion.
4. Focus on five keywords. A few specific keywords keep your ads targeted and your tests organised.
5. Create the ads. Make at least three short video ads (Facebook, TikTok, YouTube), three text ads (a headline and description for Google and Amazon) and three banner ads if you use banners. Best practice is ten of each. Each ad should show a different side of the game: gameplay, the display, what players get.
6. Run them for at least 10 days. Give the platforms time to collect data, and watch results in Facebook Ads Manager or Google Ads. Some marketers find it takes around USD 5,000 of spend before the algorithms fully learn who your audience is.
7. A/B test. Split your ad groups and run two versions side by side, then compare after the 10 days.
8. Improve what works. Keep the winners, change or drop the rest.
9. Repeat. Advertising is ongoing: keep testing until you find the best combination for your game.
10. Track your return. Watch cost per click (CPC), cost per acquisition (CPA), conversion rate and return on investment (ROI): how much you spend to earn each dollar back.

How Much to Spend

In a good campaign, ads cost about USD 2 to 3 for each new subscriber or follower. Only some subscribers buy or back (about 15% of crowdfunding page followers), so each customer won through ads costs several times that: at USD 2 to 3 per subscriber and 15% conversion, roughly USD 20 per backer. If your cost per subscriber is much higher, improve your ads before you spend more.

For a crowdfunding campaign, plan about three to five months of ads at around USD 1,000 a month. With a professional ad manager, a budget of around USD 6,000 is common; an experienced manager saves money by avoiding trial and error. We recommend the Crowdfunding Nerds for this. Our Kickstarter pre-launch plan shows how to plan the numbers.

What to Do When Sales Are Low

If your ads are running but sales are low, there are two more things to try before you give up.

Increase What Each Customer Spends

It costs the same to win a customer whether they buy one item or three, so every extra item is almost a free sale:

• A second copy at a discount: for gifts or a second home.
• Bundles: the game with a custom playmat, dice or card sleeves, at a bundle price.
• Expansions and your other games: offer them at checkout.

Revise Your Marketing

• Show user-generated content: photos and videos of real players enjoying your game build more trust than your own ads. Encourage customers to share them.
• Redesign your website: present the experience and the benefits in a new way, make sure it works on phones, and make the call to action clear and visible.
• Change your ads, or ask a professional: try new copy, images or targeting. You may be reaching the wrong audience; an expert review can spot it.

Keep testing until you find the mix that works for your game and your audience. It is easier to give up than to keep believing in what you are doing, so give yourself another two months before you stop pushing your game and your dream forward.

"A leader sees his target through the chaos, and he keeps moving forward until the chaos clears up and becomes a well-trodden path." Hersh, founder of Hero Time