Community Dev Newsletter

HELLO!

We are so back (we were never gone). Today we're tackling a question I got asked in real life recently, and I thought it'd be helpful to chit chat about it here.

Also obligatory "you can buy my Mastering Community Management book now!" bit here. (To those of you who have already gotten it - wowowowow thank you for such an amazing response. We became a #1 Amazon best seller and are already getting some great reviews!)

This month's newsletter dives into:

Maintaining interest in your studio's game when they switch genres
Silly summer activity question
Several marketing-community links - job posts, resources, and more

Transferring Interest

If things go well, you'll find yourself in a situation where the studio you're working for is making another game! Woohoo!

Except... it might not be in the same genre as the previous one.

We talk a lot about how the benefit of a community is having a built-in audience ready to be fans of your next game, but what do we do when they might not have a lot of interest overlap? Like going from making a wholesome farming sim to a roguelike horror soulslike. Great question! Let's tackle that.

First we need to be realistic about what is going to happen:

There will be community/audience drop off. Some people just wont be interested in your next game point blank, and there will be no convincing them of that. This should be accounted for in your studio's plans.
The farther the game strays from the other game's genre or themes, the harder it'll be to maintain interest.
There will be natural friction when the two different audiences try to mesh.

There is also a lot of context wrapped up in this - your studio's pedigree or trust may ease or strain the process. (For example, think of Supergiant Games' portfolio and reputation!)

But for now we'll dive into the next question:

Why someone would stay in your community space?

They've become fans of your studio. They just like what you're doing - this could be for any reason, like you're transparent, the devs are funny, etc.
They trust your design vision. Your team has consistently made games that are interesting to them in some way, and/or the quality bar is so high they feel compelled to see what is coming next.
They have friends in the community. Through repeated interactions in the space you've created, they've connected with other regular players! Now they're not just here to one sidedly get information, but to be a part of the community.
There are updates to the game they're interested in. It's possible that even if your team is making a new game, the current one is getting semi-regular updates of some sort (even if just bug patches.) While the drop off may still occur, this may slow it down.

Then we get into the actual work of it all! There will be a variety of strategies you can implement to transfer interest between games, but at the surface, here are some suggestions:

Treat them like a new audience that need all new buy-in. This one is pretty self-explanatory - don't just assume they're easier to attract to the next game. You'll have to generate hype, figure out what exactly is interesting to particular members, and create buy-in!
Funnel them into a place that's easier to engage with them, if they aren't already. This could mean doing a big social push to get people onto your newsletter or Discord (or some place that is more active and engaged rather than something more one way like Bluesky or TikTok.)
Provide other means of engagement/activities to encourage players to stay. Once you can communicate with them more directly, you can do monthly streams, Q&As, contests, free downloads for backgrounds, etc.
Give them something to do. This is a bit different than the previous point, in that it's less about activities but roles for them in the community. Even if they're not suited to be something like a moderator, can they be greeters? Helpers? Are there other interesting ways they can contribute to the community that would be fun to them?

While it might not be the easiest thing in the world, it's not impossible! And even if people bounce off for one game, they may keep an eye on what you do after. At the end of the day you're on their radar, and that's a powerful place to be.

Community Activity 📝

Every month we do a skill testing exercise together, but this month it's a little different!! Have an activity idea or want to ask a question? Submit one anonymously.

The question:

It's still summer break for me! ☀ Show me what you're working on!

Feel free to email me back with your answer - I always respond. Mine will be in the next newsletter!

Last week's question:

Taking a break for summer in my part of the world! ☀ Send me your favorite meme!

I remember seeing this meme back in 2018 and it stuck with me. It's exactly my kind of humor yet imparts a deep, meaningful message (LEAVE!!!!)

Community Chatter 💬

Here are the interesting and helpful things I've seen this past month.

General News

measure.studio released an analysis of when social posts will die

Game News

Twitch is testing vertical video streams
Emma Smith-Bodie talks about building online communities that run themselves
Steam trailers got a fancy UI upgrade

Community & Marketing Game Jobs
These are not endorsements.

Activision - Senior Manager, Communications, Call of Duty, EMEA (London, UK)
EA - Contract Community Manager, Apex Legends (Vancouver, Canada)
Epic Games - Senior Influencer Marketing Manager (Multiple Locations, US)
Fangamer - Social Media Specialist (Remote)
Forklift Interactive - Contract TikTok Creator (Remote)
Infinity Ward - Communications Lead (Woodland Hills, US)
Roboto Games - Social Media & Community Manager (Remote)
Secret Mode - Influencer Relations Manager (Leamington Spa, UK)
Team17 - Community Manager (Wakefield, UK)
The Pokémon Company International - Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Premier Events (Bellevue, US)
Wizards of the Coast - Communications Manager (Renton, US)

But if I can harp on the book release again for a second - truly thank you so so so so much for the support. I have not stopped being nervous since its release (and even had some of that dreaded post-launch depression LOLOLOL) but it's been genuinely wonderful seeing all the comments about it so far.

You guys are the best.

❤️

Victoria