AI by NicheJob 12 of 15ChatGPTGemini
Make a zero-budget marketing plan
Many solo devs have time but no money, and marketing gets dropped when crunch hits. A weekly plan with small, steady tasks keeps wishlists growing. Building it around your real hours, with one thing to measure each week, shows what is worth repeating.
Time: 15 minutesTool cost: you can start with a free AI tool
Steps
- Note your release date or target window, your store page status, and the hours a week you can realistically give to marketing.
- List what you already have: a trailer or clips, a press kit, a mailing list, community accounts, and festivals you could enter.
- Example (made up, for illustration only): a solo developer with a cosy farming game launching in 12 weeks has four hours a week. The plan has one short gameplay clip and one devlog post a week, a festival application in week 3, outreach to ten small streamers in week 6, and a store page refresh in week 9.
- Run the prompt below and put each week’s tasks in your calendar as recurring blocks.
- Track wishlists weekly in Steamworks, noting which clip or post went out that week.
- Review the plan monthly and drop what isn't working.
The exact prompt
Make a 12-week marketing plan for my game, with no paid ads. Genre: [GENRE]. Release: [DATE OR WINDOW]. Hours per week: [NUMBER]. What I already have: [TRAILER, CLIPS, PRESS KIT, MAILING LIST, ACCOUNTS]. Include: devlogs, short clips, communities (for example Reddit and Discord, within each community’s own rules), creator outreach, festivals, store page updates. Table by week: task, channel, time needed, and one thing to measure. Keep the total within my hours. Do not invent festival names or dates, follower numbers or results; write [CHECK DATE] where a date is needed.
✓ Check before you send
- The plan fits your real hours.
- Nothing in the plan needs paid ads.
- Festival and event dates were checked on the organisers’ own sites.
- Any paid or gifted creator coverage is clearly labelled as advertising, following ASA rules.
- Mailing-list emails go only to people who signed up, with an unsubscribe link.
UK notes extra
- UK: if you give a creator payment, a key or anything else in return for coverage, check the ASA guide on making clear that ads are ads. ASA: influencers’ guide to making clear that ads are ads.
- UK (PECR): a newsletter about your game is likely to count as direct marketing. The ICO says “You must not send marketing emails or texts to individuals without specific consent.” Email only people who signed up, with a way to unsubscribe in every email. Emailing a creator can count too: the ICO says “Sole traders and some partnerships are treated as individuals”, so a creator who works as a sole trader needs to have agreed to hear from you, or be a past customer under the soft opt-in, while a creator’s company can be emailed if you name yourself and give a way to opt out in every email. Check the ICO page before any outreach. ICO: electronic mail marketing (UK; PECR; the ICO page says the guidance is under review and may change).
Last reviewed Oct 2026. Free tools change. If a screen looks different, the steps still apply.Back to top ↑