{"id":2527,"date":"2024-07-01T17:30:46","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T16:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/?p=2527"},"modified":"2024-07-01T17:30:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T16:30:46","slug":"bamboozled-by-board-game-twitch-professional-streamer-banzainators-top-tips-for-working-with-influencers-to-make-your-campaign-shine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/01\/bamboozled-by-board-game-twitch-professional-streamer-banzainators-top-tips-for-working-with-influencers-to-make-your-campaign-shine\/","title":{"rendered":"Bamboozled by board game Twitch? Professional streamer Banzainator’s top tips for working with influencers to make your campaign shine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Online streaming platforms have exploded in the last decade, with ballooning numbers of viewers tuning in to Twitch and other services to chat with their favourite presenters as they play games online. Board gaming is no exception, and a rising slate of influential streamers such as Beneeta Kaur<\/a> and Amanda Panda<\/a> provide a powerful new outlet to get games noticed amid the sea of new releases. But navigating this new technological territory and knowing how to get the best from a streamer campaign can be a minefield for designers and publishers. Professional streamer Banzainator<\/a>, who has thousands of Twitch followers and also works as a community manager for Alderac Entertainment Group, shared with BoardGameWire her strategic advice for how to best work with streamers to get your game noticed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m Banzainator, and I\u2019m a board gamer who somehow landed in this industry creating content while having fun! Here are some things I\u2019ve learned while freelancing – hopefully you can take away some tips and tricks for the next time you\u2019re planning a campaign. Note: From my experience, working with larger, more corporate companies is a lot different – they\u2019ll often have larger budgets, but will be more strict on what they need and will often have to get approval months in advance for content. I won\u2019t be covering that side of things here. Instead, I\u2019ll be focusing on smaller companies or individuals needing coverage for their games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Be professional in your initial approach<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Even though we\u2019re on multiple social media channels, the best way to talk \u201cwork things\u201d is by email. Look in the bio of the creator\u2019s profile and see if they have any links or info on what their email is. Trying to do business in someone\u2019s direct messages is a lot more common than it should be. DM\u2019s get buried, it\u2019s harder to organize, and can be hard to find for reference later.

Tip:<\/em> A way to start that conversation if you<\/strong> can\u2019t find an email<\/strong> is \u201cHello, my name is ___ with ___. We\u2019re coming out with a new game and would like to send more info to see if you\u2019re interested in working with us. We\u2019d also like to get your rates. Thank you for your time!\u201d You\u2019ll get a much quicker answer if they know you\u2019re not wanting free work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Is your game actually ready for content creators?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s really helpful when a company sends a near-complete demo\/pre-production copy of the game. I\u2019ve gotten some games that were close to scraps of index cards and cardboard. It\u2019s a nice thought, but it\u2019s harder to create content of what the audience will get in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. “We can offer you a free game as payment!”<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Expecting people to work for you for free is really bad, and really sad. The only time I\u2019ve seen this work is offering a free game in exchange for nothing<\/em> \u2013 no reviews, no photos, no posts, just giving a game to a person, and if they do something with it, they will. If not, no worries.

I\u2019ve done a lot of free work and haven\u2019t been bitter about it. I\u2019ve also been insulted and cried over how companies did things because I could tell they were trying to take advantage of me. A good rule of thumb is: be transparent about what you\u2019re offering, and if you\u2019re offering no money, then be okay with people turning you down.<\/strong>\u00a0

One of the \u201ccrying\u201d experiences I had was when a company was seeking creators to work on their game. They seemed really excited about it, which made me want to work with them. We talked on what I would do, and they knew my rates. Then they ghosted me. After a few weeks they reached out again, said they decided to use their budget on other creators, but still wanted me to do everything we agreed upon for free, in exchange for their board game. They made it seem like they were doing me a favor. I cried really hard on that one. It made me feel like crap. I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t end up working with them.

Thankfully, most of my experiences with publishers are positive ones. A lot of the people are chill and really nice, and some of them are fellow content creators, too.

Note: Doing paid reviews is a whole other topic, and can cross the line of being ethical. Receiving a review copy and doing a review for free is different from making sponsored content in a creative way to market a game.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Sometimes your game won’t fit a content creator’s style<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

For example, I dislike co-op games. I also have a hard time covering party games because I don\u2019t have access to getting a lot of people to play it with to try it out. If I turn down your drinking\/party\/co-op game, it\u2019s not you \u2013 it\u2019s me. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Not paying on time – or not paying at all<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

If you ghost other creators on payment, we will hear about it. We won\u2019t know the story behind it all, even if the creator didn\u2019t do a satisfactory job for you. But if you say you\u2019re going to pay, and then don\u2019t or have to be bugged over and over just to get the payment\u2013we will hear about it. Word gets around and we won\u2019t want to work with you. There are other companies we already like and respect who have work for us, and we won\u2019t put up with any company that is like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Banzainator playing the board game Aquatica on her stream<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
6. Being clear on terms is good for everyone<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s okay to ask questions, e.g. \u201cHey. I need some clarification on our plan. Is it okay if we schedule a quick Google Meet soon?\u201d We know you\u2019re human too, and we often have questions as well. Showing that you’re happy to ask for clarification on terms lets us know that we can be comfortable asking questions in return. We want to help you succeed – which is why we\u2019re in this field.\u00a0<\/strong>

I\u2019ve been dealing with some minor burn out, and I often forget things. So I\u2019ve been emailing back and forth with companies with timeline summaries, and notes if we had a video call. Having it in writing for both parties really helps.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Scheduling and timelines are necessary – don’t leave it to the last minute!<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes we have events and content planned out months in advance. Right now I have a stream already scheduled for mid-August. If you have a timeline, know that we do too – because we\u2019re working with companies just like you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Rates and contracts<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Content creators will usually have fixed rates but can be negotiable on what they charge based on what you want them to do. For example, if a creator is charging $300 for a video, they charge $300 for a video. Please do not ask them to lower their rates for you. However, you could ask if they charge for advertised static posts, and go with that if it fits better for your budget. Most creators know how to handle this and will make sure you\u2019re not getting ripped off.

I recently lowered my rate for a company because they asked me several times to, saying they didn\u2019t have a lot of money for marketing. Since then, I\u2019ve seen content creators far and wide do content for their game, and I realized they probably sent that same message to everyone trying to squeeze out a deal. I\u2019ve taken note and won\u2019t be working with them again.

A different company asked me what my rates were and sent info about their game. I did research on them and realized their game was super simple, they weren\u2019t asking for much, and it was just them doing all the work. I ended up offering a cheaper rate to them to help them out, and they were surprised and grateful. Again, we want to see you succeed.

Contracts and agreements: I have a contract, but use agreements more. I hired a lawyer just to write me a contract to use in this industry. However, there\u2019s a lot of people I\u2019ve worked with for years where we get everything done over email. But if I need a contract, I have it and use it.\u00a0

When I send an invoice, I write an itemized list of what I\u2019m doing with the due dates. I\u2019m clear on what they\u2019re paying for, and we make sure we\u2019re both on the same page before I write the invoice. In this way, it\u2019s an agreement, but not a contract. With larger companies there are contracts on both sides.\u00a0

Contracts are also important for protecting creators and their time. For example, if the contract says the creator will not<\/strong> change the music they select for their video, you cannot ask them to change a song after they spend hours upon hours editing their video. Creators have a specific style they\u2019ve used, and that\u2019s why you\u2019re hiring them. Asking for a bunch of changes after a final product is time consuming and aggravating. So contracts should state how many<\/strong> changes and what<\/strong> type<\/strong> of changes are allowed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. AI is a NO-NO<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

If you use it, I won\u2019t work with you. Not only do I believe it\u2019s not right, but my community also believes it\u2019s not right. I need to protect myself and my brand, and your product isn\u2019t worth putting my career at risk. If you use AI, I need to know right away. I will not take on work for any game that uses AI art.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Be kind<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

All of us are trying to pay our bills doing something we love. It\u2019s so rewarding! This community can be wonderful. Contribute to it by being kind. It pays off. I always say, \u201cwork hard, play hard.\u201d When you work your butt off making a great game, we can play it and tell the world about it. I work in this industry because I\u2019m having fun and I\u2019m somehow getting away with it in life. How am I still here? Sometimes I think I\u2019m going to wake up and be in another cubicle filing digital forms. Yet here I am! I\u2019m not making millions of dollars, but I\u2019m close to racking up a million cumulative victory points. Be kind, and enjoy the ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Banzainator streams regularly on her Twitch channel here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more stories like this direct to your email inbox, click here to sign up for BoardGameWire’s free email newsletter. \n\nAnd if you’ve found our reporting interesting or useful, please consider a paid subscription to help support our journalism!<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Professional streamer Banzainator, who has thousands of Twitch followers and also works as a community manager for Alderac Entertainment Group, shared with BoardGameWire her strategic advice for how to best work with streamers to get your game noticed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[132,1078,1076,1077,6,274,462,298,40,267,1075,475],"class_list":["post-2527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-alderac","tag-amanda-panda","tag-banzainator","tag-beneeta-kaur","tag-board-game","tag-campaign","tag-designer","tag-influencer","tag-marketing","tag-publisher","tag-stream-streaming","tag-twitch"],"blocksy_meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2527"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2543,"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527\/revisions\/2543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}