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Having survived many, many launches of varying degrees of success, I feel your pain when launch day comes near. You've probably got a checklist of stuff to do, announcements to announce, posts to post, updates to update, but your mind is frantic. Don't fret! You've got this. Keep your cool, try to keep your tabs below 20, and get some help to help you send posts and emails.
But what about social media? What all should you post then? Well, good news, on a lot of sites you can schedule posts so you can draft these before you even hit Release on Steam. So, let's go over 3(ish) of my tweets I always make come release week!
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(For all these examples I'll be using my most recent launch, Image of Perfection, a commercial RPG VN)

This one should be a no-brainer- hype your followers up by reminding them that your game releases tomorrow! I tweeted this right before 11AM CST on the day before- it has a video of gameplay, it has a small description, and has links to where they can buy it that next day.

✨ Optional ✨

Do a countdown on social media to your launch day! A fun way to do it is with art- here's a couple of examples from my 5 day countdown for Paths Taken- the countdown featured a different drawing of each of the main characters for each day. In hindsight, I could have mixed up the small message with them a bit more.
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I didn't schedule the launch tweet because I wanted to tweet it out the minute I uploaded it to Itchio and hit Release on Steam, but I did schedule the ICYMI tweet for later that night!

As you can see, the game went live around noon CST and I had scheduled the ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) post for later that night, around 6 hours later. If I had a professional trailer for this game done (it was a very quick 2 month development cycle- please try to get a good trailer done for your games!) then I would have posted that in the release announcement.
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Your mileage may vary on this one— you should send out emails to press before and during release, but it never hurts to just ask any that might follow you if they want to review it! Sometimes this lands me a few reviews, sometimes it only lands me a few RTs. Either way, it's worth the 30 seconds writing the tweet for me.
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The tweet for Image of Perfection only did a few RTs... but the Paths Taken tweet got a couple YouTubers interested!
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Run a giveaway for a free key or two of the game! Set a few rules (I typically say "follow us and RT to enter"), set an ending date, and link the store pages. As usual, I add a couple emojis for some extra flair.
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✨ Optional ✨

Some giveaways use custom graphics that have the rules explained in more detail. Some giveaways have more info and links in a reply tweet. Post the rules in whatever format you want!
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Reviews on any game are extremely important- so, show off the first few you get, especially if they're glowing reviews like the first one we got for Image of Perfection!
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...And that's it! There are a lot of other tweets you can make during launch (RTing streams, posting articles about the game, asking people to share their favorite screenshots, etc.) but these are a few more basic ones that I try to post every launch time. Hope this article helped some of you out- if it did, consider reading my previous articles!
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There's a new restaurant being built in my town- it's a refurbished old warehouse, so it's less being built and more being brought up to code. This has been going on the past few months, with the parking lot and landscaping recently being completed, so it was apparent that the restaurant was going to open very soon- however, the restaurant has yet to put a sign up with the name, let alone saying that it's even a restaurant and not some kind of shop.

​Today while driving past it, I remarked that they now had condiments and paper towels on the tables near the windows- surely it was going to open soon after they put the sign up. Tonight while driving past it, the parking lot was full. People were sitting in all the tables we could see. It was a soft launch where they were testing their speed and kitchen, so not the full launch- but yet, there was still no sign for the restaurant. As an outsider, I'd assume it was another boutique or even just a small warehouse like the surrounding stores.

This was mind-boggling to me- you want to open up a store and not even advertise what kind of store you are, let alone your name? Even a nearby restaurant that was hidden down a set of stairs had a few small signs (and even a menu) on the wall next to it. So, as a game developer and person who attempts to market said games, it got me thinking- what would this be like if a game did this?

I'm going to use a couple different cases here in my analogy since there won't really be anything 1 to 1.

Case #1 - No Name/Branding

The first case is the most obvious and extreme- you are posting on social media or Discord servers and such but you've yet to put a name to your product, or you fail to refer to it as such/put no logo with the images. People might see a screenshot of the game but if you don't have a name for it or don't put a name where people can easily see it, how will they be able to find out more? Sure, sometimes they'll see it on your Twitter, but what if they happen to see it out in the wild where you can't easily reply with an answer?

This should be a case that, if you're reading this, shouldn't happen. Most, if not all of you, should already have a name set for your game and be calling it by that name if you're actively promoting it in places. Now, I'm not saying you should throw you game's logo on all your promotional material for the game (I find it somewhat annoying to receive screenshots of in-engine looks with the logo plastered on it), but I am saying it's typically best to have the name visible when promoting it in places for consumers.

Case #2 - No Landing Page

This case is going to be more prevalent for most devs- we forget to have a landing page. In this sense, a "landing page" is going to be broad, but something where consumers can view what the game is about and see some form of updates for it. In this sense, the following (I feel) qualify as a "landing page":

• Steam/Itchio/GameJolt store page
• Website with newsletter
• Social media specifically for the game

I've picked the types above as they all include some way to see updates for the game as well as get notifications for new updates- while I normally wouldn't consider social media to be a "full" landing page as they're more for sharing links to the above two places, they are ways for players to subscribe to your content. I would very much prioritize the first two, i.e. making a store front for your game where players can wishlist/follow it and making a website where players can easily see what the game is about.

Your goal with a landing page is to convert viewers into customers. You want a landing page to entice a consumer into supporting your game, even if it hasn't launched- this can be by them following your social media, wishlisting the game, subscribing to your newsletter, and more.

So, what on Earth does this have to do with my long-winded analogy at the beginning of this? Well, them not putting up their name meant I had no way to search them up online, which means even if they did have a website (which they did) I couldn't find it so I couldn't see their menu, their "launch" date, and more. Make pages where potential customers can wishlist your game or sign up for updates!

When do I make a landing page?

As soon as possible! ...No, but really, you should try to make landing pages for your games months before release if you can. Wishlists on Steam are basically an automated email blast of when a game launches and goes on sale, so you want to collect as many of those as you can. And like I said with the analogy, if you wait until release to have a landing page, you're missing out on potential customers who lost interest because there wasn't a way for them to follow the game.

As game devs, we're all guilty of procrastinating things that aren't coding or art or writing (aka, everything business) but we really should try harder to put landing pages and such up sooner. Maybe next time I'll write on the abysmal importance of wishlists on Steam and how they translate to sales on launch day...

One thing I frequently get asked is "what do I post to social media? How do I keep it active? I don't have any art!" and I always send them a long list of ideas on what to post but I never consolidate it anywhere. So, it's about time I do that.

Below are a list of ideas on what to post to social media- ones in bold are ones I very much recommend for being high in engagement / eye-catching. Don't forget to check out my Game Dev Social Media Calendar and my Twitter Guide!
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1. Post a screenshot
2. Post a WIP screenshot
3. Post a progression screenshot (post an old WIP screenshot and then show how far its come)
4. Post a gif
5. Post a video/trailer
6. Post concept art
7. Post finished sprites
8. Post finished full art
9. Post a funny expression from your character sprites
10. Post a snippet of music
11. Post a full piece of music
12. Post a playlist that you listen to while working
13. Share (and credit) a piece of art that inspires you
14. Share a piece of fanart
15. Post a snippet of writing / a funny quote
16. Post a snippet of code
17. Post a picture of animals in the office
18. Post a picture of your workspace
19. Talk about your daily work routine
20. Give a review for a piece of equipment/software you use for work
21. Ask for feedback on something (piece of art, dialogue, etc)
22. Run a poll (ask what people's favorite game is, what their favorite x is, etc.)
23. Do a Q&A session
24. Talk about where you got the idea for your game
25. Talk about the game itself
26. Talk about future projects you'd like to do
27. Interview your staff / introduce them
28. Talk about what your dream merch for the game would be
29. Make a mood board / aesthetic board for the game
30. Post something inspirational for #MotivationMonday
31. Write an editorial to help other game devs
32. Post a link to an editorial you found helpful
33. Post a small preview of something upcoming
34. Do a giveaway of a previous game or a piece of software
35. Post a progression shot of how your game's art has changed
36. Thank your followers and highlight some of them
37. Link a Let's Play of one of your games
38. Talk about a game that inspired yours but what you'd change about it
39. Post a drawing of a girl from your game and tag it #CutieSaturday
40. Post a meme about your game
41. Post links to where people can find your other social media (Discord, devlog, etc.)
42. Post a funny chat log from your Discord
43. Post a picture of you showing the game off at a convention / booth
44. Post a survey to find more about your consumers and what they like
45. ...And more!

Here's a few examples of me doing these ideas on my company Twitter.
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Are you a visual novel developer or looking to become one? Join us in the Devtalk+ discord, regardless of experience level!
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I should probably preface this with a definition- what is a social media calendar? According to CoSchedule:

For now, I'll use the definition of "a list of plans to help create social media content". Social media calendars that fit this description, in most cases, are used by big corporations for brainstorming ideas for marketing content on social media, as the name implies. However, because most of these are made for large corporations by marketing companies, they are made to be as inclusive and broad as possible so anyone can use them- in this, they become harder to use, especially so for niches rather than conglomerates. I couldn't find one that would be great for game developers to use as reference for social media- rather, I had to use a combination of multiple calendars to get ideas for social media that would be relevant.

So, I made my own.
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These are a few suggestions for each day to post about you're games- some days have prominent hashtags (mainly on twitter) but every day has a suggestion on what to post in general.Wednesdays and Saturdays are typically the biggest in terms of relevant content you can post, given that they both have 2 large tags that are very relevant to game dev. This list is mainly for Twitter, but can be referenced for other social media sites.​
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Rather than an editorial, I want to preface this as being mostly opinion, as this is something that I have argued with people about before. I also want to preface this by saying I only mean this about games planning being/on Kickstarter and commercial games- games made just as a hobby are not what I mean by this article. I don't want any accusations that I'm against hobby dev- after all, that's how I got in the industry. Now with that out of the way, let's begin.

"Game dev as a business" means just that- it means looking at how you build games and refining that process from a business perspective, making decisions that are business oriented rather than fully game developer oriented. Again, let's get some disclaimers out of the way.

• This does not mean making every single decision from a business perspective, throwing all creative freedoms out the window in favor for more business-savvy choices
• This does not mean becoming a full-on business person and taking courses in running a business
• Again, this only applies to developers making games for Kickstarter and/or commercial games

So, in a more liberal sense, what does "game dev as a business" mean?

It means taking a step back every once in a while and looking at your game objectively- seeing it as something besides just your baby and evaluating if you're making smart decisions for the game that consumers want. It means making tweaks to the game that consumers will enjoy- after all, you're taking their money, so they should be happy with the product. It means not slacking on all the fields (namely marketing) while in development so your company can stay afloat after launch and make it to another launch.

On a smaller scale, it means adding more choices to a visual novel to make players who want a bit more interactivity happy. On a larger scale, it means changing the art style to be more appealing to a wider audience while also refining it to look more polished. On any scale, it means keeping marketing strong through the process rather than waiting till the last minute.
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Making more business-oriented decisions can help keep your studio afloat from one launch to another- it can mean the difference between actually making it to that next launch. Delaying a game release in order to properly market can lead to lots of sales that you would have missed otherwise had you waited until after launch to market the game. Adding some more interactivity can bring in new customers who would have otherwise been put off by the lack of gameplay.

Basically, making business decisions for the game can bring in new customers and/or satisfy current ones.

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Working on a game from start to finish is a harrowing task with lots of road bumps, but once your finished, some devs are left with a question- what now? What do I do with my game now that it's done? Well, you can post it on Google Drive or Dropbox and share that link around, but if you want a more serious way to publish then consider publishing your game on gaming websites. But, which ones? Below I've outlined some of the most popular choices for sharing free and commercial games.

There are 2 lists- PC and HTML. Note that some of these overlap- you can upload mobile and HTML to Itch.io, but I'm only going into detail on it in the PC list.

Naturally, Steam has to be on this list- it's the largest, most known game distribution platform out there. So, let's quickly go over some pros and cons to Steam.
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Pros:

• Largest gaming platform with the largest userbase

Cons:

• Largest gaming platform with the largest selection of competing games
• $100 fee per game uploaded
• Lots of information to fill out with multiple review processes
• Somewhat difficult uploading process for new devs (and lackluster documentation)

Itch.io in recent years has grown in popularity for indies, and for good reason.
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Pros:

• Free to use
• Easy upload process with no review processes
• A good launch can secure a high place on the search places for a longer time

Cons:

• No review process means there are tons of shovelware and multiple reuploads on the site
• Not many users on the site so don't expect 50+ downloads on launch unless you market it

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Game Jolt has been a long standing indie site for flash games but now has opened up to downloadable games- however, their primary consumer base is still HTML.
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Pros:

• Free to use
• Easy upload process with no review processes
• Fans can follow individual game pages as well as your developer account

Cons:

• Easy to not get many views on the site with one game but a healthy amount on another
• The consumer base is still heavily HTML gaming

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Have you heard of Kartridge before this list? Neither had I before I researched forums to share games on and ended up finding a thread about posting games to Kartridge! It's a subsidiary of Kongregate (which will be on the list later) that was launched around November 2018 during the big Epic Games / Discord Store buzz and subsequently got drowned out by all the bigger news.
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Pros:

• Free to use
• Easy upload process with no review processes*
• Not many games on the site so little competition

Cons:

• No analytics whatsoever that I can find**
• Despite Kongregate still having a decent sized consumer base, very few of them transferred over to Kartridge

* Despite games being able to launch without a review process, the staff will go back and check games afterwards and then decide if they belong on the store. For instance, my kinetic (no choices) visual novel The Witch in the Forest was on the store for about 12 hours until I got an email saying it didn't meet their gameplay standards and was manually taken down.
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** I've searched and searched and searched and even emailed the staff about analytics, with them basically saying "they'll work on it" (as of January 2019). ​There's no way to tell downloads on free games, no way to even tell how many views your games have. I believe this could be an oversight but the non-inclusion of them after launch is, as I believe, due to the low user counts that they don't want to publish.
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I'll make this and the Discord Store quick since I don't know much about them- it's new, it's still in a mostly closed beta, and analytics for how well they do haven't been released yet.

Pros:

• Not many games on the site so little competition

Cons:

• Stigma against the platform due to exclusives, Tencent, and more
• Seemingly exclusive beta only for extremely polished indie games

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The Discord Store is... odd. It's still very much going through changes and by the time this article has made rounds it's undoubtedly going to have made even more changes. At one point, there was a tab on Discord that allowed you to see all the games they have- now, that's gone, and only a select few can be seen on the Nitro tab, making it impossible as of right now to see a list of every game on Discord through the client (even searching games that are definitely on the store doesn't work on the current Nitro tab). So, how do consumers find your game on Discord? Either via direct link or through an individualized store tab on your server- aka, nothing organic.

Pros:

• Not many games on the site so little competition

Cons:

• $25 fee per game
• No actually store front for every game, only individualized store fronts in various servers

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Might as well throw this on the list, eh? While it's not really a gaming platform- it's a database for indie games, as you can tell from the name- you can still upload and download indie games from it, so I'll count it.
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Pros:

• Easy to set up a page
• Brings in some viewers on its own
• Makes a press kit for you

Cons:

• Not meant to be a gaming platform, more of a database for indie games (hence the name)

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Almost forgot about this one on my list since it's not very indie friendly at all- as the name implies it used to be mostly older PC titles but has since shifted towards publishing indie and AAA studio titles (read: not solo indie games). While there might be a couple super indie titles on there, the vast majority won't make it on this site due to their very tiny submission process and strict polish standards- I along with a few friends have been declined from the site multiple times, with one of the games being declined being listed on an indie gem list on Steam.

Pros:

• Very short initial submission process

Cons:

• Very high "quality" standards- anything that looks indie or doesn't have a big studio backing it up won't be on there 99% of the time

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Already reviewed in the PC list, please see above.
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Yes, Newgrounds is still alive and kicking (and actually a decent place to post art both in your gallery and in art threads)! I remember using it as a kid and I'm happy to say it's still a very active place.

Pros:

• Free to use
• Very easy submission process

Cons:

• Not a lot of analytics to look at

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Another one of the oldies, Kongregate has been around for a lot longer than my career and is still kicking.

Pros:

• Free to use
• Easy submission process

Cons:

• Not a lot of analytics to look at- same developers as Kartridge

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Again, Armor Games has been around for a long time and is still very active- you can easily get 1,000 views from the site alone within the first couple hours of launch.

Pros:

• Free to use
• Easy submission process

Cons:

• Hardly any analytics to look at

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Already reviewed above in the PC section.