Game On: Content for Gaming

Many years ago, my father took me took me to Atlantic City. We traveled by bus, because he would not have to drive three hours each way. Besides, it was comfortable, you had AC, and, most importantly - you got a $20 voucher to redeem as chips at a casino. Years later, I remembered this as an important factor in bringing in new players or old players back: incentive. It might hold true for most e-commerce, but it is especially an important factor in the gaming world: people want to get something in return for playing at your venue. Whether it's casino style, poker, bingo, or any other type of games, people want an incentive for playing at your website. And your content, in addition to delivering entertaining, fun info, must bring them that incentive.

Seems like a piece of cake, right? just keep writing variations on 'play now' or 'get your special bonus.' The thing is, after a while, this type of content become so ubiquitous, it becomes more difficult to stand out: 200% bonus! 300% bonus! 500% bonus! %1,000 bonus! 2,000% bonus!

I've written for so many online gaming, casino, poker and social gaming sites, it's almost mind-boggling to think how much there are (or were) in existence. There were sites with names that are so ridiculous...you'd Google 'casino' or 'poker' and get results like 'hodgepodge casino' or 'payback poker,' you wouldn't believe it; text so badly written - and unedited - it was fun just reading it. And at the beginning, it didn't matter that much, because all people wanted to do - was to play. Of course, the number of con sites was immense - but, that's another story...

It's all about making the players feel they're getting something - and are part of something

Once, all users wanted to do is play; then, it became a playing experience. It's up to the content creator to deliver the "what this gaming experience can do for me" promise, in an exciting, non-condescending tone. With so many online establishments today, how can you differentiate yours? a bonus? every respectable poker/casino site has that. Maybe it's additional content, such as tutorials, poker lessons, rewards that are not dependent on how many times he plays a certain game, etc. It may sound easy at first, but after you do it day-in, day-out for years, even months...that's where the real challenge is: reinventing your content.

Gaming content can be divided into three categories:

The promotional content

This includes emails, newsletters, landing pages, etc.

When we write introductory emails, we don't 'sell' the game. We tell them about 2 things: the experience that they can enjoy, and the rewards they can reap from it. Whether it's free chips, free play, and of course - bonuses (the larger, the better...). On the homepage or landing page we tell users why it's worth for them to join or even leaving us their details.

If you were a poker player and got an email that said, "play or you'll lose your chips." How would you feel? I know that I would think, "fine, I'll play somewhere else; after all, there's no shortage of gaming options on your computer or mobile." as opposed to "play today and get an extra X chips?" As it is the holiday season, everyone enjoys surprises. Getting a note informing that you got an extra bonus or more chips, "on the house" will put a smile on their faces. After all, it is the season of giving, right...?

The informative content

This includes basic blogs or updates on new games/features/changes in the games. This type of content is important and should be delivered across all channels, with reminders, to make sure customers are aware of changes. Of course, there will always be those few who missed it, but that is already out of your control.

The edutainment content

I call this "edutainment," because it provides users with info that's both entertaining or useful

They know that to get the bonus they have to make a deposit, or play an X amount of time. It's our job to make the experience personal, and not give them the feeling that they are just another nameless cash cow.

For a content specialist, this is the most fun type of material to write, because you have various platforms (blogs, social media) to deliver entertaining content that, at the end of it, ties in an important way to your gaming product or service. So, if the world I'm writing for is "gaming," there's a huge world of material to draw inspiration or recreate it from a different angle and/or perspective.

I've always enjoyed writing content for online gaming, because you write to "everyday" people, from all walks of life, who love the occasional game, and you do not have to talk in a "techie" voice with lots of jargon, or "marketese," as I call it. I did learn that sometimes, people (within a company) can get so caught up with "delivering a powerful message," that they sometimes forget the bottom line: people want to play. They want to have fun. They want the thrill.

Game on!