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Episode Summary

You are posting on Twitter and Reddit and maybe even YouTube. But the most powerful business platform for indie devs might be the one you are overlooking. This episode explores why LinkedIn can be a growth engine for your studio, especially for business development, publisher and investor relationships, hiring, and peer feedback.

Our guest is John Hansen, founder of Skilltree Marketing and one of the top voices in the games industry on LinkedIn. John went from unknown to top one percent in three months by treating LinkedIn like a proper channel with strategy, testing, and consistent iteration. He shares how to identify the right channels based on your players, how to build relationships with thoughtful engagement instead of spray and pray cold messages, and how to view low performing posts as useful data rather than failure.

We cover practical frameworks for content, the awareness to decision funnel for your studio posts, and how to use AI as a research assistant to speed up strategy without replacing human craft. John also breaks down when LinkedIn is the right place to spend time and when other communities like Reddit or Facebook groups might be a better fit for your specific genre.

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Meet Our Guest: Jon Hanson

Jon Hanson is the founder of Skill Tree Marketing, a specialized marketing agency focused on helping indie game studios with go to market strategy, creative development, and user acquisition. After years working in AAA publishing, Jon identified a massive gap in the indie space: too many great games with insufficient marketing support.

What sets Jon apart is his systematic approach to relationship building and content strategy. Using data driven methods and AI assisted research, he built a thought leadership presence on LinkedIn that catapulted him to the top 1% of gaming industry voices in just three months. His philosophy centres on authentic relationship building rather than transactional networking, making business development feel natural for developers who just want to share their amazing creations.

Website: Skill Tree Marketing
LinkedIn: Jon Hanson

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Key Takeaways

“Start with a strategy and a plan. Stick to the plan. Even when it doesn’t work, that if a post doesn’t land, if the metrics are not at the level that you want them to be, that is not failure. It’s not failure. It’s simply a data point. So, you only fail whenever you give up and stop.”

— Jon Hanson, Skill Tree Marketing

• LinkedIn is Your B2B Powerhouse: While Twitter and Reddit focus on reaching players directly, LinkedIn excels at connecting you with publishers, investors, potential team members, and industry decision makers who can transform your studio’s trajectory.
• Channel Strategy Beats Channel Quantity: Hardcore RPG players might live on Reddit, cozy gamers might gather in Facebook groups, and business contacts congregate on LinkedIn. Pick one or two channels where your specific audience lives and master them completely.
• Relationships Trump Cold Outreach: Instead of sending generic connection requests, follow decision makers, engage thoughtfully with their content, and personalise your messages based on recent company news or achievements. People connect with authenticity, not sales pitches.
• Content Funnels Drive Real Results: Mix top of funnel awareness content (your development journey), middle of funnel education (behind the scenes insights), and bottom of funnel calls to action (wishlist requests) to guide your audience from discovery to conversion.
• Low Numbers Are Data, Not Failure: A post that gets 3,000 impressions instead of 60,000 isn’t a failure—it’s valuable feedback about content fatigue, timing, or audience preferences. Consistency and iteration beat perfection every time.
• AI Accelerates Strategy, Doesn’t Replace It: Use large language models for deep research, case study analysis, and idea generation, but keep humans in control of creative decisions and relationship building. AI helps you work faster, not think less.
• Your Story Is Your Differentiator: Sharing your development journey, challenges, and wins humanises your studio and makes people want to support your game. Authenticity creates emotional connections that pure gameplay footage cannot.
• Test, Measure, Optimise, Repeat: Treat your marketing like game development—hypothesis, test, analyse results, and iterate. What works for one studio might not work for yours, so build your own playbook through experimentation.

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Show Notes & Mentioned Resources

Jon’s Resources

• Skill Tree Marketing: Full service marketing agency specialising in indie game go to market strategy
• LinkedIn Profile: Connect with Jon for industry insights and case studies

Tools & Platforms

• LinkedIn: Primary B2B networking platform for publishers, investors, and industry professionals
• ChatGPT: AI research assistant for case study analysis and content ideation

Games Mentioned

• The Living Remain: VR zombie game by Five Finger Studios (husband and wife team who went all in)
• Price of Glory: Strategy game by Marauder Tech with skill based tournaments and real cash prizes
• Balatro: Case study example of successful indie marketing (contrary to “no marketing” myths)
• 3: Another example of strategic marketing behind apparent overnight success

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