Marketing Tutorials as Onboarding: Bad Tutorials, Bad Retention

So, you’ve got a game. Great! Now you need players.

But are you turning your onboarding process into a glorified sales pitch disguised as a helpful tutorial? If so, prepare for frustration and churn.

The Onboarding Tutorial Trap: A Recipe for Disaster

Many indie devs see the initial onboarding as prime real estate for pushing marketing messages. Think interactive ads, forced social media sharing, or tutorials that spend more time highlighting premium features than teaching core gameplay.

This is a mistake. A big one. Players aren’t stupid.

They can smell a thinly veiled marketing ploy a mile away, and they hate it. It’s the digital equivalent of a used car salesman jumping out of the bushes the moment they open your game.

I’ve seen this happen firsthand. A small studio I consulted with implemented an onboarding tutorial that focused almost entirely on the game’s cosmetic shop. Completion rates plummeted, and negative reviews flooded in, all complaining about the aggressive “pay-to-win” impression it gave, even though the game wasn’t actually pay-to-win.

Their core issue was they were trying to sell instead of teach.

Why “Marketing Tutorials” Fail

These “marketing tutorials” fail because they violate the fundamental principle of onboarding: to help players succeed. Players don’t care about your monetization strategy on day one.

They care about understanding the core mechanics, feeling competent, and deciding if the game is worth their time.

When you prioritize marketing over genuine instruction, you signal that you value their wallets more than their enjoyment. And that’s a surefire way to send them running.

Here are some common pitfalls:

• Feature Overload: Bombarding new players with every single feature at once. They get overwhelmed and quit.
• Hidden Tutorials: Placing crucial information deep within menus nobody checks, which players then miss.
• Assuming Prior Knowledge: Assuming players know the genre conventions or have played similar games. Not everyone has.
• Forced Social Sharing: Prompting players to share their progress before they even understand the game.
• Unskippable Cutscenes: Trapping players in unskippable ads or story cutscenes. Let them get playing quickly.

These actions lead to low tutorial completion rates and negative user sentiment, impacting long-term retention.

Good Onboarding: Value First, Marketing Second

The best onboarding experiences are helpful, engaging, and focused on getting players hooked on the core gameplay loop. They teach the essentials clearly and concisely, and gradually introduce more complex features over time.

Think of it as a well-structured course, not a sales pitch.

Here are examples of good vs. bad onboarding:

Bad: Tutorial that immediately pushes premium currency purchases to bypass wait timers.

Good: Tutorial that demonstrates how to effectively manage resources to minimize wait timers, highlighting a skill.

Bad: Onboarding flow that locks core gameplay behind a forced social media login.

Good: Onboarding flow that allows players to experience the core loop immediately and seamlessly prompts social connection later for optional benefits.

Measuring Onboarding Effectiveness

You need to track how players interact with your onboarding process. Here are some key metrics to monitor:

• Tutorial Completion Rate: The percentage of players who finish the onboarding tutorial. A low completion rate signals serious problems.
• Time to First Core Action: How long it takes players to perform the first meaningful action in your game. The shorter, the better.
• Drop-off Points: Identify where players are quitting the tutorial. This will show where you’re losing your audience.
• Player Feedback: Actively seek feedback through surveys, in-game polls, and community forums.

Use analytics tools (Unity Analytics, GameAnalytics, etc.) to track these metrics, and don’t be afraid to iterate on your onboarding process based on the data.

Alternative Marketing Strategies That Actually Work

Instead of shoehorning marketing into your onboarding, focus on these less intrusive and more impactful strategies:

• Compelling Core Gameplay: Make your game fun and engaging. Word-of-mouth is still the best marketing.
• Targeted Advertising: Use ads to reach players who are likely to enjoy your game, based on their interests and gaming habits.
• Community Building: Create a community around your game on Discord, Reddit, or other platforms. Engage with players, listen to their feedback, and build relationships.
• Content Marketing: Create blog posts, videos, and other content that showcase your game and provide value to players.
• Influencer Marketing: Partner with influencers who have an audience that aligns with your target demographic.
• Cross-Promotion: Collaborate with other indie devs to promote each other’s games.

Ultimately, the most effective marketing is a great game that people love to play and want to share with their friends. Prioritize making a good game, and the marketing will follow.

Onboarding is not marketing. It’s a chance to make a first impression and showcase the value of your game. Don’t blow it.