Brutally Honest #58 by Matej Lancaric
Brutally Honest #58 by Matej Lancaric
No 💩 BS newsletter with useful stuff about UA in the post IDFA world
Hey there, what's up?
🥃 Drink talk
Writing this newsletter from Santa Barbara, California, where I moved my ass for almost two months. If you feel like I am not responsive enough in my normal timezone, I am probably in bed sleeping. Be patient please!
Also, if you are around, please reach out. Would be great to meet!
🦩Tip of the week
Communication is key to success not only in User Acquisition, but because it allows individuals, teams, and organizations to effectively share information, ideas, and feedback.
Effective communication promotes understanding, builds trust, and fosters collaboration between user acquisition, creative and product teams, all of which are essential for achieving goals and making progress.
As simple as it sounds, sometimes we just forget to communicate. Communication always helps to clarify expectations, delegate tasks, and coordinate efforts.
Tell your colleagues what are you working on, what are your struggles or wins, help them understand which UA channel & creative currently performs. Don’t stop and tell this to your product and creative teams. They will appreciate it.
Here are some tips for communicating effectively:
Be clear and concise: When communicating, make sure to get to the point and be concise. Avoid using overly complicated language or jargon that may confuse the listener. I often forgot that not everybody knows what IPM, CTR, ROAS or CPI is.
Listen actively: Effective communication is a two-way process. Listening actively to the other person helps to understand their perspective and ensures that the conversation is a dialogue rather than a monologue.
Be honest & transparent: When you make a mistake, admit it. When you feel something is wrong, speak up. Always tell the truth!
Be empathetic: Empathy involves understanding and acknowledging the feelings of the other person. Showing empathy can help build trust and understanding, which can lead to more effective communication. Very tied to the previous point!
Choose the right medium: Different communication channels, such as email, slack/discord, hangout/zoon, or face-to-face, have their strengths and weaknesses. Choose the right medium for the situation and make sure that the message is conveyed clearly. I usually don’t have to jump on a call to discuss things, but some people prefer having a call!
Communicate! Tell people what you (dis)like, tell them if they do a good (or a bad) job.
Communication is a very important skill of every Senior UA manager. As simple as it sounds. I know I can do better in communication!
💀 Dr. Doom is not amused
One of my industry friends amused me with his direct and honest TL;DRs, so we agreed to share it here too! My friend remains anonymous as Dr.Doom!
""Headline - Mobile Games are Moving away from Gacha. This is even worst catch phrase than PC gaming is dead, also spoken every year. You describe 3 games as data points, which every one of them suffered decline in revenue after removing gacha (which you even mention in the article, but can't figure out why the revenue decline happen?) or was just scarred to use it because forums were ablaze (Marvel Snap). In the meantime there are new multimillion hit releases such as Legend of Slime, Call of Dragons or SSSnaker that are so full of gachas that they could not fit into your article examples. Gacha is dead, long live Gacha."" - Sincerely, Dr. Doom (https://www.gamerefinery.com/the-mobile-games-moving-away-from-gacha/)
🎉 “Ha-ha” moment
Because life is too short to be serious!
🎮 two & a half gamers #62
Discussing the success of Call of Dragons, an MMO fantasy conquest game making $14M/month just a month after a global launch. Recent session covers game design, user acquisition and offers actionable insights and 4X strategy games comparisons. Don't miss out on the interesting tidbits and the engaging UGC creatives discussed in this episode!
Tune in now for this 4X category & Call of Dragons review!
🎧 Listen on Spotify
📺 Watch on Youtube
🦄 Diary of a Dancing Unicorn
Today was a good day.
Hello! I just read your soft launch article (the first edition that was published on pocketgamer). Such a great guide, thanks a lot. We have a game in soft launch as well. Would be great if we can cooperate.
Nice to e-meet you. Glad to hear you liked it. Yeah, I am available at the moment. One project just finished.
Okay, lets kick it off!
…
What a great global launch, thanks a lot for all the hard work. We feel the cashflow pressure a bit, so we are going to find a publisher.
Alright, good luck. Thanks for the coop.
..
Hey hey, could we please pick up where we left the cooperation? We just parted ways with the publisher after 6 months. They were not delivering at all.
Yeah, no problem. I liked our cooperation before. Let’s continue.
Thanks again. but we feel the pressure again even though the campaigns are ROAS positive in 60 days. We need some cash to keep running the company.
Alright, no problem at all. Good luck again, wish you all the best.
..
Hello again! Could we please resume the cooperation again? We are going to end our publishing contract next month. Out of all the people we worked together, you provided the best results.
Glad to hear that. Pretty happy that even after a year, we are restarting this again. Third time is the charm.
Today was a good day.
🤺 Quote of the week
“Keep it coming. It’s my Guilty pleasure to read it and slag off mentally” Evtim, slack DM
Call of Dragons & 4X strategy games deep dive
🧞 Level up yourself
I launched a YouTube Channel. I'm putting a ton of energy into creating valuable content I think you'll like. Check out the latest stuff, and give me a like and subscribe.
👾 Nostalgia games
Do you remember this game? What did you play when you were young?
Leisure suit Larry!
Play here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/763970/Leisure_Suit_Larry_1__In_the_Land_of_the_Lounge_Lizards/
🥦 Before you go
8 must-haves before you go into the soft launch? - Check out the latest article!
Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter!
Please do me a favor and share this with someone in your network who you think would benefit from the insights and brutal honesty. It would mean a lot to me!
Take care, everyone! See you next Monday!
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