The best kind of long term marketing for indie games in my opinion is word of mouth. Give out some free copies through a few different websites or give a few copies to a streamer who has at least a few hundred viewers regularly so they can give away some copies when they're streaming the game. Maybe even do some interviews about the game.
I think it would be best for the developers themselves to do all of this and not some hired marketer.
Another thing is if your game sucks (not saying it does), word of mouth is probably a bad idea.
Coming from advertising myself, I'd say finding an artist capable of doing both game art and marketing materials would be good choice for a small indie team.
Oh and fyi, not speaking about zomg I can photoshoot bannerz, but also understanding the basics of "good" marketing helps a lot.
Also what Charlie said of wtm.
If you can make a good game you don't need marketing skills. 
You should probably start with your company name...
Therapist ~ The Rapist
Or something in the lines of
"Pen Is Entertainment"
LMAO you mean it isn't meant to be The Rapist Games? Haha, oh man that is genuinely what I read it as when I saw this thread yesterday. 
Yeah, that'll do you no favours...
yeah I wasn't sure if this was a troll post because I also read the rapist games
I have only failed at marketing indie games ... so my advice is worthless I guess BUT:
-I think your game/idea needs to be absolutely superb ... so that people will WANT to tell other people about it!
Being excited about a new game discovery is great feeling and sharing that is too. If your game doesn't cross that threshold you are dead no matter how many banner spaces you buy !
-get on the front-page/spotlight position of things were people who buy indiegames hangout/look: steam-news, xbla, psn, humble indie bundle etc... Nobody will find the game on your website or in the appstore. if you cant get into those spotlight positions you are dead.
Never ever have I clicked on banners for indiegames... I can only speak for myself but I only ever hear about indiegames through word of mouth or news websites. If it's a succes then obviously it'll pop up on the sales list in steam as well for more exposure but at that point it's already in the pocket, right.
So can't really give you much advice 
Just don't create a game nobody wants to play if you depend on it financially!
Spread the news on forums and wherever you can, but make sure it's relevant and doesn't feel "spammy".
Get a working prototype together before you decide to do anything, that means butt ugly art and minimum content you need to prove your onto something. Then ramp up, Work at a warehouse or burger king until this is done, unless your sitting on allot of savings.
I'd then see if I could get some free help from people that are at Universities or doing a game course, or if you have enough developer friends maybe they will help out here and there. I'd then stop and take a look at it, If I was onto something good, and I still was excited about making it then I would go full time Indy with my savings, I certainly would not do it all by myself even if I knew how to.
I wouldn't even give a second thought about marketing until you know your onto something real and not a fantasy
If you are ready, get a dude who is studying marketing to do it for you, just like successful mods do ... get on game dev forums and ask around, or go to your local uni and put up an advert.
Going through this experience myself right now. There is no true roadmap--but if you have a budget it would be beneficial to devote some portion of that to marketing, although the primary means of your success will most likely be dependent upon word of mouth, sales, and spotlight/highlights at point of sale sites. Depending on how you set up your company there is no reason to give an interest to marketing--just contract out that work (to marketing students who will do it for less)--leaving you and your partner to generate income based on your percentage interest after recouping your expenses/losses.
A good video is the only thing you should focus on. And that video needs to explain your fucking brilliant game design idea. That's all you can do
Quote from ThrikLMAO you mean it isn't meant to be The Rapist Games? Haha, oh man that is genuinely what I read it as when I saw this thread yesterday.
lol also read it as the rapist games. I assumed it was intentional.
Make a good game, promote @ Facebook, Twatter, Youtube, etc. Did I mention that you should make a good game?
Then again, if your company is called Therapist Games, I don't know how well you can play your cards with that.
Yeah, I'd suggest changing the name.
It reminds of someone who's professional twice over - an analyst and a therapist. AKA Analrapist (tobias funke).
Maybe he's David Cross and starting a game company?
This might interest you in terms of finding possible outlets (and therefore marketing) by the way.
This is much more startup related but I would suggest you to give a glance at the Marketing Game Plan made by Noah Kagan for Mint.
- Don't give a shit about Social Networks 90% of communication is made by email. Someone here talked about word of mouth and hes right. The exact marketing term is Multi Level Marketing. So build a strong newsletter using MailChimp.
- Don't wait to release before to think about the Marketing part. Contact people (bloggers) while launching preproduction and keep in touch with them until you release.
- Also about your company name. If you think the name stick with who you are whatever how weirdos u r I would suggest you to keep it and assume. 
My 2 cents.
Also feel free to ask me if you can't find a free link to grab that pdf. I still have a copy on my hdd.
I'm probably the worst to give advice, after shutting down IW.
However I still have a few tips for you, so you don't make the same mistakes as us..
1. Don't trust publishers, they probably promise you they will do marketing. In most cases that doesn't happen and you still have to do it yourself..
2. Like Seldoon says: "Contact people" Probably the most important thing. They can save your ass when shit hits the fan.
3. Twitchtv, good way to show people your game, Can even do something like a weekly video blog.
4. Go to a few game events. Great way to get in touch with other devs and outlets to expand your contacts.
5. When you have a decent prototype, try to get an article on rockpapershotgun. Most of our audience came from them.
6. If you decide to use social media, Only focus on one platform and interact with your followers and also follow back! Though I agree with Seldoon. Newsletter is still the best method.
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