I like browsing through the newest Kickstarters every morning and looking for what’s new and exciting. There’s a few things that make it so I’m willing to spend money on a campaign.
Make it look interesting.
When I browse through Kickstarter, I spend my time skimming through the pictures and sometimes read the name of the project. The picture should be representative of the project, and look professional. Some scribbles on notebook paper isn’t going to get me to click on your project. If there is interesting beautiful art I will click on it just to learn more. I know it’s not always easy to get a great artist for your product (see our logo made in Powerpoint), but if you can get a picture of your product then do it! I want to know what I’m looking at. The title should be descriptive as well, and the more informative the better. Finally, if I’m on the edge of deciding to look at a project, the description is the deciding factor. Make sure it’s something that grabs me and makes me want to look for more.
Give details
I want to know why your project is worth my money. What makes it new, what makes it unique. Why is it so cool that I should get in on the ground floor? A while back there was a Kickstarter in which they promised they had come up with the coolest new rules for Yahtzee. But they refused to give any details about why it was better or different. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t get any backers.
Some projects do charts that show exactly what is included for each pledge level, and I find that to be incredibly helpful. What are in rewards level can get confusing easy, and simple summaries make things super clear!
Have interesting stretch goals
Stretch goals are a great way to motivate the people funding your Kickstarter to get more people involved. For the 64 oz. Games Kickstarter I was pushing it on social media everywhere because I wanted the stretch goal of a Braille d20. On the other hand, I dropped a Kickstarter because I was very invested in the cool stretch goals, but they weren’t available unless I was funding the project at a minimum of $90. That’s a lot of money, more then I was willing to invest in a campaign I already felt was overpriced, and it made me drop my pledge completely. Don’t get me wrong, they have every right to set at what levels you get to be included in receiving stretch goals, but most campaigns I’ve seen do it at about the $20 mark.
Answer questions
Before I hand over some amount of money to a stranger on the internet, I sometimes have some points of clarification I want them to make. Being prompt and helpful when contacted by backers or potential backers gives me confidence you’re going to be available later on in the campaign. Look at your comments and make sure you’re answering questions! If someone else asked the same question as me two days ago and you haven’t answered, it doesn’t instill confidence in me that you’re listening.
Show that you can fulfill requests from past projects before starting a new one
If you’re going to start another campaign, make sure you are well on your way to fulfilling other campaigns. Last year I funded a campaign for some cool dice, and waited and waited for them to come. While I was waiting past the fulfillment date they promised, the group launched another campaign. Since they hadn’t given many updates or done much to fulfill my original pledge, I didn’t even bother looking at this new project. Eventually my dice did come and they’re great! But I wanted to see they were taking care of what I’d already given them my money for. Similarly, I was looking recently at a campaign that was the third or fourth by one group that was doing pretty great. But if you looked at the comments, it seems a lot of the backers were people who contributed a dollar so they’d be able to post in the comments section their grievances from the past two campaigns and how they were ignored and sent faulty products. The company was pretty dismissive of the complaints being aired, and I resolved never to fund one of their campaigns.
I’m not saying you should have everything sent out and completed before starting a new project, but you should make sure your backers are happy, well updated, and know that you are going to keep your word and deliver before taking the plunge again.
Make sure Kickstarter is the right place for your project
There’s a Kickstarter campaign going on right now for a lamp base filled with polyhedral dice. Which is really cool. And why I went to Target, bought the lamp base for $15, then filled it up with the two pounds of dice I’ve bought recently. I need to buy some more dice to fill it all the way up, but even then that comes out at a cost of about $75 to make the same thing they have on Kickstarter for $125. Which is fine. They should make some profit, and they still have to ship them. But this is a wonderful creative idea that should be on Etsy, in a store for people to buy. It’s not something that makes sense to do on Kickstarter. If I can make it on my own, I’m not going to spend money on it on Kickstarter.
