I’m forever grateful for crowdfunding, as Stonemaier Games wouldn’t exist without it. It helped me learn how to gauge demand, improve the product via feedback and stretch goals, build an engaged community, raise funds, generate awareness, and determine inventory quantities for various fulfillment centers.
I’m also incredibly grateful that we took the leap away from crowdfunding after our 2015 Scythe Kickstarter, shifting to a new method: We create a game we believe in, gather and analyze a huge amount of feedback from playtesters, gauge demand from distributors, invest in the entire production of the game, and ship it to warehouses and fulfillment centers around the world. Then and only then do we publicly announce the game: Within the span of 6 weeks we reveal the product, promote it, share reviews of the final product, accept orders, and ship it to customers from our regional fulfillment centers.
That’s exactly what we’ve done with the 100,000 English units of Wyrmspan and its related products. The result is that just 2 weeks after the game’s announcement, it’s already arriving at fulfillment centers in the US, Canada, and Australia (plus Europe, which is a few weeks behind), and nearly 23,000 people have signed up for a launch notification. The game will go live on our webstore on January 31, and it ships to customers throughout February (and perhaps into March). We’ve allocated around 20,000 units to our webstore and the other 80,000 to distributors and retailers for a late March worldwide release.
This method seems to have resonated well with our customers. In our recent demographic survey, most of our customers (80%) said they would prefer to receive something within 1 month of paying for it. I love that people who are excited about a new Stonemaier product can actually have it on their table within such a short period of time.
I remain a strong crowdfunding advocate for any new creator and any repeat creator who finds it the best way to serve their customers. I’m also really excited whenever I see other publishers try this method. Well, I should say nervously excited, as it’s rare for me to see this method get the same level of attention as a crowdfunding project, even for well-established and trusted publishers.
So today I’ll list 10 elements–roughly in chronological order–I think are important for any publisher who is considering this method. These are in addition to the default standard practices of giving a game its best chance at success (clear communication, great gameplay, appealing art and graphic design, fair value for the price, etc).
- Manage your cash flow, overhead, and product release schedule with intention so you have the funds to invest in the product.
- Amass and analyze feedback from playtesters, proofreaders, and your team so the product is polished upon release (consider the Fanfare platform if you prefer public refinement instead of private).
- Gauge demand by talking to distributors and analyzing data from your previous releases; you can also ask people to “reserve” their spot (e.g., GMT’s P500 program or Last Light’s $1 deposit).
- Have an established, engaged community who trusts you and your products.
- Build in a little time between the announcement and the opportunity to purchase; sustained excitement is great, but people don’t want to feel rushed into a decision.
- Reach people where they are (i.e., advertising and press releases), give them an easy way to sign up for a launch notification, and share social proof that they’re not alone in their interest.
- Share a variety of information about the product with your audience on multiple platforms (website, YouTube, BoardGameGeek, and social media).
- Feature reviews and other content from third-party creators (you will have needed to send them the game at least 1 month in advance).
- When you launch the product, give customers a reason to act now (discounted price and/or special item).
- Respect and appreciate retailers by helping them get the product they need for the retail release.
I’m in no way saying that Stonemaier Games does all of these things as well as we could–we’re always looking to improve each of these elements so we can better serve our customers and bring joy to tabletops worldwide. When done well and in combination with each other, I think these 10 steps offer established publishers a path to consider beyond crowdfunding.
Let me know what you would add or revise. I’d love to hear examples of other publishers–Plaid Hat, Capstone, and Riot come to mind, but there are definitely others–whom you’ve seen have success with this method and why it worked for them. Of mention are also companies like Garphill Games that use crowdfunding, but in such a way that the game is ready to enter production immediately after the campaign ends, keeping the gap in time and expense for consumers at only 5-6 months.
I’d also invite you to join us for Wyrmspan’s launch on January 31! In addition to the game, you can get metal coins and wooden resources, rubber playmats, new realms for Rolling Realms, and the Wyvern disc golf disc. Reviews will be available starting on January 22 so you can make an informed decision; in the meantime, a wealth of information is available about the game on our website.
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Also read:
- 10 Daily Actions to Build Your Crowd
- Kickstarter Lesson #245: Should You Advertise and Preview Pre-Launch?
- 3 Ways to Maximize Prelaunch Signups
- Prelaunch Promos, Accessories, and Expansions (KS Lesson #281)
- Kickstarter Lesson #86: Preventing a Dud
- Kickstarter Lesson #223: Should You Crowdfund a Reprint?
- Are the Reasons We Quit Kickstarter Still Valid 6 Years Later?
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