Last fall I was faced with a problem: I had a small product in production and no way of effectively delivering it. The product, the Viticulture Moor Visitors Expansion, would have an MSRP of $15. I knew there would be some customers who would want to pre-order it, especially if they got a discount on the […]
Today I have three stories about adding new reward levels to a project while the campaign is live. They’re cautionary tales; ideally, the reward levels are finalized before the project launches. But sometimes new opportunities arise or backer feedback results in a great new idea for a reward level. If that happens, consider the following. […]
Have you ever been listening to a podcast, watching a YouTube video, or reading a blog with a big smile on your face, and you realize, I really like this person! I’ve had that reaction many times. I’ve also had the opposite reaction when consuming content I’m interested in, but I find it difficult to read/watch/listen […]
A few months ago, I got an e-newsletter from Gatekeeper Games, a company run by repeat creator and Kickstarter enthusiast John Wrot. John is known for his innovative methods on Kickstarter, one of which I featured in my crowdfunding book. The e-newsletter informed me that John was once again trying something new. I’ll let him […]
Imagine a game that’s 80% skill and 20% luck. It requires some long-term strategy as well as short-term tactics. Each player has a limited budget to spend on their units. This game is actually a series of games that ends in an annual single-elimination tournament. The final game of that tournament is so well known […]
In this series, I highlight some of the interesting choices current crowdfunders have made regarding their project’s reward levels, stretch goals, and overall campaign design (the projects themselves, not the content or product). This isn’t meant as an endorsement of these projects (these creators did not ask for me to promote their work–I disregard all such requests); rather, […]
To this day, one of the most common mistakes crowdfunders make is to commission and display subpar art on their project page. Even if you just have a few illustrations to show, they will play a huge role in swaying–or dissuading–potential backers. How does poor art end up on Kickstarter projects? I think it’s because creators see […]
A few week ago I had the pleasure of joining game designer Jay Little’s class via Skype. They’re working through the process of publishing a game, and they had some questions for me. One of the questions Jay prepped me with in advance was about teamwork: “How many people are involved? How do you communicate […]
I don’t like or endorse the use of Kickstarter exclusives. I want to be clear about that before I delve into today’s topic. I like promos, which are decidedly not exclusive–a promo is something you include in backer rewards and then can sell them at an additional cost post-Kickstarter (or give them away to conventions, retailers, etc.) […]
Kickstarter and crowdfunding are used in ever-evolving ways as creators innovate and backers’ tastes change. It’s fairly common to see advances in one project category impact the methods used by creators in other categories. Today I’m going to talk about the current state of stretch goals on Kickstarter and where they might be headed. The […]
