KS Lessons Full List – Chronological

This is a compilation of all of Jamey’s posts on creating and running a successful crowdfunding campaign. These are roughly in the chronological order that you’ll need to reference them, starting 6-12 months before you plan on launching your project.

If you don’t have time to read each of these entries, the best advice from each of the items list is condensed down to a few pages in a special section at the end of Jamey’s crowdfunding book!

Before You Launch

Start Here

Research, Development, and Skill Building

Build a Crowd

Define the Scope of Your Project

Art and Graphic Design

Legal and Accounting

Reviewers

Create the Perfect Project Page

Film the Project Video

The Funding Goal and Budgeting

Reward Strategies

Early Birds and Exclusives

Timing Strategies

Establishing Trust

Stretch Goals and Achievements

Shipping and Worldwide Accessibility

Behavioral Psychology

Final-Week Preparations and Tasks

During Your Campaign

Thrive on Launch Day

Logistics, Stats, and Project Management

Interact with Backers

Improve the Product

Project Updates

Maintain Emotional Health

Lead the Way to Trust and Passion

Build Community

Customer Service

Relationship-Driven Marketing

Leverage Backers to Boost Your Project

External Marketing and Advertising

The Final Week

After Your Project

The Aftermath

Post-Campaign Communication

Continue to Sell the Product

Gather Information from Backers

Scheduling and Timelines

Release the Product and Move Forward

Entrepreneurship and Working for Yourself

Growing and Sustaining a Business

44 Comments on “KS Lessons Full List – Chronological”

  1. We’ve been following all your posts about Kickstarter projects since March as we prepare for our own Kickstarter in the fall. And we’ve gone back and read all the previous ones. Extremely helpful information.

    This list in topical order I think will be a great help to the community.

    Thank you.

    Reply

    1. Games Afoot: Hi, thanks for your comment. I always love to hear when a creator has been preparing for a project for many months–that’s indicative of your commitment and passion for the project. Good luck when you launch!

      Reply

  5. I love the concept behind your blog, but I’m finding it quite difficult to navigate. Right now I’m in the mood for reading anything that answers the question, “How do I make more people aware that my page exists?” and have been struggling to sort the articles that answer this question from the ones that don’t. I was about to click away and never read the blog again, though I figured you’d appreciate it more if I left you some feedback first.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Jon! I’m always trying to improve the structure for the blog, as it’s a lot of information. I would suggest going to the KS Lessons drop-down menu and selecting “Run Your Campaign” and “Level Up Your Campaign.” That’s where you’ll find the information you’re looking for.

      Reply

  7. Wow there is so much info here. Thanks so much for making all of these blog posts available. After creating a board game and playing it with family for some time now I’ve been thinking about making a kickstarter campaign. Now after seeing this page I’m not sure if I’m more scared or more excited. There’s just so much to take in. At any rate, thanks!!

    Reply

  10. Hi Jamey!
    Amazing blog and I just can’t get enough…even though I’m a bit stressed out…you certainly know the feeling of literally not having any time for yourself or for just plain “not doing anything”! It’s been months on the prep of our upcoming Kickstarter. But,
    I have two questions for you:
    1.- What do you think about launching during summer time vacations? Mid July through mid August.
    2.- Been trying to find where is any post or lesson that relates to running multiple crowdfunding campaigns. At the same time or after one has ended. Any insight you could share?
    Best!
    Matt from HoliPlay Games

    Reply

  11. Would you ever market something as a stretch goal that you would include anyway?
    For example you have a certain card as a stretch goal, but you would include even if it wasn’t made?

    Reply

    1. I wouldn’t market something as a stretch goal that I planned to include anyway. However, I might come to that decision after the campaign if I felt it was the right thing to do (and within budget). Most likely, though, if we didn’t meet a stretch goal, I would save that content for an expansion or promo pack.

      On the same note, I wouldn’t launch a Kickstarter without offering a fully functional, complete game.

      Reply

  14. Hello

    How goes it? I hope all is well :) and congrats on your successful campaigns.

    My partners and I are planning on launching our first game and Kickstarter campaign in June.
    We are using Panda Games as our manufacturer.
    We are planning on using Amazon fullfimnet centers in different regions along with other centers in other regions.
    The only outstanding issue is freighting the pallets to those centers. We’re thinking of using Panda Games DDP service. Is that what you used, or another one? If so how does it help with customs fees and keeping the end price down?

    Best wishes

    Shayan

    Reply

  15. Hello. I want to say I am sorry if this is the wrong place to post something like this, I am still kind of new around here. Is there a place to view new articles/ post that have just been released?
    Aswell, I have also seen Jamey post articles about things that non-tabletop kickstarters do that might work in the tabletop kickstarter realm. Does anyone know if there is an article about friendily advertising? By this I mean one project releasing an update advertising for a different game, not made by them, and then that project realsong an update advertising your project? I have just recently backed projects in fashion and technology and both of these categories seem to do it a lot. Thank you for the help.

    Reply

  16. John: If you go to the following link, you can see the most recent blog entry (and all that preceded it). You can also enter your e-mail on the right of this page to get an e-mail whenever a new blog entry goes live: https://stonemaiergames.com/e-newsletter/blog/

    I think you’re talking about cross-promotion, right? Here’s my post about that technique: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-51-cross-promotion-between-kickstarter-projects/

    Also check out the entire External Marketing and Advertising section on the current page (the one this comment is on).

    Reply

  18. Hi Jamey,

    I hope to launch my own kickstarter for a boardgame. I’ve made prototypes game through several playtests but now I find myself trying to figure out kickstarter and getting something going. I just borrowed your book from the library. Would you recommend that I read your book first or go through your wonderful kickstarter lessons first?

    Thanks in advance

    Reply

  19. Hi, can you answer my question please? I want to join Kickstarter and it requires to be US citizen, but I am non-US citizen. I’m thinking about asking help from my investor who lives in Australia. But I have some trust issues with him. How should I write the contract paper? And one more question, if the investor deceives me, will the Kickstarter be responsible for it, or not?

    Reply

    1. Nazrin: I have a few thoughts here. The first is to hire a lawyer who specializes in contracts. Zachary Strebech (the lawyer who has written a number of guest posts for this blog) is great at that. The second is that if you already don’t trust your partner, maybe he shouldn’t be your partner? And the third is that Kickstarter is not liable at all for anything.

      Reply

  20. Thanks for answering and one more question. Is it posssible to attend in kickstarter in the name of my investor, but can i still stay as the owner of the project ?

    Reply

  21. please let me explain you my situation shortly. i am Azerbaijan citizen and want to attend with my project. there is no Azerbaijan in your country list. So what would you suggest? Because i want to look as a project owner even when i attend with my investor’s name.

    Reply

  22. also;
    when we reach to our goal and gather backer’s support, how long does the procedure take to see the amount in my own account?

    Reply

    1. Just to clarify, I don’t work at Kickstarter. I’m a Kickstarter creator–I don’t have a country list.

      I would suggest reading this and post your questions here: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-180-how-to-register-your-business-in-the-us-from-anywhere-in-the-world/

      I’d also recommend reading Kickstarter’s FAQ, as these are core questions that are answered there: https://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/creator+questions?ref=faq_nav#GettStar

      Reply

  24. I don’t know where else to ask this.

    I was wondering if the choking hazard warning needs to have a certain wording to be legally safe. I realized that different versions are used and that Scythe only has the label (not for children under 3 years) but no words.

    So far I have “WARNING: Not a toy! Not suitable for children under three years” and the label on the box of my game.

    Reply

  25. Interesting, I was surprised that on my Scythe box there is only the label but no wording. Thank you!

    Reply

  26. Hey Jamey,

    Great KS lessons! I’ve read through quite a few of these, and have picked up a lot of tips/knowledge that I hadn’t thought about (BTW I’m still reading through them).

    I do have a question for you that isn’t KS related, but goes along with the theme of this page. Have you ever thought of creating a section like this for your journey/process in creating and sustaining Stonemaier games? As in what were the important things you and your partner discussed, what are things that blindsided you, at what point did you decide to make the transition from developing your games to helping others more actively? I know you’ve mentioned some of this in passing in a few lessons, but didn’t know if it was something you had done, or possibly thought about.

    Thanks for your time!

    Reply

    1. Jeremiah: Thanks for your question and your suggestion. There is a big section on the page about growing and sustaining a business–there’s a lot of info in there as it relates to Stonemaier. I appreciate the sentiment that I’ve transitioned from developing games to helping people, but the truth is that running Stonemaier Games (with games being a big part of that) is my #1 priority, and has been for a while. I’ve been writing this blog as a way of sharing my insights and mistakes with people since late 2012.

      Reply

      1. Ah, it appears you read my mind before I had the question, or I just need to learn how to read. I just wanted to clarify my statement of, “helping others more actively.” I did mean that in a business perspective for your company. I think I remember seeing somewhere that you have 6 games you’ve developed, and another 50+ that have come from others. I may be mistaken, but I meant your transition from developing your own thought child to developing other’s, within your company.

        Hope that clears up what I meant! Sorry for the poor word choice before.

        Reply

        1. Jeremiah: Thanks for the clarification. I see what you’re saying now. :)

          So far I’ve designed most games that Stonemaier has published, but there are 2 games for which I’ve served as a developer instead: Between Two Cities by Ben Rosset and Matthew O’Malley and an unannounced game by an unannounced designer. I’ve always wanted Stonemaier to be more than a vanity publisher of my work, so our submission process has been open since 2013. We’re highly selective, with one of the reasons being that I want to be able to commit a lot of time to each selected game as a developer to help the designers make it as great as it can be.

          Reply

  27. Hey Jamey,

    Long time no talk. I just have a quick question. Do you know of any studies out there that compare the appeal of a project that only has a base model and a limited or KS edition vs a project that has a base model, deluxe model, and a limited or KS edition?

    I know I’ve read through things that have talked about things like this, but I don’t remember seeing an actual study to compare the “appeal” between the two.

    Thanks.

    Reply

  28. Jamey!

    First off, thanks a ton for the posts and the book. Both have been absolutely invaluable in our quest to launch our first Kickstarter. I am a bit perplexed about one problem we have, and really don’t know where else to turn. Our release is what could be referred to as a “party game” and I can’t seem to find any decent-sized official community for that genre. Short of targeting Facebook ads towards people who’ve ‘liked’ Cards Against Humanity and the like, I’m stuck. This is particularly frustrating because I’m such a social creature. I would appreciate any thoughts.

    Again, the book and posts have been invaluable! It truly seems like a labor of love, and it shows.

    Reply

    1. Adrian: That’s an interesting question. While there are plenty of hobby gamers who play social game, I think you’re right about the online communities around hobby games not generating much discussion around social games. But perhaps they’re a good place to start? Maybe jump on the Board Game Spotlight or BoardGameGeek Facebook groups to see if people have suggestions (or start a conversation about social games there and see how people respond).

      Reply

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