This is a compilation of all of Jamey’s posts for crowdfunders, creators, and entrepreneurs. You can support this blog by becoming a Stonemaier Champion.
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
- Create Something Meaningful to You
- What Should You Do?
- Self Publishing vs Working with a Publisher (KS Lesson #275)
- Also read: Pitch or Publish?
- You Are Your Own Gatekeeper
- Kickstarter Lesson #204: Your Idea Is Brilliant, Your Idea Is Worthless
- What If Someone Steals My Idea?
- Your Best Work, Mediocrity, and Creating for Creation’s Sake
- The 5-Minute Business Plan (and a Confession About Ours)
- To Kickstart or Not to Kickstart: The Top 10 Reasons to Launch a Product via Crowdfunding
- Kickstarter Lesson #173: The Hidden Job of Every Kickstarter Creator
- Kickstarter Lesson #110: The Shortcut to Kickstarter Success
- Use This Checklist App
- Kickstarter Lesson #105: Minimum Viable Product
- A Procrastinator’s Guide to Getting Stuff Done
- 7 Insights that First-Time Kickstarter Creators May Not Know
- Kickstarter Lesson #138: Should You Hire Someone Else to Run Your Crowdfunding Project for You?
- Do It Yourself or Outsource: The Master List
- John Coveyou Video Overview of Key Kickstarter Insights
- Kickstarter Lesson #209: The Hook
- An Inspiring Publisher Pledge for Crowdfunding
Research, Development, and Skill Building
- Kickstarter Lesson #185: First-Time Creators
- Kickstarter Lesson #2: Back Other Projects
- Kickstarter Lesson #56: How to Effectively Research Other Projects
- Kickstarter Lesson #112: Mega Projects and You
- The #1 Takeaway from Brandon Sanderson’s Mega-Kickstarter
- 10 Simple Skills to Build Today So You Can Be a Better Crowdfunder Tomorrow
- Top 10 Short-Term Ways to Stumble into Long-Term Success
Build a Crowd
- 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)
- The Wingspansion Charity Scramble and BackerKit Launch
- Kickstarter Lesson #57: It’s Not Kickstarter’s Job to Give You Backers
- Kickstarter Lesson #86: Preventing a Dud
- 10 Ways to Thrive Without Crowdfunding
- The First Barrier Is the Biggest (KS Lesson #274)
- Kickstarter Lesson #134: Pull the Tooth
- Kickstarter Lesson #52: Write a Blog
- Do You Enjoy Talking About Your Creations?
- Top 5 Things to Know About Content Marketing
- Everything I’ve Learned as a YouTuber
- How (and Why) I Blurred My Recent YouTube Video
- 5 Low-Tech Tips for YouTube Creators (2020 Edition)
- What’s the Most Eye-Catching Format for YouTube Thumbnail Images?
- Villains Result in Clicks (and Other Insights from Thumbnail Images)
- Do You Really Need a Website in 2017?
- Kickstarter Lesson #205: One Simple Way to Significantly Improve Your Website Today
- Top 10 Ways to Be a Likable Content Creator
- Kickstarter Lesson #146: Start an E-Newsletter
- Segmentation and the Pitfalls of Not Knowing Your Customers’ Region
- Kickstarter Lesson #250: What Motivates People to Subscribe to an E-Newsletter?
- Kickstarter Lesson #147: Prefundia
- Kickstarter Lesson #74: Help Them First
- Kickstarter Lesson #94: The Top 10 Ways to Survive and Thrive on Board Game Geek
- Kickstarter Lesson #230: Is Your Crowd Big Enough?
- Kickstarter Lesson #242: How I Run Our Facebook Groups
- Kickstarter Lesson #257: Cronuts and 100 Lovers
- Sharing the Love…of Your Competition
Define the Scope of Your Project
- Kickstarter Lesson #194: Charities, Nonprofits, and Kickstarter
- The ROI on a For-Profit Business to Support Charities
- Live-Blogging Lesson #8: The Feeling of Running a Mega Project
- Are You Too Popular? (Business Brilliance #3)
- Kickstarter Lesson #172: Should Your First Project Be Epic or Humble?
- Kickstarter Lesson #192: High-Priced Item Campaigns
- Kickstarter Lesson #234: Batman, The 7th Continent, and Skipping Retail
- Kickstarter Lesson #277: Multi-Products Campaigns: Are They Successful?
- 4 Intriguing Alternatives to Kickstarter
- Gamefound’s First Launch: Is This the Future of Tabletop Game Crowdfunding?
- An Insider’s Perspective on Gamefound vs Kickstarter
- BackerKit Enters the Crowdfunding Fray!
- Drip vs. Patreon vs. Kickstarter vs. Indiegogo vs. Shopify: A Choice for Ongoing Content Creators
- Are You Now Allowed to Use Kickstarter as a Preorder Store?
- What? So What? Now What?
Art and Graphic Design
- Kickstarter Lesson #3: Art and Design
- 200+ Artists and Graphic Designers Whose Work I Love
- BIPOC Voices in the Tabletop Game Industry
- A Guide to Board Game Illustration
- 3 Simple Steps to Learn If Your Art Is Good Enough for Kickstarter
- Kickstarter Lesson #162: When to Use a GIF Instead of a Static Image
- Artist Contracts and Stonemaier Games
- Kickstarter Lesson #158: Why I Prioritize Paying Freelancers
- Kickstarter Lesson #85: Card Frames
- Kickstarter Lesson #87: Custom Art
- Flatter Your Way into a New Industry
- A Spooky Warning About Font Rights
Legal and Accounting
- Kickstarter Lesson #4: Accounting and Finances
- Bookkeeping: The Best Service Ever?
- My Big Tax Mistake of 2016
- Kickstarter Lesson #114: The 4 Legal Issues Every Kickstarter Creator Should Know
- Kickstarter Lesson #131: Everything a Kickstarter Creator Needs to Know About Trademark Law
- Kickstarter Lesson #159: Everything a Kickstarter Creator Needs to Know About Copyrights
- Kickstarter Lesson #45: Partnership
- Kickstarter Lesson #180: How to Register Your Business in the US from Anywhere in the World
- The Methods and Perils of Creating a US-Based Company for Kickstarter if You’re Not in the US
- Kickstarter Lesson #136: What to Do If You Receive a Cease & Desist Letter Concerning Your Kickstarter
- Kickstarter Lesson #232: Everything You Need to Know About Liability Insurance
- GDPR: What It Means for Crowdfunders
- The Future of Online Sales Tax Is Coming Soon to a State Near (or Far) from You
- Third-Party Accessories and Stonemaier Games
- Game Designer Contracts and Stonemaier Games
- Scams, Fraud, and Counterfeits: What We’ve Learned So Far
Reviewers
- Our Current Approach to Board Game Reviewers and Content Creators (includes a list of reviewers)
- Kickstarter Lesson #5: Connecting with Bloggers
- Kickstarter Lesson #27: Bloggers, Podcasters, and Reviewers
- Kickstarter Lesson #220: Tastemakers
- Kickstarter Lesson #128: The Art of the Comment
- Kickstarter Lesson #211: It Can Hurt to Ask (Sometimes)
- 4 Different Strategies for Featuring Reviews on Kickstarter
- Kickstarter Lesson #188: No Money Changed Hands for This Review
- Kickstarter Lesson #78: Creating Card Prototypes for Third-Party Reviewers
- Kickstarter Lesson #83: Custom Meeples and Review Prototypes
- Live-Blogging Lesson #9: No, It’s Just a Prototype
- Standard vs Deluxe: Which Version to Send to Reviewers?
Create the Perfect Project Page
- Kickstarter Lesson #1: Starting and Submitting Your Project Page
- Kickstarter Lesson #236: Selecting the Best Testers
- Kickstarter Lesson #123: How to Give and Take Tough-Love Feedback
- Kickstarter Lesson #39: Anatomy of a Great Kickstarter Project Page
- My Latest Attempts at a Compelling Catch-All Infographic
- Top 5 Mistakes That May Sink Your Crowdfunding Project
- Kickstarter Lesson #278: Display Your Laurels
- What Type of Social Proof Is Most Effective? (KS Lesson #281)
- Kickstarter Lesson #129: Picking the Right Name for Your Project
- The Gold Rush for Game Names
- Kickstarter Lesson #160: The Main Project Image
- Kickstarter Lesson #13: Explaining Why You Need the Funds
- Kickstarter Lesson #44: How to Kick It Forward Without Kicking It Forward
- Kickstarter Lesson #14: The Value of Add-Ons
- Live-Blogging Lesson #5: External Add-Ons
- All-In Bundles vs Ala Carte
- Kickstarter Lesson 241: Customers Are Not Cows
- Kickstarter Lesson #171: The Project Timeline
- Kickstarter Lesson #125: Risks and Challenges
- Live-Blogging Lesson #4: The Value of Agonizing Over Your Project Page
- Highlighting a Few New Kickstarter Guidelines
Film the Project Video
- Kickstarter Lesson #6: The Project Video
- Kickstarter Lesson #166: Creating a Polished Project Video
- A Different Type of Project Video: Stopmotion
- Kickstarter Lesson #157: The Gameplay or How-to-Use Video
- Kickstarter Lesson #165: The Whiteboard Video
- Kickstarter Lesson #260: The Teaser Trailer
- What Can Kickstarter Project Videos Learn from Facebook Videos?
The Funding Goal and Budgeting
- Kickstarter Lesson #7: The Funding Goal
- Exactly How Much Does a Kickstarter Campaign Cost?
- Kickstarter Lesson #262: How Much Is Your Time Worth?
- Kickstarter Lesson #117: The 3 Funding Scenarios You Must Plan for
- The Big Question: What If This Actually Works?
- Kickstarter Lesson #218: Do You Choose Profit?
- Kickstarter Lesson #225: Customer and Subscriber Acquisition Costs
- Kickstarter Lesson #159: The Art of the Buffer
- No Designer, Publisher, or IP Is Foolproof
Reward Strategies
- Kickstarter Lesson #8: Reward Levels
- Kickstarter Lesson #113: Why Every Project Should Have a $1 Reward Level
- Kickstarter Lesson #256: Is the Rising Number of $1 Backers a Problem?
- Kickstarter Lesson #63: Stay Focused or Lose Backers
- Specialization vs Diversification: A Farmer’s Market Observation
- Kickstarter Lesson #59: The Myth of MSRP
- What’s Up with Reward Prices on Kickstarter?
- A Price Formula for Your Product (Direct and Retail)
- Kickstarter Lesson #201: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pricing Your Core Reward
- Price: Secrecy, Flexibility, and Patience
- Kickstarter Lesson #266: Kickstarter Pricing in a World of Different Shipping Fees, Taxes, and Tariffs
- Pay What You Want for This Kickstarter Project
- My Struggle with Premium Pricing
- Kickstarter Lesson #92: The Psychological Benefits of Ending Price Points with the Number 9
- Kickstarter Lesson #116: The Magic of Automatic Currency Conversion
- Kickstarter Lesson #103: There Is No Perfect Pickle
- Kickstarter Lesson #251: Why I Sometimes Use the Guest Bathroom
- Kickstarter Lesson #137: Should Repeat Creators Include a Reward Tier Specifically for Previous Backers?
- Kickstarter Lesson #54: Reward Levels: The Premium Option
- The Deluxe Dilemma
- Kickstarter Lesson #111: Should You Offer Multiple Copies of Your Product at a Reduced Bundled Price?
- Kickstarter Lesson #252: Group Pledges
- Live-Blogging Lesson #5: The Power of the Bundle
- Kickstarter Lesson #142: Selling Existing Inventory
- Kickstarter Lesson #177: The “Everything, Forever” Reward Level
- Kickstarter Lesson #183: Epic-Level Rewards
- Kickstarter Lesson #75: Include at Least One Must-Have Component
- Collaboration and Itemized Rewards: Kickstarter’s Latest Improvements
Early Birds and Exclusives
- The Current State of Early Birds and KS Exclusives (2017)
- Kickstarter Lesson #228: Incentives and Strategies to Boost Day 1 Backers
- Kickstarter Lesson #62: Early Bird Pledge Levels
- Kickstarter Lesson #200: We Are Collectors
- Kickstarter Lesson #255: Is There Value in One-of-a-Kind Products and Rewards?
- Kickstarter Lesson #60: Exclusive Content
- 10 Better Reasons than KS Exclusives to Back a Kickstarter Project
- Nike, Sneakerheads, and Kickstarter Exclusives
- The Opposite of FOMO
Timing Strategies
- Kickstarter Lesson #187: The Best Time to Announce Your Project
- Kickstarter Lesson #253: The Psychology of Anticipation
- Kickstarter Lesson #9: Timing and Length
- Is This the Best Time of Day to Launch?
- Kickstarter Lesson #133: The Psychological Benefits of Launching and Ending a Campaign Within the Same Month
- Kickstarter Lesson #109: Seasonal Timing
- Kickstarter Lesson #84: Coordinating Staggered Launch and End Dates
- Why So Many Tuesday Launches?
- The Profound Impact of Launch Day Timing on Kickstarter
- The Astounding Payday Effect on Kickstarter
- Kickstarter Lesson #124: If You Manufacture in China, Account for Chinese Holidays
Establishing Trust
- Kickstarter Lesson #10: The Taste Test & Stealing Ideas
- Kickstarter Lesson #67 (video): Print-and-Play Reward Levels
- Kickstarter Lesson #73: The Art of Pitching
- Kickstarter Lesson #77: The 10 Reasons I’ll Back a Kickstarter Project
- Kickstarter Lesson #96: Give Credit Where Credit Is Due…Including to Yourself
- 5 Things Survivor Taught Me About Crowdfunding
- The Value of Design Diaries
Stretch Goals and Achievements
- The Current State of Stretch Goals (2022)
- The Current State of Stretch Goals (2019)
- Kickstarter Lesson #11: Stretch Goals
- The Current State of Stretch Goals (2016)
- The Current State of Stretch Goals (2017)
- Kickstarter Lesson #145: Achievements vs. Stretch Goals
- Live-Blogging Lesson #6: The Achievement System
- Funding Quests: A New Twist on the Stretch Goal System
- Starbucks Rewards as Stretch Goals
- The Starbucks-Inspired Star Stretch Goal System in Practice
- Kickstarter Lesson #273: Pre-Launch Stretch Goals
- How to Choose Realistic Stretch Goals for Your Board Game Kickstarter
- What to Do If You Run Out of Stretch Goals
- A Video for Every Stretch Goal: City of the Great Machine
Shipping and Worldwide Accessibility
- The Current State of Worldwide Fulfillment (2022)
- The Current State of Worldwide Fulfillment (2019)
- Kickstarter Fulfillment Explained in One Simple Infographic
- How to Ship Stuff Worldwide: 2016 Edition
- Using Freight Marketplaces for Your Board Game Kickstarter
- Kickstarter Lesson #12: Shipping
- Kickstarter Lesson #202: Local Pickup
- Why I’m Done Selling Through Amazon FBA
- How to Offer “Free” Shipping Worldwide on Kickstarter: A Comprehensive Guide
- Lessons Learned: Insights, Mistakes, and Solutions for Offering Worldwide Shipping on Kickstarter
- 5 Shipping Partners in the EU for Kickstarter Reward Fulfillment
- 3 Shipping Partners for Australia, New Zealand, and Asia
- 3 Crowdfunding Fullfillment Shipping Partners in Canada
- Everything I Learned About Shipping I Learned in Tuscany
- Kickstarter Lesson #47: This Project Is EU Friendly
- Kickstarter Lesson #152: Shipping Icons
- Insights from Fulfilling Scythe (detailed ratings of 5 different fulfillment companies)
- Kickstarter Lesson #212: Calculating and Paying Value-Added Tax (VAT)
- Fulfilling Your Dreams via A Fulfillment Service
Localization and Worldwide Accessibility
- Kickstarter Lesson #198: Translation, Localization, and Language Independence
- Live-Blogging Lesson #11: Foreign Translations and Language Independence
- Kickstarter Lesson #65: How to Get US Backers if You’re Running a Non-US-Based Kickstarter Campaign
Behavioral Psychology
- Kickstarter Lesson #64: The Psychological Benefits of Showing Your Face
- Kickstarter Lesson #66: The Psychological Benefits of Framing Your Project’s Potential
- Kickstarter Lesson #219: The Power of Pre-Commitment
- Kickstarter Lesson #163: The Power of Certainty
- Kickstarter Lesson #233: The Telepathy of Empathy
- What Makes You Feel More Special: Building Something Unique or Being Selected?
- The Marketing Power of Effort and Earned Rewards
Final-Week Preparations and Tasks
- Kickstarter Lesson #104: The One-Week Checklist
- Kickstarter Lesson #270: Teasing Information Before a Big Announcement
- Are You More Excited by Leaked Details or Official Reveals?
- 5 Lessons Learned from a Precise Launch Day
- Kickstarter Lesson #89: How to Get Google to Rank Your Website Higher Than Your Kickstarter Project Page
- Kickstarter Lesson #15: Finishing Touches: FAQ and Preview
- Kickstarter Lesson #43: Press Releases
- The Secrets to Making Your Tabletop Game Kickstarter Project Appealing to Retailers
- What Do Retailers Really Want?
- Kickstarter Lesson #68: You Don’t Need to Launch Today
- The 7 Mistakes Crowdfunders Make the Day Before They Launch
During Your Campaign
Thrive on Launch Day
- Kickstarter Lesson #16: Launch Day
- Kickstarter Lesson #238: How to Write a Mass Email
- Kickstarter Lesson #279: Strategic Delay in Newsletter Notification at Launch
- Kickstarter Lesson #139: Mitigating Kickstarter’s Frailty
- Kickstarter Lesson #120: How to Include People Who Don’t Know What Kickstarter Is
- Kickstarter Lesson #101: Momentum Breeds Success
- Kickstarter Lesson #217: There and Back Again
- Is It Now Necessary to Successfully Fund Within the First 48 Hours on Kickstarter?
Logistics, Stats, and Project Management
- Kickstarter Lesson #21: Kicktraq
- I’m Excited About BackerTracker
- Kickstarter Lesson #148: Google Analytics
Interact with Backers
- Kickstarter Lesson #17: Treat Your Backers as Individuals, Not Numbers
- Every Customer Is Unique: A Magical Encounter
- Kickstarter Lesson #71: People Are More Compelling Than Numbers
- Kickstarter Lesson #176: How to Maximize the New “Community” Tab
- Kickstarter Lesson #170: My Job Is Stress Relief…and I’m Not Very Good at It
- Kickstarter Lesson #24: Backer Engagement
Improve the Product
- Kickstarter Lesson #20: Flexibility, Filtering, and Responding to Feedback
- Kickstarter Lesson #189: Can’t We Have This Conversation in Public?
- A Friendly Reminder: Unless It’s Confidential, Let’s Discuss in Public
- Kickstarter Lesson #199: How Can Backers Effectively Coach Creators?
- Live-Blogging Lesson #12: Just the Facts, Please
- Kickstarter Lesson #48: It’s Okay to Say No
- Kickstarter Lesson #107: How to Say No
- If You Want It, We’ll Make It…but Will You Buy It?
- Kickstarter Lesson #175: Adding New Rewards During a Campaign
- Kickstarter Lesson #222: How to Be Fair to Backers When You Make a Change
- Kickstarter Lesson #261: A Lesson in Focus from Tainted Grail
- Do You Believe Your Voice Matters?
Project Updates
- Kickstarter Lesson #18: Project Updates
- Kickstarter Lesson #115: The Best Opening Lines for Project Updates and Backer E-mails
- Live-Blogging Lesson #3: Updating Previous Projects
- Kickstarter Lesson #99: Backer-Only Project Updates
- Kickstarter Lesson #90: What You Should Do for 30 Minutes After Posting a Project Update
- 3 Questions to Ask Before Posting Something Controversial
- Kickstarter Lesson #254: Fried Chicken and Proactive Post-Delivery Service
- Kickstarter Lesson #272: The Business of Staying in Touch
Maintain Emotional Health
- Kickstarter Lesson #38: Be Mentally Prepared for Cancellations
- Kickstarter Lesson #79: Cancellations
- Live-Blogging Lesson #1: Filtering Cancellations
- Kickstarter Lesson #155: The Most Dangerous Thing a Creator Can Do
- Kickstarter Lesson #49: To Cancel or to Finish
- What Happens When You Ask People Why They *Didn’t* Preorder Your Product?
- Kickstarter Lesson #247: How Thick Is Your Skin?
- “Is It Just Me?”: Why Fans Post About Outlier Mistakes
- 10 Ways to Be Aware and Supportive of Your Mental Health as a Creator
Lead the Way to Trust and Passion
- Kickstarter Lesson #98: Creation Is Leadership
- Kickstarter Lesson #156: 3 Tenets of Crowdfunding Leadership
- 10 Ways to Be a Better Leader in a Crisis
- Kickstarter Lesson #102: Passion Is Contagious
- Kickstarter Lesson #206: Who Do You Root For?
- Kickstarter Lesson #22: The Money-Back Guarantee and Trust
- Do You Trust Me?
- 10 Ways to Regain Trust After Losing It
Build Community
- Kickstarter Lesson #80: How to Create Community Through Conversation on Kickstarter
- Kickstarter Lesson #127: Give Each Backer a Voice
- Kickstarter Lesson #186: The Vocal Minority vs. the Silent Majority
- Kickstarter Lesson #106: Don’t Copy and Paste
- Kickstarter Lesson #169: How to Have Fun with Your Backers
- 10 Things Kickstarter Creators Can Learn from Street Performers
- Building Community: The Narrative Project, Buy Nothing, and Death
Customer Service
- Kickstarter Lesson #72: The 10 Elements of Great Customer Service for a Kickstarter Creator
- Kickstarter Lesson #190: 4 More Elements of Great Customer Service
- Kickstarter Lesson #154: Hip Surgery, Organization, and Customer-Facing Service
- Live-Blogging Lesson #2: The Value of Ambassadors
- Kickstarter Lesson #193: How to Respond to Happy Backers
- Kickstarter Lesson #143: How Can I Make This Experience Better for You?
- Kickstarter Lesson #58: How to Manage Toxic Backers
- Kickstarter Lesson #226: When a Backer Threatens You
- Kickstarter Lesson #235: Surviving an Attack on Your Character
- This Too Shall Pass
- Kickstarter Lesson #195: When Should You Fire a Customer?
- Kickstarter Lesson #224: How to Apologize Better Than United Airlines
- At Your Convenience
- Kickstarter Lesson #271: Google Voice Is Exactly What I Needed
- 8 Points of Contact in Customer Service (6 Too Many)
- Holds vs Callbacks: A Customer Service Observation
- 3 Ways to Better Serve Customers and 2 Ways Customers Can Help Publishers Serve Them
- 10 Things I Learned Last Week from Best-in-Class Customer Service
Relationship-Driven Marketing
- Kickstarter Lesson #100: The 3 Secrets to Marketing
- Kickstarter Lesson #196: Outward-Facing Positivity
- Kickstarter Lesson #46: Your Target Audience Is Not “Everyone”
- Kickstarter Lesson #182: Sell Me This Pen
- 5 Things Don Draper Can Teach Us About Crowdfunding
- Kickstarter Lesson #122: The 5 Love Languages of Crowdfunding
- Kickstarter Lesson #276: Say Yes to Every Interview
- Kickstarter Lesson #150: The Power of a Personalized Message at First Contact
- Kickstarter Lesson #23: Setting and Achieving Goals
- The Marketing of Love and Partners
Leverage Backers to Boost Your Project
- Kickstarter Lesson #210: Live-Streaming Video
- How to Post a Facebook Live Video on YouTube
- Kickstarter Lesson #237: Entice New Backers with Kickstarter Live
- Kickstarter Lesson #93: Overestimating and Underestimating Your Tribe
- Kickstarter Lesson #30: The Matching Pledge
- Kickstarter Lesson #213: The Halo Effect
- Kickstarter Lesson #31: Micro Goals
- Kickstarter Lesson #95: The Top 10 Ways to Address the Mid-Campaign Slump
- 12 Ways to Overcome the Mid-Campaign Doldrums
- 10 Actionable Ideas to Boost Your Kickstarter Funding Mid-Campaign
- Kickstarter Lesson #258: Make a Sale Every Day
- Kickstarter Lesson #239: I Was There When…
- Kickstarter Lesson #249: Referrals and Affiliates
- Let’s Go Streaking: A Kickstarter Experiment
Social Networks
- Kickstarter Lesson #28: Social Networks
- Kickstarter Lesson #243: Instagram
- Finding Your Style and Growing as an Instagram Board Game Content Creator
- 20 Instagram Strategies and My Recommendations
- Game Publisher Instagrams to Study
- Kickstarter Lesson #135: Why We Share
- Kickstarter Lesson #227: Click Me! Share Me! Like Me!
- Kickstarter Lesson #149: How to Go Viral in Two Easy Steps
- 3 Ways to Inspire People to Post Photos of Your Product
- Kickstarter Lesson #248: Break the Internet to Make a Community
- Kickstarter Lesson #181: Love Your Competitors
- Can a Good-Natured Rivalry Boost Your Business?
- 4 Social Media Tips from an Industry Leader
External Marketing and Advertising
- Kickstarter Lesson #174: Creating a Spectacle
- Kickstarter Lesson #140: The Kickstarter Staff Pick
- Kickstarter Lesson #25: Reddit
- Kickstarter Lesson #208: LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest
- Kickstarter Lesson #246: Proactive vs. Reactive Social Media Presence
- A Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Ads
- Kickstarter Lesson #26: Paid Advertising and How Backers Find Your Project
- Which Banner Ad Message Gets the Most Clicks?
- Everything Crowdfunders Need to Know About Advertising
- Rick and Morty, Revisionist History, and Ads I’m Happy to Consume
- Kickstarter Lesson #216: The Leeroy Jenkins Approach to Marketing
- Kickstarter Lesson #91: My Thoughts on Campaign Boosting Services
- Kickstarter Lesson #141: The 5 Types of Spam That Creators Receive During Crowdfunding Campaigns…and What to Do About It
- Kickstarter Lesson #29: Hometown Press and Local Media
- Kickstarter Lesson #51: Cross-Promotion Between Kickstarter Projects
- Kickstarter Lesson #82: Contests
- Kickstarter Lesson #178: The Danger of Free
- The Dark and Light Side of FREE
- Marketing Products with Spoilers
- The Impact of Repetition
- Repetition: More Important Than Ever Before
The Final Week
- Kickstarter Lesson #32: The Final Week
- Kickstarter Lesson #264: Saving an Underfunded Project in the Final Week
- Kickstarter Lesson #88: Project Creep
- Live-Blogging Lesson #10: No, We Don’t Use a Pledge Manager
- Kickstarter Lesson #108: The Final 60 Hours
- Kickstarter Lesson #33: The Final 48 Hours
- Live-Blogging Lesson #7: What Do Backers Look for When Returning to a Project via the 48-Hour “Remind Me” Message?
- Kickstarter Lesson #280: This Is the End State
- Kickstarter Lesson #34: The Final Hour
- Kickstarter Lesson #35: Kickstarter Limitations and How to Work Around Them
After Your Project
The Aftermath
- Why Not Both? Running Back-to-Back Crowdfunding Campaigns on Different Platforms
- Kickstarter Lesson #215: Your Post-Campaign Survival Kit
- Kickstarter Lesson #81: Don’t Quit Your Day Job
- Kickstarter Lesson #144: How to Maximize the New “Spotlight” Feature
- Kickstarter Lesson #167: The 4 Questions Creators Receive After the Campaign Ends
Post-Campaign Communication
- Kickstarter Lesson #36: For Better or for Worse
- Kickstarter Lesson #61: Post-Campaign Communication
- Track the Pizza (Business Brilliance #5)
- Kickstarter Lesson #161: The Power of Public Progress
- Kickstarter Lesson #41: Etiquette in the Public Eye
- Kickstarter Lesson #132: The 6 Core Philosophies for Great Customer Service
- Notification Emails: How You Can Avoid My Mistake
- 10 Things I’ve Learned About Social Media This Year
Continue to Sell the Product
- Kickstarter Lesson #37: Conventions and Face Time
- The Current State of Game Conventions (2021)
- Kickstarter Lesson #40: Should You Offer the Kickstarter-Exclusive Version of Your Product After the Campaign?
- Kickstarter Lesson #70: How to Sell the Retail Version of Your Product Online Post-Kickstarter
- Kickstarter Lesson #153: Selling Inventory vs. Accepting Pre-Orders: A Dual Solution
- Casting a Wide Net Post-Kickstarter with InDemand
- 10 Marketing Methods Used at Stonemaier Games (2024 Edition)
- 10 Ways I Market Stonemaier Games Post-Kickstarter
- 5 Ways to Sell Your Brand Despite Social Distancing
- My Current Approach to Board Game Reviewers and Content Creators
- Board Game Supply Chain Basics
- Amazon: How to Survive the Biggest Online Jungle
- Our 6-Month MAPP Experiment and Why It Failed
- Gift Commerce and the Stonemaier Games Gift Guide
- Retailers, Filtering Feedback, and Making Sense of Your Business
- You’re Already Awesome…but Do Your Customers Know Why?
- It Isn’t Too Late
Gather Information from Backers
- Kickstarter Lesson #42: The Backer Survey
- Kickstarter Lesson #197: How to Remove a Cat from Your Chair
- Kickstarter Lesson #184: How Many Units Should You Make?
- Kickstarter Lesson #151: How Can Backers Change Their Addresses?
- Kickstarter Lesson #69: The Address Update Email
- Kickstarter Lesson #164: How to Automate Backer Address Updates
- Do Backers Prefer Kickstarter’s Built-In Survey or Third-Party Pledge Managers?
Scheduling and Timelines
- Kickstarter Lesson #97: Delivering on Time
- Kickstarter Lesson #130: Maintaining Peace During Shipping Season
- Kickstarter Lesson #269: The Cost of Doing Business
- Kickstarter Lesson #118: Is It Now Illegal to Deliver a Project “Late”?
- The Secrets of Mad King Jamey
- When Is It Okay to Sell a Kickstarted Product Before Backers Receive It?
Release the Product and Move Forward
- Why We Professionally Photograph Our Games
- Kickstarter Lesson #240: Why Have a Release Date?
- Kickstarter Lesson #119: Release with a Boom, Not a Whimper
- Kickstarter Lesson #179: Gauging Demand
- The Impact of “Back in Stock” Notifications
- Kickstarter Lesson #168: How Kickstarter Refunds Work and the Results of the Between Two Cities/Treasure Chest Money-Back Guarantee
- Kickstarter Lesson #50: How to Reboot an Unsuccessful Kickstarter Project
- Kickstarter Lesson #265: Try, Try, Try Again: How to Fund After Failing Twice
- Kickstarter Lesson #76: How to Run a Game Expansion Kickstarter Campaign
- How Gloomhaven and Xia Encourage Modding and Fan-Generated Content
- 10 Ways I Market Stonemaier Games Post-Kickstarter
- I’d Like to Return This Product
- This Flash Sale Technique Has Amazed Me…Twice!
- 17 Sales Techniques Worth Exploring
- 15 Ways Publishers Can Support Their Own Games
Entrepreneurship and Working for Yourself
- Kickstarter Lesson #207: What Should You Do If Someone Won’t Pay?
- Kickstarter Lesson #191: How to Go on Vacation
- The Disembodied Teacher: How to Lecture via Skype
- The 80-Hour Workweek
- A Work Day in the Life of Jamey Stegmaier
- Can You Commit Fully to Both a Business and a Significant Other?
- My Latest Tweak to Working from Home
- Kickstarter Lesson #221: How Not to Start Your Work Day
- One Easy Way to Be a Better Emailer
- Kickstarter Lesson #229: When a Company Wants to Acquire You
- The Current State of Mergers and Acquisitions (2019)
- My 2 Biggest Challenges as a Publisher
- Kickstarter Lesson #244: Why I Avoid Meetings
- The Profit vs. Stonemaier Games
- A Proposal: Let’s Not Talk Business Over Facebook Messenger and Text
- Running a Business from the Road
- How to Work from Home with Your Significant Other
- Mental and Physical Health Awareness: A Creator’s Thoughts
Growing and/or Sustaining a Business
- Kickstarter Lesson #121: Visioning
- Kickstarter Lesson #55: Starting and Sustaining a Kickstarter-Driven Business
- Growth or Endurance: What Does Your Organization Value More?
- Kickstarter Lesson 231: Cult of the You
- Hiring in a World of Volunteers
- Flatter Your Way into a New Industry
- A Different Approach to Job Applications: A Stonemaier Experiment
- Showcase Your Talents to the Game Industry via DoodleMeeple
- A Short Note About Wages for Labor Day
- I’m No Longer the Only Full-Time Employee at Stonemaier Games!
- Jobs and Careers in the Tabletop Game Industry
- Kickstarter Lesson #263: Is There Such Thing as a Dumb Idea?
- Labor Day: Fair Wages, Paying Volunteers, and Job Application Update
- What’s Your Workplace Love Language?
- Perks and Principles for My Coworkers at Stonemaier Games
- Performance Reviews: What’s Your Approach?
- One Piece to the Puzzle: Internal Impartiality
- Kickstarter Lesson #223: Should You Crowdfund a Reprint?
- Kickstarter Lesson #126: Becoming a Publisher vs. Running Kickstarter Projects for Other People
- The Surprise Business Lesson I Learned from Top Chef
- Kickstarter Lesson #203: The Impact of “Tell Us Anything”
- Kickstarter Lesson #53: Replacement Parts
- The Truth About Digital Board Games
- My Thoughts on the P500 Program
- Stonemaier Champion: One Year Later
- You Are Soliciting My Advice?
- Our New 20-Day Price Guarantee
- Everything I Know About Rebranding (Not Much!)
- If You’re Going to Sell T-Shirts…
- A Matter of Scale: What Changes Between $64k and $25m?
- Kickstarter Lesson #267: What’s Your Hit-by-a-Bus Plan?
- What’s Your Exit Strategy?
- Kickstarter Lesson #268: Overcoming the Sunk Cost Fallacy
- Lessons Learned from Quitting Kickstarter as a Creator, Part 1
- Lessons Learned from Quitting Kickstarter as a Creator, Part 2
- Lessons Learned from Quitting Kickstarter as a Creator, Part 3
- Lessons Learned from Quitting Kickstarter as a Creator, Part 4
- Lessons Learned from Quitting Kickstarter as a Creator, Part 5
- Are the Reasons We Quit Kickstarter Still Valid 6 Years Later?
105 Comments on “Crowdfunding Lessons Full List”
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Hello all,
I’m currently setting up a KS campaign for a game made in (french-speaking) Europe. Reaching our to French-speaking media is OK, but it is a bit hard for me to reach out to the US board game community, even though I have some contacts and nice media people to discuss with.
Any advice about it?
Thank you.
Yes, I would recommend reading through the “build a crowd” list of articles near the top of this page.
Hi,
My name is Zoltan, I am from Hungary. We would like to start a Kickstarter campaign this year for our game Deep of Mine: http://www.deepofmine.com
Unfortunately Hungary is not on the supported country list of Kickstarter (or Indiegogo), they insist for a local citizen from a supported country. Do you (or somebody) know any company/individual who can help to start a campaign for us?
Kind regards,
Zoltan
Do you know what an average percentage of games that don’t have everything is in a production run? I assume it’s just going to happen but I have no idea how much is too much?
I looked but couldn’t find anything.
Thanks! Your site has been an invaluable resource for us running a successful campaign.
Angie: I think you’re referring to the need for replacement parts (the number of games that are missing an important component)? I’d estimate around 1-2% Beyond that, and the manufacturer really messed up.
Here’s an article on the topic: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-53-replacement-parts/
Ah-replacement parts! Okay thanks for the super fast reply! Yes – we’re currently fulfilling a deck-building game with 1050 cards… so far missing/mixed up bits is minimal, but we’ve only fulfilled a small percentage of backers thus far. And they’re cards so super easy to mail.
Seriously! Thank you for your openness about all the ins and outs of the process.
Jamey, thank you SO MUCH for all of these amazing lessons. I launched my first Kickstarter (for my 22nd novel!) less than two hours ago, and it’s already 31% funded thanks in significant measure to what I learned here. Though your focus is games, it was nearly all applicable to book-related Kickstarters, and I am so appreciative of all your hard work. :)
Heather
Thank you, Heather! I’m excited to hear that your project is going well so far. 22 novels is amazing, and it sounds like you’ve built up a supportive audience who is eager to read your next masterpiece. Good luck! :)
It turns out I have indeed built that audience – fully funded in 6 hours. :) Thank you again!
Awesome, congrats!
Your articles are incredibly useful! I’ve linked your work in my game designers’ recources: https://alkony.enerla.net/english/the-nexus/game-design/game-design-publishing-resources
Hi Jamey and team, just wanted to pop a note to say thanks for sharing this content
Anyone have any suggestions on who to contact for manufacturing? I am trying to make a small plastic or wood (or any material Haha) shelf. Thanks in advance!
What problems may I face with printing companies in China
you are my best man
Anyone have any suggestions on who to contact for manufacturing? I am trying to make a small plastic or wood (or any material Haha) shelf. Thanks in advance!
Sorry I didn’t mean to post a reply to the above comment. And I don’t think I can delete it :)
SGs means “stretch goals.” https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-11-stretch-goals/
SGs what is mean pleas
what is mean
add more later once the pledge manager is open.
It means that by using a pledge manager, backers can add on additional items to their pledge.
it could be a stretch goal that was an add-on WHAT IS MEAN
I’m not exactly sure what you’re referring to, but sometimes I talk about how a stretch goal (a new component added to all Kickstarter copies of the game) can instead be an add-on (a component people pay extra to add to their pledge) if it costs too much to make.
Have you ever allowed any late backing? If so, how did you manage those backers? Were there any websites or services that helped you do that or did you have to do it all yourself?
Thanks in advance!
P.S. Sorry if this is addressed in any of your posts. I’m trying to pour through them all, but there is a lot of content to go through! Also thanks so much for doing this, so far it’s been super helpful!
There is a tool you can use to do exactly this. It is called a “pledge manager.” Not sure how Jamey feels about these.
I’d like to hear more recommendations about your non-kickstarter website. Maybe a top 5 or 10 things your website should do before you launch, and also how those things would be different if you want to sustain the company after the launch versus if you are one and done.
We only have one product idea so far, so our minimum goal is to launch, fund and be one and done: http://unboredentertainment.com/
But this also makes our page looks sparse (that, and I haven’t spruced it up beyond basic HTML), so I’m trying to look for things I can do while my artist completes the art for the game.
I would actually say that my methods are strikingly similar even when I launch anything, whether it’s on Kickstarter or not. But if you scroll down here and read the entries starting with Visit from the Rhine Valley, those are the articles about non-Kickstarter launches: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter/insights/insights-from-my-projects/
Thanks, Jamey! Didn’t expect such a quick response!
Our ultimate goal is to use kickstarter to fund. After reading through almost all of the kickstarter lessons, I decided to create an LLC and a website of the same name. It is the interrelation of company website and kickstarter that has me perplexed.
My artist’s day-job is web marketing, but he’s also very busy. And I’m not a Luddite. I work in electronics and have some programming experience, so I’d like to do what I can to pick up the slack for my artist. I can’t do much about not having art though (love the Tapestry side banners, by the way).
Haven’t seen the “Lessons Learned” series, though, so I will be taking notes!
Jamey,
I would like to express my greatest appreciation for what you do, the values you bring and knowledge you share.
I’m just power-reading through your lessons, they are really insightful and helpful, as well as really interesting reads.
Thanks again for sharing.
Thanks Trung! I’m glad they’re helpful for you. :)
I wanted to get some thoughts on social media strategy.
(I personally don’t want to debate various social media platforms, but will call out a few things I noticed using Jamey as an example – Apologize if I got anything incorrect):
Jamey has a blog – by clicking on the blog link on his website you’re able to see every entry he’s made. Therefore, if you newly discovered Stonemaier you can catch up or skim for articles of interest. This is great, and very easy to use.
On the other hand – Jamey has a facebook group for each of his games. I joined one early (Wingspan) and as the game got closer the posts were very informative and helpful. However, I joined another game group and tried to go read previous posts, and it was very frustrating, difficult, time consuming and not very use friendly. (This is based on the social media platforms capabilities – facebook)
Social media systems focus on traffic – getting people in, then trying to keep them on, so throwing other things at them. (Ads, similar things, etc.). They spend money to ensure content creators have tools they need, but rarely alter/improve the content consumer end.
This brings up some questions I’d like to open up to the community for discussion:
1. Should information be exclusive on one platform? If so, what are benefits to this? (I think Jamey has some exclusive content on Facebook specific to each game for example).
2. Should content creators that leverage social media provide a better outlet, such as Jamey’s blog link that a new content consumer could easily find data? Does anyone have a working example of this to show how links to posts can easily be archived to make better accessible?
3. Are there benefits to not making information or past posts easily accessible? (My opinion is – the more accessible the information the better for content consumers – it helps shows how engaged you are and the social media community you have built)
Just to clarify, I don’t have exclusive information on any platform. On Facebook, for example, when I post design diaries, I also post them on our website.
Of course, because I’m on YouTube, BGG, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and this blog, there is content that ends up on some of those platforms that I don’t cross-post everything across all platforms. That would be a quick way to really annoy people who follow me/us on more than one platform.
In my opinion, the content I post–whether it’s old or new is very easily accessible. Even the Facebook Live content is permanently saved on our Facebook page for people to watch if they’re not available live.
I think you might find these articles applicable to this topic:
https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-facebook-and-communication-do-you-feel-punished/
I just can’t pull up the most recent projects, when I click ‘Newest’ I just can’t get all the newest projects. Does KS not want anyone to see what is fresh (like games) each day?
That is indeed very odd! I don’t know why that is.
Jamey
Thank you for genuinely wanting to help board game creators. I am trying to become one. I’ve appreciated your video on YouTube talking on the 10 steps. It was cool to find out I was doing the steps in order. I’ve created a prototype and am play-testing within my gaming group and working on rules. I need to get a designer (I think that’s what the artist is called) and a production company OR kickstart it… This is where I need help. The only 2 companies I’ve thought of are you and CMON (since my game will have miniatures)… one issue I have is, I don’t know how to talk to them.
I’m being candid with you, but I think that will lead to me getting walked over… any tips?
How should my emails to artists, production companies, etc, look?
Do you have a template I could use?
Also, how do I get artists, productions companies, etc, without telling/showing them my whole board game and having it stolen?
Even just the idea of my game is so different that I feel like they would jump on it immediately. Thank you in advance.
Btw, I haven’t played Scythe yet but will this next week at the Dice Tower Con in Orlando. The game looks beautiful.
– Eric
Eric: Thanks for posting your questions here! I’ll answer in brief, though I think you would benefit greatly by reading through these posts: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter/how-to-design-a-tabletop-game/
1. If you want to talk to a company about publishing your game, look on their website to see their submission guidelines. If they don’t have submission guidelines, they probably aren’t accepting submissions. And if they do have guidelines, they’ll tell you exactly how they prefer to be contacted.
2. I don’t have a template for contacting artists, graphic designers, and manufacturers. I would suggest simply introducing yourself, tell them what you’re working on (in brief), and tell them what you’re looking for. Keep it simple and ask them if they want to know more.
3. The best thing you can possibly do to prevent someone from stealing your game is to share it early and often. That way if anyone ever does steal it (which is HIGHLY unlikely), you have a public paper trail to prove it was your game first. Also, ideas themselves are worthless (see my article about this)–it’s the execution that matters. I would say there’s a 99.99% chance that your idea is already found in another game, and that’s okay. What matters is that you execute your idea in a way that is unique, fun, and innovative as compared to the existing execution.
If you have any other questions, please post them on the specific blog entry about that topic so other people researching that topic can benefit from the question and answer. Thanks!
I’ve been studying these lessons and I even read your book… but I made the decision to put off all crowdfunding plans for my first game design. I appreciate all the knowledge I learned and just wanna say that I will be back someday to brush up… For now I’m gonna pass my design off to anyone interested, work on my other game & build my audience for a few more years. I hope to see you in Seattle next month (I would love to get my book autographed!) -D.D.
Dewayne: Thank you for sharing this! I think it takes a lot of courage to make a decision like this. I look forward to meeting you in Seattle!
Since it sounds like a way of potentially increasing the probability of succeeding, why wouldn’t you recommend it?
Because it’ll divide your attention and your backers between multiple sites, making each campaign look less successful than if they were combined into one. People are drawn to success.
If you have any other questions, please post them in the comments of the corresponding blog post.
Hi again, i have some additional questions to make:
1) How can a designer be sure that through the crowdfunding method none wont steal his idea/boardgame (your opinion about this)?
2) If i launch a campaign, and it is successful, am i obliged to show the corresponding receipts of what was bought in order to accomplish my goal?
3) What about the excess money that i gain, since i do what i had to do, once the funding was successful, do i keep it as a profit?
Thank you!!!
1. People are generally much more excited about their ideas than other peoples’ ideas. Also, it’s illegal: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-159-everything-a-kickstarter-creator-needs-to-know-about-copyrights/
2. Not to your backers. To your tax collector, yes.
3. Yes.
Thank you for your advices!!! And something else: Can someone launch a campaign in many sites simultaneously?
You can. I wouldn’t recommend it, but you can!
Hello i just bought your book!!!I believe that it will be useful to me since i would like to understand some basic information in order to launch a campaign!!!However, I would like to know your opinion about the indiegogo site which is similar to kickstarter ( i am forced to go there since my country is not available to kickstarter).
Thank your for your advice.
Angelos
Thanks for checking out the book! Here is my article about IndieGogo (it links to some other articles on the same topic): https://stonemaiergames.com/drip-vs-patreon-vs-kickstarter-vs-indiegogo-vs-shopify-a-choice-for-ongoing-content-creators/
Thank you for your information!!!
Haven’t noticed a section devoted to it, so maybe you haven’t looked into it at all, but what is the market viability of selling some of the game art in the form of art prints, playmats, t-shirts etc.
We are just wondering if we should bother looking into it. Basically, is there a demand for these things?
Byran: Thanks for your question. I’ve talked about it in terms of Kickstarter (https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-63-stay-focused-or-lose-backers/), but not in general.
I would say that there is a market, but a very limited one. For example, there are tens of thousands of Viticulture fans, but sales for these t-shirts have been minimal: https://www.meeplesource.com/products.php?posted=1&nobox=true&filter=vineyard
Shirt-specific campaigns have had some small successes on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peterchayward/jellybean-shirts-colorful-clothing-for-board-gamer
Hi Jamey,
I have a question concerning Net Kickstarter Revenue
I have a few different people assisting me with creating a game for Kickstarter and will be offering them a % portion of the Net Kickstarter Revenue for their work on the project.
Have you created any posts discussing what total % of Net Kickstarter Revenue is to much to give away or what total % a creator should ensure to have to deliver the best game possible to his backers. I looked at your full list and nothing jumped out at me. I know this is a fairly open-ended question and unique to each creator.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. I would also be interested to hear other game designers opinions as well.
Your content is saving me so much time and boosts my confidence in prepping for a future KS campaign. Thank you for all you do.
Best,
Josh
Josh: Thanks for your question. I would say this best fits under “partnership,” but it sounds like these are temporary partners, not long term equity holders.
My only experience with designating a portion of Kickstarter funds to a specific person is through contracts with designers or IP holders. For those agreements, I use gross revenue, as I think it serves that person best to be able to look at the funding total on the Kickstarter page and know instantly how much of it they’re getting. Net is fine, but it requires more calculation for them.
As for the amount for these people, it really depends on what they’re doing and what your margins look like. I’m sure the vast majority of the funds you’re raising need to go towards sunk costs, production, and shipping, so at most I would designate 10% total to all helpers, artists, IP holders, etc getting a direct piece of the pie.
Jamey,
Thank you so much for your quick response. I have read it a number of times and it is very helpful. It was good to hear that my % was not abnormal or crazy.
Best,
Josh
Was wondering the same thing. Thanks!
Jamey,
I am nearly finished with your audio book and it has given me a much better perspective.
First, I know you mentioned that you do not like Early Bird specials because they segregate backers and create winners and losers. The problem is KS campaigns need as much momentum early on as possible, but you want to have backers have a great experience. Possible solution: Offer a special reward to all pledge tiers if X happens with Y hours of a campaign start. Everyone wins if the early pledges come in!
Second, it really hit home when you kept mentioning in your book “make it about the backers”. All people (backers included) feel somewhat uncomfortable when asking others to spend money whether it is direct or not. For instance, if one of my stretch goals is $12,500 to include “black core cards” and I ask you to support our campaign, you are subconsciously asking for money by sharing. However, if that same stretch goal was 500 backers and we will unlock it (regardless of what the campaign has raised) and I ask you to share it – NOW you can ask others to check out the project because even if they pledge $1, they still count as a backer. You also mention in your audio book that most $1 pledgers ultimately end up raising their pledge amount if you have a great product as well – so let me ask the ultimate question in this comment – “What are your thoughts on launching a campaign with only backer count stretch goals, and make it about building a community, rather than focusing on the money?” In theory the two should go hand in hand, but one is much easier to support and share (in my opinion).
I would love to get your thoughts!
Thanks,
Travis
Travis: Thanks for your comment! As for your first idea, I’ve seen some campaigns use it to great success. The example I always use is the Trickerion campaign, but there are others that have used a similar method. https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-228-incentives-and-strategies-to-boost-day-1-backers/
As for stretch goals, I have a bunch of posts on this page regarding them, and I’ll link to one below. You’re right that backer-focused stretch goals can be good for the sense of community. The downside, though, is that they really “stretch” the connection between the goal thresholds and actually making the product better. The core idea of stretch goals is about economies of scale–if you raise more money, you can make more units, and the cost per unit goes down, allowing you to enhance it. It’s all kind of a game in the end, but the further you get from that core idea–like with backer count goals–the more it reminds backers that stretch goals are more of a game than science. This can lead to backlash instead of community. You’re certainly welcome to try it, though, and I hope you report back about how it works out! https://stonemaiergames.com/the-current-state-of-stretch-goals-2017/
Thanks and keep up the good work!
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.
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).
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.
Jeremiah: Sure, I talk about it in this post: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-54-reward-levels-the-premium-option/
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!
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.
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.
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.
Interesting, I was surprised that on my Scythe box there is only the label but no wording. Thank you!
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.
I don’t know the official legal stance on this, but I don’t think it can hurt to have such specific wording.
Okay, thanks.
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?
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
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.
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 ?
Your investor could create a Kickstarter account and give you access to it via his user name and password. Technically he would be the owner of the account, though.
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?
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.
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
Allan: Thanks for your question! I’d recommend reading the book first, as it reads more like a story rather than a list of lessons.
As always Jamey, thank you for your generosity :)
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).
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.
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
Shayan: Thanks for your question! I use OTX Logistics for our freight (see here: https://stonemaiergames.com/how-to-ship-stuff-worldwide-2016-edition/)
I’m not aware of OTX being better than anyone else in terms of fees, but their customer service is superb.
Hi Jamey
Thank you for the reply. I’ll dive deep into that info :)
Shayan
Hey Jamey!
Thanks again for all the work being done with this blog, it is a lifesaver. I am working with Quartermaster for fulfillment and freight and everything is pretty easy to understand and work into my budget. I have a good idea of what to tell my backers for rough shipping costs. The one thing I can not get a good read on, when calculating my KS goal, is how much to plug in for freight. Everyone I speak to at my manufacturer and fulfillment give the same answer, “we really can’t give a number until after we have an idea of how many backers you have per region”. There has to be a way to estimate freight that best reduces the chance for miscalculation, right?
How would you suggest managing this ambiguity? This will be my first KS project so I don’t have a good pulse on which regions I would be in and my guess is that it will be fairly small project, but I still have to be able to estimate freight somehow!
Thanks in advance,
Ben
Ben: I think it is pretty difficult to estimate freight shipping per unit without knowing a lot of different factors (container size, weight, carton quantity, timing, etc). That’s why I generally estimate it at $2/unit, and you could even buffer that by going up to $3 or $4. If you already know the approximate size and weight of your game, as well as carton/pallet/container quantities, you could probably get a quote from a freight shipping company (ideally the one that QML works with so you’re not using another company’s time). But ultimately I would just recommend estimating freight cost per unit at $2 or $3 for your early calculations.
Jamey,
How useful would it be to look at the community tab for similar kickstarters that have funded and use that as a means of forecasting the regional breakdown for your kickstarter?
I’ve looked at about 5 of them this way and there seems to be a trend of about 60% US, with the remainder being broken up internationally.
Thank you Jamey!
This is a huge help. My product is very, very small and lightweight and QML has sent me a sheet I can use to get a very rough estimate for freight costs! I really appreciate the 2/3/4 dollar idea as well and will use it in the future I am sure. I am just curious about one other detail, when you estimate 2/3/4 for a very rough idea of what freight might look like, do those numbers tend to corelate with any weight’s per unit in your mind? AKA is 2 a good benchmark for something like a 1lbs product (rough numbers here). I am just curious what you think about when considering all things freight and deciding between 2, 3 or 4 dollars per unit for getting a loose idea of our KS budget =D
Thanks again. Total lifesaver!
Ben
Kevin: I think that’s a nice tool to use, at least in terms of percentages.
Ben: I consider size more than weight. Like, only 4 units of Scythe fit into a carton, compared to 6 of many of our other games. So a lot more Wingspan can fit into a shipping container than Scythe. I’d estimate Wingspan as $3/unit for freight, $4 for Scythe, and $2 for some of our smaller-box expansions.
Yeah.. that comment is supposed to be in the “10 Reasons…” post. My bad
Really feel that last one is important: it’s not about the money. I appreciated that focus in the book, too, that Kickstarter is about creating and community, and money is a byproduct
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?
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.
Thanks for replying, and thanks for your advice.
I just want to mention that I will be including it in the core game, but it would still be playable without it.
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
What an amazing resource you have put together! I’ve only been reading for a few weeks and have learned a lot already. Thank you for sharing so much with the community!
Thanks Zach! Good luck as you embark upon the journey of crowdfunding your game! Hopefully this blog and my crowdfunding book will be an asset to you.
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!!
[…] https://stonemaiergames.com/ks-lessons-full-list-chronological/ […]
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.
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.
[…] KS Lessons Full List – Chronological […]
[…] to make it good (shout out here especially to Jamey Stegmaier of Stonemaier Games for his wonderful Kickstarter Lessons blog series, which I’ve been reading this week on breaks between running a few first-step […]
[…] KS Lessons Full List – Chronological – Stonemaier Games […]
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.
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!