Kickstarter Lessons
This is a compilation of all of Jamey’s posts on creating and running a successful Kickstarter 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.
Before You Launch Your Kickstarter Project
You Are Your Own Gatekeeper
Kickstarter Lesson #110: The Shortcut to Kickstarter Success
Kickstarter Lesson #86: Preventing a Dud
Kickstarter Lesson #52: Write a Blog
Kickstarter Lesson #1: Starting and Submitting Your Project Page
Kickstarter Lesson #105: Minimum Viable Product
Kickstarter Lesson #2: Back Other Projects
Kickstarter Lesson #56: How to Effectively Research Other Projects
Kickstarter Lesson #94: The Top 10 Ways to Survive and Thrive on Board Game Geek
Kickstarter Lesson #3: Art and Design
Kickstarter Lesson #85: Card Frames
Kickstarter Lesson #87: Custom Art
Kickstarter Lesson #4: Accounting and Finances
Kickstarter Lesson #45: Partnership
Live-Blogging Lesson #2: The Value of Ambassadors
Kickstarter Lesson #5: Connecting with Bloggers
Kickstarter Lesson #78: Creating Card Prototypes for Third-Party Reviewers
Kickstarter Lesson #83: Custom Meeples and Review Prototypes
Kickstarter Lesson #74: Help Them First
Kickstarter Lesson #6: The Project Video
Kickstarter Lesson #7: The Funding Goal
Kickstarter Lesson #8: Reward Levels
Kickstarter Lesson #63: Stay Focused or Lose Backers
Kickstarter Lesson #103: There Is No Perfect Pickle
Kickstarter Lesson #62: Early Bird Pledge Levels
Kickstarter Lesson #54: Reward Levels: The Premium Option
Kickstarter Lesson #65: How to Get US Backers if You’re Running a Non-US-Based Kickstarter Campaign
Kickstarter Lesson #59: The Myth of MSRP
Kickstarter Lesson #57: It’s Not Kickstarter’s Job to Give You Backers
Kickstarter Lesson #9: Timing and Length
Kickstarter Lesson #109: Seasonal Timing
Kickstarter Lesson #84: Coordinating Staggered Launch and End Dates
Kickstarter Lesson #10: The Taste Test
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
Kickstarter Lesson #11: Stretch Goals
Kickstarter Lesson #75: Include at Least One Must-Have Component
Kickstarter Lesson #60: Exclusive Content
Kickstarter Lesson #12: Shipping
How to Offer “Free” Shipping Worldwide on Kickstarter: A Comprehensive Guide
Lessons Learned: Insights, Mistakes, and Solutions for Offering Worldwide Shipping on Kickstarter
Kickstarter Lesson #47: This Project Is EU Friendly
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
Kickstarter Lesson #39: Anatomy of a Great Kickstarter Project Page
Live-Blogging Lesson #4: The Value of Agonizing Over Your Project Page
Kickstarter Lesson #64: The Psychological Benefits of Showing Your Face
Kickstarter Lesson #66: The Psychological Benefits of Framing Your Project’s Potential
Kickstarter Lesson #92: The Psychological Benefits of Ending Price Points with the Number 9
Kickstarter Lesson #104: The One-Week Checklist
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
Kickstarter Lesson #68: You Don’t Need to Launch Today
During Your Kickstarter Project
Kickstarter Lesson #16: Launch Day
Kickstarter Lesson #101: Momentum Breeds Success
Kickstarter Lesson #17: Treat Your Backers as Individuals, Not Numbers
Kickstarter Lesson #71: People Are More Compelling Than Numbers
Live-Blogging Lesson #1: Filtering Cancellations
Kickstarter Lesson #102: Passion Is Contagious
Kickstarter Lesson #98: Creation Is Leadership
Kickstarter Lesson #18: Project Updates
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
Kickstarter Lesson #38: Be Mentally Prepared for Cancellations
Kickstarter Lesson #79: Cancellations
Kickstarter Lesson #19: The Daily Dashboard Screenshot
Kickstarter Lesson #20: Flexibility, Filtering, and Responding to Feedback
Kickstarter Lesson #21: Kicktraq
Kickstarter Lesson #22: The Money-Back Guarantee and Trust
Kickstarter Lesson #23: Setting and Achieving Goals
Kickstarter Lesson #24: Backer Engagement
Kickstarter Lesson #72: The 10 Elements of Great Customer Service for a Kickstarter Creator
Kickstarter Lesson #48: It’s Okay to Say No
Kickstarter Lesson #107: How to Say No
Kickstarter Lesson #46: Your Target Audience Is Not “Everyone”
Kickstarter Lesson #58: How to Manage Toxic Backers
Kickstarter Lesson #80: How to Create Community Through Conversation on Kickstarter
Kickstarter Lesson #106: Don’t Copy and Paste
Kickstarter Lesson #87: How to Have Fun with Your Backers
Kickstarter Lesson #100: The 3 Secrets to Marketing
Kickstarter Lesson #25: Reddit
Kickstarter Lesson #26: Paid Advertising and How Backers Find Your Project
Kickstarter Lesson #91: My Thoughts on Campaign Boosting Services
Kickstarter Lesson #27: Bloggers, Podcasters, and Reviewers
Kickstarter Lesson #28: Social Networks
Kickstarter Lesson #93: Overestimating and Underestimating Your Tribe
Kickstarter Lesson #29: Hometown Press and Local Media
Kickstarter Lesson #30: The Matching Pledge
Kickstarter Lesson #51: Cross-Promotion Between Kickstarter Projects
Kickstarter Lesson #82: Contests
Kickstarter Lesson #31: Micro Goals
Kickstarter Lesson #95: The Top 10 Ways to Address the Mid-Campaign Slump
Kickstarter Lesson #32: The Final Week
Kickstarter Lesson #88: Project Creep
Kickstarter Lesson #108: The Final 60 Hours
Kickstarter Lesson #33: The Final 48 Hours
Kickstarter Lesson #34: The Final Hour
Kickstarter Lesson #35: Kickstarter Limitations and How to Work Around Them
After Your Kickstarter Project Ends
Kickstarter Lesson #81: Don’t Quit Your Day Job
Kickstarter Lesson #36: For Better or for Worse
Kickstarter Lesson #61: Post-Campaign Communication
Kickstarter Lesson #37: Conventions and Face Time
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 #55: Starting and Sustaining a Kickstarter-Driven Business
Kickstarter Lesson #41: Etiquette in the Public Eye
Kickstarter Lesson #42: The Backer Survey
Kickstarter Lesson #53: Replacement Parts
Kickstarter Lesson #59: The Address Update Email
Kickstarter Lesson #97: Delivering on Time
Kickstarter Lesson #76: How to Run a Game Expansion Kickstarter Campaign
Lessons for Unsuccessful Projects
Kickstarter Lesson #49: To Cancel or to Finish
Kickstarter Lesson #50: How to Reboot an Unsuccessful Kickstarter Project
3 Comments on “KS Lessons Full List – Chronological”
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These are all awesome, thanks for all your documenting of crowdfunding over the years!!!! You rock!
[…] may be KS Lesson #146, but it’s right at the beginning of my chronological checklist of things to do at least 6 months before you launch your first crowdfunding campaign. With over […]
Perfect! This is really helpful – time to start going through them, bird by bird.