I continue to revisit the Kickstarter Lesson posts I’ve written over the last 8 years in chronological order, highlighting the core elements of each.
Paid Advertising and How Backers Find Your Project (#26): Of all the paid advertising for my original Viticulture campaign, banner ads on Board Game Geek appeared to attract the most backers. My informal poll asking “How did you hear about the Viticulture Kickstarter” showed lower results for money spent on Facebook and for a preview from Dice Tower. But seeing less direct results from some types of advertising does not necessarily mean it was a failure, nor should they be dismissed as too risky. Each new backer gained could be another voice that persuades many more people to believe in your project. Of course, if you’re willing to spend the time reaching out to bloggers and backers, you might not need paid advertising. In fact, you might even do better without it because of the personal touch of other forms of outreach.
Bloggers, Podcasters, and Reviewers (#27): The more people hear about your project, the more likely they are to attain the critical mass of knowledge needed to get them to back your project. This article covers a lot of topics in regard to keeping the buzz for your campaign going from launch day to the last 24 hours. I cover topics like timing, finding good blog and podcaster matches, how to be interviewed, and perhaps the most important, how to request coverage politely. Read my detailed instructions inside.
Social Networks (#28): How often is too often to share your Kickstarter project on social networks? To a certain extent, we all know the answer to that question. We know what it’s like when someone incessantly posts their Kickstarter project, charity event, or anything where they’re asking you to do something for them. But as I often talk about in these lessons, content is just as important as quantity. One big downside to these social network blasts is that they’re the equivalent of casting a wide net to catch a single fish. It’s not personalized. Social networks can still be an important tool to connect to backers and the important thing to remember is to make your posts about the readers, not about you.
Hometown Press and Local Media (#29): Unlike most aspects of your Kickstarter project, hometown press is something you can only pursue after your Kickstarter project is somewhat successful. With Viticulture in 2012, I waited to pursue hometown press until we had reached around $15,000 in funding. By that point we were already the second-most funded Kickstarter project ever in St. Louis, so I used that as a pitch to the press. It worked out, and I appeared on the local news and in the St. Louis newspaper. Read this blog entry to hear further details from Patrick Nickell, the owner of Crash Games. He’ll give you details about the art of making a press release.
The Matching Pledge (#30): In the non-profit world, the matching pledge is pretty common. Basically, an interested party may choose to match, dollar for dollar, all pledges within a certain timeframe and up to a certain amount of money. If you’re 20 days into your campaign and you still haven’t reached your goal, a matching pledge is something to consider if you have someone willing to be the matching donor. Sometimes potential backers just need a little push to know your campaign will be a success.
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If you have any questions or thoughts about these topics, feel free to share in the comments!
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4 Comments on “Quick Kickstarter Lesson Recaps: #26-30”
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Hi Jamey,
I am just writing this to say „Thank you!“.
I learned so much from you regarding Kickstarter and Board Games, and most of all, you actually planted the seed in my mind to even think about this and try it. This was some time ago.
Yesterday I passed the funding goal for my first board game Kickstarter campaign. Here is the campaign, in case you are interested:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/trench-club/trench-club/
I just sincerely wanted to thank you, because I wouldn’t have even started this, neither been successful without you. You made a difference in my life!
Best, Philipp
P.S.: I also bought your ebook, a copy of Scythe, etc. and those are all great as well – but you know that ;-)
Thanks for sharing, Philipp, and congrats on reaching your goal for Trench Club–that’s wonderful!
Really enjoy all your insights regarding Kickstarter. As a first time creator who just launched I want to thank you for the amazing content you share with everyone! The “Maintain Emotional Health” section is being specially helpful with dealing with different kinds of feedback (positive and negative) and the anxiety that comes with the launch. Thanks again =)
Thanks, Bernardo!