When the Arydia KS campaign launched 2 weeks ago, I received a notification from Kickstarter because I “followed” the project in advance:
Then, 2.5 hours later, I received a brief e-newsletter from Far Off Games announcing that the Kickstarter was live:
Do you see what Cody did there? It’s a little thing, but I think it’s very clever: He waited a few hours before sending the e-newsletter notification. There might be some behind-the-scenes reasons for this, but from my perspective, this strategic delay ensures that the project conveyed a strong sense of momentum to those who received the e-newsletter, which increases their potential as backers.
Picture it in real time: When Arydia launched, it had 0 backers and $0 in funding. There is a certain appeal of being the first or one of the first backers, but in the greater scope of the project, it’s arguably one of the least appealing times to join a campaign.
It’s at that moment that Kickstarter automatically notifies anyone who followed the project in advance (or who follows Far Off Games on Kickstarter). Those are the people who are most likely to back the project on day 1, as that’s literally what they signed up to do.
Cody could have proceeded to send the e-newsletter at the same time, but he didn’t. By the time subscribers received the notification a few hours later, the project already had over $200k in funding. They showed up to a project in full swing, momentum on display, well on its way to success–that provides an extra boost to subscribers who are curious about Far Off Games in general but not necessarily Arydia specifically.
I really like this approach for crowdfunding, where the project progress has a visual impact on every incoming backer. I think it applies to other types of notifications too–many companies have a separate sign up form on their website for new projects, social media announcements, and a plan for various ads.
The added benefit of strategic delays in these notifications is that it doesn’t overwhelm someone with a half-dozen notifications within the span of a few minutes. In my opinion, a few hours between the notifications can make a big difference (and it often increases the chances I’ll take a look, as I might be really busy at one moment but not in the next).
What do you think about this strategic delay in launch notifications?
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9 Comments on “Strategic Delay in Newsletter Notification at Launch (KS Lesson #279)”
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I don’t disagree with the idea of staggering but … was it really intentional?
-“Notify me on launch” notifications come from Kickstarter as soon as the project is live.
-The newsletter comes from the publisher when they hit some form of “send” button in their computer.
Surely you can synchronize the two events…but it could be as simple as the publisher simply waiting until the project was live, check for a few minutes to see that everything is ok and then proceed to write the e-newsletter?
Good idea to intentionally stagger them, but maybe it was a happy coincidence?
Perhaps, though I think there’s no way a publisher who plans like Cody does would wait until after the Kickstarter went live to write the e-newsletter. :)
I like the staggering of messages as well – sometimes I can’t address the first announcement because I’m in a meeting, busy at work, busy at home, or otherwise occupied. After getting another reminder two hours later, I’ll either take the time to look at the campaign, possibly “favorite” it to look at later, or create my own reminder to look it up when I know I’ll have more time to read all the details.
As a side note, I participated in Cody’s KS for the Xia expansion, and it was one of the best-run campaigns I’ve backed (out of around 120 campaigns). Clear and regular communication throughout, and transparency when inevitable hiccups occurred in the process. Plus, Xia is a beautiful production that rivals the quality and deluxe feel of any Stonemaier game (which are at the top tier of game production, IMO, and not easily matched!)
I’ve wondered about what’s best here too. There seems to be two primary paradigms at play:
1) The bigger a campaign is, the more likely an individual is to back it when they hit the campaign page, so you want to make it as big as possible as early as possible.
2) The more loyal someone is to the product being launched, the less they care about whether anyone else has backed, so you should get the campaign in front of them before it has social credibility.
But followers of the campaign will be a mix of “very loyal” and “not sure, just taking a flyer”. And the general/company email list has its own loyalty spectrum that will differ dramatically depending on the list.
So I’m not 100% convinced this is always the best strategy but it goes back to a very solid general rule: Prioritize getting your campaign in front of people in order of their loyalty to the product.
I like that, Brian–“Prioritize getting your campaign in front of people in order of their loyalty to the product.”
It’s very similar to asking your media and reviewers to stagger their releases so ALL content isn’t posted at the same time.
That’s a great point, Bob.
Agree wholeheartedly! The same applies to advertising, but it’s incredibly difficult to convince publishers of this! Most companies want their ads to fire immediately upon launch, but it’s really the *worst* time to convert people. As you say, if people arrive to see a project in full swing, it’s just that much more appealing.
So, to me, the order of operations:
1) Launch, and let those Kickstarter followers get on board. As you say, they clicked specifically so they could be notified upon launch, and you already know they’re Kickstarter users.
2) Once those people have a brief period to get on board, hit you mailing list/social media/whatever other method you have of reaching your existing fan base.
3) If/when those first two groups are strongly supporting, start your paid advertising, as you’re set to convert on traffic with that initial funding already in place.
That’s a brilliant approach, Chad!