Kickstarter Do’s and Don’ts #1

Kickstarter Do’s and Don’ts #1

So you’re running a Kickstarter campaign for your next board game! Those are some exciting times. You’ve probably been scouring the internet. Trying to get any and all advice you can get on how to run a successful campaign. The good news is, Kickstarter is huge. HUGE. So there is plenty of advice to go around. A lot of veterans are sharing their experiences online. The downside? Most of it is from the same perspective. 

 

At Boda Games, we’ve been through our fair share of Kickstarters. We remember when our very first customer told us “I’m trying this thing called Kickstarter.” However, we are not game designers. Nor are we publishers. We are a board game manufacturing company. We make board games. And together with all of you, and with a little bit of help from Kickstarter, that is what we are here to do. So allow us to tap into some of our experiences and share a few do’s and don’ts with all of you. Here are some do’s and don’ts for Kickstarters that we have gathered over the past few year. But from a manufacturing point of view. 

DO:

When you run a Kickstarter, you will set up stretch goals. Heck, half the fun is coming up with some crazy ideas. And seeing whether these are attainable or not! We’re talking about stretch goals. But in order to deliver the best stretch goals to your backers, we need to make sure they are attainable. That they fit within your budget, so you can deliver everything you promised your backers. But sometimes during the campaign, you realize there is a lot more interest for a certain item and a lot less interest for another item. You want to switch them around. You want to give your backers the stretch goals they are asking for. Especially so, when you don’t reveal all of them from the start! With an itemized quotation, you can puzzle together your optimal order of stretch goals. And make sure that what the backers want, fits within your budget and your funding goals. So make sure to ask your account manager to itemize the quotation and discuss different configurations of your game with them. 

DON’T:

We want meeples! Linen finish on the game cards! Can the box have spot UV on it? These are some of the requests you might find in the comments of your campaign. And yes! You also think those are all great ideas. Heck, if it were up to you, you’d reply to every single one of them with a firm yes. And you’d publish the best board game the world has ever seen. But there are a lot of aspects that need to be taken into consideration. And most backers aren’t aware of those. They just want the coolest game ever. So you need to make sure that whatever comes your way, you have an answer to it. That you know what is possible… But even more importantly. That you know what isn’t possible. And that is where your account manager comes in. Running ideas, suggestions and anything that comes to your mind through them. Your account manager can help you figure out the feasibility of each option and help you figure out whether your backer’s suggestion. Is the right fit for your campaign.

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