My name is Mary. I own a small business that creates and sells customized hand-made leather dice bags. I am incredibly meticulous and I apply that to everything I do. I also recently launched a Kickstarter campaign. Despite weeks of reading advice columns and taking extra time to prepare (which were both very helpful), there were still a few things that I didn’t know before I started.
1. Kickstarter tells the creator the exact order backers pledge in. I didn’t know in advance or I might have made use of that information. You could easily have a first come, first fulfilled model for rewards.
2. Kickstarter collects information about why backers cancel. When a backer cancels their pledge, Kickstarter asks why, but does not relay that information to the project creator (NOWish games, creator of Dragon Fantasy Coins, was kind enough to verify this with me). A simple check box as a backer cancels, allowing Kickstarter to share the info with the creator, would help so much. So would actually sharing the information with creators.
3. It is not easy to contact a backer when they cancel a pledge. If you have been contacting your backers with a personal “thank you” along the way, you can still contact them and ask them why, but the method is convoluted. I could only contact canceled backers by leaving the dashboard system and digging through my Kickstarter mailbox. Unless you lose a lot of backers, all at once, it might be better to just let them go. Again, if Kickstarter passed along the data to the project creator, there would be no need to bother a canceled backer asking redundant questions.
Customized Leather Dice Bags on Kickstarter by LeatherDiceBags.com
4. Like any tool, cross promotion can be misused and must be handled with respect. This is not about you. Think about the backers (of both projects) first. Are your projects complementary? Do you really think your backers might enjoy the other project? Will your backers benefit from goals being met by gaining new backers? Will the other project’s backers benefit similarly? If you are approaching a bigger project (more backers, more success), what else is in it for them?
I sent out samples at the beginning to two much larger projects and I got some great photos of our projects together for both sets of our backers in our updates. One of those projects had been successfully closed for months (don’t write off the closed projects). As I began to run out of time, I offered to swap a nice, honest comment, a link, and a photo in my updates. Cross promotion does not belong on the comment board. If anywhere, it belongs in project updates. Don’t over do it. The more you cross promote, the more likely you will irritate your backers and the less valuable your individual promotions are.
5. Only promote with projects who share your values. If I can’t look at your project and feel that you care about quality as much as I do, I won’t give you a second look. If I feel that you are just in this for the money, I’m gone. If you put your heart on your sleeve and show your backers that you believe in and care about what you are doing, then we can talk.
I was the one who was hunting down other projects to promote with. I sent out seven requests. I received four positive responses. I was only contacted by one other project. I did four simple cross promotions and one special one (for a project that truly caught my attention). The important things to remember are be polite and honestly tell the other project what you have to offer. You might be surprised at how far respect and candor will get you on Kickstarter, but you really shouldn’t be. That’s the best part of crowdfunding. You get to work with real, everyday people and real, everyday people are awesome.
My opinions are my own and while I am a perfectionist, I am not perfect. It is my sincere hope that others can benefit from my experiences.
Mary Thompson
Owner of LeatherDiceBags.com
Project creator of Customized Leather Dice Bags on Kickstarter
