If you’ve been browsing popular Kickstarter campaigns for a while, you might have noticed that the most successful ones have something called add-ons. Don’t worry if that confuses you!
I’m going to explain everything.
By the end of this blog post, you’ll understand what add-ons are, how you can create your own, and how to claim them. If that sounds interesting, then keep on reading.
What is an add-on?
Add-ons are additional rewards you can get after choosing the amount you pledge. That could be anything from an additional product to branded items like T-shirts, hoodies, stickers, etc.
For example, let’s say you pledge $100 for an innovative drone and then receive an offer to pre-order an additional battery for $15 on top of this pledge.
The below screenshot from the Stainless Steel memobottle campaign further illustrates what add-ons may look like. It raised nearly $510,000 and offered an innovative water bottle.
How to create an add-on for a creator
Let’s say you’ve decided to create an add-on yourself. Great, but before you announce it, you need to do a few things.
1. Think of the bonus
Before you create any add-ons, the best thing to do is decide what you’ll be offering. As mentioned previously, you could upsell your backers the same product or branded clothing, but that’s not the best option.
Instead, I’d encourage you to think of complementary products. Take the memobottle campaign, for example.
They offer cleaning tablets in addition to various style bottles. Most bottle owners want a clean bottle to drink from, so they’ll buy these as an extra.
2. Decide who can qualify
Have you ever seen those announcement bars on an online store saying that you’ll get free shipping if you spend a certain amount? Well, why not use this trick to incentivize your backers to fund more!
In the example below, you need to pledge at least $12 to get an add-on.
3. Price your add-ons appropriately
Take total costs into consideration. Also, don’t forget to add the estimated delivery and shipping fees. For example, you could price like this: $10 for a phone case + $2 shipping (estimated delivery date: June 2022).
4. Have instructions for your add-ons
It’s vital that your backers don’t get confused. In this example, you can see that the memobottle campaign explains the pre-ordering process before the rewards section. However, you can do that even better by illustrating the process with screenshots instead of just explaining it with text.
5. Announce your new add-ons
Now, tell your audience about the new rewards! I recommend that you first add an update on Kickstarter and then share it with your other audiences, like your social media channels or email lists.
How to claim an add-on as a backer
You’ve already pledged to a project you believe in, but now you have the desire to get that branded T-shirt! So, how can you do it?
Fortunately, it’s not difficult if you follow this 3-step process.
1. Click on the “Manage your pledge” button
First, you should locate the “Manage your pledge” button on Kickstarter. If you’re logged in and on the campaign page, it should be in the upper-right corner.
Once you’ve clicked it, you should see a page with the details of your current pledge. Scroll down the page until you see a blue “Change your pledge” button.
Click it, and move on to the next step.
2. Pick your tier and click “Pledge”
Now you should be greeted with a list of all the pledging tiers. If you want, you can select a higher or lower tier.
But if you’re just looking to get the add-on, pick your current tier and hit “Pledge.” Don’t worry; you won’t pledge twice!
3. Pick your add-on and confirm your pledge
Now you can pick your add-ons! When you’re ready, click continue.
Once clicked, the confirmation page should appear. Check if everything is correct, and then hit “Confirm changes.”
Congratulations, the process is complete! I recommend you send an email or Kickstarter message to the creator to have a record of communication.
Once the campaign has succeeded, you’ll be sent a survey.
Conclusion
Do you have any more questions about add-ons or Kickstarter in general? Be sure to leave a comment down below.
Also, if you need some 1-on-1 consultation calls, then you can book here.
