Since 2012, Kickstarter has helped thousands of creators get funding to turn their wildest dreams into reality.
When this blog post was written, there were a total of 214,522 successfully funded projects totaling a whopping $6,326,343,509 pledged.
That being said, this only accounts for campaigns that reached their funding goal. That means the millions of dollars raised for failed Kickstarters aren’t accounted for.
So what do those numbers mean for you? Continue reading to find out.
The Amazing Numbers of Kickstarter
When you’re on the Kickstarter page and scroll down to the footer menu, you should see a tab labeled “Stats” in the about section. You’ll find many statistics on that page, from the total number of backers across all campaigns to how many crowdfunding projects raised over $1,000,000.
The most impressive ones you want to know are these:
- 20,576,873 total backers
- 39.41% average success rate
- 124,389 Kickstarter projects with $1,000 to $9,999 raised
Kickstarter Stats – What Do They Mean?
These numbers aren’t simply to impress you. Instead, they can be used to help aid your crowdfunding campaign’s success and help you set expectations. And doing that is relatively easy!
If you look at the successfully funded project section of the page, you should see that most projects get funding between $1,000 to $9,999. Campaigns that have raised over $1,000,000 are just a fraction of the successful (0.29% or 603 projects).
Another interesting finding is that most unsuccessful projects only reach 1% to 20% of their funding goal. That is why I tell you to build a following to get 30% of the funding.
Then your campaign will start gaining momentum, Kickstarter will promote your campaign, and you’ll reach your funding goal.
Go in Detail With Kickstarter Categories
Now that you are familiar with the different types of Kickstarter stats to pay attention to, you should know that every campaign performs differently. Some categories are more popular and might have more competition, while others are the complete opposite.
When you’re looking at any of the stats sections on the page, you can expand them by clicking on the blue “See categories” button to see the various niches and their data. There are a total of 15 categories ranging from simpler ones like dance to more advanced ones like technology.
Then, find the range of dollars raised where most projects in the given category are successfully funded.
Next, I’d suggest you lower your hopes. That way, you won’t get frustrated if you don’t reach the number you expected.
You’ll also be more likely to get your funding if you have realistic expectations because you’ll set reasonable goals and expect fewer people to convert to backers.
For example, if you’re creating a dance product, you should accept that very rarely you’ll raise over $20,000. However, your chance of success is 61.53% (21.28% higher than average).
But if you’ve got a product in the tech industry, expect your products to get more than $20,000. However, you also need to be ready to distinguish yourself as the success rate in this niche is only 21.53% (17.72% below average).
And for that, you’ll usually need to find a solution to a unique problem for a niche audience.
For example, STORM2 created a highly successful Kickstarter campaign for a power bank. While there might be hundreds of power banks, this one has a unique cyberpunk look.
Your Opportunity to Shine
These stats should also inspire you to start a campaign. It doesn’t matter which industry you’re going to get into; remember this: You can make your project into reality with Kickstarter.
While the odds might be stacked against you, success is still achievable. To put it in a different perspective, two out of five Kickstarter campaigns succeed!
You’re more likely to succeed in a crowdfunding campaign than die from lung cancer, which is one of the ten leading causes of death (39.25% vs. 13.2%). That’s more than twice as likely!
So how do you make sure you’ll be the successful one? Well, I’ve outlined some essential tips to keep in mind before launching your campaign:
- Create a Killer Video – According to entrepreneur Peter H. Diamandis, a significant factor in the success of your campaign is if it has a video or not. However, if you have one, try not to sell your product in it. Instead, be honest with your potential backers and tell them what you’re looking to achieve with this campaign.
- Build an Audience Before Launching – As I’ve mentioned before, you need a following before launching your campaign! If you do, you’ll already have a warm audience who trusts you enough to back you.
- Create Amazing Content – But how do you build an audience? Well, that’s by creating valuable content that will promote your idea and inspire backers to have faith in your project.
- Create a Mailing List – Did you know that according to OptinMonster, emails convert at least three times better than social media channels? And that’s the main reason you need to build an email list. By doing so, you’ll reach your superfans.
- Communicate With Your Backers – It’s not enough to call it a day when you’ve got a person to back you. You need to keep engaging with them and answering as many questions as possible. That way, your backer won’t have any second thoughts about backing you.
If you’d like more tips, check out my Kickstarter Launch Formula book. With the formula I provide, you can create successful campaigns over and over again.
So, what is stopping you? If you’ve got an idea, go ahead and make it happen.
Don’t let the opportunity slip past you!
And if you’re looking for more tips and tricks, I highly recommend subscribing to my newsletter.
