Setting up a Kickstarter campaign sounds like a lofty task, and if you launch it incorrectly, your project will likely fail. You’ll also want to avoid future headaches during the development cycle and not break promises you have made during the campaign. Here are 10 tips to follow to have a successful Kickstarter.
1. Be honest with the community
When you start out your Kickstarter campaign, you want to be 100% honest with your backers. They will be your biggest supporters as they’re with you from day one and spread the word out about your game for better or for worse. You’ll want to keep them happy.
If a feature of the game isn’t present in the final product, they will retaliate. JRPG fans expected a traditional turn-based RPG in the style of classic PlayStation games like Final Fantasy and Suikoden, when Soul Saga‘s Kickstarter launched. Five years later, the game completely changed into a roguelike on an airship instead of a playable party.
“Well, reading about the fact that this now more a Rogue-lite than a classic JRPG I can safely say that I can ignore any future updates,” said one commenter on an update for Soul Saga. “Still wish you good luck with your vision.” It has a Mostly Negative score on Steam from only 36 reviewers and hasn’t left Early Access after five years. Make sure you know your scope and what you can deliver to consumers before launching the Kickstarter.
2. Plan out your rewards thoroughly
While planning your rewards, you’ll want to make sure your supplier is fit for the task and that you can guarantee access to the product to your Kickstarter audience. Mighty No. 9 suffered from long delays with its supplier and the set wasn’t planned correctly. According to Mashable, the backer needed to make their own physical game box, and when it came together, the manual didn’t even fit inside.
If you curate your rewards and make sure they would be a quality item for your backer, they’ll likely support your game, share pictures of the exclusive items they’ve received, and possibly support your next game on Kickstarter if it interests them.
3. Don’t have multiple campaigns
Another issue that Mighty No. 9 developer Comcept faced was that it tried to Kickstart multiple projects. This is a big no-no for fans. The campaign for Red Ash failed with 65% of the funds raised.
Comcept was ran by Keiji Inafune at the time, who was a well-known Megaman producer. He created homages to the classic Capcom series, and Red Ash followed Mighty No. 9 a few years into its development. With multiple delays and a lack of communication, fans were confused as to why Red Ash was being developed in the first place before Mighty No. 9 could be completed.
Additionally, the Kickstarter for Red Ash continued, despite announcing the game received a publisher mid-way through the campaign. YouTuber HappyConsoleGamer, and likely many other fans, wasn’t particularly feeling gleeful that the game was still being crowdfunded, despite this change.
4. Show your spending plan
Many successful Kickstarter campaigns show a graphic on how the crowdfunded money will be spent.
The above chart is from Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes‘ Kickstarter campaign and shows how much money goes into the revenue share with console manufacturers and Steam, Kickstarter fees, and fulfillment towards special items for backers like action figures, etc. Along with a deep definition of where the money is going, this eases potential backers into supporting your project.
5. Release a demo
Just like pitching your game to a publisher, showing off your vertical slice (or even a well-polished short glimpse into your game) through a demo is a fantastic way to gain interest. They’ll get an idea on how the game will play and what should be their expectations. From there, they can make a decision on whether or not they want to help crowdfund the game.
“You can use a game demo to showcase your game’s unique selling points, hook the player’s curiosity, and create a loyal fan base,” explained Husnain Sohail Sidhu on LinkedIn. This worked wonders for the stellar underrated RPG Indivisible, which gained its initial funding from IndieGoGo backers, partially because of its Prototype demo.
6. Contact Interested Influencers
Before starting your Kickstarter campaign, write a list of possible influencers who could be interested in your game. For example, if you’re title is a turn-based RPG, try to find YouTubers or Twitch streamers who have posted about other titles in the genre. If your game is more like Persona or Metaphor ReFantazio, try to contact content creators like CrystAAHHL, who have 137K subscribers.
If it’s more like an action-RPG similar to the Kingdom Hearts series, people like TheGamersJoint and HMKilla may be interested in covering the game, especially if the news is dry about their central topic. Make a list on Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets of the name, email, and contact information you can usually find in the Description of each channel. The email address on YouTube channels is usually on the bottom with a CAPTCHA attached to it.
If they cover your game on their YouTube channel or Twitch with a demo, for example, that may send traffic and interested fans to your Kickstarter campaign.
7. Figure out your target demographic
While setting up your Kickstarter campaign, you’ll want to make sure you’re catering to your target demographic and audience. “You’re more likely to run successful campaigns and hit your funding goal when you find your niche and make sure your project meets that group’s specific needs,” said Backerkit.
For example, if your game is a 3D platformer, you’ll want to show bright visuals that would cater to a Sonic the Hedgehog or Super Mario Bros. audience. You want to cater to your niche and stick to it. If you try to make the platformer an RPG as well, that might dilute your message.
A Hat In Time knew exactly what its audience was. It hired the legendary Banjo-Kazooie composer Grant Kirkhope as a stretch goal and mentions that it’s a 3D platformer inspired by Super Mario 64.
8. Good Old Fashioned Communication
Word of mouth is the best marketing tool at your disposal. Suang Song on Buffer suggests sharing the project with your friends and family. Also reach out to your work contacts in the industry. As a result, Song raised raised $25K in the first week of her campaign.
Don’t be afraid to speak loud and proud about your project and show passion for it to entice the people you know to support the Kickstarter. Do not underestimate the power of good SEO on Google, however.
9. Show What is Unique
You may be inspired by other genres and games in the industry, but there should be some sort of twist that hooks potential backers for the project. It could be for a genre that hasn’t had love in a while, like the FMV or strategy genres, but you add a certain modern spin on the formula to make it relevant again.
If you come up with a unique perspective, media publications may pick it up and write about your game on their blog or website. The unique selling point of A Hat In Time, for example, was that the developer (via Kickstarter) wanted to bring back “the [..] same magic and wonder as games from the 90’s.” They then ran with that idea and had a successful Kickstarter campaign and eventual launch of an Overwhelmingly Positive response on Steam.
10. Set a Realistic Goal
Make sure the goal you set for your Kickstarter is realistic. If the goal is too low and you don’t account for the cost of the approximate development time on the project, it’s in danger of not being completed. Thus, you’ll get a bad response from your backers. Make sure you keep the fees of the crowdfunding website in mind as well.
However, you don’t want to make the goal too lofty either, especially if your audience is fairly small for the niche of your project.
What are your thoughts?