Pepe Diaries chronicles my experiences with BackerKit after the conclusion of the #SavePepe Kickstarter campaign. Keep in mind, this is not a “how to” series to be used for guidance, but rather a “how I did it” series to be used as an in-depth look from a creator’s perspective on how BackerKit can be implemented from beginning to end.

So I’ve already discovered BackerKit and have realized it’s a great fit for the #SavePepe campaign. It’s a common misconception to think “smaller” projects (under 500 backers) don’t need any extra help when it comes to fulfilling campaign promises. Sure we only had a little over 300 backers total by the end of our campaign, but our team basically consists of just 2 people. It made a lot of sense for us to seek out some support to deal with the business end of things allowing us to focus on the frog.

Normally, during these beginning stages, I would have been partnered with a BackerKit team member for support. But since I work here now, I have the advantage of just bugging people that sit near me to help when the need arises. So that’s cool. My first step is to initiate the BackerKit Tour and begin my adventure.

I highly recommend taking the time to explore this tour. It’s a great snapshot of your overall campaign allowing you to get a grasp on all the steps ahead. There are brief rundowns covering some crucial steps in the process including setting up your surveys, sending out your surveys, managing your backers, and shipping like a pro. BackerKit users have the option to “skip ahead”, but newcomers should most definitely choose “Get Started” to…ya know…get started.

The next step shows you how to set up an item. BackerKit suggests starting with the most popular pledge level to begin this process. In my case, the $20 pledge level was the most popular which included a digital and physical copy of the #SavePepe zine. From here, it’s basically plug and play. You can name the item, add any relevant options, and decide if you want this item to be included in the “Add-On” store. It’s important to keep in mind that you should add one item at a time. This means the “digital copy of the zine” and the “physical copy of the zine” are two separate items.

Another common misconception is that backers are required to create a separate BackerKit account. Creating an account is definitely the recommended option. No bias, I promise!  The benefit of creating an account is to save your information for the next time you interact with a project using BackerKit. It’s also a great way to see an overview of all the projects you’ve supported that have partnered with BackerKit all in one clean dashboard.

Details concerning add-ons, payments, shipping options, and collecting address information is made clear and backers are shown a nice clean confirmation page showcasing all of their shipping, pledge, and add-on information followed by some options to share and rate the project with your social networks.

Overall, it’s a pretty clear representation of the backer experience giving creators some good perspective. Now that I have a good sense of the big picture, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and begin generating my items in BackerKit. Until next time, #SavePepe.

For a more detailed “How-to” experience, please check out BackerKit’s help and resource page. And if you’re interested in sealing the deal with BackerKit, you can sign up today on our homepage and embark on a journey of your own!

And be sure to read past Pepe Diary entries:

Pepe Diaries #1: Discovering BackerKit