How top crowdfunding creators in 2020 are using BackerKit to unlock the full potential of Kickstarter’s newest feature
TL;DR
- We’ve seen a shift in how creators plan and launch projects on Kickstarter.
- More projects are leveraging their existing fanbase (their previous backers) to generate excitement before and during their project.
- Kickstarter introduced the Pre-Launch page feature that helps creators promote upcoming projects early.
- BackerKit Launch can help creators take full advantage of this new feature by leveraging previous backers and tracking performance.
Experienced creators connect with their most passionate fans
In the past year, the BackerKit research team talked to hundreds of creators to learn about their goals and their challenges to meet them. We’re constantly inspired by the passion and the detail that goes into making each project a success.
Our most recent research confirmed this point: repeat creators are able to maintain a consistent level of returning backer support whenever they launch a new campaign. They’ve locked in a certain group of backers that keeps coming back to pledge to every project they launch. This is an amazing achievement and a success model that allows them to keep launching new projects year after year.
Get previous backers excited about the next project early
One thing we’ve noticed is that experienced creators tend to reach out to their previous backers early and often about their new project so that their fans are excited and ready to pledge when the project goes live. We’ve heard creators do this in various ways:
- Directly messaging backers on Kickstarter
- Posting project updates on previous projects
- Sharing on social media
- Reaching out directly via email using services like Mailchimp
While all of these work to some degree, we heard from many creators that these methods had issues:
- Project updates aren’t reliable because backers turn off notifications from Kickstarter.
- It’s really time-consuming to make updates on multiple projects.
- It’s inconvenient especially for backers that backed multiple projects because they will receive the same update from the creator multiple times.
- It takes a lot of time and effort to make updates to various social media accounts without knowing exactly how effective it is.
- Creators are unsure if all of their previous backers follow them on social media accounts.
- It’s not easy to track exactly how these efforts are converting into pledges.
Kickstarter now has a Pre-Launch page feature
In the midst of our research, Kickstarter announced new features that help creators better promote their new project. Creators now have the option to publish a Pre-Launch page on Kickstarter before they go live.
Potential backers can now view all of the upcoming projects that are published on Kickstarter.
Use the advanced filter to search specifically for upcoming projects on Kickstarter.
Potential backers can opt-in to be notified by Kickstarter when the project goes live by clicking a button on the pre-launch page. The count of those followers are shared on the page.
Getting followers on the Pre-Launch page leads to success
Generating the Pre-Launch page early will allow enough time to promote the project and gain followers before the project goes live.
According to our internal research, early signs indicate that a project with the Kickstarter Pre-Launch page set up were 4 times more likely to fund than a project that didn’t.
On average 20~25% of these followers end up pledging. This is a great sign that the time and effort spent on getting as many followers as possible before going live will pay off in a big way.
Getting as many pledges in the first 48 hours is key to maximizing the funding potential of a crowdfunding project. Setting up the Pre-Launch page and gaining followers becomes an important part of the pre-live marketing strategy.
Use BackerKit Launch to gain followers and track performance
Repeat creators have told us time and time again that counting on previous backers to generate that initial excitement is a key part of their entire crowdfunding campaign. We’ve been able to quantify this as well: the first few days of successful projects always record a very high returning backer percentage.
So it didn’t surprise us when we saw our customers connect the dots: many of them started driving previous backers to Kickstarter’s Pre-Launch page.
One of the easiest ways our customers can do that is to message previous backers using Launch, a new tool built by BackerKit to optimize the entire process of launching a new crowdfunding project.
Launch enhances the use of Kickstarter’s Pre-Launch page by providing a way to accurately track previous backers who are committed to pledging on day one. It integrates with Kickstarter to measure conversion performance for previous backers when the project goes live.
Restoration Games used BackerKit Launch for Return to Dark Tower to message their previous backers.
Searching for the best way to launch your next project?
Our team at BackerKit is constantly looking for the next innovative way for creators to unlock the secret powers of crowdfunding. We’d love to learn about your future crowdfunding plans.