This is the last in a series of three posts about David Beck’s highly successful Kickstarter campaign
David Beck, Game Designer for the board game Distilled, needed to raise $18,000 to cover his costs but hoped to raise $50,000 to $100,000. His 8060 backers pledged $549,573 to help bring this project to life. Distilled currently has 30,000 games in print and is available in multiple languages. He shared his successes and failures with IDEA Hub Director Maia Donohue.
The biggest element in David’s Kickstarter campaign was preparation. He spent 18 month building the community so that he could bring a robust audience to the campaign kickoff day. If you have the right first circle of people, they are likely to bring some of their friends. However, don’t restrict outreach merely to friends. You might by surprised at the people who pledge which could include old acquaintances, teachers, or people you met at a conference years ago. By giving the initial funders a role in the review process he was able to further develop that relationship and his funders can say they were on the ground floor and they have a claim to fame.
On the Kickstarter page show some testing and prototypes that have been tested, include quotes from testers, any awards won and show how the game is played. The goal is to create trust and interest. Include a brief overview of the owner/developer to show personality.
Long term success is keeping that following that you created so that the community remains engaged and likely to participate in your next venture.
If you have questions about Kickstarter or other crowdfunding tools, contact IDEA Hub Director Maia Donohue at donohuejer@uwplatt.edu and learn more about IDEA Hub at https://www.ideahubaccelerator.com/