Crowdfunding Corner - May
Crowdfunding Corner - May
Timing and Preparing your Crowdfunding Campaign
Nicole Amato and Sean Jaffe
Aaaand we’re back! Sean Jaffe from Nerdy City here, and I’m here with some exciting questions for Nicole Amato, the Games Outreach Lead at Kickstarter, and from GreaterThanGames, and this month we decided to focus on questions of timing and preparation for crowdfunding campaigns for games.
Sean Jaffe: What looks exciting to you this upcoming month? Anything you really suggest getting on board with?
Nicole Amato: Not sure how many you have room for! These are unfortunately ending soon, so I'm not sure if you will be able to link them in time:
Guild Chronicles Storytelling System: Core Rules
Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised Rulebook
Dungeons & Lasers V: World of Deuslair 5E
A little further out are all these gems:
Bridgetown: A pastoral liminal RPG setting
The Mind Squatter - A Playful Scifi Fairytale RPG Zine
And these accessories are among some of my favorites I'm watching right now:
D6 Useless Trinkets for Fantasy RPGs
Dungeons Pop - Immersive Pop-Up Tabletop RPG Battle Maps
Portents of the Degloved Hand for MÖRK BORG
Sean: Are there any warning signs that it might be the wrong time to do a campaign? What would make you postpone a crowdfunding campaign?
Nicole: Personally, one of the most important parts of a campaign for me would be how many followers I had on my pre-launch page. I also personally prefer a lot of in-person playing of my games before I run a project, so those two go together. If you can get to events and get your follower count up, that will help make your launch as successful as possible. It can really be an individual preference!
Sean: (This is a personal big one of mine) How long after a campaign ends should you wait before doing another? Can you start a new campaign before fulfillment is complete, or is that always a bad idea?
Nicole: Again, speaking personally, I wouldn't run a new campaign until my previous one was complete, especially with shipping issues, shortages, and all of the problems we've seen come and go over the last three years. My company is small, though, and has only had four published games total.
At Kickstarter, there's an official process for running campaigns if your fulfillment isn't complete for a previous one. Companies with more experience can handle running campaigns before fulfillment is done for a previous campaign, but it involves a lot of organization and communication. It's important to note we do have rules in place, but each project is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
This article is part of the Indie Game Developer Network’s blog series. The content of this article reflects the views of but one member of the IGDN. This IGDN blog article is brought to you by Sean B. Jaffe from Nerdy City. If you want to get in touch with the contributor, you can visit their website at nerdycity.com.