Why Use Kickstarter To Launch Your Video Game
Raise funds, grow a community and showcase the best of your game
Why Kickstarter?
Launching a video game on Kickstarter gives Indie Developers, Indie Publishers and Solo Devs an opportunity to secure funding to create a finished game, and validate a concept to gain interest before releasing a finished product.
With a pre-launch campaign, I'll be able to build a dedicated community before going live and generate a buzz across Social Media about your game, convert email subscribers into backers that can then go on to become future players while you'll be able to gather valuable feedback and improve your game.
Generating early buzz before you release is key to a successful campaign, so make sure to get in touch before you go live!
Launch More Than Just Your Game
Launching a video game on Kickstarter gives you a chance to offer your backers something more than just your video game. It gives you the chance to give your backers extra rewards and also expand your inventory with merchandise, in-game exclusives and more.
Market Validation
Crowdfunding gives you the chance to learn what works for you and if your game has interest before you give your game the finishing touches. It also gives you the opportunity to get a new perspective on your game with feedback from your backers.
Real-Time Engagement & Hype!
There's no better feeling than launching a game and seeing your funding increase with every refresh of your browser.
Once you get the hype train rolling, you'll boost your visibility on Kickstarter, attracting more and more backers from the platform through ranking higher in Popularity or getting featured in one of Kickstarter's email bursts.
It's important to know...
Reaching 30% funded within 48 hours is key
Hitting the 30% funded mark in at least 48 hours of your Kickstarter campaign is a key moment to succeeding. Reaching the benchmark puts your project on a good trajectory to reach your funding goal.Marketing can help with this, but it's not the 'be all, end all' of your campaign. You need to be active across your social media channels, generate a community and consider other means to get your game out there.
Not every lead will convert into a backer
While it's easy to put a projection of outcomes for a successful Kickstarter project, there are a number of factors that make a crowdfunding project good... or bad.
Email lists on average have a conversion rate from as low as 1% to 5% (based on several industry averages) and over but by generating high-quality leads, engaging your community early and educating them about your Kickstarter, we can ready up your potential backers to convert early. By doing this, we can expect to achieve over 5%.
Make sure to get your assets ready for the best start before launching your game. These can include trailers, playable demo, marketing material (videos & images), a landing page and a Kickstarter page.
Marketing can not save a bad project
Industry leaders say that 90% of marketing your game is the game itself, but if no one has seen your game, how can you expect people to buy it?
You need a good project to have a Kickstarter worthy of disrupting online. At the end of the day, no matter how many leads you collect, if you're project is not up to a high standard or has a demand, audiences will not be interested. Your game has to be something your subscribers want to support, and that doesn't fall down to marketing alone.
Somewhere, someone probably said: Anyone can throw glitter over a piece of sh*t, but it still makes it a piece of sh*t...
So, what makes a successful Kickstarter project?
A unique, high-quality game.
A game can only market itself. If you're looking to break Kickstarter, you need a game that's unique enough to stand out.
Backers who want to invest and support your game.
You need a dedicated following that will support you when you launch.
A realistic delivery time scale.
Don't leave your backers waiting too long. If they see your game may not come out for another 2-3 years, they may be hesitent to support you.
Create an engaged community.
An engaged community is a dedicated community. Engage with your followers 1-on-1, have conversations and show them that their opinion matters. This will help create a dedicated community for your game.
Educate Audiences about Kickstarter and Crowdfunding.
Getting followers to hand over their money is a big ask, and Kickstarter sometimes needs some explaining. Educate your following on what Kickstarter is, how it works and why you are using it.
The right incentive offer for early backers.
Offering early bird rewards or exclusive items to backers only is a great way to incentivise your following to support you early. If you launch your game at full price, there's nothing in it for your following to support you first.