Our Kickstarter campaign went live two weeks ago, we reached our goal in less than 3 hours, and we are now at 166% funded.

Since my last post, I have seen all of your questions and wanted to make a post answering the most frequent one with the person that was in charge of the marketing.

I hope this post helps you and feel free to comment. I'll be answering throughout the day.

When did you start your pre-campaign?

10 months before launch

How many followers did you have when launching the campaign? How did you get them?

Roughly 500 were from irl events that we attended, the other half from showcases impressions, ads and posts we published on our social media, and a few came from collabs with content creators.

We tried to post content every day on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok with links to our page.

We also stayed away from big content creators since they have a more general audience and tried to focus on niche YouTubers, where, in our case, their content would be mainly, if not only, monster collectors/RPG.

Not only that, but we also made cross-promotions with other projects that could share an audience with us. We tried to connect with a lot of similar projects, but beware: Not everyone will be open to that, or maybe they just don't look at their mail too often. On average, if we sent 10-15 emails per week, we'd get 1 or 2 replies.

As to how to market to potential backers, we thought: "How do I make following the campaign attractive?" It shouldn’t feel like a favor they're doing, but rather like an opportunity for them to gain access to exclusive, limited-edition rewards while supporting the project throughout its development process. Show your rewards, talk about development, show progress, take people's feedback into aaccount and make them feel like they're part of the process, because they are!

How much did you spend on ads? Did you have an agency?

We have spent about 1400USD on Google and Meta ads, 600 during pre-campaign, and 800 on launch day (First 24hours).

We also worked with an agency called MGA (Make Good Art), which cost about 4000USD. They helped us review the Kickstarter page to see if the page was well put together, they advised us on how to set up meta ads, and so on.

What would you do differently?

We would change the type of content we posted at the beginning of the pre-campaign; we tried with a lot of generic content (speed paints, tutorials, and IRL videos) instead of showing the strong parts of our game and what makes it unique. In our case, what makes the game stand out it's the hand-drawn art, the beauty of the world and the wide variety of creatures.

Mid-campaign final thoughts

Kickstarter is a lot of work. At the beginning we thought we would go live after 2 months of pre-campaign, but we had to postpone launch a number of times. We didn't have that many follower and we weren't sure we could reach our goal. We had to spend a lot of time budgeting, looking for suppliers and spent quite a bit of money on prototypes for all the rewards. The game's development had to slow down due to a major part of the team having to create content for social media, exclusive campaign creatives and art and all sort of content for the Kickstarter page. We are a small studio and don’t have a lot of money, so we could not hire extra hands to do all that design and marketing. In our case the art director and the producer have been the ones in charge of most of the marketing, but we all had to do our part: Editing videos, preparing gameplay clips, gifs, looking for collaborators, mailing lists, talking to potential suppliers, etc.

It's been a month full of stress, with backers coming and going (remember that backers will withdraw their pledges during the campaign, and that's completely normal). For example past weekend while we were attending an event, a 3000USD backer withdrew their pledge. This set us back quite a bit from reaching our next stretch goal and naturally it was a discouraging blow for the team. We're happy to have reached our funding goal, but the journey has also been full of ups and downs.

I'd say running a crowdfunding campaign when you don't have many resources or a big budget requires a lot of hard work, time and mental resilience. You have to learn to celebrate the wins while staying prepared for setbacks, sometimes all within the same week or even hours.

Still we're pushing forward and we're doing our very best. It's been a long and hard journey but reaching our goal has made it all worthwhile and I'm personally grateful for everything we've achieved. We still have two more weeks to go, and we're giving it everything we've got!

I'm building a screen-free money device for kids 6–8. We go live on 3 November and I would love to get some feedback about what's confusing now, rather than on launch day. I would very much appreciate if you could spare a moment to answer these 3 questions:

1. Can you understand what Munli is and what it does within five seconds?
   
2. What would make you hesitate to click "Notify me on launch"?
   
3. Would you want this for your child? Why or why not?

Website: Munli — Screen-Free Money-Learning Device for Kids 6–8

Pre-launch page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mymunli/munli-money-habits-kids-can-see-and-feel?ref=rd_prelaunch

Be blunt — thank you.

Hi, I'm Valentino, from Italy. I deliver mail during the day and build UNDERSKIN at night.

It's a pixel art psychological horror roguelike set inside a warehouse worker's head. Every enemy is someone from his life, you pay with his pills, and a voice follows you the whole run and never takes your side. Fully voiced in English and Italian.

The first floor is done and free on Steam, about 20 minutes: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5133830/

The campaign pays the artists drawing floors 2 to 11 with me. Every line of the budget is a signed quote, I don't pay myself from it.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/valentinoarceri/underskin

Rewards start at €10 for the full game at release. Happy to answer anything about the campaign or the game.

Would like to hear your experiences (not opinions) with paid email newsletters. Its for a very niche by high demand product. Pros and cons from your experiences when running a campaign.

Hey! I'm running Numeraeon on Kickstarter and I have had a few awesome collaborations with other creators so far during my campaign (and a few yet to come!).

I was wondering if there were any other horror or dark fantasy creators with projects on Kickstarter that are looking to potentially collaborate on a cross-promotion. If so, please send me a dm!

I've been pre developing a card game for the last 20 years. I've had a pretty interesting journey so far and haven't as so much gotten any ground beyond finishing the framework to launch it as a project on Kickstarter. I can assure that with proper help from an artist that we can meet a Kickstarter launch goal to make the game as successful as possible. If anyone is interested in helping me finally bring what I believe is an incredible vision/game to life, on me and I will provide my phone number where I can explain how I know the project will be funded and how the game works. Thanks. :)

I’m a mom of three, and I’ve been working on developing a bullet-resistant school binder through my company, Safe Shield Co.
I’ve been trying to get this product off the ground for months with very little money for marketing.
Recently, I left a comment on another girl’s TikTok video about school shootings, mentioning the binder I’ve developed. That comment ended up getting a lot of attention, with people replying, asking questions, and showing genuine interest in purchasing one.
Since then, I’ve started trying to turn that interest into potential customers, and I’ve already gotten 35 email signups from people interested in the product, all organically without spending money on ads.
Here’s where I’m stuck. My manufacturer requires a minimum order of 250 units, and I don’t currently have the funding to place that order myself.
My original plan was to build an email list and eventually offer preorders to help cover manufacturing costs. But with the recent interest, I’m wondering if I should launch a Kickstarter campaign instead.
I’d love advice from people who have actually launched physical products.
Would you recommend Kickstarter, Shopify preorders, or another crowdfunding platform?
Is 35 email signups a promising start, or should I focus on growing that list significantly before launching?
Has anyone successfully funded their first manufacturing order through preorders?
How do you turn social media interest into actual customers without spending thousands on advertising?
I’m not looking to make a quick buck. I genuinely believe in this product and want to build something that helps protect children. My long-term goal is also to give back to families affected by school violence and support children’s mental health.
I’m just a mom trying to figure out how to take the next step without making an expensive mistake.
Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all

Just looking for some tips and tricks for running a short film campaign. We’re live and momentum has slowed considerably. To a point where alarm bells are ringing.

We’ve been quite lucky to get into Witchstarter, Kickstarter Culture Fund and Projects We Love, so we’re getting a reasonable amount of organic traffic through discovery mode.

The issue is our prelaunch audience was small. We ran a 6 week prelaunch and gained 152 prelaunch followers with no advertising and a small mailing list of 30 people.

Our personal networks aren’t huge but mostly uninterested. I work in television professionally so the crew on my latest TV shoot know I’m doing this. But I find it very hard to aggressively promote this project to them.

What else can I do other than having a huge marketing budget, which we don’t have?

How I found 3 subscription I forgot I was paying for - in under 2 minutes.

Opened AboMate. Dashboard showed every subscription stacked by cost.

Spending chart flagged my monthly total was 40% higher than I thought.

Calendar view showed 2 renewals hitting this week.

Cancelled one on the spot. Saved €15/month

AboMate

My Website 🙂

Gio Geo Games

Instagram

I'm an independent publisher considering Jellop for an upcoming Kickstarter campaign. The more I looked into the company, the more frustrated I became with how little independent information I could find about their processes, pricing, and actual results. So I decided to do something about it.

To be clear, I'm just a guy trying to figure out whether Jellop is worth hiring. I'm not a marketing agency; I'm not affiliated with Jellop or any of its competitors, and nobody is paying me to conduct this research.

I've put together a survey for Kickstarter creators who have worked with Jellop. I'm interested in the good, the bad, and everything in between, particularly advertising costs, ROAS, profitability, and customer service.

The survey should take approximately 10-15 minutes. Most questions are optional, and you can participate anonymously.

SURVEY: https://forms.gle/iR95k7Mi33Wb6uqA8

I intend to compile the responses, be transparent about what the data does and doesn't tell us, and share the findings publicly with the communities that allow it. I swear there's no hidden agenda.

If you've worked with Jellop, I'd appreciate your input. Hopefully, we can put together something useful for the next creator making this decision.

Hi!

I'm Carlos, co-founder of SteelCraft Studios. We're just launched our first print-and-play TTRPG, and since we're a small team, we're looking for people interested in the genre who might be willing to share our Kickstarter campaign.

Our project is heavily inspired by the classic Sword and Sorcery genre, and we believe it offers great material for both players and Game Masters.

Have a look at our project, and if you're interested, please let us know!

Here's the project: https://www.steelcraftstudios.com/

Hope you like it!

everyone! I just launched a kickstarter campaign for my new enamel pin set. I also have stickers available. We have all heard the story of the Wolf in sheep’s clothing. But how about the frog in sheep’s clothing? More specifically a frog named Pogo who enjoys pancakes and the smell of rain but despises the sound of people chewing… I designed these cute little critters in illustrator and I’m really excited about how they came out. I hope you all enjoy. Feel free to check out the campaign. Thanks so much for the support!

I've been denied being listed as a Kickstarter Expert multiple times after directly raising over $100M+ for my clients, and in total helping creators raise over $150M in just a few short years when including partner projects and projects I've resourced.

My full client list can be seen here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/113tzZk77mpn5rYF2gYv9AljrgQ1wKLCSOINWX3qfjjI/edit?usp=sharing

My Prelaunch Club discord server has grown by about 250 members in just the last 5 months:

Meanwhile, my crowdfunding tools, Photoshop templates and step-by-step guides have been downloaded by over 8000 creators since I started using FileMonk in 2024:

I'm connected to about 200 Ad Accounts on Facebook, all Kickstarter Creators:

And my Business Partner Expert status for Meta:

You can even see Mark Pecota, the founder of LaunchBoom, writing testimonials about my work performance (and how my departure from the company may have impacted their own bottom line) while I was building the first LaunchBoom Accelerator programs for them:

I am the first & top result on Google and the main AI recommended link on "How to do Facebook Ads for Kickstarter":

I have been making due effort to have creators list me as a collaborator since the last rejection letter from Kickstarter Team about being listed as an expert:

But unfortunately, having creators list me as a collaborator has had zero effect and I've been denied once again to be listed as a Kickstarter Expert (for the 4th time, no less).

Between TrustPilot, Google Business, and Discord, I've collected around 200 glowing reviews for Prelaunch Club, of which over 100 are displayed publicly on my websites and are publicly accessible and verifiable on the respective platform.

All I get upon submission is a vague denial letter:

If anybody can help me get in touch with Kickstarter, I really do need to hear from them about why the rejection is occurring.

Can anybody please help me get in touch with the Kickstarter Team person who is managing the Kickstarter Expert List?

Hey everyone,

I’m completely new to Kickstarter and crowdfunding, and I’m reaching out to get some honest feedback and advice from experienced creators, game devs, and backers.

I recently set up my first campaign:Kelvin Needs a Job: From Simulation to Survival Game.

How It Started

This project originally started as a way to showcase my technical and creative skill set through an interactive portfolio project—doing something totally different from a standard web or game resume. As the concept grew, it evolved into an interactive, community-driven life-simulation game.

The Core Concept: A Shared-Community Simulation

What makes this project unique is that it’s a shared experience. Everyone interacting with the simulation is controlling the same single character.

The choices other players make directly impact the character's state and outcome for everyone else. Over a focused 3-month development cycle, I’m building out the first fully playable chapter, centered around:

• Collective Vitals & Daily Loop: Everyone collectively manages energy, food, mood, and an in-game budget.
• Community Decision Making: Choices for job hunting, freelance work, household chores, and rest affect the single shared character.
• Dynamic Events & Persistence: Random events, mini-games, puzzles, hidden features, and persistent save states between visits.

The Bigger Mystery (ARG & YouTube Integration)

Beyond the daily survival mechanics, there’s an overarching story unfolding in the background. I'm building ARG-inspired clues and a deeper narrative mystery that players can piece together across the simulation and the project’s YouTube channel.

The channel will feature livestreams from Kelvin’s pixel-art home and videos tracking his daily life—hiding subtle environmental clues and details that connect back to the larger game world.

Why I’m Asking for Feedback

Being completely new to Kickstarter, I want to make sure I’m setting realistic expectations and presenting the concept effectively:

1. Concept Resonance: Does the idea of a shared-community life sim paired with an ARG mystery sound engaging to Kickstarter backers, or is this better framed as an experimental community event?
2. Campaign Presentation: Does the campaign page clearly communicate the collective choice mechanics, or does it need a tighter breakdown/visual demo?
3. First-Timer Advice: For those who have launched experimental or community-driven indie games, what are the most crucial things to focus on during the campaign?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, constructive feedback, or suggestions on how to reach communities who enjoy social experiments (like Twitch Plays Pokemon or ARG mysteries)!

Thanks for reading!

Hey everyone! I've spent the last three years working on a project that's finally coming to life, and I thought some of you here might appreciate it.

It's called PANTHEON, a collection of detailed amulets inspired by gods, goddesses and saints from different traditions. I've also been developing AVLTR, a portable modular altar for those who want to keep up their spiritual practice while travelling.

We're getting ready to launch on Kickstarter for Witchstarter, and I'd really appreciate any support or feedback!

If you're interested, you can check it out and follow the project here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/avltr/pantheon-x-avltr-amulets-of-gods-altars-of-magic

Thanks 🙏

Hello I’m posting my short film kickstarter link here. We are almost at 97%. If anyone would like to support it would be appreciated

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/htfg/fund-a-southern-fried-short-film

Hi, I am Tarik Havoc, an artist with a deep love of TTPGSs and this project started as an effort to illustrate some of the best spells from DnD 5e with as much flavor as I could manage. With this campaign, I hope to compile all of these spells into a single satisfying spellbook that can hopefully inspire even more magic to your games. The Spellbook has 60 illustrated spells and counting.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/havocbound/havoc-bound-an-illustrated-collection-of-dnd-5e-spells-0

Here is what you can expect: 

• THE CANTRIP COLLECTION: from an older project called the Cantrip Collection comprised 24 illustrations.
• THE ARCANE SET: 38+ 1st level and higher spells. Each with visually depicted somatic, verbal, and material components. 
• SPELL READING KEY: Each spell uses a fantastical notation system so that it can partially function as a diegetic reference in your games. The book will have everything you need to reference these symbols.
• THE COMPONENT COMPENDIUM: A PDF with a handy reference for all of the spellcasting components for those who want to use it more actively at the table. 
• ADD YOUR FAVORITE SPELL: There are a few limited slots to get your favorite spell added along with some additional benefits.

Need notifications.