Kickstarter Question - Advice Sought

[pops]

Hello,

Looking for advice regarding kickstarter and bonuses for meeting goal.

Suppose a figure range were going to be created and there were three levels of pledges:

Level one  - approx.  20 USD for 8 figures
Level two – approx. 30 USD for level one and 3 special figures
Level three – approx.. 45 USD for level one and two and 4 special figures

Further suppose Goal bonuses would be for:

1.   Making Goal of 600 USD – one bonus figure
2.   Doubling goal to 1200 USD – a second different bonus figure
3.   Doubling # 2 above – a third different bonus  figure

Here is my dilemma – Who should be included for bonuses?  All three levels get all three bonuses if goals be met? Or:

Bonus one – for all pledge levels
Bonus two – for pledge levels two and three
Bonus three – for pledge level three

Or perhaps something completely different

Any input appreciated.

Thanks,

Frank

[pixelgeek]

I think you need to let your costs and postage for the products determine that

[Belgian]

Would also check the costs first, but seeing the levels I would describe them as following instead as it makes it much easier to see the number of miniatures included.

Level one - 8 miniatures
Level two - 8 miniatures + 3 special miniatures
Level three - 16 miniatures + 7 special miniatures

[vodkafan]

Personally I always think bonus figures should be equal across the board for all pledge levels.  Lots and lots of small pledges can still make up a large total. But if backers have to pledge big to get certain bonus figures- well, some will and some won't. But it could put a brake on things and be self-limiting I guess. Depends much on the actual product.

[Johnno]

Perhaps looking through some successful Kickstarters and looking at their matrix might help. The creators might be able to help give some advice. Axiom (a LAF member) ran a small yet successful Kickstarter for his Colony 87 range.

Some successful Kickstarters don't give a lot away for free either. Some of the big guys can but some simply cannot afford to.

Some stretch goals state at this denomination  (say $600) these figures will be sculpted for purchase. While other goals include free bonus figure(s). 

[zemjw]

For me, the main figures, cost and expected delivery time are the things I look at.

Bonus figures are always nice, but if they're only applied to higher levels it will sometimes put me off pledging. I'm not sure why, but I feel I'm being forced to pledge more, which just annoys me.

However, there are no hard and fast rules that I follow. The decision is based on the subject matter, whether I can see a use for the figures, expected delivery date and how fair the pledge levels seem to be. I also check the company name and what others have to say about them. This could explain why I don't back that many kickstarters

I have backed KS where the "bonus" was an "I backed this kickstarter" badge/pin and some where there has been no bonus at all.

Hopefully the main figures will be enough to get people to want to back your KS, rather than the thought of extra loot. However, having said that, the extra loot was probably the main reason I backed the recent zombicide invader KS

[robh]

I generally approach Kickstarter Campaigns from a basis of rarely if ever wanting the entire game or collection offered. Sometimes a game comes along that hits all the right buttons with me (Drakerys or Folklore Affliction) and I pledge for the set but mainly I like the flexibility to pick and choose what I can use for games I already play.
That would be smaller subsets of figures or scenery, ideally individual pieces. Consequently I rarely consider the bonus or "stretch goals" as important because they tend to get attached to the main pledges.
I prefer campaigns where stretch goals get opened up as extra purchases as well as included in the central offer.

[vodkafan]

Bonus figures are always nice, but if they're only applied to higher levels it will sometimes put me off pledging. I'm not sure why, but I feel I'm being forced to pledge more, which just annoys me.

Exactly! That's what I was trying to say in my post, but you said it better...

[zemjw]

I was reading something yesterday afternoon and the term "FoMO" came up. A bit of googling points to this on Wikipedia which I think sums it up for me

Fear of missing out or FoMO is "a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent"

FoMO is also defined as a fear of regret,[4] which may lead to a compulsive concern that one might miss an opportunity for social interaction, a novel experience, profitable investment or other satisfying events.

Bonuses at higher levels seem to be trying to use this "fear" to upsell from the lower pledges. Presumably the lower pledges are to make people look at the campaign, then once they're interested...

I always thought it was just that I was a tight fisted old git that made me jumpy about exclusive higher pledge level bonuses. Now that it looks like it's a purposeful sales strategy on the part of the kickstarter creator I'll probably avoid them even more in the future

[Maledrakh]

Speaking as a backer, I want the most I can get for as low a price as possible. 
I can add that I too feel somewhat miffed at freebies only getting in at higher pledge levels even though I of course understand why it is so.
I think it might be best to give a good deal at the get go and rather space the strech goals out a bit more to compensate.

Speaking as a business owner:

You might want to think about why you are using KS when making the price judgment:

Is the KS is primarily to pay for the moulds and you intend to sell the minis at full price later?

Is it primarily to market your miniatures line or company, and the campaign actually a "preorder" for minis you are producing anyway?
Both of the above?

Only you can say if adding three minis to a USD 20 (IRL USD 17.something when KS-fees are subtracted) pledge of 8 minis is within your reasonable cost. Are you still making a profit on the minis? Do you even need to make (much of a) profit on this, if it funds the moulds you otherwise might have needed to borrow money at interest to do? How many minis do you get per mould? If making resin, more minis might mean needing more moulds as well...

Maybe even selling them at a loss is acceptable considering the very effective marketing KS might be? How many new customers and after-KS sales to same might this give you?


Other things to consider when reckoning the costs: time = money. Are you doing this on your free time (hobby) or on business time? Are you covering any of your time spent? Do you -God forbid- need to pay other people for their time? How about fulfilment? Do backers pay for shipping during or after the KS? Shipping included? Those are big differences that should be considered, say you on average need tp pay USD 5 more per shipment than you charged. Times that with, say,  4 or 500 backers. Many campaigns have made a loss because of much higher shipping costs suddenly rearing their heads.

Also, make sure to set a realistic funding goal, as I have seen campaigns that just barely made their (too low) goals, and then failed miserably as they did not have enough money to pay for it all. Better to not fund than to go down in flames ruining your reputation (not to mention personal finances and/or health)

(Apologies if I am just listing obvious things you already have taken into consideration here.)

[pops]

Thank you so much for the great advice and opinions!  Your comments are greatly appreciated.