A Strategic Approach to Crowdfunding

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Clyde Leon Patrick
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1 A Strategic Approach to Crowdfunding Julie Coniglio Awkward Cindy Au

2 CROWDFUNDING Use your community to fund your project.

3 PLATFORMS = live game campaigns (one week before GDC 2012) = most $ raised by game campaign 50 $100k 50+ $13k 175 $2m * $170k Keep what you raise. extensive network of partners Keep what you raise or Opt in to all or nothing. anyone, globally, can raise money All or nothing. exclusively creative and well-curated * Indiegogo does not release numbers; these were based on exploration of their site

4 PROS 100% Creative Control Eliminates (Some) Risk Accessible Audience Public Facing Creator Allows Flexible Process CONS Idea Thievery Self-Promotions (no shyness) Many Hats Successful Campaign - Now What!

5 CASE STUDY Socks, Inc. was among the first game projects to be funded on Kickstarter.

6 3 MAJOR QUESTIONS TO TACKLE 1. How much do we need to make our game? 2. Who is going to fund it? 3. How do we reach these people?

7 CAMPAIGN GOAL Most successful Kickstarter campaigns ask for less than $5G. What if you need more than that? Re-structure} Be Bold Re-evaluate Will your goal seem reasonable to your audience?

8 CAMPAIGN GOAL Most successful Kickstarter campaigns ask for less than $5G. What if you need more than that? Be Bold Ask for it. Re-evaluate Re-structure

9 CAMPAIGN GOAL Most successful Kickstarter campaigns ask for less than $5G. What if you need more than that? Be Bold Re-evaluate Determine MVP, Minimum Viable Product. Re-structure

10 CAMPAIGN GOAL Most successful Kickstarter campaigns ask for less than $5G. What if you need more than that? Be Bold Re-evaluate Re-structure Break it down.

11 CAMPAIGN GOAL We did a little bit of all three... Be Bold + Re-evaluate + Re-structure and asked for $6G

12 CAMPAIGN GOAL Base Cost + 5% for Rewards Get estimates & quotes Secure your team Rack your brains for hidden costs + 5% for Kickstarter + 5% for Amazon

13 CONTRIBUTORS Contributors to Socks, Inc. } Family, friends + co-workers Your community Industry contacts Peeps who want your game to exist Their communities

14 CONTRIBUTORS The best thing people can do for your campaign (after contributing) is evangelize. Give em something to work with!

15 REACH OUT } Digital outreach Be personal Real-world outreach Make swag Find creative ways to break through the digital noise.

16 REACH OUT Digital outreach Be personal Real-world outreach Make swag

17 REACH OUT Digital outreach Be personal Real-world outreach Make swag We DMed thought leaders in overlapping industries and personally asked them to share our campaign.

18 REACH OUT Digital outreach Be personal Real-world outreach Make swag

19 REACH OUT Digital outreach Real-world outreach Be personal Make swag Postcards and patches were mailed to people who had played our previous games.

20 GIVE REWARDS

21 GIVE REWARDS This guy cost 4.75% of the $500 pledge to make. With packaging and delivery costs, the reward went slightly over our 5% rule. }TOTAL COSTS $23.75

22 GIVE REWARDS The sweet spot = level that earns the most $$$ The Socks, Inc. Reward Strategy Awesomeness of Gift Pre-determined Sweet Spot Pledge Level

23 SHOWTIME People aren t just giving money to your project, they are giving money to you... Be honest, sincere, + charming Get straight to the point Establish your credibility Keep it < 5 mins.

24 RESEARCH Kickstart your pitch process with a healthy dose of preparation! Learn from other campaigns Follow blogs that analyze the data Ask for help!

25 PLATFORMS THE DATA Kickstarter

26 OVERALL NUMBERS Game projects launched +135,000 backers +$8 million pledged

27 Game Project Breakdown 17% 31% 51% Video Game Projects (653) Board & Card Games (400) General Game Projects (221)

28 Game Launches General Games Board & Card Games Video Games Socks, Inc /1/09 7/1/09 10/1/09 1/1/10 4/1/10 7/1/10 10/1/10 1/1/11 4/1/11 7/1/11 10/1/11 1/1/12

Game Pledges General Game Board & Card Games Video Games 20000 15000 10000 5000 0

29 Game Pledges General Game Board & Card Games Video Games /1/09 7/1/09 10/1/09 1/1/10 4/1/10 7/1/10 10/1/10 1/1/11 4/1/11 7/1/11 10/1/11 1/1/12

30 Dollars Pledged Per Year General Games Board & Card Games Video Games $4,000,000 $3,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,000,000 $

31 Success Rates General Games Board & Card Games Video Games 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

32 Internal Pledge Referrers Category Discover Live Search Thanks Page Popular Projects Home Page Users profile 48hr Reminder Regular Search Recently Launched Project Card Pledges Referred

33 External Pledge Referrers boardgamegeek.com Facebook Twitter Google Reddit Kotaku schlockmercenary.com Google+ mail.live.com forum.rpg.net Pledges Referred

35 Average goal, total raised, and # of backers {

36 }Average amount pledged

37 Most popular reward tiers {

Thanks peeps! Julie: Cindy: julie@awkwardhug.

38 Thanks peeps!

CHOOSING THE RIGHT CROWDFUNDING PLATFORM FOR WRITERS

CHOOSING THE RIGHT CROWDFUNDING PLATFORM FOR WRITERS ANDY MEYER, WRITER https:// Bayless of Human Scale Business spoke with Meyer about how to choose among a growing number of crowdfunding platforms to