COVID-19 Crowdfunding Insights Archives | BackerKit

Crowdfunding Insights: June 8 – July 5, 2020

Rosanna Yau — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 02:14:00 +0000

We head into our fifteenth week of crowdfunding pledges tracking above better than the average amount of pledges raised. The total amount pledged continues to trend at a steady pace since we’ve started tracking the beginning of April.

The red line in the graph shows the total number of pledges raised across all project categories. The dotted “Goal” line is the average funds raised in 2019.

Between each large red spike, there are small dips below the goal line which is typical for pledges to dip as we head into the weekend, and pick back up during the weekday. Overall, the dips have been getting more shallow as the year progresses.

The few sharp dips below the x-axis are happening because sometimes campaigns switch project categories.—you can see where there are downward dips, there is an inverse of the same size above the x-axis.

Three categories did particularly well in gathering backer pledges in the past several weeks:

Games (in blue) on June 17, with big projects like Overlord: a Boss Monster Adventure live having launched that week.
Design (in lime green) on June 30, with What does Outer Space smell like? NASA designed Fragrance. picking up steam around that time.
Technology (in teal) did equally as well this past holiday weekend, with REVORING: A Variable Step Ring for your Camera Lens Filters as one of the trending campaigns leading the way for July.

Based on these trends, it looks like it’s still a great time to run a campaign. Since April, we’ve covered how coronavirus is affecting the crowdfunding space and how now is still a good time to launch your campaign.

Will there be a 16th week streak of rising pledges? Stay tuned for next week…

In the meantime, download the BackerTracker Chrome Extension or Firefox Add-on to directly see on the campaign page where a project is trending.

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During these uncertain times, a lot of people are asking us how the Coronavirus pandemic is affecting crowdfunding. Leveraging our strong crowdfunding connections and unique data insights, we’re able to track crowdfunding trends like no other. We will share all of our findings directly to the community as they develop.

Have a tip or see a pattern we’re seeing? Please reach out at community@backerkit.com

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other.

The post Crowdfunding Insights: June 8 – July 5, 2020 appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

Crowdfunding Insights: May 25 – June 7, 2020

Rosanna Yau — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 17:45:50 +0000

We head into our tenth week of crowdfunding pledges tracking above better than the average amount of pledges raised. This past week’s pledge amount was not as high as previous weeks, but the total amount pledged continues to trend upwards since we’ve started tracking the beginning of April. Since then, we’ve covered how coronavirus is affecting the crowdfunding space and how now is still a good time to launch your campaign.

The red line in the graph shows the total number of pledges raised across all project categories. The dotted “Goal” line is the average funds raised in 2019. Between each large red spike, there are small dips below the goal line which is typical for pledges to dip as we head into the weekend, and pick back up during the weekday. Overall, the dips have been getting more shallow as the year progresses.

What is that green sharp dip in the chart? Sometimes, campaigns switch project categories. The green line represents the pledge amount raised on May 29 in the Design category, which very closely mirrors the size of the spike in the Food category (in pink) that same day. The pledge amount raised for the Design category was most likely switched to the Food category after a project(s) made the category change.

Will there be a 11th week streak of rising pledges? Stay tuned for next week…

In the meantime, download the BackerTracker Chrome Extension or Firefox Add-on to directly see on the campaign page where a project is trending.

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Have a tip or see a pattern we’re seeing? Please reach out at community@backerkit.com

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other.

The post Crowdfunding Insights: May 25 – June 7, 2020 appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

Crowdfunding Insights: May 18 – 24, 2020

Rosanna Yau — Wed, 27 May 2020 20:04:42 +0000

We head into our eighth week of crowdfunding pledges tracking above better than the average amount of pledges raised. This past week’s pledge amount was not as high as previous weeks, but we suspect that the reason for slowdown could be that creators and backers were getting ready for the Memorial Day holiday break in the U.S. this past weekend. Regardless, the total amount pledged continues to trend upwards since we’ve started tracking the beginning of April. Since then, we’ve covered how coronavirus is affecting the crowdfunding space and how now is still a good time to launch your campaign.

Here are some highlights of the top new Kickstarter project categories that launched this past week and are currently trending from Monday, May 19 – Sunday May 24:

Will there be an 9 week streak of rising pledges? Stay tuned for next week…

In the meantime, download the BackerTracker Chrome Extension or Firefox Add-on to see how a project is trending directly on a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign page.

Have a tip or see a pattern we’re seeing? Please reach out at community@backerkit.com

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other.

The post Crowdfunding Insights: May 18 – 24, 2020 appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

Crowdfunding Insights: May 11 – 17, 2020

Rosanna Yau — Thu, 21 May 2020 05:16:46 +0000

We head into our seventh week of crowdfunding pledges tracking above better than the average amount of pledges raised, with the total amount pledged trending upwards since we’ve started tracking the beginning of April. We covered how coronavirus is affecting the crowdfunding space and how now is still a good time to launch your campaign, and with how this past week has gone, it appears that creators are not slowing down.

A few things we’ve noticed this week:

This is the first time we’ve seen the total amount pledged hover above the goal line over the weekend.
The “Food” category, which is typically small, saw a large spike last Thursday, May 14 which was largely due to the Otto’s G32 – the first smart and modular gas grill project.
The “Technology” category is on an upward trend since the beginning of April.

Here are some highlights of the top new Kickstarter project categories that launched this past week and are currently trending from Monday, May 11 – Sunday May 17:

Tabletop Games

HEL: The Last Saga by Mythic Games
BackerTracker Prediction: Trending to raise $1,776,417

Railroad Ink Challenge by Horrible Guild
BackerTracker Prediction: Trending to raise $647,965

The Deck of Many Animated Spells, Tarot and More for 5e by Hit Point Press
BackerTracker Prediction: Trending to raise $874,578

Design

ROTO-Q 360 : The Non-Electric Rotisserie Cooking Machine by ROTO-Q 360
BackerTracker Prediction: Trending to raise $436,228

Fuck COVID-19 :: I Survived Coronavirus 2020 Coin! by Zero Fucks Given
BackerTracker Prediction: Trending to raise $126,695

Mini Monster Rechargeable EDC Flashlight by The Mavok
BackerTracker Prediction: Trending to raise $123,320

Technology

EcoFlow R600 – Modular Portable Power Station by EcoFlow
BackerTracker Prediction: Trending to raise $2,080,248

Aimicat, The Automatic Kitty Litter Cleaning Companion by Aimicat
BackerTracker Prediction: Trending to raise $644,858

MAONOCASTER: A Portable All-In-One Podcast Production Studio by MAONOCASTER
BackerTracker Prediction: Trending to raise $609,037

Will there be an 8 week streak of rising pledges? Stay tuned for next week…

In the meantime, download the Chrome Extension or Firefox Add-on to keep updated on how projects are doing on BackerTracker.

Are you launching your campaign soon?

Contact our crowdfunding experts if you have any questions before your launch.

Have a tip or see a pattern we’re seeing? Please reach out at community@backerkit.com

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other.

The post Crowdfunding Insights: May 11 – 17, 2020 appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

Crowdfunding Insights: May 4 – 10, 2020

Rosanna Yau — Tue, 12 May 2020 20:15:35 +0000

We head into our sixth week of crowdfunding pledges tracking above better than the average amount of pledges raised. April was a good month with lots of new Kickstarter projects launching. We’ve heard from a small number of creators that they were initially contemplating whether or not to pause their launch because they were not sure how the COVID-19 pandemic would affect their campaign. The fact that backers were still showing up to help fund projects, eventually encouraged creators to launch their campaigns. We continue to see this steady upward trend going into the month of May.

The red line represents the total number of pledges across all project categories. The dotted “Goal” line is the average funds raised in 2019. The six spikes surpassing the goal line shows the amount raised each week. Between each large red spike, there are small dips below the goal line, but these dips are normal and there is nothing to be alarmed by—it is typical for pledges to dip as we head into the weekend, and pick back up during the weekday.

Some highlights of Kickstarter projects that launched this past week and are currently trending from Monday, May 4 – Sunday May 10:

Tabletop Games

Euthia: Torment of Resurrection by Diea Games
Raised $234,574 from 2,800 backers with 22 days to go
Trending to raise $363,330
First campaign created

DRAKBORGEN by Fandrake
Raised $236,530 from 2,511 backers with 16 days to go
Trending to raise $425,935
2 campaigns created

Sea of Legends by Zach Weisman
Raised $227,459 from 2,044 backers with 23 days to go
Trending to raise $475,146
2 campaigns created

Design

terraplanter by terraplanter
Raised $1,445,201 from 12,789 backers with 1 month to go
Trending to raise $4,063,523
First campaign created

Ohsnap Grip by Dale Backus
Raised $217,920 from 6,381 backers with 22 days to go
Trending to raise $435,172
2 campaigns created

The Voyager by PARKIT
Raised $247,342 from 1,081 backers with month to go
Trending to raise $1,180,122
First campaign created

Technology

Creality CR-6 SE Leveling-free DIY 3D Printer Kit by Crealityofficial
Raised $11,069,383 from 3,934 backers with 25 days to go
Trending to raise $1,206,367,766
First campaign created

Zeus: The King of Wallets by HeavenGeek
Raised $44,392 from 376 backers with 2 months to go
Trending to raise $299,127
First campaign created

LUNARK – Building and Testing a Moon Home for Everyone by SAGA Space Architects
Raised $16,013 from 308 backers with 23 days to go
Trending to raise $20,973
First campaign created

Will there be a 7 week streak of rising pledges? Stay tuned for next week…

Want to know about how to launch the best design and technology project?

Join BackerKit alongside Julio Terra, Founder & CEO of Launch Studio and former Head of Technology and Design Community at Kickstarter. Julio will detail the importance of being intentional to build long-term value with your Kickstarter campaign.

Reserve your spot for the livestream on Wednesday, May 20th at 11am PST including a live Q&A directly after the presentation.

Have a tip or see a pattern we’re seeing? Please reach out at community@backerkit.com

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other.

The post Crowdfunding Insights: May 4 – 10, 2020 appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

Crowdfunding Insights: April 27- May 3, 2020

Rosanna Yau — Tue, 05 May 2020 21:00:06 +0000

We head into our fifth week of crowdfunding pledges tracking above better than the average amount of pledges raised! Despite the Coronavirus pandemic, crowdfunding projects are still launching and backers are still pledging well into the first week of May.

You can see in the chart below the five sections of spikes in red (total number of pledges across all project categories) surpassing the dotted “Goal” line, which represents the average funds raised in 2019. Between each large red spike, there are small dips below the goal line, but these dips are normal and there is nothing to be alarmed by—it is typical for pledges to dip as we head into the weekend, and pick back up during the weekday.

The technology category (in teal) took a slight dip one day in the middle of April, which could be due to a creator cancelling their project or possibly creators extending their Kickstarter project deadlines—but since then, the technology category has picked back up on backer pledges again.

Some highlights of projects that launched this past week and are currently trending from Monday, April 27 – Sunday May 3:

Tabletop Games

Tapeworm by Edmund McMillen
Raised $525,095 from 9,239 backers with 24 days to go
Trending to raise $1,094,236
2 campaigns created

Resident Evil 3: The Board Game by Steamforged Games Ltd
Raised $624,002 from 5,719 backers with 9 days to go
Trending to raise $1,023,780
7 campaigns created

Steampunk Rally Fusion by Gavan Brown of Roxley Games
Raised $307,676 from 3,331 backers with 10 days to go
Trending to raise $576,657
6 campaigns created

Design

OYO NOVA Gym by Paul Francis
Raised $1,122,709 from 7,219 backers with 1 month to go
Trending to raise $2,822,653
2 campaigns created

The Groove Belt by Groove Life by Peter Goodwin
Raised $267,262 from 5,734 backers with 22 days to go
Trending to raise $673,731
3 campaigns created

Hitch by Remaker Labs
Raised $174,611 from 2,339 backers with 23 days to go
Trending to raise $396,059
First campaign created

Technology

World’s smallest world-wide 100W GaN fast charger by Homing Systems
Raised $75,527 from 1,143 backers with 28 days to go
Trending to raise $305,842
3 campaigns created

offGrid by birdkids
Raised $85,240 from 83 backers with 22 days to go
Trending to raise $196,776
3 campaigns created

Joué Play by Joué
Raised $105,654 from 325 backers with 1 month to go
Trending to raise $287,384
First campaign created

Will there be a 6 week streak of rising pledges? Stay tuned for next week…

Want to know about how to launch the best design and technology project?

Reserve your spot for the livestream on Thursday, May 7th at 11am PST including a live Q&A directly after the presentation.

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Have a tip or see a pattern we’re seeing? Please reach out at community@backerkit.com

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other.

The post Crowdfunding Insights: April 27- May 3, 2020 appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

Crowdfunding Insights: April 20-26, 2020

Rosanna Yau — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 01:06:46 +0000

We’ve hit a 4 week streak! Since we’ve been tracking the health of crowdfunding during the Coronavirus pandemic from the beginning of April, we continue to see a steady stream of backers pledging to Kickstarter campaigns, regardless of the Coronavirus outbreak. We head into our fourth week of tracking above better than the average funds raised in 2019, shown where the red spikes are piercing through the gray goal line in the chart below.

You can see the delta of pledges between April 1-26, with the large spike on the left due to the success of the Frosthaven campaign launch and other successful campaigns launching on April 1, which is a common day of the month to launch a campaign.

In addition to first of the month launches, Kickstarter creators also tend to launch their campaigns in the middle of the month, hence the second spike in the middle on April 15, with tabletop game projects like Final Girl and design projects like Ekster Key Holder making their big debut as some of the few projects that launched last week.

From last week’s analysis, we shared with you that we’ve heard from a few Kickstarter creators that they were initially hesitant to launch their campaigns because they didn’t know if the Coronavirus would have any effect on backers not backing. Turns out backers are still showing up to pledge to these Kickstarter campaigns, and more creators (both new and veterans to crowdfunding) are now launching again and doing pretty well in raising funds for their projects.

In the April 20-26 chart below, we continue to see that narrative continue with pledges hovering above the normal average pledge dollar amount in 2019.

Some highlights of projects that launched this past week and are currently trending from Monday, April 20 – Sunday April, 26:

Tabletop Games

Canvas by Road To Infamy
Raised $262,333 from 5,898 backers with 22 days to go
Trending to raise $706,554
6 campaigns created

INSTANT COLORS Paints for Gamers by SCALE75
Raised $506,189 from 2,883 backers with 10 days to go
Trending to raise $933,990
8 campaigns created

Deadlands: the Weird West by Shane Hensley
Raised $286,564 from 2,434 backers with 15 days to go
Trending to raise $500,158
23 campaigns created

Design

Cheat Sheets – Sheet Pan Cooking Reimagined by Prepd
Raised $813,206 from 9,542 backers with 24 days to go
Trending to raise $1,889,501
4 campaigns created

DISSIM – Inverted Lighter by Dissim
Raised $122,928 from 2,571 backers with 28 days to go
Trending to raise $278,839
First campaign created

MagEasy:A Modular Magnetic Organizing Kit for Working&Living by LHiDS
Raised $83,126 from 1,025 backers with 1 month to go
Trending to raise $233,038
First campaign created

Technology

HDHomeRun ATSC 3.0 by Nick Kelsey, Silicondust USA Inc
Raised $342,576 from 1,605 backers with 25 days to go
Trending to raise $653,054
2 campaigns created

VR Ears | Hear Off-World, Listen Off-Ear by Rebuff Reality
Raised $134,243 from 1,302 backers with 24 days to go
Trending to raise $296,475
First campaign created

The Airhead Pollution Mask by Airhead
Raised $90,081 from 891 backers with 24 days to go
Trending to raise $164710
First campaign created

Will there be a 5 week streak of rising pledges? Stay tuned for next week…

Want to know about how the tabletop game manufacturing industry is doing during these times?

Join BackerKit alongside Panada for an in-depth look at the game manufacturing process. Reserve your spot for the livestream on Thursday, May 7th at 11am PST including a live Q&A directly after the presentation.

Have a tip or see a pattern we’re seeing? Please reach out at community@backerkit.com

Until next time, take care of yourself and each other.

The post Crowdfunding Insights: April 20-26, 2020 appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

Crowdfunding Insights: April 13-19, 2020

Rosanna Yau — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 21:47:33 +0000

When the Coronavirus turned into a pandemic, we heard from Kickstarter creators that they were hesitant to launch their projects because of the fear that backers wouldn’t back their crowdfunding projects, so they delayed their launch by a few weeks.

From our last week’s analysis, we didn’t see any indication that backers were not backing, but suspect that it was because creators were not launching their projects. For the creators who did decide to launch, their backers showed up and even helped these successful campaigns exceed their funding goal in the first few days of launching.

This week, we continue to see pledges rising. As you can see from the chart below, the total delta of pledge dollars are going up, with the first half of the chart illustrating April 6-12, and the second half on the right was last week, April 13-19. The goal line is the average of a normal pledge amount in 2019.

For a more zoomed out view, below is a chart of the delta of pledges between April 1-19. Large spike on the left is due to Frosthaven and projects launching on April 1, with heavy backer pledging, which is typical on the day a project launches.

Some highlights of projects that launched this past week and are currently trending (April 13-19):

Tabletop Games

Final Girl by A.J. Porfirio
Raised $93,073 from 1,094 backers with 25 days to go
Trending to raise $332,521

Quest Decks: Adventure Cards for your RPG Games by Dice Dungeons
Raised $60,626 from 1,379 backers with 24 days to go
Trending to raise $195,495

BRANCALONIA – THE SPAGHETTI FANTASY RPG by Acheron Books
Raised $50,433 from 729 backers with 19 days to go
Trending to raise 201,322.98

Design

Ekster Key Holder – Say goodbye to lost keys and clutter by Ekster Wallets
Raised $108,513 from 1,666 backers with 1 month to go
Trending to raise $244,843

MagnetCubes-Modular magnetic blocks with dynamic marble run by DesignNest MagnetCubes
Raised $97,480 from 1,078 backers with 1 month to go
Trending to raise $253,551

7-in-1 Travel Cutlery Set by Colapz
Raised $38,147 from 1,026 backers with 23 days to go
Trending to raise $102,899

Technology

B2 Mask: Superior Respiratory Protection by Breathe99
Raised $169,357 from 1,362 backers with 16 days to go
Trending to raise $419,847

Kiko : Little Clinic In Your House by Magpie Tech
Raised $23,489 from 146 backers with 2 months to go
Trending to raise $189,893

Mahaton – World’s First Portable Smart Toilet Sterilizer by Mahaton
Raised $21,988 from 208 backers with 24 days to go
Trending to raise $63,797

During these uncertain times, a lot of people are asking us how the current Coronavirus pandemic is affecting the crowdfunding ecosystem. BackerKit is in a unique position where we have strong connections to prolific crowdfunding creators, backers, partners, influencers, and data insights that no one else has in this space.

It is our mission to always share useful information and make tools that help creators and backers. We’d love to hear your feedback and/or receive any tips on patterns you see happening within crowdfunding. Please reach out at community@backerkit.com. We will continue to share our new findings directly to the community as they develop.

A few helpful resources we’ve put together:

How Coronavirus is affecting crowdfunding
Why crowdfunding creators should still be launching new projects (spoiler: backers are still backing)

Ways to stay connected on the health of crowdfunding during these times:

Take care of yourself and each other.

The post Crowdfunding Insights: April 13-19, 2020 appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

Crowdfunding Insights: April 6-12, 2020

Rosanna Yau — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 21:09:11 +0000

Last week, we introduced our COVID-19 Crowdfunding Insights series. BackerKit is in a unique position where we have strong connections to prolific crowdfunding creators, backers, partners, influencers, and data insights that no one else has in this space.

We’ve just begun reporting how Coronavirus is affecting crowdfunding and why crowdfunding creators should still be launching new projects (backers are still backing!), and will continue to share our new findings directly to the community as they develop.

Overall, we’ve seen even in this time of a pandemic, backers are still showing up to back projects, even travel-related ones. The large spike in the chart below is largely due to the tabletop game Frosthaven (sequel to Gloomhaven). Their successful campaign launch has raised $7,699,819 from 53,069 backers to date, with 15 days still to go—which was one of the best launches of any projects in the last 5 years. It is proof that great projects can still have great results, even in the middle of all the madness. Pledges are down a small amount per a ‘normal’ year, but big projects still move the needle. When we see big projects come out of hibernation, we expect these pledge volume to pick up again.

Delta of pledges between April 1-12. Large spike on the left is due to Frosthaven and projects launching on April 1, with heavy backer pledging, which is typical on the day a project launches.

Delta of pledges between April 6-12. Still a steady stream of pledges coming through this week.

Some highlights of projects that launched this past week and are currently trending (April 6-12):

Tabletop Games:

The Tabletop Games category is still going strong with Ankh: Gods of Egypt by CMON raising $1,181,806 from 13,856 backers so far, Dice by Wyrmwood: Resin, Handcrafted Gemstone, Glass & Wood at $681,122 from 5,809 backers, and Tales From the Loop – The Board Game by Fria Ligan at $178,951 from 2,121 backers. And all projects have about 20 days left in their campaign.

Design:The Design category has been pretty steady over the past month. A few Design creators have told us that they are hesitant to launch right now because their projects are travel-related. However, travel projects like The NOMATIC Navigator Series just launched at the beginning of this week and 1,297 backers have already showed up, pledging $306,294 and counting. They are trending to $650,000 with 22 days left. Other travel-related projects like Satu Adventure Pants by Outdoor Vitals and Sunda 2.0: The first 2-person ground-to-air tent, reimagined by Kammok are also doing pretty well, already far surpassing their goals.

Technology:The Technology category has also seen some consistency in pledges, with Hyperx2 – High Capacity Super Fast Portable SSD Drive leading the way this week raising $171,651 from 604 backers, CODY BLOCK: introducing coding one block at a time by QUBS at $64,485 from 359 backers, and District 2.0 by District Magazine at $13,461 from 251 backers so far.

Publishing:The Publishing category is not the usual top grossing categories like Tabletop Games, Design, or technology, but we saw an uptick in this category, with Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms, 1901–2020 by Headstamp Publishing already surpassing their goal by 1472%, raising $367,886 so far, and with 23 days to go. Fellow serial crowdfunding creators BOTANICA: A Tarot Deck about the Language of Flowers by Beehive Books and Cognitive Drawing by Jason Brubaker are also making a splash with a month to go.

Keep updated on how projects are doing on BackerTracker

Install the Chrome Extension »

Install the Firefox Add-on »

The post Crowdfunding Insights: April 6-12, 2020 appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

Introducing COVID-19 Crowdfunding Insights by BackerKit

Rosanna Yau — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 00:52:55 +0000

During these uncertain times a lot of people are asking us how the current COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the crowdfunding ecosystem. Are creators still launching projects? And are backers showing up to support them? We recently shared some results on how COVID-19 is affecting crowdfunding, and detailed why crowdfunding creators should still be launching new projects.

Moving forward, BackerKit is committed to updating our community on all the ebbs and flows within crowdfunding highlighting important patterns so you can make the best decisions possible. This week, we continue to see a consistent trend of new projects being launched and backers showing up to show their support.

The large spike is largely due to the Frosthaven campaign.

To dig in a little deeper, we have also taken a look by the top three funding categories, starting with the largest:

Tabletop Games

As you can see, there was a big spike April 1, due to the Frosthaven launch, then a little dip into the weekend and back up again into the new week, which is a pretty normal pattern we’ve seen for days of the week.

Design

We have also seen a steady amount of backers pledging to projects over the past few weeks in the design category.

Technology

And the same in technology, which is consistent with what we are seeing across the board.

We will be updating everyone as new developments happen, so bookmark this page and stay tuned.

If you want to check out how individual projects are doing, you can head over to the BackerTracker tool. There, backers can discover popular and soon-to-be successful projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and creators can see how their campaign pledges are trending. You can learn more about how BackerTracker works here.

We are always sharing useful information and making tools that help creators and backers. We’d love to hear your feedback and/or receive any tips on patterns you see happening within crowdfunding. Please reach out at community@backerkit.com.

See how projects are doing on BackerTracker

Install the Chrome Extension »

Install the Firefox Add-on »

The post Introducing COVID-19 Crowdfunding Insights by BackerKit appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

Why You Should Launch Your Crowdfunding Campaign Now

Amber Humphrey — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 00:03:56 +0000

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is reshaping daily life. Although so much is changing globally, BackerKit’s mission remains the same. We’re here to provide the creative community with tools to bring their projects to life.

The successes of the creators we work with are felt throughout our company. Just this week, more than 42,500 people supported the tabletop game Frosthaven (sequel to Gloomhaven) raising over $6 million in a matter of days (with 27 more days to go). In a time like this, it’s particularly important to celebrate those wins and continue to help creative people pursue their passions — it’s what motivates us.

We are developing ways to better serve creators and backers during this difficult time — whether that’s in a customer support capacity, by producing helpful content, or by simply updating everyone on what we’re seeing in the crowdfunding community at the moment. We also remain dedicated to supporting and encouraging independent creators through The Creative Fund.

That being said, we know it may be hard for creators to focus on doing what they love right now. But if you or your team can move forward with your project safely, responsibly and effectively given the current “shelter in place” and social distancing guidelines, you should go for it. It is still possible to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign during the coronavirus outbreak.

Your backers are out there

People are still showing up and supporting new projects. Just a few of the recent success stories we’ve seen: The Impossible Table raised $15,284 with 235 backers, Dungeon Master’s Advice Dice raised $19,045 with 753 backers, and Beast Masters Duel: Tree and Tide raised $5,617 with 88 backers. GoTouch Beam surpassed its $15,000 goal, and raised $74,508.

Right now, there isn’t a significant change in crowdfunding activity. We’ve been tracking daily pledges on Kickstarter since March. The charts below show that the amount of money being pledged on the platform is fluctuating, but there’s no consistent or discouraging decline happening.

The large spike in pledges in April is largely due to the Frosthaven campaign.

Manufacturing, which slowed down during the early days of the outbreak, is ramping back up. So, if you weren’t going to launch your crowdfunding campaign because of the affect coronavirus is having on manufacturing, know that things are improving. Our friends at Panda Game Manufacturing resumed work in early March after a one-month shutdown. They are also taking all of the necessary precautions to keep their facility and staff safe and healthy.

Now is the time to be creative

Crowdfunding as we know it today was born during a time of economic decline — Kickstarter and Indiegogo were founded during the Great Recession. It’s in these challenging moments that we need innovators, entrepreneurs, and artists most — your work inspires us. What’s more, pursuing a project that is important to you can be mentally beneficial and gratifying during hard times like these.

There are also new opportunities emerging for creators as the crowdfunding community responds to the coronavirus crisis. Kickstarter, for example, has started Inside Voices — a program that invites people to launch smaller projects from home. This is a great way for new creators to test the waters, and launch their first campaign.

We’re more connected than ever

You don’t have to navigate this situation alone. There is an abundance of digital resources at your disposal to help you launch. The information and support you need to face many of the logistical challenges that arise is out there, from Facebook communities where you can go to ask questions and draw inspiration to webinars offering expert crowdfunding strategies. Social media has also obviously made it easier for entrepreneurs to find an audience for their products and build communities that can help get projects funded, even in difficult times.

Best practices always help

If you’re wondering if you should launch your crowdfunding campaign during the coronavirus outbreak, remember that there really is no “perfect time” to begin, irrespective of the global situation. But you can always take comfort in best practices. Although the current global situation is unprecedented, there are steps that you can take to give your project the best shot at being funded.

First and foremost, engage your community. Having a strong email list of backers who are prepared to pledge on day one is important. Whether you’re using Kickstarter or Indiegogo, getting your community to pledge early not only creates great momentum for your campaign, but it also can get more eyes on your project.

As you’re working to mobilize your community, BackerKit Launch can help. Our email marketing and analytics platform was specifically designed for crowdfunding, and makes it easier for you to draw in previous backers to get them to pledge to your new campaign. It also helps you predict how many people will be there once you hit the launch button.

Your project deserves to be seen. If you have the means and the drive to launch now, we encourage you to do so. Regardless of the decision you make, we can get through this by leaning on our community and supporting each other.

The post Why You Should Launch Your Crowdfunding Campaign Now appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.

How is the Coronavirus Affecting the Crowdfunding Community?

Amber Humphrey — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 22:25:33 +0000

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has created uncertainty across the globe including our strong crowdfunding community. With so many unknowns when it comes to public health and the economy, it makes sense that the crowdfunding community may be anxious or, at the very least curious about what the disease means for Kickstarter campaigns. The truth is that this situation is evolving from day-to-day. But we’ve been connecting with creators, active crowdfunding communities, and our industry friends to track developments. To address some of your most pressing concerns and questions, we’d like to share our findings.

Should I move my project launch date?

Ultimately, you will have to judge that for yourself, and do what feels right and makes logistical sense for you. But to make an educated decision, here are things that you should keep in mind:

1. Creators are launching successful campaigns. In the past week, we’ve seen some great success stories. Starlight reached its funding goal in just 17 minutes while Moonshine Empire — a first-time creator — reached its goal on the first day. Other creators we’ve heard from have said that they haven’t noticed a decline in backers pledging to their projects. This tells us that launching during this time isn’t inherently detrimental to your campaign.

2. Potential manufacturing and shipping delays. Companies, big and small, have been affected by factory closures in China. If you are working with a Chinese manufacturing company to produce your product, you are likely to experience delays. Thankfully, efforts are being made to keep workers healthy. Also, most people are aware of the slow downs that are happening because of coronavirus, and are likely to be understanding towards any potential crowdfunding slowdown.

If you haven’t launched your project yet, you may want to think about an alternative way of manufacturing your product — whether that means bringing everything in-house or working with a local company. Otherwise, ensuring that backers are aware of manufacturing or shipping delays is a great way to deal with this issue.

3. Trends happening in your project category. While we may not be seeing a noticeable decline in pledges at the moment, event-related campaigns may want to delay or get creative about how they release their projects. With the social distancing directive that governments across the world are putting into action, an event may not be feasible in the near future. Before you launch, do your due diligence and make sure you’re aware of how the outbreak is impacting your specific industry.

How are crowdfunding platforms responding?

After creators and backers shared their concerns about COVID-19 with Kickstarter, the company has offered to extend project deadlines by seven days for creators with live campaigns. In an official post, Kickstarter explains how to request an extension, but notes that they haven’t yet seen any noticeable decline in support for live projects.

How has COVID-19 affected BackerKit?

Just like our crowdfunding platform friends, we haven’t noticed any decline in our business or major shifts in customer behavior since the coronavirus outbreak began. Of course, this is uncharted territory for all of us. While we obviously don’t know what tomorrow holds, there isn’t anything that we’ve seen in the data we’ve been collecting that is cause for concern.

We are taking precautions to keep our team healthy, and have set everyone up with the tools and support they need to work from home. We are all prepared to continue delivering great service to our creators and their backers during this time.

What can creators do today?

Crowdfunding is all about community. This is the time to really reach out to your supporters and friends and keep those relationships strong. Remain transparent about any issues you may be facing with manufacturing and reiterate your commitment to delivering the best product possible. If you foresee any delays, let your backers know.

This update by TYTUS COMBO is a great example of how to keep backers informed. In their coronavirus Kickstarter update, they clearly and sincerely communicate how their crowdfunding campaign is being affected by the outbreak — both the impact it’s had on their team and their shipping timeline.

If you’re concerned about reaching your goal, make sure that you’re doing your best to keep your project top-of-mind for the people in your community.

What can backers do today?

We’re all dealing with this together, and strong communities rally together in times like these. As a backer, take a moment to show your support — let creators know that you understand what they’re going through — and be patient with creators who are experiencing delays. If you have the ability to pledge, creators need your help now more than ever. If you don’t have the financial means, and are unable to pledge at the moment, you can still support your favorite Indiegogo and Kickstarter creators by sharing their campaign pages with friends.

We will continue to share new developments as we learn more, as well as information about how creators can get the most out of their campaigns right now. Until events and conventions are up and running again, we have some awesome digital content for you, including crowdfunding webinars on March 24 and March 31.

We believe in the resilience and strength of this community and are confident that together we will make our way through any challenges we may face.

The post How is the Coronavirus Affecting the Crowdfunding Community? appeared first on Crowdfunding Blog & Resources | BackerKit.