As we gear up for our Towering Purrfection Kickstarter campaign, which is going live October 20th. Flame Point Games is reflecting on what it takes to create a successful crowed funding campaign. Here are my 5 most important steps to increase your chance of successful.
5) Communication - Open and honest!
Having good communication with your followers builds trust and loyalty. Your followers will reach out to you through email, social media, and your crowdfunding site. It is important to provide feedback quickly, as these are your paying customers and would like to know more about the product. Not responding is bad and will result in loss sales. Even if the news you are provided is not what they want to hear, be honest and let them know. Not interacting directly makes people feel neglected and they may cancel their pledge, and stop supporting your future endeavors. When providing feedback, be honest. Let your community know what is going well, and be upfront if a mistake happens.
4) The Hook - Why should they buy your game?
Your hook is the reason why someone would purchase your game. With such an abundance of board games a good hook is imperative to a successful campaign. The following are the hooks we are utilizing for Towering Purrfection.
Art & Design: The box art and tiles are of realistic looking cast featuring many different breeds and colors. This allows people to connect to the cats and they will be more likely to purchase the game. Sara Jensen is a professional artist who does an amazing job creating original artwork. Sara brings Towering Purrfection to life.
Component: We believe high quality components are a must. The tiles in Towering Purrfection will be made with premium chipboard.
Mechanisms: A family friendly game. Players draft cat tiles, match backgrounds, connect cat trees, create kitten litters, and design unique towers. This is a game parents enjoy playing with their kids.
Name: Towering Purrfection - catchy and easy to remember.
Theme: You have stumbled upon an abandoned warehouse overrun with playful and pleasant cats. Your task is to turn the warehouse into a sanctuary for your cats to climb and play. You will use wallpaper tiles, and cat trees to turn the warehouse into a bright, cozy environment for your cats to climb and enjoy. You are in charge of the renovation—but remember, these cats accept nothing but purrfection.
3) Looks matter - People judge a book by its cover.
The look of a crowdfunding page plays a significant role in the reception and financial success of your game. To someone new to your game your page is their first impression. Just like a book, or a bottle of wine, a game cover can be the difference between having a sale or not. A great crowdfunding page is one that combines excellent imagery with written text. The imagery should set the theme of the game and get people sucked in to continue reading. The written text should include a compelling narrative, a how to play section, independent reviews, and catchy taglines. We suggest looking at and studying other successful campaigns to see what they did right.
2) 3rd party reviews - Honest feedback from fellow gamers.
Backers rely on independent reviewers to provide their unbiased reactions to the game. An unbiased review is essential as it allows the reviewer to give their true thoughts and reactions about the game. This will build trust with your audience as it shows other people enjoy playing your game. Make sure to add both videos and written text of their reviews to gain credibility on your campaign page.
1) Solid following – Day 1 backers.
Building an audience for your game is the most important thing you can do. Even if you have the best communication with your backers, amazing hooks, professional illustrations, and positive independent review. If no one knows of your game and no one is going to your campaign page you will not have any sales. Designing board games and growing a large following are two different skill sets, which is why it is hard for many game designers to grow a large following. Your goal is to have as many people as possible want your campaign to succeed. This will give your campaign momentum, and people who you have not spoken to directly in the past will start backing your campaign.