Baby's First Kickstarter

In February, despite some apprehension, I launched the Kickstarter for Mage to Order as part of Kickstarter's #ZineQuest event. Prior to the launch, I spent a fair amount of time researching different game campaigns, what days and times were best for the launch, and developing a reasonable budget. At the end of the campaign, we had nearly doubled our funding goal, and Mage to Order is scheduled to be released toward the end of May 2021.

I decided to release the game as part of #ZineQuest for a couple of reasons:

• #ZineQuest products are, by and large, small games with low overhead, and short Kickstarter campaigns (the average is two weeks) with funding goals that are more attainable.
• Mage to Order works well in a zine format, due to both the size and scope of the game.
• I'm planning to hold a Kickstarter campaign for Follow Me Down this fall, and I wanted to try a smaller campaign first, so that I wouldn't feel overwhelmed while learning how Kickstarter campaigns actually worked.

Using Ash Kreider's Kickstarter Budgeting Tool, I set my target amount at $800, which would allow me to print physical zines, have enough left over for fees and taxes, and still make a small profit. Since I'm doing everything myself--with the exception of cover design and editing--I could keep the target amount under $1000. Stretch goals were tied to improving the quality of the product with paper and cover upgrades, adding color, and creating small perks, such as fillable PDF character sheets.

So, that explains where I was before I launched the Kickstarter. After the campaign went live, however, I learned a few new things:

• International shipping is prohibitively expensive if you don't already have a distributor, or professional shipping resources. I sort of knew that going in, having spoken to other designers who chose not to ship outside the US, but I didn't realize just how expensive.
• Not shipping outside the US means you may not get quite as many backers as you might otherwise. It's up to you to determine whether allowing international shipping is worth the headache.
• You'll get a lot of spam from people trying to sell you on their Kickstarter promotion "services."
• Speaking of promotion, word of mouth only gets you so far. Again, I was expecting this, since I didn't plan on having Mage to Order featured on any blogs, podcasts or streams. Other projects that funded quickly most likely laid the groundwork well before their launch.
• Even with pre-scheduled promotions, there's still no guarantee you'll fund, and very few projects hit their target goal on the first day.
• If you haven't hit your target on the first day, don't freak out. It doesn't mean your project won't fund!
• Kickstarter support staff is hard to get in touch with. Like really hard. And even when you do, it might take them a few days to get back to you (I had to change banks a week before launch; it was A Ride).
• You may get a bunch of tiny donations from people you don't know. These might be retracted later, or they may not. Similarly, expect at least some percentage of your backers won't be able to follow through, either because they change their minds, or their card declines when the campaign ends.
• You will probably get people who pay more than your set reward costs, which will help you reach your goal faster.
• You will likely spend a lot of time and anxiety constantly checking your campaign, hoping it will fund--especially in the first 24 hours. I recommend in taking that day off, away from the internet, so you don't drive yourself crazy.
• Kickstarters usually start off strong, then there's a lull in the middle of the campaign, then another flurry of new backers right before the campaign ends.

A word about fulfillment: I don't recommend you do it yourself, unless you're expecting a smaller target number. 2/3 of Mage to Order's backers opted for digital-only rewards, and I planned on having a print run of around 100 copies. The campaign was specifically to raise money for printing, and I hit my physical copy expectations almost exactly. I'm still in the manageable range when it comes to shipping the project on my own, but an additional 50 copies might have tipped me toward hiring a fulfillment service.

I'm sure there's more I'll learn in the coming weeks, but right now the project is in a good place for my estimated production schedule. The game was written before the campaign launched, the internal art is done, the cover nearly done, and the manuscript with my editor. Having your game done before launch is not required, but it definitely helps. It shaves off time between the end of the campaign and backers getting their rewards.  

All in all, I'm pleased with the Kickstarter for Mage to Order. I feel like I learned a lot that will help me with my next campaign, and I'm looking forward to seeing my vision come to life. I hope my backers are just as excited as I am.