Creator Confessions: Stay Small In Scope And Keep More Funding

One of the main things first-time Kickstarter creators have to remember is that there’s no one right way to run a campaign. Every creator can tailor their own campaigns to suit their own needs and goals. Because of this, there is a wide assortment of approaches one can take. Many creators offer tons of different rewards that can make the whole process seem overwhelming. Stickers. T-shirts. Mugs. There’s no shortage of tchotchkes and incentives to be offered. But there’s something to be said about keeping things simple and straightforward — especially when you’re approaching the process for the first time.

My father had a saying in business: stay small and keep it all. For newbie creators, or simply creators looking for the simplistic approach to a campaign, this is a great motto to live by. The more rewards and things being offered the more complicated a campaign can be. This requires dealing with multiple vendors, facing the logistics of packaging, and the difficulties in shipping all of these things. Expert creators that have the experience to run a multifaceted campaign might be able to pull this off without much of a hitch. But staying small and keeping the extra money rather than spending it on fancy extras is always a bonus.

There is a downside to this though. Unlike a regular business venture, Kickstarter has a set goal. A creator can always set this goal super low and achieve it quite easily. But if you have a goal that’s thousands of dollars, staying small might result in a harder time getting funding. Bigger rewards have bigger payouts and profit margins that can help a creator cover some of this extraneous expenses. But at the same time, expensive items often give off the perception that more funding is coming in, but behind-the-scenes, that means more funding is going out.