Kickstarter Review

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KICKSTARTER Overview
Kickstarter is the world’s most famous crowdfunding platform for tech projects and creative campaigns.With over $6 billion raised, Kickstarter’s track record is unparalleled in the business-centric crowdfunding space.

Please note that Kickstarter is not for personal purposes – for that, you need to use a platform like GoFundMe.

What sets Kickstarter apart from most of its competitors is that you must meet your fundraising goal within a set time frame before you can receive any funds. In addition, you must offer your backers (of your own creation) rewards.

Services Offered
Kickstarter provides users with a platform to raise funds for creative projects from individual backers. All Kickstarter projects must fall into one of the following main categories:

Art
Comics & Illustration
Design & Technology
Film
Food & Crafts
Games
Music
Publishing
You can launch a Kickstarter campaign in the following countries:

Australia
Belgium
Belgium
Canada
Denmark
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Luxembourg
Mexico
Dutch
New Zealand
Norwegian
Poland
Singapore
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
Backers can support Kickstarter projects almost anywhere in the world.

Project Qualification
Kickstarter has five rules that all projects must follow to qualify for crowdfunding:

Projects must create something to share with others
Project and funder statistics must be presented honestly and clearly
Projects cannot raise money for charity
Projects cannot offer equity
Projects cannot involve prohibited items
Kickstarter must approve all projects before they can go live. Approval can take up to three days.

Terms and Fees
Below are the terms and fees for Kickstarter fundraising campaigns in the United States (international fees vary by local currency):

Funding Period: Up to 60 days
Crowdfunding Fee: 5%
Pledge Payment Processing Fee: 3% + $0.20 per pledge
Payment processing fee for pledges under $10: 5% + $0.05 per pledge

Please note that while you can set the funding period to a maximum of 60 days, Kickstarter recommends setting the funding period to 30 days or less, citing internal data that shows that projects lasting 30 days or less are more likely to reach their goal. Keep in mind that if your project doesn’t reach its funding goal by the end of the funding period, you won’t receive any money (or pay any fees) and all backers will be refunded.

As I said, part of the terms of launching a Kickstarter project and accepting backer support is that you offer physical (or digital) rewards to backers upon completion of your project. The rewards you offer may depend on the level of support pledged; for example, you could offer ballerina cards to someone who pledges $10, copies of your board game project for $100, and special edition board games complete with posters and posters. Expansion packs are available for $500.

Application Process
If you are a permanent resident of any of the countries listed in the “Services Offered” section, you may apply to start a Kickstarter project, provided you meet the following criteria:

You are at least 18 years old
You are creating a project in your own name or on behalf of a registered legal entity of which you are a member.
You have an address, bank account, and government-issued identification in the country where you are creating the project.
If you are running your project as an individual, the associated bank account must belong to you.
You have a major credit or debit card
Starting a program is very simple. You can start the process on the website by selecting a category and verifying your eligibility. You can then enter some basic information about your campaign, set up your rewards and shipping costs, add a video and detailed project description to build your story, add some profile information and links to your social accounts, and confirm your identity.

After submitting your project for review, you will either pass the automated check and be able to launch your campaign immediately, or if your project is flagged for additional review, you will have to wait up to three days before launching.

Sales and advertising transparency
Every step of the crowdfunding process, from the initial application to completion, is detailed in a very simple way on Kickstarter’s website. Nothing feels salesy or deceptive. Since Kickstarter only earns fees on successfully completed fundraising campaigns, the company has no incentive to entice people who aren’t already seriously considering a project to try the platform.

Customer Service and Technical Support

Kickstarter may be a giant in the crowdfunding industry, but its level of customer support doesn’t really reflect that. The only way to get in touch with Kickstarter is to submit a support ticket and wait to be contacted via email. This doesn’t give project creators (or backers) the quick support they may need in the event of an incident. That said, the knowledge base provides answers to the most common questions.