Preparing Launch
Before setting a launch date, check your audience, campaign page, budget and delivery plan together. Each needs to support the promises you make.
By Arthur Manukyan, CRO at TCF
Plan how your first backers will find you
Decide who you will contact at launch, what you will send and who will answer questions. Test the links and explain the offer clearly. Early pledges can help, but a strong opening does not guarantee the final result.
Look beyond the size of your email list
Review where sign-ups came from and how people respond to product and pricing updates. Use observed behaviour to build conservative, middle and optimistic estimates. Interest, reservations and pledges are different commitments.
Ask someone new to read the campaign page
Can they explain the product, price, delivery estimate and main risks after reading it? Ask what would stop them from pledging. Check the page on a phone as well as a desktop, including reward details and shipping costs.
Prepare for the weeks after launch
Assign owners for backer questions, updates, advertising and supplier communication. Set a budget you can monitor. Decide which figures would make you change the plan, and leave room to respond to what backers actually ask.
These are questions I use to review a launch plan. For platform guidance, read Kickstarter’s Creator Handbook. Check the current requirements before submitting your project.
Working through the budget? Use the US Kickstarter fees calculator to estimate the amount left after platform fees, processing and failed payments.