Cool Tools: BackerKit Helps Organize Crowd Funding

One of the things I’m going to try to try to highlight is some tools I think are good and worth considering. For my debut tool I’m going to introduce BackerKit which I think will be indispensable for people doing crowd funding projects through Kickstarter, Indiegogo and other sites.  Let me take a moment to give you some perspective about why I’m recommending it.

I ran a Kickstarter project for my novel Hollow World…it was a huge success, it raised 1008% of my initial goal, had over 860 backers and raised about $32,000 between the Kickstarter and people who wanted “in” after the project was over. Getting people interested in the project was the easy part…the hard aspects was organizing all those backers.

My wife actually did the coordination, she had a huge spreadsheet (several actually) and answered a lot of emails from people providing clarifications to their orders (can you have the book signed and made out to: xxxx).  There were also changes of addresses and as those who were overseas had to add funds to cover the shipping there was some organization for that as well.  She made it through, but it was a hassle. If we ever do another Kickstarter (and we plan to) then there has to be a better way.  And there is…it’s BackerKit.

What it does is provide an interface so that your backers can manage and update their information for themselves – instead of having to come to Robin for all those updates that she has to track. They can add further instructions, change addresses, determine if they want their posters folded or shipped in a roll.

But what’s really cool about BackerKit is its ability to generate additional revenue by allowing people to add items onto their orders.  Let’s say they want to get two paperbacks instead of one…they can up their order. Or if they didn’t get a poster but now want to purchase one separately, well they can add it.  This can mean additional backer funds coming in, and for those that missed the Kickstarter they can continue to pre-order the rewards while you are busy producing the final result.

Recently I funded the Reading Rainbow Kickstarter and they used Backer Kit, I was able to add-on some additional “goodies” and also opt out of some of the rewards I didn’t need (like access to the app), and allow them to save those dollars to help other schools.

Here are some key things you need to know about Backerkit.

  • They offer a free trial that you can start anytime after you launch your Kickstarter
  • They have a $299 setup fee, but if you sign up before your Kickstarter ends you can get 50%
  • You have to have a Stripe account (which is free) to be used by BackerKit to process credit card additions
  • They have three plans:
    • Simple – 0% of Kickstarter funds and 20% of extra funds raised through BackerKit
    • Standard – 1% of Kickstarter funds and 5% of extra funds raised through BackerKit
    • Entrepreneur – 2% of Kickstarter funds and 0% of extra funds raised through BackerKit

From everything I can tell, this will really help with my next Kickstarter project, and if you are planning on doing one as well, I highly recommend you check them out as well.

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