Crafting effective updates during your online crowdfunding campaign can be a game-changing move. Check out how it keeps backers informed, builds trust, and positively impacts the project's success.
There's another reason why creators need to pay attention to updates I forgot to mention in Part 1. Updates help bring people back to your page, which plays a significant role in staying at the forefront of the platform algorithm. Platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo consider the amount of traffic to a project's page as an indicator of its popularity. Therefore, it is essential to continuously direct people, even if they are already backers, to your page in order to maintain visibility.
Now, let's get back to the point.
You might be wondering, "Why is it necessary to update after the project goes offline?" While you may already be familiar with how Kickstarter operates, not everyone is. Therefore, it is important to send a thank you update once your project has ended and inform backers about the upcoming steps and what they can anticipate in the following weeks and months.
Here is our recommended update frequency towards the end of the project:
- Every 2 weeks from the end of the Kickstarter project until the pledge manager is launched.
- Every 4 weeks from the pledge manager launching products are ready to leave the factory.
- Every 2 – 3 weeks from the products leaving the factory up until fulfillment.
If you fail to send an update within 1 month of the last one, Kickstarter will display messages on your campaign, prompting backers to inquire about updates. This can cause concern among backers, leading them to believe that something may be amiss. To avoid this, make sure to send updates at least once every 4 weeks and prevent the appearance of these messages.
In addition, these situations can be used as your updates:
- Provide detailed instructions for completing surveys and remind backers to complete their surveys.
- Celebrate milestones such as reaching your funding goal or when rewards are shipped.
- Share live updates during key moments like being with your manufacturer or during the shipping process.
- Acknowledge your campaign's one-year anniversary (Kickstarter will send you an email on that day).
- Talk about the challenges that come up, like changes to the cost of supplies, etc.
In situations where things go wrong, some creators choose silence instead of honesty. However, this approach can result in suspicion, anger, and even the cancellation of pledges from backers. Therefore, it is crucial to adopt a different strategy. Being open about the situation and honestly informing backers about any difficulties you are facing is the best approach. Trust that most backers will be understanding and offer advice. It is also important to acknowledge that if backers remain angry despite your transparency, their frustration may be justified.
