What is KickStarter and How Does KickStarter work?

Kickstarter is a popular crowdfunding platform. in this platform, people create projects and set a funding goal along with a deadline. If people want to support the project, they pledge money to make it happen.

In this article, you will learn about KickStarter in detail, how it works, and what you can do with this.

So let’s begin!

What is KickStarter?

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding site. It is the go-to place for creative projects like films, music, inventions, and anything else you can imagine. If you want to start your own project, then Kickstarter is where you come to find support through pledges of your backers.

The company was founded by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler in 2009. It has helped creative people all over the world to fund their projects.

Kickstarter is a website designed to help individuals, groups, and companies raise money for creative projects. The site has helped over 100,000 projects raise more than 2 billion dollars so far.

To set up a Kickstarter project you need to create a short video about the project you want to fund. After you’ve created your video you need to come up with rewards that are associated with different donation levels.

For example, if someone donates $25 they might receive an autographed copy of the book that your project helps fund. If someone donates $100 then they might get an original piece of artwork from the book that your project helps fund.

Kickstarter calls their rewards “perks.” Once you’ve set up your rewards and uploaded a video about your project, Kickstarter guides you through the process of setting a funding goal. You can’t start collecting money for your project until you hit that goal.

If you don’t reach the goal within 30 days then no money is exchanged and it’s up to you to make your project happen.

That’s where Kickstarter comes in handy. It can help you get the word out about what you are trying to accomplish, but it’s ultimately up to you whether or not your project gets funded.

Who can use Kickstarter?

Backers from all over the world can join Kickstarter. Anyone with a major debit or credit card can pledge to a project from anywhere in the world.

Project creation is limited to few countries subject to some conditions – you can see what are the conditions in KickStarter website.

How Does KickStarter Work?

KickStarter is a funding platform for creative projects. In return for financial support, backers receive rewards which can range from inspection of new products to specific awards that fit the theme of the project they backed.

Here’s how it works: A person or company posts a project on KickStarter and sets a deadline for raising money.

If you like what you read and want to help make the project happen, you donate some money at their target goal (raise a certain amount within a certain time).

You will only be charged if there is enough response by the deadline to hit their goal–in cases where not enough people respond before time runs out, nobody has to pay anything!

If enough people do come through with pledges, then the project is funded and goes forward. If not, all pledges are cleared and the creator is no worse off than they were before!

As a backer you get to know more about what will happen (if it’s successful), get some great rewards for your pledge, and feel nice inside too because you helped make this new thing come to life.

How to Start a KickStarter?

A great way to get started is by asking yourself these questions:

Is there a problem that you’re trying to solve?
Do you know your target audience well enough?
What are the benefits of your product/project? What makes it unique?
What’s the ideal goal for your project? Do you need any funding?
Who will be managing the project post-launch, and what does their experience look like?
How will the project be distributed to backers after it’s funded?
How can you get in touch with backers to get feedback along with their contributions?

Once you thought about the above questions you can follow the below steps to start a project in KickStarter.

1. You have to go to the Kickstarter website and then “Start your project” page and then click the “Share Your Project” button.

2. Sign in using the email and password that you have used to create your Kickstarter account in the first place. In case, you don’t already have an account with them, then you need to fill out the “New to Kickstarter?” form and once you have filled the form, you need to click the “Sign Me Up!” button to create a new one.

3. Now you have to read the Project Guidelines carefully and once done, you need to click the checkbox at the bottom of the guidelines and then move on to click “Continue”.

4. Now there is a need for you to describe your project in detail and exactly what you want to create and develop under the “What would you like to create?” section. You will have 750 characters or less to fill this detail. It is always a good idea to be as specific and to the point as possible as this section will be reviewed by the Kickstarter staff to decide the feasibility of your project.

5. Now you need to describe any rewards or pledge incentives that you will provide under the “What rewards would you offer?” section. For this you will get 1000 characters or less.

6. You have to insert any links or resources to help the Kickstarter staff to know more about your project.

7. Now you need to select the category that fits your project using the drop-down menu provided there.

8. As for amount of money you want to raise, you have to select the approximate amount.

9. Once done, you need to click the “Share Your Project” button. This will submit your project to the Kickstarter staff for evaluation and they will get back to you once they have reviewed your project.

What is KickStarter Campaign?

Ideas become a reality thanks to Kickstarter initiatives. It’s a place where artists can share their fresh ideas for creative work with the people who will fund them. Backers become a part of these independent works when they provide funds and help spread the news.

What is KickStarter Funding

Kickstarter funding is all-or-nothing. A pledge to a project will not be charged until it meets its funding target. This ensures that artists have the money they need before moving forward.

How to cancel a KickStarter Pledge?

You may cancel your pledge while a project is still open by going to the project website and clicking the “Manage your pledge” button on the right-hand side.

Then, next to the “Change your pledge” tab, select “Cancel Pledge.” Remember that you may only cancel a pledge while the project is active.

How to change address on KickStarter?

Go to your computer and go into your Kickstarter account.
Go to your backed projects list and find our project.
Select “View Pledge” from the drop-down menu.
Select “Survey” from the drop-down menu between the “Reward” and “Messages” tabs.
Change or view your address and phone number.

What percentage does KickStarter take?

The following fees will be deducted from your funding total if your project is successfully funded:

Kickstarter’s 5% fee and payment processing fees (between 3 percent and 5 percent).

There are no fees if the funding is unsuccessful.

How to get a refund on KickStarter?

Go to your Kickstarter account and sign in.
In the Creator Tools menu, select Backer Report.
Choose the name of the backer.
Select Issue a refund.
Enter your credit card information.
Fill in the refund amount, whether it’s a full or partial.

KickStarter Alternatives

Here are some of the popular alternatives to KickStarter:

1. GoFundMe

GoFundMe is a social media platform that is built for the sole purpose of fundraising. Go Fund Me allows people to reach out to donate to their cause, charity or project.

In return, they will be provided with updates on the different campaigns. There are many different types of funds on Go Fund Me depending on your situation and what you’re looking for help with.

The more money you raise, the better chance you have at making an impact on your cause.

2. Indiegogo

Indiegogo is a crowdfunding website that has gained popularity over the last few years. The site is run from Palo Alto, California and is open to all types of projects. Indiegogo provides encouraged perks for those who donate to a project. In addition, Indiegogo allows entrepreneurs to be able to advertise their products on the website.

A portion of the revenue made from advertising is given to Indiegogo. The website makes money by taking a small percentage of income raised, similar to other crowdfunding websites.

Since its creation in 2008, the company has used two different names for their website. First it was called “Indie-funding” then later changed into “IndieGoGo” before launching as “Indiegogo” in 2010.

3. FundRazr

Fundrazr is a crowdfunding site that enables users to fundraise for a variety of social causes. A fundraiser starts with a fundraiser type, such as personal goal, user goal, donation target, or charity.

Personal goals covers everything from college tuition to shoes. A user goal allow the fundraiser to set any goal they want and automatically start raising funds towards it.

4. Patreon

Patreon is a crowdfunding website that focuses on helping content creators. The phrase “patronage” is often used with Patreon as it refers to the idea of an individual being a “patron of the arts.”

This is done by becoming a patron of somebody’s content and they can use these funds raised to create more content.