Crowdfunding Nerds: Kickstarter Marketing For Board Games & Beyond!

Email Open Rates For Kickstarter

The Crowdfunding Nerds discuss the ideal email open rates that show your community is engaged while sharing tips to improve them.
Time Stamps:
00:01:47 – News 1: eBay Buys TCG Player00:06:26 – News 2: Video Game Kickstarter Untamed Isles Fails To Deliver00:04:58 – News 3: Digital Ocean Dumps Mailchimp00:15:51 – Email Marketing Open Rates00:24:24 – Tips On Email Subject Lines00:34:21 – The Importance of Email Resends00:44:01 – Email Consistency & Frequency
Shownotes
Kickstarter Success Calculator - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/kickstarter-success-calculator/
eBay Buys TCG Player - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ebay-has-entered-into-an-agreement-to-acquire-tcgplayer-301609889.html
Spellfire - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spellfire
Digital Ocean Dumps Mailchimp - https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/16/digital_ocean_dumps_mailchimp/
Untamed Isles - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/untamedisles/untamed-isles
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Sweat-Pixels-Triumphant-Turbulent
4 Absolutely Essential Things You Need To Know About Sending Board Game Emails - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode55/
Interviewing A Sales Master: Dan Boe – Part 1/2 - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode61/
Interviewing A Sales Master: Dan Boe – Part 2/2 - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode62/

Backer Entitlement + Can Creators Be Entitled Too?

The Crowdfunding Nerds discuss both backer & creator entitlement, including how backers whining might actually be an indicator of emerging market trends! Plus, we discuss helpful and unhelpful attitudes to Crowdfunding, and give tips to rise above discouragement.
00:01:33 – Kickstarter Success Calculator00:05:05 – Facebook Introduced “@Everyone” Feature00:07:15 – Blocking Toxic Comments On Kickstarter00:16:24 – Crowdfunding Creator Entitlement00:40:07 – Backer Entitlement
ShownotesKickstarter Success Calculator - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/kickstarter-success-calculator/
Crowdfunding Nerds Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/crowdfundingnerds
Hide Comment Feature On Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-never-tolerates-abusive-behavior-this-new-feature-0
Marketing Tinyfolks On Steam With Pierre Vandermaesen - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode87/

Marketing Games On Steam: Tinyfolks w/ Pierre Vandermaesen

Pierre Vandermaesen, indie game developer of Tinyfolks joins the Crowdfunding Nerds to discuss the challenges of developing and marketing video games for Steam.
00:00:59 – How Sean Discovered Tinyfolks00:02:27 – Framing Your Game For Marketing Purposes00:06:55 – Tips On Pricing Games On Steam00:09:57 – Similarities Between Steam & Kickstarter00:12:00 - Similarities Between Game Jams & Crowdfunding00:15:03 – Managing Side Projects00:19:51 – Discord & Twitch Is The Video Game Community Space00:25:06 – The Core Principles Of Marketing Anything00:29:19 – Game Design Branding - Craft Vs Industry00:40:43 – Challenges To Marketing Tinyfolks On Steam00:54:42 – Advice For Aspiring Game Designers
Tinyfolks - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1909420/Tinyfolks/
Board Games & Twitch With Alex Radcliff - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode80/
Delve By Blackwell Games - https://blackwellwriter.itch.io/delve-a-solo-map-drawing-game
More Games From Pierre Vandermaesen - https://itch.io/profile/pierre-vandermaesen

The Science Of Pricing Your Crowdfunding Pledges

Jasper Gardener Burch of Pine Island Games and the tabletop game Nut Hunt joins the Crowdfunding Nerds to discuss Facebook advertising mistakes and the science of correctly pricing your pledges on Kickstarter!
00:01:44 – Facebook Ad Mistakes Breakdown00:06:20 – Dangers Of Giveaways In Marketing00:09:00 – Why Email Not Social Media Followers?00:14:18 – Your Domain Health / Personal Tone In Emails00:20:30 – How To Get Retail Backers00:30:29 – How To Price Your Game For Kicstarter00:43:58- How To Save On Freight00:47:16 – Pledge Price Perception
Shownotes
Previous Episode With Jasper - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode85/
Kickstarter In Review Blog – https://www.pineislandgames.com/blog
Lemlist - https://www.lemlist.com/
50 Years of Text Games Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aaronareed/50-years-of-text-games
Crowdfunding Nerds Community – https://www.facebook.com/NerdsCrowdfunding

How To Leverage TikTok & Reddit For Your Kickstarter

Jasper Gardener Burch of Pine Island Games and the tabletop game Nut Hunt joins the Crowdfunding Nerds to discuss how to leverage TikTok & Reddit for your pre-Kickstarter marketing.
00:05:18 – Nut Hunt, What Went Well?00:07:48 – Best Reviewers?00:13:51 – Promoting Borad Game Reviews On TikTok00:14:49 – TikTok: How To Get Followers On00:23:30 – Kickstarter Community Comments Are Important00:25:40 – Reddit: Organic Marketing
Shownotes 
Nut Hunt Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pineislandgames/nut-hunt
Kickstarter In Review Blog - https://www.pineislandgames.com/blog
Crowdfunding Nerds Community - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsCrowdfunding

Case Study: What If Your Kickstarter Has Not Yet Funded?

Ben Levy of Strongbox Games joins the Crowdfunding Nerds to discuss co-authoring Mantle of The Keeper and the challenges of running a Kickstarter campaign that has not funded yet.
00:03:26 - Nerd News00:09:26 – The Benefits of Co-Designing A Board Game00:20:40 – What To Do If Your Live Kickstarter Is Nearly Funded00:27:30 – How To Craft Premium Pledges00:32:03 – The Value of Building Organic Industry Connections00:35:31 – Dealing With Pledge Cancellations00:38:00 – Leveraging Your Email List During Your Live Campaign00:47:26 – Tips On Pricing Your Pledges00:53:42 – Final Advice
Shownotes
San Diego Comic-Con - https://www.comic-con.org/
Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves Trailer - https://youtu.be/IiMinixSXII
Angel Studios Vs Disney - https://youtu.be/Q-yZspRxi_k 
Mantle of The Keeper Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blevy/mantle-of-the-keeper?ref=a8v0gp&utm_source=CFN-lp&utm_medium=MOTK&utm_campaign=Landing-Page 
4.5 Outcomes You Need To Consider Before Going To Kickstarter - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode5/
Board Game Design Lab - https://boardgamedesignlab.com/
Jamey Stegmaier’s Blog - https://stonemaiergames.com/e-newsletter/blog/
Amy Henning Game Maker’s Notebook Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caURIb9cOIg
Galactic Cruise Board Game - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1511281419224920
New Kingdom Gardeners - https://newkingdomgaming.com/
Feuds & Favors Board Game - https://www.facebook.com/groups/239849254632981/
Roll & Die Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fundamentalgames/roll-or-die/

Amish Romance Novels & Publishing With Kyle Mann

Board Game enthusiast and Editor-in-chief of the Babylon Bee, Kyle Mann joins the Crowdfunding Nerds to discuss publishing and self-promotion.
00:02:06 – Finding Your Target Audience00:07:20 – Working With A Publisher00:10:35 – Small Publishers Vs Big Publishers00:13:22 – Pitching To Publishers While Leveraging Your Following00:16:52 – Personal Brand And Self Promotion With Publishers00:23:18 – Pros & Cons Of Using A Publisher00:31:52 – Setting Yourself Deadlines
Shownotes
Post-Modern Pilgrim's Progress - https://www.amazon.com/Postmodern-Pilgrims-Progress-Allegorical-Tale/
Salem Book Publishing - https://www.regnery.com/custom/salem-books/
Kyle’s Interview With Dr. Strange director  Scott Derrickson - https://babylonbee.libsyn.com/episode-22-scott-derrickson-reveals-that-he-cannot-say-anything-at-all-about-dr-strange-2
Crowdfunding Nerds Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/crowdfundingnerds

Customs & Epic Freight Wizardry

Brandon The Game Dev joins the Crowdfunding Nerds to chop manufacturing, freight and fulfilment.
00:00:50 – How TTRPG Fanatics Find New TTRPG Games00:14:12 – The Board Game Design Lab Podcast Comes To An End00:17:26 – Hiring Out Logistics Project Management00:22:45 – Types Of Freight00:25:15 – Does Freightos Have Competitive Pricing Compared To OTX00:31:40 – Have Many Manufacturing Options00:35:46 – Custom Charges00:37:08 - Customs De Minimis
ShownotesRPG.net Poll - https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/how-do-you-learn-about-new-rpg-games-books.898242/
Social Media Vs Email - https://youtu.be/jZ5H6DeaKKs?t=587
Last BGDL Podcast - https://boardgamedesignlab.com/see-you-space-cowboy-with-gabe-barrett-and-jamey-stegmaier/
Freightos - https://www.freightos.com/
OTX - https://www.otxlogistics.com/
Brandon The Game Dev - https://brandonthegamedev.com/
Pangea Marketing Agency - https://www.pangeamarketingagency.com/
Weird Marketing Tales - https://weirdmarketingtales.com/

Project Management, Skinny Jeans, & Cowboy Boots With Brandon The Game Dev

Project management is the topic of this podcast with Brandon Rollins, also known as Brandon The Game Dev. Brandon offers Kickstarter and social media project management services and is collaborating with the Crowdfunding Nerds on a not so top secret project.
00:01:21 – Who Is Brandon The Game Dev?00:02:08 – Weird News00:04:43 – Kickstarter’s Ministry Of Truth?00:12:57 – A New Crowdfunding Pre-Marketing Strategy?00:21:40 – An Introduction To Project Management00:25:09 – Who Needs Project Management?00:29:29 – A Method For Project Management00:33:47 – Brandon’s Game Development
Shownotes
Pangea Marketing Agency - https://www.pangeamarketingagency.com/
Weird Marketing Tales - https://weirdmarketingtales.com/
Paragliding - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLBJA8SlH2w
Renting Chickens - https://weirdmarketingtales.com/homestead-phil-and-homestead-jenn-on-renting-chickens/
Announcing The Kickstarter Community Advisory Council - https://www.kickstarter.com/articles/kickstarter-community-advisory-council
The Wingfeather Saga Season 2 - https://invest.angel.com/wingfeather-saga-2
Vrahode - https://www.vrahode.com/
War Co. - https://pangeaboardgames.com/products/war-co-card-game

Interviewing Board Game Reviewer Alex Radcliffe of BoardGameCo

Alex Radcliffe of the BordaGameCo sits down with the Crowdfunding Nerds to talk about his journey of becoming a full time YouTuber who plays and reviews board games.
00:01:46 – Who Is Alex Radcliffe?00:02:28 – When Did You Start Creating YouTube Content?00:05:36 – Stupid Sells00:09:50 – What Is Your Gaming History?00:11:37 – How Much Money Have You Spent On Board Games?00:14:03 – Do You Keep Or Return Board Games After Reviews?00:17:51 – How Do You Monetise Your Work?00:23:52 – How Much Time Are You Putting Into BoardGameCo?00:27:35 – Paid Reviews?00:32:11 – Alex’s Favourite Broad Game Experience00:32:53 – Was The BoardGameCo Your First YouTube Channel?00:34:39 – How Can Publishers Get Reviews From You?00:38:57 – Why Alex Does Not Back Games With Bad Art00:39:51 – Monetising Controversy On YouTube?00:44:04 – What’s Your Most Popular Video?00:47:39 – Board Game Industry Professionals Vs Board Gamers00:51:18 – The Importance Of A Personal Brand00:53:02 – Alex’s Thoughts On Deliverance00:54:51 – How Should Publishers Deal With Bad Reviews?01:00:02 – How Many Times Do You Play A Game Before Making A Video?
ShownotesBoardGameCo YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/BoardGameCo How to Run a Publishing Company with Rob Dougherty - https://boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-run-a-publishing-company-with-rob-dougherty/BoardGameCo Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/boardgamecoTwitch Camp_Coop - https://www.twitch.tv/camp_coop