Crowdfunding Nerds: Kickstarter Marketing, Business, & Beyond!

Crowdfunding Nerds is a practical, behind-the-scenes podcast for creators looking to launch and scale successful crowdfunding campaigns. Since 2019, the Crowdfunding Nerds team has helped creators raise over $40M on Kickstarter and Gamefound while generating more than $100M in ecommerce sales.
From pre-launch strategy to post-campaign growth, the show delivers real-world marketing insights, campaign breakdowns, and lessons from both first-time creators and major IPs like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Fallout, Dune, and Star Trek.
Whether you're preparing for your first Kickstarter or optimizing your next launch, this podcast helps you do it smarter.
Crowdfunding Nerds is a practical, behind-the-scenes podcast for creators looking to launch and scale successful crowdfunding campaigns. Since 2019, the Crowdfunding Nerds team has helped creators raise over $40M on Kickstarter and Gamefound while generating more than $100M in ecommerce sales.
From pre-launch strategy to post-campaign growth, the show delivers real-world marketing insights, campaign breakdowns, and lessons from both first-time creators and major IPs like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Fallout, Dune, and Star Trek.
Whether you're preparing for your first Kickstarter or optimizing your next launch, this podcast helps you do it smarter.
Episodes
Episodes



Monday Jun 27, 2022
Interviewing Board Game Reviewer Alex Radcliffe of BoardGameCo
Monday Jun 27, 2022
Monday Jun 27, 2022
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



Monday Jun 20, 2022
BackerKit Crowdfunding? First Thoughts w/ Alex Radcliffe
Monday Jun 20, 2022
Monday Jun 20, 2022
The popular pledge manager BackerKit, has announced that they will be diving into the crowdfunding arena! Do they have enough buffs to out DPS Gamefound? Or will Kickstarter receive an epic heal and make a comeback?
Alex Radcliffe of BoardGameCo joins the Crowdfunding Nerds to discuss our first thoughts on the likelihood of success to this new endeavor of BackerKit!
00:02:18 – Who Is Alex Radcliffe?00:03:04 – Resident Evil 3 By Steamforged Games00:08:21 – Playing board games With Your Kids



Tuesday Jun 14, 2022
Getting People To Care About Your Stuff
Tuesday Jun 14, 2022
Tuesday Jun 14, 2022
The Crowdfunding Nerds talk about $85 RPG history books, how to use steam to market your board game and getting people to care about your project.
00:01:02 – Kickstarter Review - 50 Years of Text Games00:09:40 – How To Use Steam To Market Your Board Game00:16:13 – How To Get People To Care About Your Game00:24:14 – The Up Front Costs To Promoting Your Game00:31:48 – How To Get Your Content Seen On Social Media
Shownotes 50 Years of Text Games Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aaronareed/50-years-of-text-games
Steam Community – Tabletop Simulator - https://steamcommunity.com/app/286160
Crowdfunding Nerds Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/crowdfundingnerds



Monday Jun 06, 2022
Secret Update, The Cake Is A Lie & The Critical Path To Crowdfunding Success
Monday Jun 06, 2022
Monday Jun 06, 2022
What is the critical path you need to take get funded on Kickstarter and manufacture your board game? The Crowdfunding Nerds share some industry news and tips on laying a plan for crowdfunding success.
00:01:24 – MMORPG Genfanad Funds Day One On Kickstarter00:09:57 – Building Community On Steam / Steam Marketing00:16:36 – People Don’t Like Being Sold To00:19:58 – Lessons From Shareware00:21:27 – How To Stand Out On The Internet00:30:08 – The Secret Update00:32:08 – What Is The Concept Of The Critical Path?00:39:44 – How To Plan Your Kickstarter – Reverse Engineer It
ShownotesGenfanad MMORPG - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rosetintedgames/genfanadThe Anacrusis - https://www.theanacrusis.com/Zero Page - https://www.zero-page.com/Batmud - https://store.steampowered.com/app/616920/BatMUD/



Tuesday May 31, 2022
How To Successfully Operate At Conventions
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Tuesday May 31, 2022
The Crowdfunding Nerds give you first-hand convention tips to promote your crowdfunding project with our without a booth!
00:01:08 - Shakespeare Conspiracy Theory00:03:59 - Castles of Burgundy00:09:06 – Batman™ : Gotham City Chronicles - Season 3 and RPG00:11:11 – Emotional States of Facebook Users Throughout The Week00:20:00 – Business Cards At Conventions?00:23:34 – Security At Conventions00:28:16 – How To Get Email Leads At Conventions00:33:09 – Dealing With Rude People At Conventions00:34:51 – Getting People To Your Booth00:36:23 – QR Codes?00:42:46 – Processing Email Leads At Conventions00:44:08 – Be Intentional About Your Appearance At Conventions00:51:58 – Ideas For Handouts At Conventions00:53:26 – The Stinkiest Conventions
Wordless Poems Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/friendshub/wordless-poems
Castles of Burgundy Gamefound - https://gamefound.com/projects/awaken-realms/castles-of-burgundy-special-edition
JonGetsGames - https://www.youtube.com/c/JonGetsGames
Batman™ : Gotham City Chronicles - Season 3 and RPG - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/806316071/batmantm-gotham-city-chronicles-season-3-and-rpg
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism - https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/shoshana-zuboff/the-age-of-surveillance-capitalism/9781610395700/
Former CIA director: ‘We kill people based on metadata’ - https://www.rt.com/usa/158460-cia-director-metadata-kill-people/
The Australian Facebook Article - https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fbusiness%2Fmedia%2Fdigital%2Ffacebook-targets-insecure-young-people-to-sell-ads%2Fnews-story%2Fa89949ad016eee7d7a61c3c30c909fa6&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=dynamidc-cold-control-noscore&V21spcbehaviour=append
Facebook Comments on Research and Ad Targeting - https://about.fb.com/news/h/comments-on-research-and-ad-targeting/
I'm an ex-Facebook exec: don't believe what they tell you about ads - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/02/facebook-executive-advertising-data-comment
Facebook Manipulated 689,003 Users' Emotions For Science - https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/06/28/facebook-manipulated-689003-users-emotions-for-science/?sh=6b995a0e197c



Monday May 23, 2022
”Typical Results” Of Marketing + Crowdfunding News
Monday May 23, 2022
Monday May 23, 2022
Stock market crashes, Bitcoin busts, to industry drama and service pricing. The Crowdfunding Nerds comment on current news while answering an listener's question about our statements on "typical marketing results" in detail!
00:01:15 – Stock Market Falling00:10:18 – RuneScape The Board Game & Gamified Stretch Goals00:17:32 – Board Game Industry Drama & Conflict Resolution00:22:57 – What Are The Typical Results of The Crowdfunding Nerds Service?
S&P 500 slides closer toward bear market territory as stocks extend losses - https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-news-live-updates-may-19-2022-231932475.html
Nasdaq Stock Market Data - https://money.cnn.com/data/markets
RuneScape board game Kickstarter will be 'gamified' with rewards chosen by backers - https://www.gamesradar.com/runescape-board-game-kickstarter-will-be-gamified-with-rewards-chosen-by-backers/
RuneScape Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/runescapekingdoms
Pre-Launch Campaign Package - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/marketing/
Union Stockyards Board Game - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/duanewulf/union-stockyards?ref=3ujvcr



Tuesday May 17, 2022
The Concept of The Magic Circle In Making Amazing Ads
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
The Crowdfunding Nerds chop board game industry news while giving you some tips on how to run better Facebook ads. Also, Andrew is diffidently not a necromancer, unless he put a spell on us to tell you that...
00:01:33 – Crowdfunding Nerds Staff Training Video00:05:23 – Crowdfunding Nerd News00:15:33 – The Magic Circle Defined00:23:54 – The Magic Circle In Game Marketing00:28:19 – Messaging In Terms of Retargeting00:34:06 – Your Customer Avatar00:36:58 – In Summary
Crowdfunding Nerds Staff Training Video - https://www.facebook.com/100065544255608/videos/955768008454566/
Legend of the Red Dragon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Red_Dragon
EcoFlow Air Conditioner - https://www.ecoflow.com/us/wave-portable-air-conditioner
HeroQuest Hasbro - https://hasbropulse.com/products/heroquest-game-system
Micro Dojo - https://gamefound.com/projects/prometheus-game-labs/micro-dojo



Tuesday May 10, 2022
Disingenuous Funding Goals & Crowdfunding News
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
The Crowdfunding Nerds discuss some of the latest board game crowdfunding news while addressing the benefits and problems of artificially low fund goals.
00:02:09 - Marvel Zombicide & CMON Shipping00:18:44 – Strategy For Shipping & Fullfilment Increases00:21:26 – Euthia’s Cancelled Project of $500K00:29:50 – Blade Runner TTRPG Artificially Low Funding Goal00:39:46 – Kickstarter Vs Gamefound
Shownotes
How To Run A Successful Tabletop Business With Chris Birch Of Modiphius Entertainment - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode50/
The Game Crafter - https://www.thegamecrafter.com/
Print & Play - https://www.printplaygames.com/
Hero Forge - https://www.heroforge.com/
Five Parsecs From Home - https://www.modiphius.net/products/five-parsecs-from-home
Dwarven Forge - https://dwarvenforge.com/
Euthia: Torment Of Resurrection & Fierce Powers - https://gamefound.com/projects/diea-games/euthia/updates/7
Blade Runner – The Roleplaying Game - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1192053011/blade-runner-the-roleplaying-game
All Time Wrestling - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alltimewrestling/all-time-wrestling-the-wrestling-card-and-dice-game?ref=bxsuhp



Monday May 02, 2022
This One’s For You Jamey Stegmaier <3
Monday May 02, 2022
Monday May 02, 2022
While SEO Wizard Rick faces ravenous cougars in the wilderness, Andrew & Sean discuss Kickstarter delegation, because Mr. Stegmaier threatened to tell the world how bad Andrew is at Scythe (and he said please, which is the magic word).
00:01:23 – You Might Want A Publisher00:03:10 – Outsourcing?00:05:53 – Things That Can Be Outsourced00:11:05 – Pre-Marketing Vs Live Campaign Marketing00:15:41 – You Can’t Do Everything00:21:13 – Art On Your Kickstarter Page00:27:58 – Outsourcing For Time00:32:21 – Consulting00:35:21 – Convention Attendance00:44:18 – Taxes00:47:38 – What We Commonly See Been Outsourced
ShownotesThe Virtuous Cycle Of Kickstarter Marketing - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode14/Hygiene Factors Of Your Kickstarter Campaign - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode18/What Matters Most To Backers On Your Kickstarter Page With Jeremy Howard - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode10/ShipQuest - https://www.shipquest.co.uk/ The Flood Board Game - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bedouingames/the-flood?ref=9j4qu1&token=4d0861e6 Deliverance Board Game - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lowenhigh/deliverance-board-gameSquatchy Games - https://squatchygames.com/Mesa Game Lab - https://www.mesagamelab.com/Jonathan Gilmour - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-gilmour-96160b1aTEBURU presents The Bad Karmas - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/xplored/the-bad-karmas?ref=erji0i&token=d9418a70



Monday Apr 25, 2022
How To Stand Out On Kickstarter w/ Marco Pecota
Monday Apr 25, 2022
Monday Apr 25, 2022
Marco Pecota of Raybox Games joins the Crowdunding Nerds to discuss marketing games through combining themes.
00:04:01 – First Games Marco Has Ever Played00:05:13 – What Did You Learn From Running Multiple Kickstarters?00:11:50 – How To Stand Out On Kickstarter00:18:07 – A Solid Theme Helps With Marketing00:19:12 – Appealing To Board Game Collectors00:20:47 – Consider Adding Miniatures To Your Game00:25:03 – Don’t Create Expansions...?00:29:30 – How To Market Pledges With Miniatures00:31:33 – Marco's Dos & Don’ts Of Organic Facebook Group Marketing00:39:26 – Making A Game For Others Vs Making A Game For Yourself00:43:22 – Getting Advice From The Industry Is Key00:50:58 – The Type Of Games That Work Well On Kickstarter00:54:19 = Do You Need A Marketing Agency To Run A Kickstarter?
Shownotes
Escape from Stalingrad Z - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/legionsofsteel/escape-from-stalingrad-z?ref=3018k4
Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies - https://gamefound.com/projects/red-raven-games/sleeping-gods-distant-skies










