Crowdfunding Nerds: Kickstarter Marketing, Business, & Beyond!

Ep 21: From Client to Employee - Ryan and His Kickstarter Journey

On this weeks episode Rick and Sean tie up Andrew and take over the podcast! Ryan the new guy join in to discuss his recent Kickstarter project and involvement in Next Level Web.
00:01:13: - How Did Ryan The New Guy Meet Andrew?00:02:21 - Ryan’s Experience As A Client of Next Level Web00:04:14 - What Happens After Shipping Your Kickstarter Board Game?00:05:01 – How To Find Manufacturers For Your Board Game00:06:38 – Interfacing With Chinese Manufacturers00:07:36 – Do Manufactures Ship To Your Backers?00:08:06 – Ryan And Next Level Web00:09:55 – Sexy Facebook Cows?00:12:15 – Is Ryan Going To Kickstarter Again?00:13:45 – Ryan’s First Impressions of Gamefound00:14:27 – Let’s Talk Shipping00:17:32 – Ascending Empires?00:19:26 – Kickstarter Mistakes00:21:35 – Rick’s Board Game Idea00:22:57 – Chow Mein?00:24:04 – How Long Has Ryan Been Working For NLW?00:25:12 – Skills?00:27:07 – Ryan's Goals

Ep 20: The Board Games Digital Marketing Agencies Don't Want To Market

Andrew, Sexy Irish Sean and SEO Wizard Rick discuss the board games digital marketing agencies, such as themselves, don't want to market.
 
00:01:42 - The Company00:06:03 - The People00:16:37 - The Game 00:31:11 - The Theme 00:32:50 - Unrealistic Expectations 
 
Show Notes:Kickstarter Marketing Services -https://nextlevelweb.com/kickstarter-marketing-services/
Cryptid Cafe - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/squatchygames/cryptid-cafe
Color Wheel - https://www.canva.com/colors/color-wheel/
4.5 Outcomes You Need To Consider Before Going To Kickstarter - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/episode5/
 

Ep 19: 8 Business Ideas You Need To Know For Your Kickstarter

While cleaning his office Sexy Irish Sean finds an old notebook with some business advice that you need to know about before going to Kickstarter! 
Episode 1900:05:13 - #1 Be Obsessive00:15:34 - #2 Don’t Stop00:21:17 - #3 Get Paid00:27:17 - #4 Everything Changes00:30:44 - #5 You’re Not That Great00:35:10 - #6 Surround Yourself With People Better Than You00:39:14 - #7 Be Careful What You Wish For00:42:03 - #8 Don’t Get Comfortable

Ep 18: Hygiene Factors of Your Kickstarter Campaign

In this episode, the nerds talk about the Hygiene Factors of your Kickstarter campaign. These are things you need to think about and have answers for before launching! 
00:05:16 - Board Game Import Fees00:10:32 - Challenges of Board Game Marketing00:17:57 - Kickstarter Hygiene Factors 00:19:02 - You Need Review Videos00:29:05 - Your Need Playthrough Videos00:34:58 - You Need High-Quality Art00:36:39 - You Need A High Converting Landing Page00:39:40 - Solid Pricing And A Strong Offer00:42:20 - Pledge Managers00:46:30 - Thinking About Future Risks 
Episode 18Stellaris Infinite Legacy - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/academygames/stellaris-infinite-legacy
Wil Wheaton's TableTop - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7atuZxmT956cWFGxqSyRdn6GWhBxiAwE
Panda Game Manufacturing - https://pandagm.com/
LongPack Board Game Manufacturing - https://www.longpackgames.com/
Gameland Manufacturing - https://www.gamelandus.com/
BangWee Manufacturing - https://www.bangweegm.com/
Hero Time Manufacturing - https://herotime1.com/
Backerkit - https://www.backerkit.com/
Gamefound - https://gamefound.com/

Ep 17: Organically Engage a Facebook Community With Your Board Game

The Crowdfunding Nerds interview Thomas Covert of The Board Game Revolution Community Facebook Group. Tom shares tips on how to engage a Facebook community naturally with your board game. The effectiveness of giveaways is also explored! 
Episode 17 
00:03:40 - Tom's Thoughts On The Board Game Community Online00:10:09 - Polarized Views From AI?00:12 :46 - Examples Of Facebook Posts That Get Great Engagement 00:14:18 - Don't Do This In Facebook Groups00:18:40 - Do A Lot Of People Link Bomb in Facebook Groups? 00:20:36 - Facebook Ranks Posts Using Google Authority00:22:50 - Richard's Solution To Facebook Group Marketing 00:27:39 - Ask For Feedback In Facebook Groups00:30:06 - Use Facebook Groups to A/B Test00:31:14 - Do Admins Look At Post History? 00:36:05 - Don't Make Your Posts About Yourself00:39:18 - The Effectiveness of Board Game Giveaways 
Show Notes
Board Game Revolution Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/boardgamerevolution
BG41 (Board Games for One): a group for solo gamers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/boardgamesforone
Board Game Exchange - The Original “Buy, Sell & Trade” Boardgame Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/boardgameexchange
Association of Colourblind Gamers - For Board Game Creators and Players - https://www.facebook.com/groups/AssociationofColourblindGamers
Board Game Revolution Giveaways - https://www.facebook.com/boardgamerev/services/

EP 16: Work-Life Balance & Running a Kickstarter w/ Chip Cole

Chip Cole is a freelance board game illustrator and founder of Squatchy Games. Chip has nine children and recently has a very successful Kickstarter Board Game Campaign. He shares his experience of balancing work and family amidst a Kickstarter campaign. 
 
Episode 1600:01:10 - Episode Overview00:02:00 - Board Game Design Lab + Board Game Marketing Course 00:03:45 - Star Citizen Raises More Money / Class Action Lawsuit 00:06:25 - Chip Cole On Work-Life Balance00:07:20 - Who Is Chip Cole And What Is Squatchy Games? 00:10:09 - Family Play Testers? 00:11:05 - It's Ok To Fail On Kickstarter00:13:17 - Setting Work Boundaries With Your Spouse00:16:40 - How Do You Balance Freelance With Game Development? 00:18:55 - Do You Schedule Family Time?00:20:30 - Did You Have Any Work-Life Balance Issues During Your Kickstarter?00:23:40 - Setting Expectations For Backers 00:31:50 - What Was The Development Timeline For Cryptid Cafe?00:35:20 - How Do You Switch Off?00:36:00 - Strategies For Family / Work Balance? 00:37:30 - Pre-Kickstarter Marketing Advice 
 
Show NotesDamnation: The Gothic Game - https://www.blacklettergames.com/damnation-the-gothic-gameStar Citizen - https://robertsspaceindustries.com/
Squatchy Games - https://www.squatchygames.com/
Cryptid Cafe On Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/squatchygames/cryptid-cafe
Wildermiss - Chip's Daughter's Band - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChHTtTr9YKGM5TZNAXXvI3g

Ep 15: Board Game Landing Pages 101

Everything you need to know to build a landing page that intrigues, captures, and delights email leads for your upcoming board game launch! 
Episode 1500:03:00 - Hosting Your Website00:06:56 - WordPress Security 00:08:22 - What Is A Landing Page?00:14:26 - How Do You Track Your Conversion Rate?00:18:15 - You Need A Email Marketing System00:20:59 - You Need Art Or Images Of Your Game 00:23:46 - The Three People You Need To Design Your Landing Page For00:27:35 - Landing Page Tips00:34:15 - What Goes In The Top, Middle & Bottom Of Your Landing Page?00:42:00 - Board Game Landing Page Example 
Show Notes
Wordfence WordPress Security Plug-In: https://www.wordfence.com/
Typography Tutorial: https://youtu.be/QrNi9FmdlxY
Gutterfall: Bounties Landing Page Example: https://gutterfallbounties.com/
Andrew's Landing Page Guide On the BGDL: https://www.boardgamedesignlab.com/how-to-market-your-kickstarter-campaign/#elementor-toc__heading-anchor-9

Ep 14: The Virtuous Circle Of Kickstarter Marketing

The Crowdfunding Nerds cover the most important element of Kickstarter marketing, the Virtuous Cycle and automation.
Episode 14
00:03:04 – The Virtuous Cycle00:07:42 – What Is Automation?00:08:58 – Benefits Of Automation00:09:47 – Kinds Of Automation  00:13:25 – Disadvantages Of Automation00:14:40 – The Importance Of Audits00:16:35 – Why You Hire Marketing People00:19:25 – KPI Of The Virtuous Cycle00:24:30 – Components Of The Virtuous Cycle00:37:40 – Getting People To Your Landing Page
Show NotesSkyrim Is Coming To Gamefound - https://gamefound.com/blog/post/big-titles-upcoming-on-gamefound#/Modiphius Entertainment - https://www.modiphius.net/Creating A Facebook Group For Your Kickstarter Board Game: Step-By-Step Guide - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/board-game-facebook-group-guide/Create an Automated Welcome Email On Mailchimp - https://mailchimp.com/help/create-an-automated-welcome-email/

Ep 13: Organic Marketing: How To Market Your Kickstarter With Little To No Money - Part 2

Join the Crowdfunding Nerds as they continue to dive into organic board game marketing.
Episode 1300:01:33 -  Skyrim Board Game00:03:33 – We Got A Question About Organic Marketing00:05:18 – Sean’s Experience With Reddit00:10:04 – How Andrew Got 400 Email Leads In 3 Hours From An Organic Post00:13:55 – How Reddit Defines Spam00:16:04 – SEO Wizard Rick’s Sage Organic Marketing Advice00:20:52 – Choose Your Groups Wisely00:24:16 – Organic Post Examples00:28:38 - SEO Wizard Rick’s Sage Organic Marketing Advice Part 200:31:20 – Understanding The Buying Process00:36:28 – The Best Marketing Advice By Sexy Irish Sean00:37:41 - The Best Marketing Advice By Andrew00:40:28 - The Best Marketing Advice By SEO Wizard Rick
Show NotesSkyrim Board Game On Gamefound - https://gamefound.com/blog/post/big-titles-upcoming-on-gamefound#/Reddit’s Definition Of Spam - https://www.reddit.com/wiki/faq#wiki_what_constitutes_spam.3F

Ep 12: A First-Hand Organic Kickstarter Pre-Marketing Case Study

Andrew Lowen discusses his pre-Kickstarter marketing campaign for Deliverance, and how he used organic marketing to build his community. 
Episode 1200:01:00 - Amazon's Build It00:03:54 - Big Tech Vs Australia00:05:42 - The Blogs You Must Read Before Going To Kickstarter00:12:25 - What Was The First Thing You Did Online To Promote Deliverance?00:16:20 - Organic Marketing Tips00:19:05 - What Did You Learn About Prototypes When Making Deliverance?00:24:32 - How Does Extensive Playtesting Impact Marketing?00:27:40 - What Would You Do If You Started At The Beginning Again?00:31:40 - How To Do Email Marketing If You Don't Have Much To Share00:37:40 - How Did You Measure Success In Organic Marketing?
Amazon's Build It Crowdfunding Start-up - https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/introducing-build-it
Changes to Sharing and Viewing News on Facebook in Australia -https://about.fb.com/news/2021/02/changes-to-sharing-and-viewing-news-on-facebook-in-australia/
BGG Board Game Design Forum - https://boardgamegeek.com/forum/26/bgg/board-game-design
Jamey Stegmaier' Kickstarter Articles - https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter/
Jamey's Article About Us - https://stonemaiergames.com/2-things-to-know-today-about-kickstarter/
James Mathe's Kickstarter Advice - http://www.jamesmathe.com/category/kickstarter/
John Wrot's Kickstarter Advice - https://www.gatekeepergaming.com/kickstarter-advice-columns/
How To Create A Facebook Group For Your Board Game - https://crowdfundingnerds.com/board-game-facebook-group-guide/
The Game Crafter's Convention Sponsorships - https://help.thegamecrafter.com/article/116-events 
Viticulture Board Game - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128621/viticulture