The Board Game Design Course

Some people wonder why creators would want to use a pledge manager when you can collect all the information you need to ship your game to backers directly through Kickstarter.

Well, there are several reasons why you might consider a pledge manager, including:

• Making it easier to collect shipping and taxes
• The ability to allow backers to upgrade or add other products
• Opening up your game for more sales after your campaign has ended

Any one of these 3 features are enough reason to consider a pledge manager, but the fact that you’ll get all 3 of these benefits really tips the scales.

There are a number of different pledge managers available that you can use. They all work very similarly, but they have some nuances.

I’m not going to go into all of them here. Instead, I’ll share with you a great article by Rock Manor Games comparing 4 popular pledge managers (Backerkit, Crowd Ox, Gamefound, and Pledge Manager), including their prices and features.

I decided to use Gamefound for my campaigns based on the high level of customer service and the initial price – essentially free (at first it cost nothing beyond the Stripe/PayPal fee, which you would incur in any matter that you collect funds, now the rate is 5%, which is similar to other platforms).

Let’s go a little deeper now on what you can do with a pledge manager and why you might want to consider using one after your campaign.

Making it easier to collect shipping and taxes

Kickstarter takes 5% of every dollar you make on your campaign.

If you think about this, it’s fair. They offer the platform, the tools, and there are a lot of people who browse Kickstarter daily, so you will potentially find way more backers here than if you were to launch a game on your own.

It’s the cost of doing business (especially on someone else’s platform).

But that doesn’t mean you have to have to give up 5% on absolutely everything…

Here is where a pledge manager can come in handy. Instead of charging shipping during the campaign, you instead import all your backer info to your pledge manager and collect the payment and address for shipping afterwards in your pledge manager.

Depending on the pledge manager you use, this can be the same or less than backers would be charged on Kickstarter.

However, using a pledge manager also allows you to finalize your shipping costs after your campaign, which can be helpful, as you may have added extra components or made other changes that altered the size and weight of your box, for example.

Just make sure you include a fairly accurate estimated shipping cost on your Kickstarter page. Otherwise, people might get sticker shock when they see the shipping cost for the first time (or a drastically increased amount) in your pledge manager. Nobody likes that kind of surprise!

Plus, you can accurately calculate, charge, and collect taxes using a pledge manager, something that is much harder to do on Kickstarter. Gamefound can even help by paying the taxes to the correct countries for you, saving you the headache of trying to set this up yourself.

Upgrades and add-ons

If making it easier to collect shipping and taxes wasn’t enough reason to use a pledge manager, the option to allow backers to upgrade should help sway you.

Let’s say a backer pledges $1 to support your campaign. They either may have forgotten to upgrade their pledge before the campaign ended, didn’t have the funds at the time, or were still undecided.

Using a pledge manager gives your backers a second chance to back your project. Some may also upgrade from the base game to the deluxe version (you did offer a deluxe version, right?).

This is also a great opportunity to allow backers to add other products to their order. If you have other previously published games or merchandise or special add-ons that backers can get like a playmat for example, why not allow them to buy these things now?

Additional sales

With the short length of time that Kickstarter campaigns typically run (usually 20-30 days), it is inevitable that not all potential backers will have seen your campaign or had the opportunity to buy your game.

This is another reason why you need to use a pledge manager.

After your campaign ends, Kickstarter allows you to guide people wherever you like, including to your pledge manager with a CTA (call to action button). You can also run ads or post in groups you’ve been active in, letting people know that they can still get your game for a limited time.

Many creators, including myself, have seen 10-20% additional sales via a pledge manager from upgrades and new orders. If you are able to run effective ads, your numbers could be much higher. Why leave money on the table when more people would love to own and play your game?

Generating additional sales, the ability to let your backers upgrade and add more products, and making it easier to collect shipping and taxes are 3 great reasons you need to consider using a pledge manager after your Kickstarter campaign ends.

Next week we’ll talk about how to keep your Kickstarter backers engaged after your campaign ends.

What questions do you have about using a pledge manager?

Please let me know by leaving a comment.

Want to know how to launch your game on Kickstarter and keep your campaign running smoothly? Download my free Kickstarter Checklist now!