Deciding on rewards and setting up the rewards section may be one of the last things you do before you launch your crowdfunding campaign, but that doesn’t mean it should receive the least amount of attention. Everything from the way you word your reward options to the way you organize them is very important. Doing it wrong could cause confusion and even cost you backers. Follow this guide to setting up your rewards in the most optimal way possible.
No Fluff- Just lay it out there
The rewards section is not the place to be verbose- you need to simply say what the backer is getting and for how much. Getting too wordy can make it hard for potential backers to find the distinction between the different reward options because they have to scan through a bunch of text to find the differences. Keep this section simple and straightforward to keep your backers happy.
Keep Add-ons Simple
A lot of times, crowdfunders also want to include add-ons for an additional fee. This can be a great idea for some projects, but note that Kickstarter doesn’t allow people to back a project more than once which means you can’t make these add-ons a separate reward. Instead, you’ll have to have them add additional money and then write a message stating the add-on they want. The more steps you include, the more opportunities and reasons you are giving a backer to back out of their decision. To make add-ons as easy for backers as possible, you can either create rewards that already include the add-on or you can provide clear and concise instructions about how much money to add to the pledge to receive the add-on.
Keep Quantity Low
One of the biggest misconceptions about rewards in crowdfunding is that the more options you provide, the more people you can please, leading to more backers. While in theory this may seem true, in actuality, you can’t please everyone and you may confuse your backers with too many options. Don’t overwhelm your potential backers with five different rewards for seven different levels of your product. There is no exact science for the optimal amount of rewards because it highly depends on the type of product, but as a rule of thumb, try to keep it under twelve.
Organize Logically
The way you organize your reward structure can determine whether your rewards are clean and simple or convoluted and complicated. This is especially true if your product requires a great deal of reward options. The best way to approach organizing the reward section of a campaign with a large number of rewards is to arrange them by quantity, and then within each quantity arrange the rewards from least expensive to most expensive. For example, if you are offering packages that include one, two and three of your product, first list all the rewards that offer one of your product, starting with the cheapest. Then list all the rewards that give the backer two of your product and start with the cheapest, and so on.
Price Efficiently and Include Early Bird Pricing
Deciding on prices may be the hardest part about setting up your rewards because you’ll want to provide an early bird special that gives people an incentive to back your project early on, without costing your company money. The best way to go about this is to determine the lowest amount you can charge for your product without losing money; set this as your super early bird reward and set a low limit for the amount available- usually between 30-50. Then gradually increase your price and limit so that it gives incentive to back your project early. Remember, though, that most crowdfunding backers want to see pricing below the future retail value, so don’t go too high with your tiered rewards.
Setting up your rewards can be a tricky process because you want to provide potential backers with options without overwhelming them, and you want to give them incentive to back your project early without costing your company money. It’s very important to sit down and think thoroughly about your reward section. Using this guide should help you set up rewards in the most optimal fashion possible. For more tips for a successful project, tune into our crowdfunding podcast.
For more information on Crowdfunding Rewards check out: Habits of Highly Effective Kickstarter Rewards
