Before launching a crowdfunding campaign, I find that a lot of creators are hopefully optimistic (as they should be, as long as it is accompanied by hard work) with regards to the amount of funds that they can raise from strangers on the internet.

Unfortunately, the “build it and they will come” mentality doesn’t seem to work with crowdfunding. You can’t just place a project on Kickstarter and Indiegogo and expect that it will fund itself. You need to kindle the fire.

Check out some of the conversion rates below reported by real campaign creators on video stats and completion percentages. This information can give you an idea of the amount of traffic you may need to drive in order to attract backers.

Low Tide Toss raised $10,000+ on Kickstarter.
 “Out of 489 video views, 29.86% of people completed the video and we’re up to 56 backers (at 3k point). I’m a little concerned about that percentage, but I have no comparable projects to go by.” – Low Tide Toss 

25 Quick & Dirty Map Tutorials Guide Book raised $23,000+ on Kickstarter.
“My Kickstarter is 14 days in, 134 backers, 159% funded, 392 video plays, 48.47% of plays completed, and the video is 3 minutes 14 seconds long – no music.” – 25 Quick & Dirty Map Tutorials Guide Book 

Wooden Writers raised 1.6k+ on Kickstarter.
“My first Kickstarter lasted 24 days, got 35 backers, 211% funded at $1695, with 554 video plays, 44.22% of plays completed, the first video I had was 1 minute and 33 seconds long, while the second video was 6 minutes and 51 seconds long.” – Wooden Writers

Popular Successful Campaigns

“Amanda Palmer ($1M): 155,637 plays, 24,883 Backers (16%)
Pebble ($10M): 957,344 plays, 68,929 Backers (7.2%)
Makey Makey ($500K): 379,580 plays, 11,124 Backers (2.9%)” – System D – Fred on the KickstarterForum. 

Electron Microscopy Art Calendar raised £2,256 on Kickstarter.

“653 video plays by the end of funding, now gone up to 742 after funding ended. 50.05% of plays were completed. Project was 102% funded.

I had 66 backers, so approximately 10% video to backer conversion rate. 76% of backers were from external sources such as direct emails, Twitter, Google+, Linked In and my personal website. I didn’t look at page view stats. I have posted a more in depth breakdown here” – Electron Microscopy Art Calendar 

What kind of conversions are you experiencing for your Kickstarter campaign? Leave a comment below!