Christmas is arguably one of the worst times to launch a crowdfunding campaign. In a previous post on Crowdfunding Forum I outlined some tips from an interview I watched with Yancey Strickler, Kickstarter’s CEO, where he mentions that the internet does tend to slow down at the end of December. This is something that is common for many websites to experience, since around this time everyone is visiting friends and family. When it comes to crowdfunding, people might not have very much to spend on Kickstarter campaigns once the holidays are over.
One post by Wafflesatnoon.com mentions the December slump, saying:
“Looking back at the last couple of years, the web traffic here at Wafflesatnoon.com has dropped about 35% the on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In asking around, we’ve found other website owners have claimed 20-40% drops on these days. In fact we’ve found that web traffic doesn’t usually completely recover until January, when the holidays are long gone and everyone is back at work … It’s the same reason that weekend traffic is usually a little lower than weekdays.”
Still, like most things in crowdfunding the rule doesn’t mean there aren’t any exceptions. I took a look using Kicktraq to see what campaigns managed to draw people in and raise several thousand in pledges on Christmas day and find out what sets them apart from others who didn’t do so well that day. Here’s what I found:
#1. “Viceroy” Fantasy Pyramid Card/Board Game 1-4 Players 45 Min
Creator(s): Seth Hiatt
Amount Pledged on Christmas: $12,938
Total Pledges: $243,576+
Duration: December 1 2014 – December 27 2014 (26 days)
Viceroy is a tabletop game. The description of the game on their Kickstarter page says, “As they struggle for control over the fantasy world of Laar, players recruit a variety of allies, from a wanderer to a prince, and enact various laws. As the game progresses, each player builds their own pyramid of power by developing their state’s military and magical might, increasing their own authority, and gaining the precious gemstones they need to continue expanding their nation.”
Seth Hiatt has launched three successful Kickstarter campaigns before this one, but this is by far the most successful. One thing I noticed about this campaign that stuck out was the amount of updates they have – 25 (almost every day!).
#2. GOAT MUG: original goat story crafted into a coffee mug
Creator(s): Anze Miklavec
Amount Pledged on Christmas: $7,567
Total Pledges: $333,470+
Duration: December 1 2014 – January 3 2015 (30 days)
This campaign looks prepared very professionally. They have great quality images and video that really draw in attention. Their product description says, “If you love coffee as much as we do, we’re sure you would LOVE to be able to drink it anytime anywhere. And so would we! That is why we decided to make a coffee mug that is practical and sustainable, but is also a fashion accessory and tells the primeval story of coffee.”
They’re offering affordable pledges along with a unique and stylish product. Their mug is 100% leak free, is in the shape of a goat’s horn, and comes with a leather cozy/stand plus there are optional leather straps for carrying. This team has also helped keep up traffic by updating backers 10 times so far and adding things to their page as they go.
#3. Rum & Bones
Creator(s): CoolMiniOrNot
Amount Pledged on Christmas: $16,546
Total Pledges: $461,163+
Duration: December 2 2014 – December 28 2014 (26 days)
Rum & Bones is our second tabletop game that makes this Christmas list. It is also their fourth successful Kickstarter campaign, reminding us how practice and experience go a long way! In the board game, “players control fantastic pirate crews engaged in fierce combat. Inspired by MOBA style video games, Rum & Bones’ gameplay is deep, fast-paced, and highly strategic. The game pits two pirate factions, controlled by 2 to 6 players, whose ships are locked in combat, with each crew attempting to board the enemy ship and disable it.”
This project is another frequent updater with 36 updates in about 24 days! They also clearly have high engagement with over 5,000 comments from backers on Kickstarter at the time of writing.
Conclusion
One thing we can tell from these examples is that even though it might be more difficult to raise funds towards the end of December, it is definitely not impossible! These projects managed to do so, but had to work hard to do well and maintain their success early on in their campaigns.
All of these projects are offering something exciting and fun for their backers and have kept them updated and engaged throughout the whole process. The fact that most of these projects are ending shortly after Christmas (two in the next couple days) probably added a little urgency; the people who liked these campaigns had to remember to pledge as soon as they could before they missed out.
For more help on maintaining momentum throughout your Kickstarter campaign see this CrowdCrux post.
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