Kickstarter Project Success

My Demo-Shield kickstarter project hit my funding goal in less than 7 days. This is my 3rd successful kickstarter project and I've been asked by many people what is the secret to success on kickstarter. Before I get into that I first want to offer thanks to all the Demo-Shield supporters who visit my blog and have helped the project cross that important minimum funding goal. If a project doesn't meet that goal, I don't get funded and the supporters don't get their rewards.

The early success shows there is interest for the updated design Demo-Shield. This also shows that a unique design like this may not be a high volume product Sparkfun or Adafruit company would want to carry but it is something that a niche number of people find useful. 

It also shows that if you price your project correctly, you can be successful. I see too many people ask for way too much money.

I've backed several projects on kickstarter to support other

designers who presented some very interesting projects. And I will continue to do that. The ones that turn me off are the ones who ask for $30,000 for another version of Arduino. If the idea is good, people will bid it up. But you have to wonder; "Does the project really need $30k to get it manufactured?" 

I've designed a lot of electronic products in my day jobs, mostly for the automotive market, and based on my experience, the answer is no! 

When the project hits 10 days left and still is far from hitting that large target, even people who are interested in it no longer support it. This is a shame because it may be a great idea but only to a smaller niche group who could never afford to support a $30k investment and end up never getting the product.

My advice is don't be greedy. Let the project tell you what its worth. Figure out the true minimum you need, add the 10% kickstarter and Amazon collect and then price your target a small amount above that for safety factor and let the kickstarter community tell you what they think with their support dollars. 

I don't go into a kickstarter project with the idea I'm going to launch a business from it. But I do want to get enough funding so I can fill all the rewards with a quality product. To do that right costs money. Having the the boards manufactured by a quality design house and when necessary, manufactured by a quality electronic assembler is not cheap. Those costs can add up if the project is really popular but if you plan your reward pricing correct, then you should be fine because as the volume goes up, many of your parts costs come down. I often get a quote from a local manufacturer so I know what to base the reward pricing on just in case its more popular than I expect. I also have a handful of professional assemblers who can hand-build low volume electronics at a reasonable cost. I also offer an early bird special to those early backers to give them a special reward for backing my project first. 

So my advice is simple. If you have a design that you think would be popular then don't be afraid find out if the Kickstarter community agrees. Just don't be greedy.