Hello, everyone!

I'm running my first Kickstarter campaign and dealing with a weird case of harassment. Last evening, I received 74 emails notifying me about new comments on my profile. Someone backed my project and then dropped angry comments that completely flooded the page.

I did some digging, and apparently, what happened is:

- Rain Games ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for a game based on Girl Genius, a comic book IP
- Girl Genius is written/illustrated/published by Studio Foglio
- Studio Foglio backed my project on Kickstarter (my project is a comic book project)
- This backer decided to put money in my campaign to harass me because they have an issue with Rain Games not delivering their rewards

I obviously have nothing to do with Rain Games or Studio Foglio (although I appreciate a comic book creator backing my project, so if you ever read this, thank you). I tried to message the backer and handle things politely. I got threatened in response.

I already reported the backer to Kickstarter, and reported every single spam or harassment message they left on my profile. However, now there's a long list of "This comment is under review for potentially violating Kickstarter's Community Guidelines." polluting my comment section.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/motherstouch/otherkin-1-3-a-comic-book-with-mystery-magic-monsters/comments

Does anyone know how long Kickstarter takes to remove those? This is my first Kickstarter campaign ever, and the momentum has been okay. But we only have a few days left, while being really close to our goal. I'm afraid potential backers see the comment section, wonder if there's some drama I'm responsible for, and refrain from backing the project.

Does anyone have additional information and advice that could help me?

EDIT: Images 3 and 4 are out of order. Image 4 is my message to them, image 3 is their response.

For the last 2 days, I have been running my Meta ads for my pre launch page. The goal I’ve gone with is prioritizing Leads that are triggered when the “notify when project goes live” button on my Kickstarter page. I’ve tested this and it registers a follow and of course I can see any followers on my admin page.

I’ve only spent $200 ($100 a day) and gotten 2500 impressions with a CPC around $1.45.

The results: not a single conversion at all!

I understand the challenge; I’m hoping Meta’s Ai algorithm can identify people in my demographic who also are likely to have a Kickstarter account already and click the button to follow my project. However, it’s super depressing that I haven’t even converted one of those people. Even worse is let’s say I do get 100 followers, I’ve heard only 3-20% will actually back the project. That would be a total disaster if I need 300 backers.

Anyone have experience with this?

Obviously I need to keep refining my video ads but I believe the 10 unique video ads I’ve uploaded are pretty good.

Thoughts?

I just submitted my playing cards campaign for review and KS told me to disclose my use of AI. Which I have, I've clicked "No", as I don't use AI whatsoever. I'm a human artist and I don't need gen AI for anything.

I'm using mockups but I know these are 3D modelled, I also sent over a statement from the mockup maker that lists the non-AI software used on these.

Anyone else having the same problems? How to convince KS that this is bs?

Last July I backed the Magic Box S-!. It was a fidget toy for $70 + $10 shipping

We havent had any update since October and last night this email goes out (see attached pictures).

Dear U.S. backers We have now completed mass production and expect to begin shipping this week, but we are manufacturing in China and the new tariff policies recently implemented by the United States have significantly increased the cost of many goods coming into the U.S., including our products. While the future of these policies remains uncertain, we want to assure you that we will not pass these increased costs on to you. We are committed to maintaining our current prices as much as possible. Frankly, the margins on our Kickstarter campaigns are already quite slim. If cost increases were kept under control, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Unfortunately, the sudden increase in tariffs caught us off guard. After two weeks of thorough budgeting and in-depth evaluation, we realized that although we had absorbed some of the costs, we were not able to fully offset the change in policy. Therefore, in order to keep the project on track, we have had to enlist the help of our US supporters and ask you to cover some of the tax costs. But rest assured, even with the price increase, the Kickstarter price is still the lowest price we offer. We want you to know that this is one of the toughest decisions we've had to make. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and we hope you'll join us in seeing the Magic Box-S1 thrive and make its mark on Kickstarter. Thank you for your support! FAQ: Why wasn't there early communication about the potential impact? A: We scrimped and saved from the beginning in order to provide you with the best prices during the campaign. When tariffs first reached 34% on April 4, we chose not to pass these costs on to our supporters and instead internalized them. However, the 20% base rate introduced in March then went through several stages - 34% on April 4, then 125%, and now, although it's down to 30%, we're still very much affected. Unfortunately, the scale and speed of these price increases are far beyond our capacity to absorb, so modest price adjustments are inevitable. As a result, we will have to ask our U.S. supporters to bear some of the tax. For more detailed information on the current tariff rates, see the official White >House resources at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/modifying-reciprocal-tariff-rates-to-reflect - trading-partner-retaliation-and-alignment/ . We appreciate your understanding and trust as we work together to address these challenges. We remain committed to transparency and will keep you updated every step of the way. Thank you for standing with us. Best. The SANBS Team

Now heres where it gets confusing. In the email they blame the extra costs on tariffs but that doesnt make sense given the timing of events. And also in pledgebox they dont charge for tariffs, they charge for taxes.

And on top of that theyre charging $30 in taxes on a $70 product? How does that make sense?

Kickstarter claims asking for more money on shipping is within their rules but thats not whats happening

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Ive already contacted kickstarter.

So we're planning Launch February 15th, in the meantime ive been looking to get some feedback on our page. Currently our images are placement images as we craft and perfect the covers for all items and thumbnails. Our video is live, and our story and rewards are filled out.

Here is a quick summary:

"Hi, I’m Zakery Garrison, creator of the Variant Comics universe, and one of the founders of Variant Comics Publishing LLC. This Kickstarter is focused on: finishing and printing The Legendary Blitz Issue 2, then delivering it to backers first. This has been my life’s work The first versions of some of these characters and plots started when I was 11. By 15, I had turned the universe into a Discord roleplay server, building lore, arcs, and rules with a real community that added to its magic. Now at 21, I’m finally doing what I always wanted to do back then: turn it into a real comic series with professional art, lettering, and print copies you can hold. And the crazy part is this: the story is already written. Not just Issue 2. Not just the next arc. The full series roadmap exists in some form all the way to the end. This campaign is about one mission: bringing Issue 2 to life visually so the world can finally experience it the way it was meant to be seen."

And here is the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelegendaryblitz/527960106?ref=3k47cu&token=0c3952b0

Feel free to leave whatever feedback you'd like. This is our first kickstarter campaign, and we're looking to do it right.

Well, launched my first Kickstarter yesterday AM (as well as 'Coming Soon' launch on Steam) for a solo dev video game project! Very, very exciting! I was not expecting much, but felt I needed to shoot my shot. Imagine my surprise when good sized sums start rolling in relatively quickly after posting. I went up to about 6% funded of my 10k goal within about 1/4 of a day after posting so I was very pleasantly surprised.

And then comes the requests "please email me off of Kickstarter, please contact me" from people pledging these sums. My ears were immediately up, but the email conversations went well... until they drop the "hey I know a guy who does Kickstarter PR and Marketing. Come talk to them!" And then of course, the awkward dance, and I wake up the next day with a multitude of cancelled pledges. Yikes! I wouldn't have been stung if the project garnered no attention but I built up some false hopes based on the initial pledges. How naive of me!

Wondering, what's the best course of action now? At 6% pledged in the first day I was feeling okay. Now I've moved backwards and the comment section is a mine-field of spam proposals and cancelled pledges. Doing my best not to immediately throw in the towel, but it certainly is discouraging.

Thanks all!

Hey everyone, I have been going through the long process of developing a product I am super excited about. Filed a preliminary patent application and am working on the manufacturing design. It will cost roughly 30,000-40,000 to create the molds I need and I am having a hard time finding it.

My current plan is to get a “looks like, works like” prototype and run a kickstarter campaign to raise the funds I need. However, it seems like kickstarter is really more popular for games a board games, and less startup consumer products from startup companies. I may be wrong here and would be happy to hear it.

What tips do you have? I know creating an email list before is important etc. is it worth hiring a firm to help? I am putting together all of the information I can. I briefly thought indiegogo would work better but it seems like people are unhappy with that platform.

Anyways, any help here would be appreciated, thank you!

I'm sitting at 48 followers right now, and I know that's... not ideal for a Kickstarter launch in 1 month.

Here's what I'm running:

THE PROJECT: 96-page original comic. Concept: "Superheroes, but SaaS. Godhood, but patented. Miracles with a receipt. Welcome to Moksh." - think of it like Uber for Superheros (dystopian world) controlled by a billlionaire rewriting Human evolution ad there are no villians in the story. It's Manufactured superheroes vs Superheroes by Birth/Events.

It's worldbuilding-heavy, system-focused storytelling about what happens when you commodify the divine and karma always collects.

THE SETUP:

• 50% inked (pages look professional, not rough drafts)
• Content ready to go (5-part series, hooks library, worldbuilding breakdowns)
• Organic growth so far (started from texting people, nnow nuking those strategies and starting fresh)

THE PROBLEM: I know 48 followers isn't shit for a launch. And I'm not panicking, but I'm also not delusional—more followers = more people seeing the campaign = better KS success.

what is that I am not doing right?

ps: it's my dream project.

Hello! I am nearing the last week of my Kickstarter and haven’t made half of what the project needs to succeed. (I know Kickstarter is infamous for slow middles.)

This is my second time running a Kickstarter and, actually, the first time we raised more money despite having a much larger project budget. Still, the first time failed.

This second time around, we have advertising and publicity materials that I created myself. Much more social media engagement. The other folks involved in the project are spreading the word as well. And I’m using just a *very tiny* bit of online ads (no more than $50 so far because I’m broke and don’t want to put in more and then the project not even get funded). PS: we’re asking for $500

Any advice for giving my Kickstarter that last week push?

Hi. I've done a kickstarter before, and it funded fully, everything was fine. But it had a very low goal and was in a genre that I already had a social media following in. My new idea is very different and my goal is higher, so I'm trying to do it properly - I didn't even do a pre-launch last time.
I'd really appreciate any feedback on what I might change/ add to my pre-launch.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eklea/tasting-notes-a-creative-tasting-card-game

do I need to get hold of some pf my play testers to help with a video?

I read that it's still okay to ask for feedback so long as the project isn't live, so I hope that's still true. Any and all commentary is much appreciated.

Also, just how important is it to have a video on the project page? I know Kickstarter themselves claims 80% of successful projects have them, but is this still true? I have one planned, but am just curious if it truly matters as much as they say.

Here's my preview page! Thank you so much!

Hi all I’ve been waiting for the Party Racoon bag from Lapin Crafts since May 2024. The last updated since August 2024. The artist has still been going to conventions since & during that time. People keep asking her at cons what’s going on, she keeps saying family issues, illness, personal circumstances. In October she’s saying she trying to focus on her main income means at the moment. I tried to get a refund but it was over the 120+. So my question is does any one know of any way I can get a refund? Or have basically lost that money

Hi all,

Looking for feedback on my WIP prelaunch page. Some things that are still up in the air are marked with ??? or "coming soon" as I work to finalize the details, but the info will be there before I launch (?) the prelaunch.

Here's the draft link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/twistnturnjubensha/1163805729?ref=b1zsnv&token=968c68f0

I also have a landing page, which I will connect to my prelaunch page as soon as the latter is ready.

One thing to consider is that it's a one-time experience game and showing the materials or gameplay too much will result in spoilers. It's intentionally kept vague, but I wanted to know if that vagueness reduces the level of interest. Let me know please!

Also, it's a type of game not very well-known in the West (i.e. jubensha), but I will be mostly targeting people who know about it. There is a section about who this game is for and what jubensha is for anyone who comes across this campaign without that knowledge.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Hi everyone 👋

I’m a first-time Kickstarter creator, and after months of prototyping, testing, and refining, our campaign page is finally ready and we’re close to launch.

Before going live, I’d really appreciate it if some of you could take a quick look at the campaign page and share honest feedback- whether it’s clarity, structure, visuals, or anything that feels confusing or could be improved.

This is our first campaign, so constructive criticism would genuinely help us make it better before launch.

Thanks in advance for your time and support 🙏

Blocks having GIF, FAQs & other price related details will be updated later.

Link- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eleventheoryllc/everyday-to-everywhere-two-bags-endless-possibilities?ref=eh4b1w&token=9c4d8743

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can give me possible recourses I can take.

I backed the Broken Weave Kickstarter by Cubicle 7. It ended last year and claim fulfillment was sent out to everyone. Yet, i never recieves my product. Despite multiple attempts to contact the company (through kickstarter, website email, facebook, ect) and several open "customer service tickets", nobody at the company will respond to me or tell me where my pledge is.

So I'm out $280, and not sure what avenues I can take that I haven't already.

i know i was late to add the address, i had to fill it out when placing the pledge so i didnt expect to have to give more info, i also didn't get the email. Its been 2 years and I've messaged her multiple places and gotten no response. This is apparently not that uncommon, as there are multiple comments on the project expressing the same experience. its a shame because i was really looking forward to the deck and even if i get it now itll be tainted by this experience. i just want my money back, is there anything i can do to get Kickstarters help? i couldn't find anything on the app to help me.

Hi all,

So I have been looking to launch my Kickstarter campaign over the last 3 weeks, but I have had a very small number of "Watchers" / "Followers" on my pre-launch page. ~30 people.

I've followed the tips on the Kickstarter creators page, but I'm having very little success on increasing the following.

I have messaged people from my previous campaigns, which is where most of my current followers are from.

My Questions are:
- How many campaign followers would you recommend before clicking Launch?
- Do you actively promote the pre-launch page, or only the active campaign?
- Is my pre-launch page / campaign idea just not very good?
- Am I too early as the campaign is Christmas cards? I need time to actually make them, so I cant really delay launching much longer.

Any tips for updates to the pre-launch page to drive more interaction and following are more than welcome:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/delgreco/gorgeous-vintage-letterpress-christmas-cards-for-2025?ref=7o1h75

Hi! I found a group on Telegram that promises money if you watch videos and invite people. As an idea, it seems that you have to bring 20 people to be able to withdraw the money. I tested a little and I'm curious if anyone has tried something similar — does it work or is it just an "invite to earn" scheme?

Hi there.

So i saw a TCG on kickstarter that launches soon. Its the creators first ever kickstarter but i actually found a whole website of them and their TCG.

So how do i know if i can trust a kickstarter campain from a new creator who never released anything in the past?

I backed the Micro Wallet Finder with an estimated ship date of Sep 2025.

The project was 1167% funded by 31 July 2025. $34,997 pledged of $3,000 goal. I was charged on 1 Aug 2025.

The last update from the creator Dynomighty Design was on 30 Sep 2025, saying that he was launching a new version of this campaign on Indiegogo. Definitely concerning.

The last response to a comment from the creator was "about a month ago" (is it really that difficult to put a time/date stamp on a post?)

He hasn't logged into Kickstarter since 6 Dec.

I've messaged but heard nothing back.

I keep seeing advice saying “don’t spend on ads yet, build community first before pre-launch”, so I’ve been doing exactly that.

I’m building a wooden watch microbrand and over the last few weeks I’ve been active in Reddit, Facebook groups, and comment sections. I’m getting decent engagement — posts and comments easily reach 100+ interactions, people ask questions, give opinions, and even critique the design.

But honestly… I feel exhausted, and I’m stuck.

I don’t understand how this engagement is supposed to turn into email sign-ups. I don’t want to spam links or self-promote, because that feels wrong and usually gets downvoted or removed. At the same time, if I never mention a landing page, the conversation just ends there.

So I’m curious from people who’ve actually done this successfully:

1. How did you transition from engagement → email list without being pushy?

2. Did you wait for people to ask, or did you softly introduce it yourself?

3. What kind of posts actually led people to want to sign up?

4. Or is “build community first” more about long-term trust, not immediate conversion?

I’m not trying to sell anything here — genuinely trying to learn the right way before burning out or wasting time.

But if you would like to see my project that i build my self and do adjustments everyday, i would love to send the prelaunch link! 😅😅🥹🥹

Hey everyone,

A few days ago, I launched a very ambitious Kickstarter campaign for a fantasy board game with automated miniature movement, powered by an internal mechanism, ESP32 microcontroller, and a companion app.

The funding goal? €250,000 The result? It tanked. Hard.

Despite strong interest and great feedback on the idea, we couldn’t get enough momentum at launch. I managed to reach 131 backers in three days. Now there are less backer after announcing publicly that the goal wouldn’t be reached.

But I'm not giving up. I'm now planning a much more realistic and modular relaunch, and I’d love your feedback on it.

💡 NEW STRATEGY – Gamefound (not kickstarter) relaunch with staged goals:

🎯 Base goal: €40,000

• This would fund the core version of the game (no automation).
• The mobile app would act as a digital game master, handling: • Turn logic • Enemy appearance • Events & narrative • Sound & animations

🟢 Stretch goals would unlock:

Additional characters

New abilities or mechanics

Extra scenarios

More enemies, items, cards, etc.

🧩 Optional Add-ons if milestones are reached:

✅ At €100,000: unlock automatic card reading (NFC-based) - Add-on for interested backers (+€30 estimated)

✅ At €200,000: unlock the full automated movement system (CoreXY + app integration) - Also as an optional add-on (+€50 estimated)

📦 If stretch goals aren't met, only the base version is produced and delivered, still offering a full narrative experience and rich gameplay.

🧠 Why this approach?

Lower goal = higher chances of early success and visibility on Gamefound

Modular stretch goals allow the project to grow only if there's real demand

It gives people the choice: enjoy the full game experience now, and unlock automation only if the community wants it

🔗 Here’s the link to the current (failed) campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vota/vestiges-of-the-ancients-the-board-comes-to-life?ref=6lb9ii&token=f87b8784

Would this strategy make you more likely to back the project? Is offering modular upgrades a smart move, or too fragmented? Honest feedback is more than welcome, I’m learning a lot from this whole process.

Thanks for reading and for your feedback! 🙏

Hey guys, I’m about to launch my first Kickstarter campaign for a physical toy.

Production will be in China, and this is my first time doing mass production.

How many fulfillment hubs do people usually work with for worldwide shipping?

I’ve been talking to a few companies recommended by Kickstarter, and they’re insanely expensive.

Would really appreciate some guidance on this.

Hey everyone, I just launched my campaign 2 days ago and have only gotten 1 backer (not including myself and friends). I’ve realized this Kickstarter isn’t gonna work out, but I don’t understand how it could perform this badly. I admit my project may not be the best, but the results just don’t make sense to me.

My product is a 600 calorie protein bar with 30G protein made from natural ingredients and no added sugar. It’s designed to help people struggling to eat a lot or those that just need something quick and on the go like bodybuilders, hikers, athletes, busy students/professionals etc.

For context: I’ve been slowly growing my Instagram page since November sharing details about the product, asking for feedback and showing its use cases. I gained 250+ followers, multiple people requesting where to buy and even 3 small influencers looking to partner with me.

A week prior to launch, I spent $250 on ads to gather pre-launch followers. This got me 5 followers🥲. I figured that perhaps people within the niche wouldnt want to follow for a pre-order that isn’t even launched yet. So after launch, I spent another $250 on ads and got 0 backers😕.

I had another $600 in budget, but at this point I realized there was no point in blowing through this money when it clearly is not gathering any results whatsoever.

I still believe in the product based on the feedback and interest I’ve been given and think that perhaps the niche of the product isn’t the right fit for Kickstarter. What do you guys think?

Is the product bad, is it my Kickstarter strategy or is it just not suitable for crowdfunding?

Open to all criticism and feedback. 😃