Kickstarter VS Indiegogo 2021: how to choose the best one?

Which platform should you choose between Kickstarter and Indiegogo?

You creators were asking me to ask this question for a long time and finally, here it is!
In today's video, I'm going to explain this topic very deeply analyzing the main differences, pros and cons of these 2 big platforms and which suits you the best, but if you don't feel like watching it right now you can begin reading this article.

Let's start by saying that there are 5 differences between Kickstarter and Indiegogo and those are strictly technical.

Before moving further...

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1. GOAL SET UP

The first technical difference between these two platforms refers to goal set up.

Let's start with saying that on Indiegogo you can select both a flexible or a fixed goal for your campaign, while on Kickstarter you can only choose a fixed amount. What does that mean? This means that if you don’t reach the goal amount set on Kickstarter you’ll not receive the money raised. On Indiegogo instead, if you select a flexible goal, you'll be able to receive the amount of money you raised, even if you didn't reach the goal.

From the backer's point of view the risks of the investment on a Kickstarter campaign is definitely low, because backers will be charged on the credit card, only once the campaign reached its goal, while with Indiegogo's flexible goal, the credit card will be charged at the same time of the pledging.

But before let them invest in your project, you should find backers right?

2. FACEBOOK PIXEL

The second main difference is the Facebook Pixel feature. This, for me, is the most important difference, and in some cases, it can be a real game-changer.

On the Indiegogo page, you'll be able to install the Facebook Pixel, which is a cookie by Facebook that consent you to do retargeting, gathering precious information about backers and traffic over your page. This is going to help you be more precise with the Facebook ads targeting, which means being able to drastically drop down the acquisition cost for a single backer and increase your margins.

Doing the same retargeting on Kickstarter is not possible, due to the fact that you cannot install the Facebook pixel, instead, you can use Google analytics codes. It’s still possible to do some retargeting only using third-party tools, but the result will not be efficient as the Facebook Pixel feature.

Anyway, one of the tools that will allow you to do the retargeting process is PixelMe. You can find out more about this tool in the crowdfunding Tools of The Trade list that I’ve created for you creators

3. REFERRAL PROGRAM

A very cool feature found on Indiegogo is the referral program. You will be able to create and host a referral program directly over your Indiegogo page. With that, every backer or user can create their own referral link for the campaign, share it with their community and take a fee on the campaign's sales.
This feature would definitely bump up your sales and let you use your community in the most effective way.

Unfortunately, on Kickstarter there’s no such kind of referral program. In fact, you will need to rely on a third-party tool to host a referral program for your crowdfunding campaign. But don't worry, I've got you covered: the name of the recommended tool is Kickbooster, and you can find more info about it on my Tools of the Trade list.d $150.000 in the first 24 hours overcoming our initial goal of $50.000 and we got funded with more than $675.000!

4. SECRET PERK

The next difference is the possibility to create a secret perk on Indiegogo (not available on Kickstarter)

What is that? Essentially it is a link that you can create to make a ''not visible perk'' appear over your campaign, that will only be visible to people using a special link on the campaign page.

How to use it? It can have multiple applications. For example, you can create a super early bird perk only for a specific segment of your community without making it public to the whole traffic over the page. You can also create a secret perk, available only for people who already have supported your campaign, to motivate them in backing again and so on…that is gonna consent to make your community feel special!

5. IN-DEMAND PROGRAM

The fifth and last difference between Kickstarter and Indiegogo is the in-demand program.

And guess what… not available on Kickstarter! For some years now, it has been possible to open an Indiegogo in-demand program, which is actually a sort of e-commerce hosted directly on the platform, that creators can get access to after a successful crowdfunding campaign.

This means that you as campaign owner can still pre-sell your products even after the end of the crowdfunding campaign, in this way, you’ll not lose all the traction and SEO generated over the campaign during the course of the days and you’ll be able to keep counting on that to gather new pre-orders.

There's a difference in terms of fees, basically you can get access to the in-demand program right after a campaign on Indiegogo, but you can use it even after completing a campaign on other crowdfunding platforms, the difference is in the fee, these two crowdfunding platforms already charge you 5% fee on the amount raised, but the in-demand program will charge you 5% more coming from Indiegogo, and 10% if you’re coming from any other platforms (like Kickstarter!)

HOW TO DECIDE BETWEEN KICKSTARTER OR INDIEGOGO?

Now that we analyzed the main technical differences, I'm sure your principal question is still there, right?

Which platform should we use? Kickstarter or Indiegogo?

Truth is, that it depends on the nature of your project. That's because every platform has its big communities created all over the years of activity, and every community has its own preferences.

For example, on Indiegogo wearable and e-bikes are very popular, while on Kickstarter movies, games, board games, and also design projects are appreciated, speaking of this I've created a video-article about the most funded Kickstarter campaign in 2020 which was a board game.

Communities are really important for the success of the campaign because based on the traffic and people that the platform will drive over the campaign page, you will be able to raise more money.

About that, a very important thing to point out is that the Kickstarter backers community is definitely larger than Indiegogo, at least twice. So, if you want to launch a product on a US crowdfunding platform, you will have the chance to engage with a bigger community on Kickstarter.

My warm suggestion at this point is to do some research on projects similar to yours on Kickstarter and Indiegogo and see on which platform the most successful similar campaigns are located. In this way you will get a better idea of where your project could be successful, based on which platform has the most solid community in your same field.

If you want to get a better idea of how to do this research, I've created a spreadsheet file called ''Crowdfunding Competitors Analysis'' that will guide you on how to gather precious info about similar projects in order to put together your most epic campaign using past successful experiences.

THE GOLDEN RULE TO FOLLOW

Anyway, whatever kind of platform you’ll choose there’s only one golden rule to follow: community building! That is still the most effective turnaround to launch a successful campaign on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, in fact, the campaign page and the actual launch are the very last steps to take.

So, be sure to create a community of interested people around your new product, gather them and keep these people warm and spoiled with special content about your upcoming product, in order to make them want to support you and be part of your journey.

If you want to analyze and prepare your pre-launch phase before deciding which platform suits you best, I’ve got you covered with my crowdfunding pre-launch free e-book called ''3 steps to success on Kickstarter and Indiegogo''. 

It’s gonna guide you through the right strategy to follow in order to build a warm community of potential backers for your project.

As always make sure to check out my new video right on top and comment to ask me questions and subscribe to my channel to stay updated on fresh new content that I’m gonna drop there.

Ciao ciao! 

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