The 18 Best Shopify Tips From Experts in 2024
Running a Shopify store isn’t as simple as it looks. Many store owners learn the hard way, spending countless hours and dollars on trial and error. But the right advice, straight from experienced store owners, can save you both time and money. That’s why we’ve compiled insights from experts who’ve been through it all.
In this guide, we talk about practical strategies that are proven to work. You will find tips for marketing, product design, customer retention, and more. Every tip you read in this guide comes from a real, vetted successful store owner.
No theory here—just real-world tactics that drive results. Learn from those who’ve made the mistakes and found the solutions. Take their experience, apply it, and watch your Shopify store grow.
3 Business Strategy Tips for Shopify Stores
Shopify store success isn’t about doing everything all at once. You need to focus on doing the right things the right way. Focus your efforts on key strategic activities, and results will follow.
1. Focus your time on key marketing channels
Overcomplicating your marketing can be a costly mistake. “Store owners often spread themselves too thin by trying to be on every platform, using every tool, and chasing every trend,” says John Butterworth of Mint SEO. Instead, he suggests focusing on a few key channels where your audience is most active and refining your efforts there. It’s about quality over quantity.
Mark Ainsworth of Maxweb Solutions agrees, adding, “start by mastering one or two marketing channels, and once those are optimized, expand your efforts.” Vukasin Ilic from Linkter emphasizes this point: “It’s better to focus on one or two platforms and excel there. Spreading yourself too thin can lead to mediocre results and burnout.”
2. Avoid unnecessary spending
Anthony Barone of StudioHawk UK sees a common problem among new store owners—overspending on tech and flashy tools. “Everyone gets sucked into so many tools, tech solutions and flashy things which suck money from the budget and your P/L,” he explains.
“When you are bootstrapped, you can’t flush money down the toilet on every little thing,” says Barone. “Find solutions that are free and will do the job for what you are doing now and what you want to do in the next 6-12 months, not what you’d like in 5 years when you think you’ll be the next ASOS”.
Keeping costs in check now lays the foundation for growth later. Just because this advice is simple doesn’t make it any less important.
3. Stock recession-proof products
In uncertain times, stocking essential products can allow your business to continue to succeed even when other product categories are underperforming. “Recession-proof products can be any item that people need to survive in its most literal sense,” says Nate Banks of Crazy Compression. He lists consumer staples like food, hygiene items, and pet necessities as examples. “These items are critical to the survival of consumers; they’re non-discretionary,” he adds.
Brandon Hartman of BeyWarehouse echoes this sentiment, classifying recession-proof products into two categories: necessities and niche items with dedicated fanbases. “[These products] will continue to get patronage, even as purchasers of upper-tier products slide down the price scale to save expenses,” he notes. In challenging economic periods, choosing the right products can make all the difference.
3 Customer Acquisition Tips for Shopify
If you want to acquire customers for your Shopify store, you need strategies that bring customers directly to you. But you don’t want to waste your time chasing every trend. Your time is better spent finding what works and doing it well. Here are some tips to help know where to focus your attention.
4. Use SEO to increase sales
Ignoring SEO is a costly mistake for any Shopify store owner. “Well-crafted online stores receive significantly more free organic traffic from search engines,” explains Justin Christopher of Klatch Coffee. Tools like Google Search Console and SEMRush can help track and monitor progress, showing which strategies yield the best results.
Ben Duffy from Quirky Digital adds, “SEO-friendly product descriptions not only improve search visibility but also enhance the user experience, increasing the likelihood of conversions.” It’s not enough to just have products; you need to ensure your site is optimized to rank for valuable search terms.
As Vukasin Ilic of Linkter puts it, “[Search] is fully intent-based—when I rank my Shopify store for linen dresses, for example, people coming on my website through search are shoppers who have their wallets ready.”
5. Get on Google Shopping
Google Shopping is an underused goldmine for small brands. “Shopify easily integrates with most social platforms, and for many small brands, there is a real opportunity to grow with Google Shopping,” says David Mason of Fortunata. Unlike major retailers, independent brands have an advantage on Google, as the platform builds its shopping results to feature unique brands over big-box names. “They don’t need another Walmart, Costco, or ASOS,” Mason emphasizes.
By using this tool, your store can show up when buyers are actively looking for products like yours. Thankfully, getting started is easy since you can add the Google & YouTube app on Shopify with minimal effort.
6. Run Facebook & Google ads
Paid advertising is a powerful way to drive targeted traffic. Ben Duffy from Quirky Digital highlights that channels like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Instagram are ideal for paid traffic because they “[allow for highly targeted advertising], which can be very useful when trying to reach niche markets.”
But it’s not just about ads. Email marketing remains a powerful and terribly underrated tool. Anthony Barone of StudioHawk UK explains that “emails are an oldie but a goodie—having direct contact into people’s inboxes can build another long list of customers [which helps] to warm people up, build loyalty, run offers, [and] engagement campaigns.”
For those willing to invest time and money, these strategies pay great dividends when it comes to customer acquisition and retention.
2 Tips to Increase Customer Lifetime Value for Your Shopify Store
Getting new customers is just one part of the puzzle. The real value lies in keeping them coming back. To do that, you need the right strategies—ones that build loyalty and drive repeat sales.
7. Start an email list
Too many store owners overlook one of their most powerful assets—owned media like an email list. Unlike social platforms such as Facebook or TikTok, where you have no control over changes, your email list is yours. Justin Christopher of Klatch Coffee explains, “[It’s a mistake] to not start capturing and building an email list on day one.” He recommends tools like Klaviyo for both email and SMS marketing, especially for its seamless integration with Shopify.
Email marketing isn’t just about sending messages. Vukasin Ilic of Linkter notes that “sending out newsletters, special offers, or personalized recommendations can boost repeat purchases and significantly increase lifetime customer value.” The sooner you start, the sooner you build a loyal customer base that’s ready to engage with your brand.
8. Connect TikTok Shop
TikTok isn’t just for dancing videos—it’s a serious sales tool for Shopify stores. Ben Duffy from Quirky Digital highlights that TikTok Shop is becoming increasingly effective, especially for brands using short, dynamic videos to engage audiences. “Creating engaging, authentic videos that showcase products can lead to instant sales,” he explains, especially when users can buy directly within the app.
Connecting your Shopify store to TikTok Shop streamlines the customer journey. “Linking your Shopify store directly creates an easy customer journey, turning engagement into conversions,” Duffy adds. By collaborating with TikTok influencers or running targeted ads, you can quickly build brand awareness and drive sales.
3 Product Design Tips for Your Shopify Store
The best products don’t happen by accident. They are built through careful planning, testing, and refinement. Approach your design process with precision, and your efforts will pay off.
9. Start small & iterate
Prototyping isn’t about progress over perfection. “Start small with your prototypes to keep costs down and iterate quickly based on feedback,” advises Jorge Argota. By engaging users early, you can gather insights that shape the design to better fit customer needs.
Valentin Radu of Omniconvert expands on this, saying they “leverage customer feedback and data to inform design choices,” creating preliminary models and using A/B testing and user interviews to refine products. He adds that tracking key performance indicators helps ensure each iteration aligns with market demands.
Jason Wingate of Emerald Ocean Ltd. shares his experience: “Know your customers.” Wingate further clarifies by sharing a story of what this looked like practice, saying “a few years ago we released the Rotary Thread tool, a thread filing tool that was revolutionary and nothing was like it on the market. It could file threads quicker and faster than anything. We sold (and still sell) to Lowe’s and Home Depot in the USA, and Canadian Tire in Canada. But sales were not as good as we expected. Why? Because the customers of most retail chains don’t need a thread filing tool most of the time. If a nut or bolt comes loose, they just buy a new one for a few cents.”
Ultimately, as a result of the learning process, his team found success when they identified the right market for their Rotary Thread tool, selling to industrial clients instead of retail. “If the customer doesn’t have a problem or need your product, you need to reflect on that and find out what they do need.”
10. Research suppliers carefully
Finding the right supplier is a crucial step that can save you time and money. “To get quotes I reached out to several manufacturers with detailed specifications of the product,” says Argota. He clarifies that his communication “[included] drawings or CAD files, material requirements and expected quantities. Comparing these quotes helped me understand the market rates and negotiate better terms. Having all the info ready upfront made the process smoother.”
Jason Wingate recommends using a broker in the manufacturing country to navigate customs, culture, and time zones efficiently. “They would also know manufacturers beforehand as well,” he explains, which speeds up the process. Jorge Argota reflects on his own experience, stating that “having all the info ready upfront made the process smoother.”
But mistakes happen. Argota admits he “underestimated costs early on, didn’t vet some manufacturers well enough,” leading to miscommunication and costly setbacks. Ryan McDonald of Resell Calendar stresses the importance of detailed quotes, advising brands to “request quotations breaking out labor, material, and any additional fees” for clarity. He also cautions that the lowest bid is not always the best choice—quality and communication matter.
11. Design attractive packaging
Don’t underestimate the power of good packaging. “Early consideration of these elements can significantly impact the perceived value of your product,” says Ryan McDonald from Resell Calendar.
Well-designed packaging can elevate a product, making it more appealing and boosting its resale value. McDonald’s team has found that investing time and effort in packaging during the prototyping phase pays off, transforming how customers perceive and interact with their products.
3 Web Design Tips for Shopify Stores
Good web design goes far beyond look and feel. You need to create a fast, seamless experience for every user. The right adjustments can transform how your store performs—and how customers spend their money.
12. Optimize your images
A slow website is a lost sale. Jose Gomez of Summit Metals points out that “websites generally load slowly because images are not optimized in size.” A common mistake is uploading large JPEG files, which can take up to 3MB each. Multiply that by 20 images, and you’ve got a site that drags on any mobile device.
The solution, according to Gomez, is to “convert images to WEBP format.” This technique reduces file size by up to 70% while maintaining high quality. For Shopify store owners, every second counts. Optimizing images speeds up load time, keeping customers engaged and ready to buy.
13. Remove unnecessary apps
Apps can be a double-edged sword. While they add functionality, too many can slow down your store. “Carefully choose the apps that you add to your store, and remove any that aren’t needed,” advises Justin Christopher from Klatch Coffee. But removing the app isn’t enough—make sure it deletes all the code it installed.
Old code left behind can still affect your site speed. Christopher recommends using tools like Google Lighthouse to run before-and-after tests, ensuring your store stays optimized. Regular maintenance keeps your site clean and efficient.
14. Familiarize yourself with Lighthouse scores
Understanding store performance metrics is complex, but you need to be able to do it. Shopify provides a Web Performance dashboard, where users can track loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. But Shopify’s built-in dashboard is limited in scope, so many Shopify store owners prefer to use Lighthouse Scores (Google PageSpeed Insights) instead.
Windy Pierre highlights the importance of the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) score—your site’s loading speed over time. For best results, he says “don’t make the main picture load lazily.” Use Shopify’s automatic lazy loading or section index for better control.
JavaScript is another area where store owners often slip up. “Too much JavaScript makes your site slow,” says Pierre. Simplify your code and eliminate unused scripts to boost your Interaction with Next Paint (INP) score. Lastly, set dimensions for images and videos with Shopify’s Liquid image_tag to prevent layout shifts. This will help keep your Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) score low and reduce the risk of elements “jumping around” as the pages load.
If you want to research this further, check out Google PageSpeed Insights and GTMetrix. Both are free tools that you can use to measure your website’s performance.
4 Shipping Tips for Shopify Stores
Shipping is more than just getting a package from point A to point B. You need to make sure the process is smooth, efficient, and customer-friendly. Good shipping experiences keep customers coming back for more.
15. Validate addresses
Getting the address right is crucial. Shawn Zar from Superior Seating suggests using automated address verification to prevent costly mistakes. This makes perfect sense because their business is based on laborious custom furniture design. Shipping to wrong address would be terribly expensive.
Lou Haverty of Tank Retailer takes it a step further. “I process orders through Shopify, but I also double-check everything,” he explains. Haverty contacts customers to confirm shipment details, especially for larger orders requiring special handling like liftgates. “The biggest risk is if you ship an expensive product blindly,” he warns, highlighting the importance of verifying that customers can accept delivery before sending out high-value items.
16. Develop a clear returns process
A transparent and simple return policy can build trust and boost customer satisfaction. For many Shopify store owners, it makes sense to have a 30- or 60-day return window, no questions asked. But for some items like those described below (custom furniture and heavy tanks), it makes sense to take a different approach.
At Superior Seating, Shawn Zar states that they “handle returns on a case-by-case basis,” ensuring any issues are resolved quickly while staying within their policies for custom items. Lou Haverty of Tank Retailer shares his approach: “We offer a 30-day return window for all customer sales. If the customer decides to return the product during that window, [the customer also has to pay return shipping unless there is a defect].”
No matter what policy you ultimately implement, you want to make sure you set clear expectations upfront. This will allow you to maintain control of the returns process while showing customers that you value their business.
17. Practice good inventory management
Managing inventory is an art. You want to always have enough inventory to never stock out but not so much that it inflates storage fees. Much of this comes down to demand estimation and the willingness to run sales when inventory levels get too high.
Dan Jones of Terrarium Tribe has an interesting perspective here since many of his products are live. He explains that keeping “a relatively small product range” allows them to “monitor stock levels closely,” ensuring that sales don’t spread too thinly.
Overstock issues can still arise, especially with perishable or live products like those sold by Terrarium Tribe. In those cases, Jones suggests running flash sales or offering excess items as free gifts with purchases. This strategy helps maintain a balanced inventory while keeping customers engaged.
18. Find a trustworthy fulfillment partner
Shipping can be one of the most frustrating and time-consuming aspects of running a Shopify store. You have to manage inventory and find the time to pack orders. So it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s where partnering with a fulfillment center can make all the difference.
Fulfillment centers like Fulfillrite help solve common shipping issues by streamlining the entire process. That includes everything from inventory management to real-time tracking. For Shopify store owners, the end result is fewer shipping errors and delays. Plus, most fulfillment centers integrate directly with Shopify, automating order processing, and ultimately saving time and reducing manual labor.
Choosing a fulfillment center becomes more useful as your business grows. The less time you spend packing boxes and licking stamps, the more time you can spend marketing and sales. Centers like Fulfillrite benefit from economies of scale, meaning their clients (store owners) benefit from lower shipping rates due to bulk discounts with major carriers.
When your business reaches a point where managing shipping in-house becomes too costly or time-consuming, working with a fulfillment partner can be the best step forward.
Final Thoughts
Running a Shopify store is all about balance—balancing costs, marketing efforts, and the customer experience. You’ve learned strategies here to make that balancing act easier. From fine-tuning your marketing channels to optimizing your shipping, the key is focusing on what truly drives results. Your goal shouldn’t be to do everything all at once. You want to focus on doing the right things well.
Remember, building a successful Shopify store takes planning. It’s not just about getting new customers but also keeping them engaged with strong customer retention tactics, like email marketing and fast, reliable shipping. Every system you put in place today, from inventory management to fulfillment processes, builds a foundation for the future.
As you implement these strategies, keep learning and adjusting. The eCommerce world is always changing, and staying flexible is how you stay ahead. Take these expert tips, tweak your approach, and you’ll find that success isn’t just achievable—it’s within your control.
If you’ve browsed Kickstarter, Indiegogo or other crowdfunding sites lately, you may have noticed that the gaming category has been growing and growing in popularity. Crowdfunding has become a viable way for game designers to turn their ideas into reality.
Catacombs, the award-winning dexterity fantasy board game, was first published in 2010, followed by a sold-out second edition. When it came time for their third edition redesign, the creators did something a little out of the box, so to speak – they turned to Kickstarter.
We talked with Elzra Games cofounder Aron West about why Elzra turned to Kickstarter, what they learned and how they knocked their campaign out of the park.
This interview was originally published on November 11, 2015. We’ve updated the formatting for more recent devices, but have otherwise left the interview unchanged.
Elzra Games has continued to expand the Catacombs franchise since the publication of this interview and continues to be successful in crowdfunding!
What is your background? How did you become interested in designing games?
At a high level, I have a background in software development, enterprise systems, cloud computing etc., so designing board games enables me to ship “physical bits” as opposed to “digital bits.” It’s a nice change.
How did Elzra Games come about? How did the game Catacombs come to be – the idea, concept and design?
Catacombs as a product happened by accident. Approximately five years ago, Ryan Amos, Marc Kelsey, and myself were involved in designing and manufacturing the first edition of Catacombs. Given our exposure to a wide variety of board games, we had a feeling for some ideas that we thought could work. We discussed some initial designs and ultimately focused on the idea of a exploring a dungeon by flicking a wooden disc as most dexterity games involved sports or racing cars.
The first edition of Catacombs was released in 2010. From humble beginnings and word of mouth it took off under the Sands of Time Games brand. Elzra Corp. took over the assets of Sands of Time at the beginning of 2014 (before the Kickstarter). I am now responsible for the creative and operational aspects of the company and the Catacombs Third Edition product line.
The first two editions of Catacombs were very successful and in fact, sold out. Why turn to Kickstarter for the third edition?
We wanted to test the market demand for a new version that implemented some improvements that customers had suggested. Kickstarter seemed like a perfect way to accomplish this.
What sorts of research and preparations did you make before launching?
We reviewed other Kickstarter campaigns and devoted time and resources to creating an engaging video. We also paid close attention to our reward and stretch goal setup, which any serious campaign will do as a matter of course. Kickstarter had not been available in Canada for very long, so it felt like we were a trailblazing project.
Having a strong following from editions one and two must have made things a little easier. Did you find them to be supportive?
There was a great deal of controversy about the new artwork direction in the Catacombs Third Edition product line. Some of our existing fans felt that we had abandoned them. This is definitely not the case! However, the new artwork by the talented artist, Kwanchai Moriya, is much more colourful and accessible expanding the game’s appeal. As they have become accustomed to the new artwork and the many fan driven improvements in the Third Edition, people are becoming more accepting of the changes. Overall, the response to Catacombs Third Edition has been fantastic!
What were the biggest challenges you encountered while running your Kickstarter campaign? What would you do differently next time?
We would ensure we had currency-hedging instruments in place. The drop in the Canadian dollar from 2014 through this year really hurt us. Simultaneously launching with a German language version in conjunction with a third party publisher proved logistically challenging as well. Finally, we have a much better sense about the costs involved in shipping to certain countries and would raise the shipping rates accordingly. Who would have thought that shipping from Germany to Serbia was as expensive as shipping to Australia?
Really good point! Is this what led you to bring in help for your fulfillment?
Yes, because as a new company with low shipping volumes, it is very expensive to ship packages from Canada internationally. Instead, we shipped packages to European and international backers from a fulfillment company located near the printer in the Netherlands where our games were produced. We had Fulfillrite handle shipping packages to the backers in the US and we took care of sending out packages to domestic backers based in Canada ourselves.
Were you ready for the incredible response to the campaign, having raised over $200k of your $40k goal? How did you handle it?
No, it was a nice surprise. We knew how much work was ahead of us, so there were no celebrations or anything like that. We immediately got started. We also incorporated many suggestions from fans, for example, the “chicken hero” and the “bee familiar” were included in Catacombs Third Edition as direct result of comments received during the campaign.
What’s next, are you working on any new games?
Yes, three new titles set in the Catacombs universe. One is a card game being designed by one of the original Catacombs designers, Ryan Amos, another is a direct expansion to Catacombs and the third takes Elzra’s Dexterity Game System and turns it into a competitive experience. The Catacombs Third Edition product line looks set to become available in additional languages as well.
Finally, the Catacombs Third Edition base game and the Cavern of Soloth expansion will be available at retail before the end of 2015.
To learn more about Catacombs, the Cavern of Soloth and Elzra Games, please visit them at Elzra.com
After running 10 successful Kickstarters, we think it’s pretty safe to say that Don Moyer of Calamityware is something of an expert in running a crowdfunding campaign or two. Don and his partner Lynnette Kelley were recently featured on Kickstarter’s Google+ Creators Hangout and shared quite a bit of useful, real-life experiences they encountered on their crowdfunding travels.
This interview was originally posted on October 7, 2015. We added an AI-generated transcript on October 4, 2024.
Calamityware is still a client of Fulfillrite. To date, they have launched over seventy Kickstarter campaigns!
Start of Interview
Julio Terra: All right. Welcome everybody to this week’s Creators Hangout here at Kickstarter. My name is Julio Terra. I’m an outreach lead for design and technology at Kickstarter, and I’m going to be your host today. I’m really happy that we have Don Moyer and Lynette Kelley joining us. They are prolific creators, having completed 12 projects, with their 13th project live right now. They’ve worked on everything from plates to mugs, bandanas, prints, and their current project is a great puzzle. Their work always has a special touch of humor and whimsy. Many of you probably already know their work, but if not, you should definitely check it out. I’m a huge fan.
Before I turn it over to them, I just want to remind everyone that this is a live conversation. You can submit questions through the Google Hangouts page, Facebook, or tweet them to Kickstarter Tips. So, Don and Lynette, thank you very much for joining us.
Background and Introduction
Lynette Kelley: You’re welcome. Thanks for having us. Great to be here.
Julio Terra: To get us started, I wanted to hear a little bit about your background. What were you both doing before you started CalamityWare and all the projects you’re now running?
Don Moyer: I’ll start. For 40 years, I was a graphic designer and writer, solving problems for corporate clients. Recently, I retired and now get to indulge in projects I like to do—no clients, just me. So everything is about Don having fun.
Julio Terra: Awesome. So, I guess that answers the next question I wanted to ask—when you started, did you have a sense of where you wanted to take it? Did you plan for it to become as big as it has, or was it initially just a small side project?
Don Moyer: My dream has never been, and still isn’t, to build an international juggernaut of commerce. I’m just trying to do projects that I think are fun, and Kickstarter is perfect for that. It lets you find others who want to support a project. When I launched the first project, I didn’t know if it would succeed, but it was nice that it did. Then I got hooked and did a second one, and so on.
First Project Experience
Julio Terra: Awesome. Let’s talk a bit about your first project. You mentioned that you weren’t sure if it would succeed when you launched it. Can you tell us more about that experience? What were your expectations, and what was the biggest challenge you faced?
Don Moyer: Sure. Let me give you a little backstory. I love to draw and keep sketchbooks where I draw every day. Right now, I’m working on octopuses. A few years ago, I inherited an old blue willow pattern plate, and I thought it would be fun to draw one in my sketchbook. When I finished, I felt like it needed a pterodactyl to make it more fun. When I posted that on Flickr, where I share my sketchbook, people started saying, “That would be nice if it were a real porcelain plate.” So, I looked into it, and it seemed feasible to have plates made.
I had always wanted to do a Kickstarter, so I defined the project on the platform just to see what would happen. The result was a plate similar to this one, which became our first project. We had a couple hundred backers who wanted to have dinner with flying monkeys, and the project succeeded. That opened my eyes to all the logistics and administrative details, which wasn’t my focus at the time. That’s where Lynette and her husband Jack came in.
Joining the Team
Lynette Kelley: I’ve worked with Don for almost 20 years at the design firm he founded, and that’s how we know each other. Last May, in the middle of the third plate project—the sea monster plate—it really took off, and Don was overwhelmed with all the details. Jack and I were very interested, so we asked Don a lot of questions. Even though he’s retired, he still comes to the office hangout. Somehow, we just decided to help him out.
So, we’ve been on board since then, helping with the back end of things. I handle the operational tasks, customer service, and accounting, while Jack is in charge of marketing. He helps keep our customers informed and engaged with CalamityWare.
Building a Community Around Your Projects
Julio Terra: Awesome. And building on that, one of the things you’ve done very successfully is build a community around your projects. Your first project had around 350 backers, if I recall correctly. Now, with your dinnerware projects—plates specifically—you average over a thousand backers per project. How have you been able to grow the community and keep it healthy?
Lynette Kelley: Back in May of last year, in the middle of the Sea Monster plate, we were picked up by Colossal.com. That turned out to be a colossal boost for our audience, and that plate really took off. I think our customer base has built itself from there. We got another boost when we did the mugs this past summer, again from Colossal.
That kind of outreach has been a big help. It’s funny how one mention from Colossal leads to many other bloggers becoming interested in our product. We get a lot of free advertising without even being directly contacted. So, finding that one special niche that gets you a lot of visibility can really help grow your community. We’ve been fortunate to have that connection.
Organic Growth and Outreach
Julio Terra: How did that happen for you guys—was it purely luck? And what kind of work were you doing before to get the word out about your projects?
Don Moyer: I’d say it’s about 66 percent luck. The rest is something you can control by trying to reach out to people who might be interested. With all these projects, we’re aiming for products that are beautiful, utilitarian, and funny. That’s not for everyone, but for the people it does resonate with, it works well. When a blogger gets it and likes the idea, they want to write about it and share it with their audience. But connecting with them isn’t exactly a science.
Julio Terra: What about your actual backers? I know you’re averaging around 1,100 backers per project since your fourth one. Do you keep track of how many of those are repeat backers? Do you do anything to actively cultivate that relationship between projects?
Lynette Kelley: We don’t have a great system for tracking all of that, but I did go through the projects recently to see who has backed everything. We have about 30 people who have backed every single project. To those 30 people, if you’re watching, we are very grateful! We reach out to those people to thank them specifically for their support. They’re very important to us.
Why Kickstarter Works for CalamityWare
Julio Terra: It’s impressive how many products you’ve launched on Kickstarter. You even have your own website now, but what keeps you coming back to Kickstarter to launch new products and designs?
Don Moyer: Kickstarter is perfect for me because all my projects are experiments. I want to see what amuses me and what will amuse the people following me. I could be wrong, so Kickstarter allows me to present a project and get feedback without the financial risk. Traditionally, people would make things and then fill their basement with unsold stock. Kickstarter makes that problem go away.
Julio Terra: That’s great. A quick reminder for everyone—if you have questions for Don or Lynette, feel free to submit them through Google Hangout, Facebook, or tweet to Kickstarter Tips.
Advice for First-Time Creators
Julio Terra: Now that you have 13 projects under your belt, if you could give advice to the Don who was running his first project, what would you say?
Don Moyer: I’d tell that Don—whether he’s older or younger, I’m not sure with this time travel stuff—watch out for the administrative details. Having 300, 500, or 1,000 sponsors brings a lot of responsibility. The burden of taking care of them is bigger than I anticipated. You’ll need to answer more questions, send more emails, and create more thank-you notes than you’d expect. I’m not complaining—it’s wonderful—but it’s bigger than I imagined.
Lynette Kelley: I’d add that fulfillment was something we underestimated early on. For the first few plates, we relied on the shop that produced them to handle shipping. But by the third plate, with over 2,000 backers, they couldn’t keep up. We didn’t realize that soon enough to adjust, so our customers experienced delays over the summer. Since then, we’ve switched to Fulfillrite in New Jersey, and they’ve been fantastic. They’ve made it possible for us to expand from just plates to bandanas, prints, and note cards. Handling logistics for all of that is much easier now.
Julio Terra: So, partnerships really matter?
Lynette Kelley: Absolutely. Having the right partnerships makes a huge difference.
Production and Fulfillment Challenges
Julio Terra: Let’s talk more about the challenges of producing and fulfilling products at scale. You’ve expanded from just plates to bandanas and prints. How has that process been for you?
Lynette Kelley: Having a great fulfillment center makes things so much easier. For example, if a customer receives a broken plate, I can go into the fulfillment center’s website, copy their order, and ship them a replacement. I can do this within a day, and the customer gets their new plate quickly. That ability to solve problems fast makes customers happy, and that’s important to us. Having good fulfillment partners is key to maintaining good customer service.
Managing Unexpected Challenges
Don Moyer: Great. I want to go back and comment on a couple of questions you asked. One of my hobbies is sponsoring Kickstarter projects that other people are doing, just to see what trouble they run into. I love reading those emails and updates explaining delays, like “the magnetic thing didn’t work,” or “the shoulder straps are the wrong color.” I used to have those problems, but we don’t anymore. My products aren’t innovating new production methods; we use traditional ways of making things. But even then, logistical surprises can still pop up and slow things down.
If I could coach my younger self starting out on the first Kickstarter project, I’d say, don’t assume everything will go smoothly every day. There will be problems, and that’s part of the fun.
Lynette Kelley: It’s important to keep your backers informed. Don does a great job of keeping them updated on the process so that they’re not surprised when something is delayed.
Don Moyer: Most sponsors expect bumps along the way, and they want to hear about them. That’s part of why they’re supporting Kickstarter projects—they don’t expect it to go perfectly, but they do want updates.
Lynette Kelley: Whether the news is good or bad.
Planning a Kickstarter Campaign
Julio Terra: Let’s talk about planning for a campaign. There’s a lot of work that goes into it before you click the launch button. Since you’ve done so many campaigns, how do you approach the planning process?
Lynette Kelley: It’s funny you ask that because just last week, I made a to-do list for our team covering everything we need to do from start to finish for a Kickstarter project. I was shocked by how long the list became! I was assigning tasks—things Don does, things I do, and things Jack does. There’s a lot involved. But I’ll let Don talk about the pre-launch work because he typically starts it.
Don Moyer: Kickstarter provides plenty of tools and advice to help with planning, so it’s not a mystery the first time. Planning a project is about pinning down a thousand details. You have to define the product or reward, figure out how to make it, who’s going to help you make it, and who’s going to help you deliver it. A big question is always, what funding level are you shooting for?
Julio Terra: That’s actually one of the next things I wanted to ask—how do you determine how much money to ask for? I get that question from creators a lot.
Setting Funding Goals
Don Moyer: The advice I give people is, make sure you ask for enough, because you can’t go back and ask for more. That’s not how Kickstarter works. So the goal needs to be high enough, but I like to set it as low as possible to reduce anxiety about reaching it. Remember, for me, this is all about having fun.
Julio Terra: So you’re saying set it as low as possible, but ensure it’s enough to cover costs?
Lynette Kelley: Exactly. In our case, we always calculate based on what we need to produce, like 3,000 puzzles or plates. We figure out the bare minimum cost to do that—just enough to pay the manufacturer. That’s how we set our goal, and why it ends up being low. Don wants to make sure the project happens because it’s fun for him, so the goal has to cover costs but be achievable.
Future Product Plans
Julio Terra: That’s great. One of your fans, Kelly, is asking, “When are you going to make bowls to match the plates?”
Lynette Kelley: That’s a good question, Kelly.
Don Moyer: I think it will be early 2016. The designs are almost perfect, and I’m working out some production details. We’re working on it.
Lynette Kelley: It’s coming.
Don Moyer: Small plates will be coming at the same time too.
Julio Terra: Make sure to follow that planning checklist!
Don Moyer: Absolutely.
Storytelling on Kickstarter
Julio Terra: Moving on, one of the things I often tell creators is that Kickstarter isn’t just about raising money—it’s a storytelling platform. You’re telling the story of an idea you want to bring to life, and you want people to help you on that journey. Can you share your approach to storytelling on Kickstarter and any recommendations you have for other creators looking to bring their products to life?
Don Moyer: I’m not sure my approach would work for everyone, but I believe in showing my enthusiasm for the project. At its core, that’s all I’ve got—something I’m excited about doing, and I hope others want to help me do it. So, I show up in the video, explain why I think this idea is important, and talk about why the product is beautiful, useful, and funny.
I also try to keep the video as short as possible. I wish I could get it down to 10 seconds!
Julio Terra: Your newest video is really short—funny and short!
Don Moyer: Yeah, they’re under a minute now, which I like. They don’t have to be short, but they do need to show enthusiasm. I get nervous when a Kickstarter project looks like a corporate attempt to launch a product, with no personality or character. That doesn’t feel right to me, but it might work for others.
Effective and Wasteful Marketing Tactics
Julio Terra: We touched earlier on how being featured on Colossal.com was big for you. Are there any tactics you’ve tried that didn’t work or felt wasteful? And what’s been your most useful tactic?
Don Moyer: Let me start with what was wasteful—that’s where my mind goes first. Two things come to mind. First, you might be tempted to think your friends and family will be a good source of support, but that’s not true. I won’t get into the details, but if you think your sponsors will come from your close circle, that’s not where they are.
Lynette Kelley: We’ve also tried a few crowdfunding marketing services that reach out during campaigns, offering to help with promotion. Every time we’ve tried those, it hasn’t been successful. We haven’t seen any significant boost or movement in the campaign metrics. It just doesn’t feel like it’s been worth the investment.
Avoiding Events
Julio Terra: Have you guys ever done any events to showcase your beautiful products? Has that ever worked or been attempted?
Don Moyer: Well, Don’s not an event guy. I would pay extra to stay home during an event, so no, I’m not putting anything like that on my calendar.
Lynette Kelley: Yeah, we’ve never done that sort of thing.
Julio Terra: Just a quick shout-out—we’ve got about seven minutes left. If anyone has more questions, please submit them through Google Hangout, Facebook, or Twitter using #KickstarterTips. One thing I think is awesome is how you’ve been able to build a business around these amazing creations. You now sell them on your own website. Can you talk about how you’ve structured your process to make these creations into products you can sell on an ongoing basis?
Building an Ongoing Business
Lynette Kelley: Sure. When Don finished the first project, there were extra plates left over. He didn’t know what to do with them, so he started the online store at Calamityware.com. That’s really how it all began. Each time we run a project, we order more than we need, and then we sell the remaining stock through the website. Jack does a great job managing the site—handling the look and feel, processing orders, and keeping everything running smoothly. It almost runs itself because Jack manages it so well.
Julio Terra: So, just to clarify, you produce more than what’s needed for Kickstarter, and then you sell the extras? Once a plate sells out, is that it, or do you restock?
Lynette Kelley: That’s a great question. We talk about this all the time. For plates 1, 2, 3, and 4, we reordered when stock got low because we wanted enough for holiday sales. But we don’t always know what the future holds. Some items may not get reordered. We play it by ear, and a lot depends on what Don wants to do.
Don Moyer: Yeah, I’m inclined to let things run out of stock. Once they’re gone, they could be gone because I’m focused on designing the next product. I’m always thinking about what’s coming next—bowls, cookie jars, snowshoes, whatever—but not necessarily on keeping old items available.
Lynette Kelley: Occasionally, we also add small products to the website that never went through Kickstarter, like note cards or pocket squares. They’re just fun little things Don wanted to do. We do small, limited runs and sell them directly through the site.
Handling Updates
Julio Terra: Let’s touch on updates for a moment. You mentioned earlier how important it is to keep backers informed. Can you elaborate on how you handle updates during and after the campaign?
Don Moyer: I love doing updates. I want people to back my projects just so they can get my updates! I try to pace them at least a week apart, usually two or three weeks, depending on what’s happening. My updates always include images and actual news. I don’t like updates that don’t have any real content. I enjoy writing the updates almost as much as creating the original project.
Lynette Kelley: In addition to Kickstarter updates, we also send out a newsletter every two weeks to all our subscribers. It’s similar—we try to share news, even if it’s just updates like “this product is shipping” or “this is in production.” We aim to keep people interested and informed.
Julio Terra: Do you approach updates differently when a project is funding versus after it’s funded and you’re working on fulfillment?
Don Moyer: I think of updates more as progress reports—telling backers how we’re doing, not begging for more sponsors. I usually set the funding goal low, so we hit it within 24 hours, and there’s no time to worry about getting more backers. The updates are really about how things are going, what problems we’ve encountered, and how we’re solving them. Sometimes, there’s even good news, like when things are ahead of schedule.
Future Plans
Julio Terra: As we wrap up, what can you share about your plans for the future?
Don Moyer: I’ve got a bucket list of at least a hundred projects I’d love to do before I kick the bucket. I won’t get to them all, but as long as I have the energy, there are a lot more I want to create. In 2016 alone, there could be nine projects—if Jack and Lynette let me! We’ve got some cool stuff planned—more plates, small bowls, cookie jars, puzzles, prints, and some surprises.
Julio Terra: It’s been such a pleasure talking to both of you. And a big thanks to Jack in the background for keeping everything running smoothly. To everyone else, thanks for joining us, and we hope to see you next week for another Kickstarter Creator Hangout. Thanks again!
Lynette Kelley: Thank you!
Find Calamityware
You can check out Calamityware’s cool line of plates, bandanas and more at Calamityware.com and follow them on twitter at @calamityware
Maybe you’re thinking about running a crowdfunding campaign – where do you start? There are a hundred websites and guides which count down the steps to successful crowdfunding, but what about the abstracts, such as building community and engaging with them?
We sat down with veteran crowdfunder Jamey Stegmaier, head of Stonemaier Games and author of A Crowdfunder’s Strategy Guide: Build a Better Business by Building Community, to talk a little bit about his new book, social strategies and approaches and how communication – and community – is king.
Historical Note: Since this interview, Stonemaier Games has gone on to publish popular games including Scythe and Wingspan. Jamey’s Kickstarter Lessons blog continues to receive a lot of traffic even in 2024 and his book is considered a staple in the crowdfunding world.
Who is Jamey Stegmaier?
Q: Thank you for taking the time to chat about your book and answer some questions. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Sure! My name is Jamey Stegmaier, and I’m the co-founder and president of Stonemaier Games. We make strategy games like Viticulture, Euphoria, and Between Two Cities. I also write a blog about crowdfunding—I’ve used Kickstarter to fund the first print run of all of our productions—at www.kickstarterlessons.com, and I wrote a book to help other creators called A Crowdfunder’s Strategy Guide: Build a Better Business by Building Community.
Q: So, how did this book come about?
My crowdfunding blog—which I’ve written since funding Viticulture on Kickstarter in 2012—focused on tabletop game projects for a while, and most creators in that space are aware of it. But there are so many other things that people can create via crowdfunding! I was contacted by an agent who saw the potential for a book to reach a much wider audience and help more people than the blog, so I decided to write such a book.
Really, I just want to help other creators—those who are actively creating and those who want to create something, but need a little nudge. Also, I think the core principle in the book of putting other people first (which has a hugely positive impact on the long-term business) is a message worth sharing.
Historical Note: As of October 2024, Crowdfunder’s Strategy Guide holds an average score of 4.23 out of 5 on Goodreads.
Book vs. Blog Writing
Q: How did writing a non-fiction book differ from writing your blogs? Was it difficult to merge the two? It must have been pretty tricky running Stonemaier Games and writing the book at the same time.
It was different. While I try to write the blog in an accessible way, it’s very mechanical and step by step. I wanted the book to read more like a story. So at first I focused on my story, and over time I added more and more stories from other creators. I still borrowed a lot of my lessons learned for the book, though—they’re just expressed in a different way. And yes, it was tough to write the book and run the company at the same time! I can’t imagine doing that right now.
Q: Your book is very comprehensive in the way that you present crowdfunding product categories in a general approach and not focused on your niche, which is games. In respect to games, do you think their increased popularity is a natural evolution or has crowdfunding played a bigger part?
I think crowdfunding has had a significant hand in the booming board game industry. It’s put games in front of millions of people who didn’t realize how popular games are. I think popularity gives us permission to do something we’ve always wanted to do, and most people like to play games (in some form—not necessarily board games). A Kickstarter page clearly conveys popularity—or lack thereof—to people who otherwise have no idea how a product sells.
What does it mean that the “crowd is the new gatekeeper?”
Q: “The crowd is the new gatekeeper.” Cultivating a community and keeping them active and engaged is a key point throughout the book and in fact, is possibly more important than the campaign itself. What would be the 3 most important avenues to pursue when just starting to build a community?
Exactly, you summed that up really well. Let’s see, 3 most important avenues:
- Have a platform. Whether it’s a blog, podcast, YouTube channel, Facebook page, and/or e-newsletter, start a platform and create some sort of content there at least once a week. This gives people a place to stay in touch with you after they discover you, and it might be the way many people discover you for the first time. Also, if people show up at your platform and engage with you, make sure you’re part of that conversation too. No one likes talking to a brick wall.
- Hang out where such communities already exist. Whether it’s online or in the real world, there are tons of communities for pretty much everything. Find the communities that are connected to the thing you’re trying to make and become a part of them.
- Be generous. The best way to attract people to you is to be generous with your time, talent, information, and money. Conversely, the best way to turn off people is to be purely self-serving and self-promotional.
Historical Note: In 2015, the games category on Kickstarter raised a total of $84.6 million. As of October 4, 2024, a total of $2.42 billion has been raised since 2009.
The importance of building a community
Q: You talk about one mistake you made with the Viticulture campaign was not building an active community within the board game category. Who DID you communicate with, who were you targeting?
That’s very true. In the board game space, there’s an amazing website called BoardGameGeek. I love board games, and I should have been involved on that site for a long time. But I wasn’t. However, those with whom I did communicate were bloggers, and that made a big difference on my first campaign.
Q: “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it” – Simon Sinek. What are some signs of campaigns that are transparently not in it for the right reasons, insincere? Is this perception something that could be turned around?
This is a tricky question. I know the answer, but I don’t want to assume that the creators are purely in it for the “wrong” reasons. Basically, if your pledge levels aren’t compellingly and fairly priced, that’s a little bit of a red flag to me. Every creator has the right to make a profit, but there’s a fine line between profit and greed. So it’s not really about perception in this case—it’s about pricing.
Early bird rewards
Q: Early-bird rewards: Your outlook regarding early-bird rewards is that it creates a winners/losers situation, but couldn’t it also portray that sense of urgency/building momentum also present in a campaign? Several recent highly successful runs offered them, such as the Baubax Travel Jacket and Nebia Showerhead.
Sure, plenty of successful campaigns have implemented strategies. That doesn’t make those strategies good, though. 🙂
Here’s the deal: A crowdfunding campaign is an early-bird reward. It’s a condensed amount of time during which a backer gets the best version of the thing at the best price. Imagine if there’s a campaign for an awesome thing that you really want, and you discover it the day after the campaign ends. It sucks, but the campaign was live for 30 days, and you missed it. So maybe you go to their website and pre-order the product at an extra expense.
But imagine that you discover a campaign while it’s still live on Kickstarter, and it’s only the second day, but you already missed the best price? That really sucks. You’re just as much a part of the success of the project as someone who discovered it a few hours earlier, but you’re already paying more for it than they are. As a creator, I would never treat my backers that way.
Instead of treating some backers better than others, I’d rather compel people to back the project on day one by creating something awesome, presenting it in an awesome way, and building a crowd in advance so we have a big launch day.
Historical Note: To this day, the use of early bird rewards is hotly debated. You can see a counterargument in this article by LaunchBoom.
Crowd psychology and using feedback
Q: In the book, an anecdote is presented about lines to get into a restaurant. One has no line, the other one a line around the block; which do you judge as being more popular? In that respect, can the sense of urgency also translate into the image of popularity?
I think this goes back to what I was saying about crowdfunding being a way to show non-gamers that a lot of people are actually buying and playing games. If you discover a project that’s raised $200,000 from 5,000 people, it’s going to catch your eye a lot more than a project that is 7% funded with 52 people. As for urgency, I think the limited timeframe of a project plays a role in inspiring people to support a project right away instead of waiting.
Q: When involving the backer community in open discussion about feedback, changing features, etc., do you feel it’s necessary to deliberately plan for changes to your product along the way, working a buffer into the budget?
Absolutely. Building a buffer into your budget is never a bad thing, because you’ll almost always need it. As for the involving the backer community in the design process—thus building a strong, loyal fan base and a better product along the way—I think the key is to launch the project with a 95% finished product, and leverage the crowd to complete that final 5%. Just make sure you know what that 5% is, because once the crowd starts to pick away at the 95%, you’re in trouble. 🙂
Building an audience
Q: You talk about the importance of blogging to build your community and connect with like-minded fans. What if the campaign creator simply doesn’t have that gift of gab? As a writer, do you have any tips for someone to get started?
If a campaign creator isn’t interested in creating content of any kind, crowdfunding is going to be really rough on them! I’d say this: We all have our preferred way to communicate. Figure out what that is and connect it to online content creation: blog, Facebook page, podcast, or YouTube channel. Once you figure out which one is best for you, the key is to create something. Don’t wait until you have a brilliant idea or inspiration or until you buy all sorts of equipment and domain names and graphic design and all that. Just turn on your microphone or webcam or free WordPress blog and create something. The biggest barrier is that first step.
Q: There is a great moment, which you talk about in the book, the moment when you find out and announce that after all your hard work, Viticulture is indeed happening. Hope you don’t mind if we share.
Sure! That was one of the best days of my life.
Final Thoughts
Q: What do you hope will be the key takeaway for your readers and what 3 words of advice would you give someone starting from scratch?
The key takeaway from my book and my experiences is that you are your own gatekeeper. That’s 5 words! If you have a burning desire to create something, the tools and platforms are now available for you to do so as long as you take the first step to actually start creating. Good luck!
Visit Jamey at Kickstarter Lessons and follow him on twitter at @jameystegmaier
- Have a platform
- Hang out where such communities already exist (whether it is in person or online)
- Be generous (with your time, talent, information, and money)
This was originally published on October 13, 2015. Edits are limited to formatting and the addition of links and historical notes as well as the addition of links.
Running a business can be tough because it’s hard to know how much you’re going to sell.
But running a Kickstarter can be even tougher, because not only do you not know how much you’re going to sell, but you don’t know how much you’re going to need to manufacture, at least before the campaign anyway.
In this video, we’re going to talk about how you can make a budget for your Kickstarter campaign. I’ll walk you through the process of making your budget on Excel with this special template we’ve made.
If you want to use what I’m using, you’re in luck! This Excel workbook is downloadable and is free. It’s just like what you see on screen.
My name is Brandon, here on behalf of Fulfillrite. If you need help shipping your orders, go to fulfillrite.com and request a quote. We’ve shipped thousands of Kickstarters and we’re happy to help you ship yours. The quote doesn’t cost a thing, so if nothing else, you get some good information about pricing. Link in the description.
But enough self-promotion. Let’s make you a budget.
Making a Budget, pt. 1
On this Kickstarter budget, I’m not going to focus on startup costs or research and development, at least not that much. That’s because so much of the business expenses are incurred after the campaign funds and depend on the order volume to be fulfilled. Whether you ship 100 board games or 10,000, you’re going to pay the artist the same, spend the same amount in play-testing supplies, and so on.
So with that in mind, I’m going to show you how to use this spreadsheet.
First, go over to the right and enter in your core pledge amount – that’s the amount you think people are going to spend most frequently. Add in the percentage of extra units you want to order on top of what you need to ship to fulfill all campaign orders. You’ll see “order fulfillment average” in the same general section, but skip it for now.
Also over here, there is minimum order quantity, also called MOQ – that’s the minimum amount your manufacturer is willing to produce in a single run.
Now let’s look at these first two columns on the left, and I’ll walk you through this top to bottom.
At the top, you put in a hypothetical amount of funding you could raise. I’m starting fairly low here, at $10,000. Kickstarter and credit card fees will automatically calculate at 9%, which is a high estimate. Similarly, chargebacks will automatically calculate at 3%, which is also an unusually high estimate. Your net funding will automatically calculate as the Kickstarter funds you raise minus Kickstarter fees, credit card fees, and net funds. At 88%, this is starting you off with a conservative estimate.
In the next section, the amount of units you need to ship orders will automatically calculate based on the funds raised. Then Run Size will automatically calculate as the greater of either the units you need to ship + the extra units you want to ship OR the minimum order quantity.
Now if you’re shipping multiple items, add-ons, etc., that adds more nuance to this, but we’ll cover that later too, and that will build on this baseline budget.
Estimating Costs
Next you will need to enter the cost of manufacturing, freight, and customs for each quantity by hand. At this point, I’ll level with you – I can’t walk you through this in a short video. But here are some resources to help you get those numbers:
- Here’s a video on how to find a manufacturer. This will help you know where to start on that. Once you find a manufacturer you like, use the quotes they provide you in this budget.
- For freight costs, once you know how much your shipment will weigh and how large it will be, go to Freightos and run some freight quotes. This will at least give you a ballpark idea of what freight will cost. Here’s a video on how to do that.
- Lastly, calculating customs is really complex, but if you go to SimplyDuty, you might be able to get a serviceable quote that’s good enough for budgeting purposes. Enter in the kind of goods you’re shipping, value of the shipment, where the goods are coming from, and where they’re going, and you’ll get an estimate you can work with.
Just to help move things along, I’m going to enter a few stand-in values so I can keep showing you how this spreadsheet works.
Making a Budget, pt. 2
The last piece of manual entry here are your startup costs. That is, you just plug in what it costs to get your product Kickstarter-ready.
Once you do enter in those figures, though, your production cost will automatically be calculated by summing manufacturing, freight, and customs.
Then based on everything entered so far, you will see automatic calculations for:
- The per-unit cost
- Per-unit contribution margin (that is, how much each unit is putting back in your pocket)
- Campaign net revenue (how much your campaign makes minus what it costs to manufacture and ship)
- Gross profit (campaign net revenue minus your startup costs, not accounting for taxes)
OK, that’s it! You got through it!
Once you understand this basic concept, you can run a bunch of scenarios very quickly for different funding amounts. That makes this a really powerful tool for helping you imagine how different fundraising levels might impact your business.
Estimating Demand
Figuring out how much money you’re going to make is a lot more fun than figuring out how much you need to spend! But, of course, you don’t want to pull numbers out of nowhere. You need a system that’s going to give you at least a reasonably good idea of how much revenue you’re going to generate, because that’s likely to tell you how many orders you’re going to need to ship as well.
So, continuing along with the downloadable spreadsheet we’ve been working with, check out the Revenue Forecast tab. While you’re there, you’ll see two section – Simple Method and Advertiser Method. We’ll talk about the Simple Method for revenue estimation first.
First, as I zoom in on the Simple Method, I want to quickly give you a sense of where this data comes from and the assumptions that underlie it.
Marketers generally consider the size of your mailing list to be the best indication of how much funding you are going to raise. This is because a lot of Kickstarter creators push people to a mailing list in advance of the campaign because it’s one the most reliable ways to get people to the campaign page when it counts. Not only that, but anyone who is willing to hand over their email address is much more likely to buy than, say, a social media follower.
Email marketing is also good because the techniques you use to collect those emails – making landing pages, running ads, and so on – help answer one super-critical question.
Do people care enough to buy this thing?
That’s a huge question, and one that I honestly can’t answer for you in this video – or really, any ten-minute video. But as a marketer myself, I strongly encourage you to validate the market before you try to Kickstart a campaign. Or, put more simply, make sure the answer to that question is yes.
With that in mind, to use this revenue estimator, you will need to enter five things.
- Mailing list size. That’s the number of people you expect to be receiving your emails on launch day.
- Conversion rate. A certain percentage of email recipients on your list will back your campaign. Some people like to say 5%, but I think 4% is a safer, more conservative estimate. Enter what you think is appropriate here based on existing data, such as open and click rates.
- Expected pledges from other sources. How many backers do you think will come from other marketing channels you have once you eliminate emails and Kickstarter itself? Be super conservative with this figure.
- Average pledge. Enter in your core pledge amount here – the most common amount you expect people to enter.
- Kickstarter bump ratio. Kickstarter itself pushes people to your campaign, usually to a degree proportional to the backers you bring on your own. With most people I work with, Kickstarter tends to account for about 40% of funds raised. But I entered in 30% by default to be safe. Enter what you think is appropriate here.
Then you will see, automatically calculated, a revenue forecast generated directly from these numbers, in terms of both number of backers and funding dollars. You’ll also see conservative and optimistic estimates which, respectively, assume you put in numbers that are a little too favorable and a little too unfavorable.
Keep in mind this is just a model – your campaign can raise far less than the conservative estimate or far more than the optimistic one. That’s why it’s important to have a budget that accounts for all kinds of scenarios and a risk assessment that helps you prevent the worst ones.
On the right, you’ll see a slightly different model assuming you plan on doing advertising between now and the launch of your campaign. It’s really similar to the model on the left, with three differences in inputs:
- Enter your current mailing list size instead of what you expect to have on launch day.
- Advertising budget. This is the amount you plan to spend on ads between now and launch.
- Cost per lead. This is the amount it costs to collect an email address with ads.
This will result in a model that predicts the amount of backers you will have based on your ad budget and cost per lead. This is good if you’re working with an established method, such as the one emphasized by Launchboom, where you have a landing page that you drive people to through ads run on Facebook and similar platforms.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it! This spreadsheet will help you to create a rough budget for your Kickstarter. Be sure you fill it in with details that are very specific to your situation. We also strongly recommend you reach out to a tax professional as well, since that can really change the numbers you’ll be looking at in the future.
My name is Brandon, here on behalf of Fulfillrite. If you need help shipping your order s, go to fulfillrite.com and request a quote. We’ve shipped thousands of Kickstarters and we’re happy to help you ship yours. The quote doesn’t cost a thing, so if nothing else, you get some good information about pricing. Link in the description.
If you enjoyed this video, please take a moment to like and subscribe. Don’t forget to slap some postage on that bell so we can express ship new videos to you as soon as they drop. And last but not least, if you have any questions, leave a comment below. I will personally answer as many as I can.
Thanks for watching!
Let’s say you have an amazing business idea–but you don’t have the money to get it off the ground. You’d hardly be alone here, since lack of funding is one of the most common challenges that startups run into. That’s why Kickstarter, and other crowdfunding tools are so attractive. Why raise funds from venture capitalists or bankers when you can ask individuals directly?
This is the concept behind Kickstarter, and crowdfunding in general. The appeal is undeniable. And that’s why Kickstarter has been able to help creators raise over $8 billion since its birth in 2009. It seems like everyone from famed author Brandon Sanderson to the creators of Pebble Watch and an unfathomable number of board game creators turn to the platform when it’s time to make money.
Kickstarter culture has become a complex and powerful beast over the last 15 years. So to help give you the context you need to succeed, we’re going to answer a few questions in separate sections. We’ll start by talking about what Kickstarter is, then we’ll discuss how you can use it in business and when it makes sense to do so. Then we’ll give you practical tips and additional resources toward the end.
What is Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform that allows creators to fund their creative projects through the financial support of the crowd. The crowd here being a metaphorical one, dispersed around the world, made up of all kinds of people who are interested in the project.
Kickstarter was founded in 2009 and has since been the go-to venue for the funding of thousands of projects. Campaigns range from films and music to technology and design.
One of the calling cards of the Kickstarter business model is its all-or-nothing funding policy. Creators set a funding goal and a deadline, and they must meet or surpass this goal within the time frame to receive the funds. If the goal is not met, no money changes hands.
Can Kickstarter Be Used To Start A Business?
Absolutely, and in fact, there is a lot of precedent for that these days. Kickstarter is a very popular place for entrepreneurs to raise capital for their startup businesses. Kickstarter, as well as its peers like Indiegogo and Gamefound, allow individuals to present their business ideas to a wide audience. If the audience takes a shine to their offers, they can become backers, letting the entrepreneur secure funding through pre-sales or donations.
A classic example of this is the Pebble E-Paper Watch. It’s the first truly high-profile example of a business that started on Kickstarter. Their campaign in 2012 became the most funded in Kickstarter’s history at the time, raising over $10 million from nearly 70,000 backers. Kickstarter has only grown as a platform since.
Kickstarter has guidelines for starting a project which state that creators are responsible for completing their project and fulfilling each reward. Additionally, projects must fit into one of Kickstarter’s 13 categories, and they cannot fundraise for charity, offer financial incentives, or involve prohibited items.
Can Kickstarter Be Trusted?
Kickstarter has a strong reputation as one of the foremost crowdfunding platforms worldwide. To date, Kickstarter has been home to over 265,000 campaigns and has helped creators to raise almost $8.3 billion dollars since its inception in 2009.
Campaigners are also expected to be very transparent. For one, project funding progress is always publicly visible. Plus, creators are expected to share regular updates on project development and fulfillment of rewards.
As for protections and remedies for backers, Kickstarter ensures that creators are legally obligated to fulfill their promises. If a creator cannot fulfill a project, they must provide a refund or offer an explanation, detailing how funds were used, and the work done towards the project completion.
This does not mean that every single campaign ships and that every backer is pleased. However, given Kickstarter’s status as a platform for businesses to launch products in their early stages, it has been remarkably successful and reliable.
Kickstarter also has a dispute resolution process. It encourages backers and creators to communicate and work out issues amongst themselves. For egregious situations or policy violations, Kickstarter can intervene and take action such as suspending the project or banning the creator.
Why Use Kickstarter Instead of Regular Ecommerce?
To better answer this question, I’d like to share some insights from Darian Shimy, the Founder & CEO of FutureFund. His firm specializes in fundraising and volunteering for K-12 schools, so he has a lot of experience in the fundraising model that Kickstarter is based upon.
Shimy states that one of the primary reasons why you might use Kickstarter is to “assess the viability of a new product before fully developing or launching it. Crowdfunding allows entities to test concepts in a low-risk manner by generating interest and support for proposed products/services in a short campaign.”
The big idea here is that Kickstarter and other tools like it can be used for marketing research. Unlike eCommerce, you can see if there is interest in a product before spending a lot of money manufacturing it. And while eCommerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce certainly have the ability to take preorders, they just aren’t quite as public as Kickstarter and its peers.
In short, Kickstarter can be used for market validation. For many business owners, this alone is worth the time and effort that goes into launching a campaign.
When Would You Choose Ecommerce Over Kickstarter?
Before you launch a Kickstarter campaign, it’s worth considering whether or not it is the best possible fit for your project. As Shimy states, “crowdfunding campaigns typically feature a few defined product reward tiers for a limited period.” In contrast, he states that “eCommerce provides constant browsability and purchasing opportunities.”
Put another way, one purpose of a crowdfunding campaign is to narrow the audience’s focus onto a single item with perhaps a few variants. If the goal is to start a business with multiple products right away, eCommerce is probably a better way to launch. Bear in mind that, should you successfully fund, you can always transition from Kickstarter to eCommerce after funding and fulfillment.
Tips for Starting a Business on Kickstarter
If you are thinking about starting a business on Kickstarter, here is a high-level overview of what you will need to do in order to launch your first project:
- Define Your Project: Detail what your project is, why it’s valuable, and how you plan to accomplish it. Be precise and thorough to create trust with potential backers.
- Set a Funding Goal: Analyze your budget carefully. Include production costs, shipping, taxes, and Kickstarter’s fees to set a realistic and achievable goal.
- Plan Your Rewards: Rewards should be enticing and offer value for money. Consider different tiers to cater to a range of backers. Include behind-the-scenes access or exclusive versions of your product for higher tiers.
- Create a Compelling Story: People connect with stories. Why are you passionate about this project? How will it benefit your backers? Use this narrative to engage your audience emotionally.
- Use High-Quality Media: High-quality photos and videos are crucial. They present a professional image and give potential backers a clear understanding of your project.
- Write Clear, Concise Copy: Keep your text easy to understand and get straight to the point. Use bullet points and headers to make your campaign easily skimmable.
In addition to creating a project, you will also need to promote it as well. Here are a few simple tips to help you with that:
- Use Social Media: Use platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram to spread the word. Regular updates and engagement with your audience can boost your project’s visibility.
- Build a Pre-Launch Mailing List: A mailing list is a powerful tool for building hype before your campaign launch. Use lead magnets (like sneak peeks or discounts) to encourage sign-ups.
- Collaborate with Influencers: Partnering with influencers in your niche can get your project in front of a larger audience. Ensure the influencer’s audience aligns with your target market.
- Press Releases: Reach out to relevant media outlets and bloggers. A well-written press release can lead to valuable coverage and increased visibility.
Remember, successful crowdfunding requires careful planning, compelling storytelling, and active promotion. Kickstarter can provide a significant boost for your business, but your success on the platform will depend heavily on how much of an audience you are able to build on your own. Then once you have a community, you must proactively engage with your community and deliver on your promises.
Additional Resources For Launching a Kickstarter
Running a Kickstarter campaign is exciting, but difficult! Knowing where to start and what to do doesn’t come easy. That’s why we’ve put together this list of articles to help you run the crowdfunding campaign of your dreams.
If you’re looking for more general advice on how to run an eCommerce business, check out his series of articles instead.
And if you’re a bit further along and you’re worried about shipping and fulfillment, this set of articles will be perfect for you.
Good luck in your next business venture!
You want to launch a Kickstarter.
And, maybe this goes without saying, but you actually want to fund, right?
Everybody’s telling you “build an audience” and “generate leads.”
But what if you don’t know how to do that? Or what to do when you’re live?
What if you want some more hand-holding than that?
That’s where Launchboom comes in. That’s why I’ve brought on Will Ford, President and Cofounder of Launchboom, a company that specializes in helping crowdfunding creators succeed through their accelerator program.
Transcript
This transcript was generated with AI and may contain occasional minor errors.
Brandon Rollins: You want to launch a Kickstarter, and maybe this goes without saying, but you actually want to fund, right? Everybody’s telling you to build an audience and generate leads. Eh, we do that too. But what if you don’t know how to do that? Or what do you do once you’re live? What if you want some more hand holding than just this general advice that you find on the internet?
That’s where Launchboom comes in. And that’s why I brought on Will Ford, the president and co founder of Launchboom, a company that specializes in helping crowdfunding creators. succeed through their accelerator program. Now, we’re going to cut to the interview in just a minute, but real quick, my name is Brandon.
This video is brought to you by Fulfillrite. We ship orders for e commerce and crowdfunding campaigns. Link below for more details. The quotes are free. Now, one last quick note. We edited with a light touch on this interview because we wanted to keep it simple, a little lo fi, and honest. Just like two professionals on a Zoom call.
All right, let’s cut to the interview. All right. So I just started the recording. We’re, uh, I guess about to begin on that. Um, so first of all, well, thank you very much for taking the time today to come onto our channel. I really appreciate it. Yeah,
Will Ford: man, I’m pumped to be here. And, uh, it’s been so much fun working with you like over like the last year.
And, um, when you told me about this, I was excited to be a part of it. So I appreciate you for having me on today. Thank you.
Brandon Rollins: Absolutely. We’re just starting. We’re just getting started out with these kinds of interviews and we’re excited to see where it goes.
Will Ford: No, I think, I think this is so cool that you’re providing all of, um, this information for your audience.
Um, there’s just so many experts in our industry and, um, it’s so cool that you’re inviting, you know, different experts in to kind of share their experiences and just help your community grow and thrive.
Brandon Rollins: Absolutely. Um, so I’ll just jump right into it, like, So, of course, I know what LaunchBoom does.
LaunchBoom is a, is a partner of Fulfill, right? I feel like that’s a necessary disclosure that I should probably just get out there. Um, but for the, you know, general viewing audience, can you explain what LaunchBoom does and how it’s changed over time?
What Launchboom Does
Will Ford: Yeah, yeah. So I founded Launch Boom back in 2015. And the reason I started Launch Boom was because I’ve always been very involved launching consumer products.
And before I learned about Kickstarter or Indiegogo, I was doing it the traditional way when it comes to launching new consumer products. So what that looked like was I’d come up with a really cool product idea. Um, I would have to. Place a significant investment of my own into that product idea to figure out manufacturing.
Uh, usually with most manufacturers, you’d have to pay for, you know, half the order up front, and then the other half of the order would have to, you know, get paid, you know, once they are ready to deliver the product. And, um, and so, you know, you’d have to make a significant investment because when it comes to manufacturing new consumer products, um, you’ve got to, Uh, place larger orders or the largest orders possible because with larger volume orders, you get much more, uh, competitive price breaks and that makes it easier for you to make a much better margin when you start selling your product in the, in the market.
And so, um, you know, before crowdfunding, I would have to come up with a lot of my own money. I would have to come up with a clever marketing strategy and then I’d better be right because if I wasn’t right, then I would be upside down before I even get. Right. Because I would have had all this product that I wouldn’t be able to move.
And I’ve been there before too. And it’s not, it’s, it’s a scary place to be in. Like it’s not fun. Um, it’s also kind of risky when you put a lot of your own money into a product before you’ve even validated that there’s demand. We’re people that want to buy the product. And that’s what really turned me on initially to Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
I couldn’t believe that I could take a prototype and I could pre sell that prototype to millions of people all over the world, and I can take their money up front. Before I have to make the product and deliver the product to the end user. Um, and you know, in the early years, you know, Kickstarter and Indiegogo, they’re, they’re fairly, uh, new platforms.
I mean, they both opened their doors like around 2009. So, you know. I couldn’t believe like having gone into those platforms back in like 2010, 2011, and just seeing like all these new product ideas, raising like millions of dollars in pre sales and, you know, being an entrepreneur, Brendan, I was like, wait a minute, if I could pre sell a million dollars with a product, I could place a much larger volume order with my manufacturer and get even better price breaks, right.
And get even better margins. And it was just a much. Safer way to validate demand and launch new consumer products. So when I sold my last company, which was called pep box, um, I had, uh, an advisor on my board, um, and he asked me as soon as we exited that deal, he said, Hey, well, since I helped you through that exit, could you help me in a Navy seal, launch a new consumer product?
Cause now I know you’re available, you know, you’ve sold your company, you’ve got some time, would you mind helping us? And I said, why don’t we take that product? To kickstarter and why don’t we pre sell that product so we can potentially place a larger volume order and help get this product in the market faster with less risk.
And he loved the idea. So he said, Hey, well, I’m a real estate guy. How about I just give you the capital you need and why don’t you just run this for me? So I basically took it into a Kickstarter campaign, but what I did was I really spent about three months before the Kickstarter building my own community.
And I did it through Facebook advertising, Instagram advertising. And I built out this like massive audience that was excited about the product. Before I went to Kickstarter. So when I went to Kickstarter, I set a very conservative goal. So on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, you’ve got to set a goal that you know you can hit, because if you don’t hit that goal, you won’t get any money off the platform.
So you’ve got to hit your funding goal. That’s like rule number one. And so what I would do is I would build this massive email list through Facebook and Instagram advertising. To build my own community of people excited, engaged, ready to buy. So when I go to Kickstarter, I would basically set my campaign goal at like 20 or 30 grand.
And it was a number that I knew I could definitely convert as soon as I’ve launched on Kickstarter. So by the time I turn on Kickstarter, I get my entire campaign funded. Within the first hour when I launched this first product, and when that happens, we became one of the most popular products on Kickstarter at that time.
So they start to promote the campaign to their millions of viewers on their platform by giving us better placement, featuring us in their newsletter. And when that happened, we got this massive organic lift from all the community members of backers that are there looking for really cool projects to back.
And so from there. We were able to raise, you know, huge amounts of money very, very quickly. So that’s kind of when the light bulb went off for me, Brendan, because I was actually looking for more support with doing that pre launch work. And I did a ton of research and there was no one in the world supporting entrepreneurs when it came To Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
And so that’s when I saw a bigger opportunity because I’m like, wait a minute. This is a much smarter way for entrepreneurs to launch new products and it’s less risky and it’s way more effective than the traditional way of doing it. The way I was doing it before Kickstarter. And so that’s when I realized that, you know, there was an opportunity to build an agency to support entrepreneurs all over the world and having what I call.
These launch boom effects, right? And that’s why I named my company launch boom. And I bought launch boom. com on GoDaddy. I’ll never forget it. I bought it for 9. 99. And, um, and that’s when launch boom was born. I, um, partnered up with some really, really sharp marketing marketers here in San Diego. And, uh, they, they, they shared the vision with me.
I was like, Hey guys, if all we do is focus on helping entrepreneurs maximize their crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We can build the largest agency in the world and we can get there fast. And because no one was doing it, Brandon at the time. So I’ll never forget. So I start launching in 2015 and that first year, now I had to go find projects to launch.
Right. So fortunately I had a really, really. Great track record of launching other consumer products. So I knew a lot of consumer product creators out there. So I just reached out to my personal network in the, in the early year of starting the business. And I was able to sign 15 clients and, um, it was more of a white club service.
So I’d do everything for them. Um, I had basically charged 50 grand upfront. So they had to have some kind of funding in place. Uh, 25 would go into the marketing because we’d have to do like video production, we’d have to create ads for Facebook and Instagram. And then the other half of the budget would go into advertising so I could build that, you know, largest pre launch email as possible before we’d go to Kickstarter or into Yogo and more or less control that outcome.
And so that first year we learned a lot, you know, we had 15 launches. Um, all those launches did phenomenal. They all did like six or seven figures. And then finally I’m like, well, if I’m going to keep growing and scaling this agency, I need more projects. So the riskiest thing I did, Brandon, was I actually flew out to Brooklyn, New York, and I got a meeting somehow.
I don’t even remember how I got it, but I was able to get a meeting with the executive team at Kickstarter. I met with them. I said, Hey guys, this is why our campaigns are doing so well. It’s called pre launch and I actually educated them. As to how we do pre launch, because that was foreign to them at the time.
They just had the platform. They would just launch the products. They just had the backers. They weren’t really doing any support on the entrepreneur creator side. So once I showed them why the pre launch was able to control a better outcome, they loved it. They’re like, Hey, well, you know, we’re more focused right now on continuing to build our backer audience.
So how about we just send you any campaigners that aren’t quite ready to launch with us so we can have bigger, better campaigns on our platform. And as soon as that happened, I went out to San Francisco and I met with Indiegogo’s team and I, I had the same type of conversation with their executive team and they had the same reaction.
They’re like, Hey, will, we’re building our backers. We’re not really able to support the campaigners the way you are. Why don’t we make you a preferred partner on our platform? So by the time 2016 hits a year after we open launch, boom, I’ve got this like floodgates open from Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and they’re sending me all my business.
It was amazing. So 2016, I go from launching, you know, 15 products in 2015 to 2016. Now I’ve launched close to a hundred products. That’s how many new clients were coming in and our agency was growing fast. And at this time, mind you, now people are starting to copy my model, right? So now I have competitors, there’s other agencies starting to.
Kind of pop up in Europe and pop up here in the U S and, uh, which is the best compliment ever. It means, you know, I’m doing something right when people start copying your model. Um, but in the early years, to be honest, as an agency, we were just building an email list, right? And the only issue with just building an email list is that you’re going to get a low conversion rate.
Right. So when you have an email list and you email market back to that audience, we were getting on average, like 3 percent conversions, right? So we’d have to build a massive audience in order to hit those like six or seven figure outcomes. And so at the time, what I was doing was I wanted to create a more efficient process, I wanted to make it easier for my clients to have even.
Bigger, better campaign outcomes. And so we ended up creating something called the reservation funnel.
Reservation Funnels
Brandon Rollins: And this is one of your like big key, unique things that launch boom does. It’s a very specific Launchboom thing.
Will Ford: Yeah. So the reservation funnel, honestly, it was like the biggest game changer for us and the world.
And crowdfunding, because what we ended up doing was we took that email one step further and the idea was okay, great. Now that we’ve got the email interest and they submitted their email because they want us to notify them when we launch. The idea was, well, we’re What if we turn that into an actual reservation to create a more qualified audience?
So the idea was, it was honestly, I took it from Elon Musk when he launched a Cybertruck and he did those like a thousand dollar deposit reservations. And he ended up creating like huge amounts of revenue for Tesla on that one reservation funnel idea. I was like, Hey, I wonder if this would work for crowdfunding.
And sure enough, it did. And so the way it works is once we run a Facebook ad or Instagram ad and someone interested in the product clicks on the ad, what we do is we then pull them into an opportunity to give us a dollar reservation. And what we do is we create a call to action. We say, Hey, we’re launching soon on Kickstarter.
The first thousand backers are going to get a lower price and early delivery. So if you want the best deal before we go to Kickstarter. All you have to do today is place a 1 money back guarantee deposit, and we’re going to guarantee you, um, that you get the very best deal today before we go live. And so what was interesting was we didn’t really care about the dollar.
It was more the transaction because people don’t transact unless they’re serious about committing to a deal. So what ended up happening, yeah, as soon as we turned on this reservation system. We started getting massive conversions. So like I said earlier, when I had that original email list going into a Kickstarter, I’d get a 3 percent conversion, right?
When I took it to through the reservation funnel, if I had a thousand dollar reservations before a campaign, we’re getting 30 percent or greater conversions.
Measuring Purchase Intent
Brandon Rollins: So you’re like really measuring for, for purchase intent when you do that. And that’s one of the things that really helps you. Cause you’re like, you can just take that.
You know, make a lookalike audience out of it or do something else that like really measures for that kind of
Will Ford: thing. Exactly right. And, and, you know, I’ve been at it now for nine years, Brandon. That’s how long I’ve been working on LaunchBoom and we’ve honestly built the most effective product launch system in the world.
And what’s really interesting about what we’ve created is also the lowest cost solution, right? Because I want to be able to help every entrepreneur. I don’t want to just be able to help the funded ones. So when I, in my early years at LaunchBoom. I was really focused on building the world’s largest agency.
The only issue with that model was it only worked for funded startups. Like I said earlier, like I needed a minimum 50 grand investment in that product launch for me to do everything for the client and to be able to deliver a significant outcome of six or seven figures of pre sales, right? So the problem with that model was I could only work with funded startups.
And my agency grew super fast. So from 2015 up until about 2021, we had launched over a thousand successful product launches on Kickstarter on Indiegogo, right? So we were the world’s largest crowdfunding agency. You know, we rang that bell, you know, back in like 2018 is when we got there. And, um, and then the pandemic hit and we went through hyper growth and we exploded.
I went from like. 20 full time employees, uh, pre pandemic to close to a hundred employees by the end of 2021. It was massive growth and, um, it was an exciting time and we were doing incredibly well as an agency. Our clients were thriving. That’s really where we built our brand reputation as the leader in our space.
And then in 2022. Everything changed. And what I mean by that was I had this massive team that was ready to keep scaling the business, but what happened in 2022 was we stopped seeing qualified lead gen come through our lead gen efforts and we stopped seeing like these like funded deals. And what we realized were that creators needed a cheaper option.
They wanted a more affordable solution. And so. That’s when, as the lead gen started to decline in 2022, that’s when we saw a much greater opportunity to turn launch boom into something so much greater than it ever could have been as an agency. And that’s when we decided to kill, intentionally kill our agency and convert it into a crowdfunding community and platform where now we provide coaching, consulting, and we upgraded all of our software and technology.
So the idea was, how can we make it? Easier, more fun for anyone in the world out there with a really cool idea to actually validate demand, lower their risk and be able to successfully launch that product.
Brandon Rollins: It’s acts like an educational thing. Somebody gets involved in the program and they can learn like what they need to do to actually make sure they’re ready for the campaign.
Will Ford: And more than that, they can basically avoid all the headaches that we went through. Over the previous, you know, seven, eight years as an agency, you know, we learned what doesn’t work, what does work, um, we learned, you know, at what point to put cash into advertising or when to scale advertising, you know, there’s so many things we learned along the way.
And so what we decided to do in 2022 was we intentionally killed our agency. Brandon, it was crazy, man.
Brandon Rollins: Yeah, that’s, that’s gotta be a scary decision to make.
Agency to Accelerator
Will Ford: It was, it was probably the scariest pivot I’ve ever made professionally because we already had the most successful agency at the time. And the idea was like, Hey, what if we kill that and we create our own platform and we build crowdfunding tools that make it easier.
We make it way more affordable. So now anyone out there can use a credit card. If they’re bootstrapping and they can go through our proven system, but we can make it way more affordable for them to take that product idea into Kickstarter into Indiegogo and still have the same, if not better outcome that our agency was delivering.
And so we spent the, a lot of the year of 2022 building that out. And, uh, we had to shift some people around on our team into different seats to help support this new idea and model, but it was a huge game changer because now we can work with. Anyone out there that has a really cool product idea and maybe underfunded, or maybe they’re bootstrapping and they’re, they’re using their credit card to support these product ideas and these innovative products that they want to take to market, or maybe it’s someone who’s never done it before and they want to take that first idea from that napkin sketch and they want to turn it into a prototype and actually.
Launch it and turn it into a successful e commerce business, for example, which many of my clients do. And so we ended up creating what I call launch boom 2. 0. Um, the world knows it today as launch boom accelerator. And since we made that pivot, Brandon, we’ve been on, we’re onboarding more clients than I ever dreamed of.
We’re literally adding like a hundred plus new product creators every single month into our community. And the reason they’re coming in is because it is the most. Engaged active community of creators. They’re all supporting each other. They also have access to everyone on my team, myself included. So we have dedicated coaching calls every day.
So depending upon what part of the process they’re in, they can jump on a call with one of our experts. They can get their questions answered. So they get that handholding. Um, now they can do more on their own because we upgraded our technology. So that reservation funnel system I talked to you through a little earlier in this conversation, our clients can now actually build their own reservation funnels.
They can just like drag and drop imagery, messaging, uh, little teaser videos. Um, they can collect their own reservations. They can also. Price test, they can test different lead offers now. So the number one, I’d say pain point most of my clients have when they come to us and they want to launch a new product is they all have the same question.
Hey, Will, how much should I sell my product for? How much do you think I can get for this product? And I always answer that the same way. I have no idea. Let’s figure that out. Let’s use our system and let’s go test different lead offers to figure out what the market will support. So we are now able to do all of that during prelaunch.
So in addition to, you know, building a huge audience of those dollar reservations, we’re also able, before we scale that, we’re able to test different lead offers. And so the other huge advantage we have today, Brandon is. I have over 7 million backers in my database because I’ve retained a copy of every backer from every campaign I’ve ever launched from the beginning.
So what’s really cool is part of our platform allows our clients to access specific audiences that they think are their actual demographic. Uh, buyer, and what we can do is we can upload those audiences into their Facebook or Instagram accounts and do what’s called lookalike audience targeting. So now we can actually place their lead offers or their ads in the organic feeds of backers that have already had one or more successful experiences on Kickstarter IndieGoGo.
So they’re more likely to do it again. So this allows us to get a much, much bigger impact from that ad spend because we actually have data. That they can leverage to bring down that ad cost. So what’s really cool and unique about our system is what we’re really doing in essence, Brandon, is we’re helping all of our clients fail fast and fail cheap.
The Launchboom Method
Brandon Rollins: Yeah. And I think that’s like, that’s huge. Cause let me think about this, like. Just kind of recap, like the basic process you’ve got at the very top, you’ve got like lead offer testing, or I don’t know if that’s the right word, but like, let’s just say offer testing. Like you’re actually testing the pitch and the price, and then you get into the more granular stuff, which is like.
Add copy imagery and that kind of stuff. And like, as you go down, it’s like, is this the right offer? Are we making the right basic pitch? And then after that, I assume, and I haven’t like worked with you guys in this capacity yet, but it’s gotta be in there. You guys will help them put together that page, make sure that nothing on there loses the conversions, and then you just kind of go through this process.
And then once you get to that point, um, and somebody’s got enough leads. They’re selling the right thing. They’ve got enough leads, the campaign page looks good. Then it is, here’s how you run it. Here’s how you ship it. And here’s how you, you know, go to e comm and it gets like progressively easier because it’s like, I feel like the what is so much harder than the how.
Like you can find anything in the world on the how, but the what is a really hard thing and helping people figure out what is like probably one of the most valuable things that. People don’t really think about too much.
Will Ford: Yeah, no, I’d say today what’s really interesting about my business at Launchboom is we have thousands of active clients right now that are either preparing to launch, they’re live on Kickstarter, you know, so they’re Actively funding their projects right now, or pre selling their products.
And then we also have a group of clients that have finished crowdfunding. That we’re helping, uh, transition into e commerce, right. And we’re helping work through their manufacturing. So we also provide another program called source boom. And the idea is like, you know, once we get through crowdfunding.
Well, let’s help our clients source the best, you know, sourcing experts, manufacturing experts, and deliver the best possible experience to those backers. So now we truly set them up for success because now they will have great products landed and ready for e commerce or Amazon or retail. So it’s, I’d say the coolest thing about what we do at LaunchBoom is what we’ve pioneered.
Which is what I call pre launch. It’s all about figuring out how to maximize the product launch potential. But we do all the heavy lifting before we get to Kickstarter or Indiegogo. And so we start with messaging, positioning. How can we position that product to appeal to the greatest amount of people out there in the world?
But we also start with like market research. So we look at, okay. Who are your competitors in this landscape? What, what makes your product unique, superior, different to those competitors? And then we look at what are the price points of those competitors? What’s a realistic price that we can put on your product to help you maximize that average order value?
And that’s also how we help protect our client margins through this process. Now that we’ve done that messaging positioning work. Now let’s go test. Let’s go see if people will pay this much money for this product. So what we do is we create different reservation funnels. We create different lead offers, and then we basically point those advertisements on Facebook, on Instagram, and we look at the data.
We look at what’s converting. We look at, we look at what’s the cost to acquire that 1 reservation, right? So what’s really, really cool about what we’ve done is we’ve created a data driven process that literally will tell our clients before we get to Kickstarter, how much money they’re going to be able to raise, whether or not they’re going to have a big enough campaign to support the manufacturing requirement they need.
Cause every manufacturer is different. Everyone has different minimum orders that they have to place in order to successfully produce and deliver that. Experience to that backer. So the beauty of my system is today. I’ve got thousands of clients here at LaunchBoom. I’d say half of them are like super green.
They’re maybe launching their first or second product ever. The other half of my clients are very successful e commerce brands, and they love my system because they can validate. New product demand faster for lower cost. And if they get great data, great. Now they put more time and resources and we go hard into Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
And we generate thousands of new loyal backer customers through the experience. And we make it easier for them to produce, deliver, and move into that e commerce or Amazon or retail opportunity or all three. Just depends on the client that we’re working with. And so what’s so cool about what we’ve built that launch boom is we’ve got this data driven pre launch process that allows us to actually control the launch outcome.
So we’re not guessing anymore. And so I’d say that is. Probably the number one differentiator with launch boom and anyone else in the world right now is that if you’re out there and you’re interested in launching a physical tangible consumer product, if you come into launch boom, we can tell you within a matter of months, whether or not you should put more time and resources into it because we can find.
For a much lower budget, I’m talking like under 10 grand, we can find whether or not it’s worth putting more time, more resources into going big on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, because in some cases we might take a client through pre launch and the data isn’t positive, right? Or we can’t get people to, uh, you know, put a dollar reservation down because, you know.
For whatever reason, you know, there’s an issue with the product or, uh, the value prop isn’t there, or there could be a variety of reasons, which really cool is that we can actually, um, run surveys, uh, to the people that did show interest and we can ask them what they liked, what they didn’t like. And so it gives our clients an opportunity to potentially iterate and improve that product.
And then we’ll test it again.
Brandon Rollins: This is also key because I feel like people really sleep on the possibility of just starting work on a project and then doing the research and then quitting because it doesn’t actually make sense from a market perspective. There’s no shame in that. It’s like, I’ve got a lot of, um, board game, you know, general contacts that are out there and it is a running joke.
In every game designer’s life that they’ve got like 20 games that are sitting on a shelf somewhere and one of them makes it to market because it’s like you table that and some of them you just like you play them a few times and it’s just not worth continuing. And if you’re able to do that on like a market level, figure out if anybody’s actually going to buy the darn thing in the first place, you can potentially save somebody tens of thousands of dollars, probably more than the accelerator costs.
Program Cost
Let’s be honest. Uh, what, what’s the cost by the way to, to get in there? Like, is it a month a month
Will Ford: kind of thing? Yeah. So, so yeah. So right now, just to be direct, like Brandon, it’s. A one time cost, 9, 800 to take your product into my system that gives you access to my team members here at LaunchBoom. It gives you access to all the perks for being in the community.
So you’ll get access to like our partnerships, like Fulfillrite, right? So we can help you not only like have a successful crowdfunding campaign, but also what happens after crowdfunding. We can help actually set you up so you can actually start scaling and growing and building a profitable business. We have e commerce partners, we have Amazon partners.
So the beauty of our system is it’s a one time cost. Um, if someone out there, if 9, 800 is like a scary number, we have payment, we have payment plans now. So people can use credit cards and make like monthly, quarterly payments. If that helps them, you know, take their idea to market and do it within their financial means.
So we literally have like the lowest cost, but by far the best solution in our industry right now. And that’s why we’re having so much success because it’s a system. That basically controls the outcome for every single product that we turn on. So literally we only go live on Kickstarter or Indiegogo when we control the outcome.
When we know we can raise enough money to actually build, manufacture and deliver an awesome experience to that backer. And that’s the hardest part because at that point, now that you validated demand and now that you have happy customers, well, now you also have product. So now you can turn on your e commerce store.
Now you can turn on your Amazon channel, or now you can start shopping those, those retail connections to get your products into Walmart or, or target, or, you know, wherever you want to sell.
Pivoting to Retail
Brandon Rollins: And it’s like, it’s honestly on Amazon, if you’ve got the right product and then even in a somewhat decent looking page with all the A plus content and whatnot.
It can be like seven bucks to get a purchase. It’s not that hard to get big purchases on Amazon, especially not if you’ve already gone through a Facebook ad driven process, a Kickstarter driven process. It’s like by the time you get through that, you’re probably kind of a lock for Amazon success
Will Ford: as well.
Yeah, yeah, definitely. You know, at the end of the day, like when it comes to launch boom, the reason I still love what I’m doing here is because we truly have built the most effective product launch system that I know of. And we continue to iterate. We continue to improve it. The idea and goal for launch boom is we want to make it fun.
We want to make it easy and we want to make it as affordable as possible. So anyone. In any part of the world that has this idea of burning in their mind that they’re dreaming about, that they’re thinking about, that they want to launch, that they can actually launch it now, even if they’re underfunded.
Right. And they can actually take that idea, turn it into a real profitable business. And if we do this and continue doing this well, Brandon, my goal is I’m not going to stop doing what I’m doing until I’ve helped over a million entrepreneurs, uh, take their product ideas. And turn them into profitable businesses.
Once I’ve done that, I’ve truly made a positive impact on the world. And that’s what we’re doing here at Launch Boom. And that’s what makes it fun. It’s just seeing like all these campaigns do so well. So what’s cool about that pivot I told you about earlier, when we killed the agency and we pivoted over to this coaching consulting platform, we’re launching more products than we ever dreamed of launching.
So on average, we’re launching like eight to 10 products every single week. All year long and they’re all doing phenomenal, like they’re all doing super well.
Brandon Rollins: And the beautiful thing is like, you’re not trading your time for money anymore or having or paying someone else to do that. And at the same time, you’re able to give people something that is quite a bit less expensive.
Like I know, and I’ll be honest with you, if you’re like really scrappy starting up and you do this with like shoestring budget, the little bit of savings from a job, 9, 800 is a terrifying figure. Like I, I launched my first campaign when I was driving a 1, 500 car for comparison, but, but like, honestly, when you compare that to agency fees, like a good marketing agency, a mid range price is probably a hundred, hundred, 10, 120 an hour.
I mean, like we’re talking mid range, like probably low mid range, um, at this point, and that stuff adds up so, so, so unbelievably fast, especially when you’re talking market research, product validation. This isn’t even getting into advertising expenses. 9, 800 is actually like quite a bit lower than that, and it mitigates quite a bit of risk.
Access to Additional Funding
Will Ford: I mean, I mean, Brandon, what’s even cooler about kind of where we are today at LaunchBoom is like, I’d say another one of like the top number one pain points are funding, you know, a lot of my clients are like, Hey, well, can you invest in my company? Uh, well, can you help me fund my advertising budget? So I can go bigger on this campaign.
And what’s really cool is I’ve also. Uh, recently found a funding partner that will literally provide my clients with anywhere from like 100 to 200, 000 in interest free credit lines to support these launches, which is honestly more than enough capital, uh, to, to not only like maximize your campaign, but then to get the money out of the platform to easily repay that credit line.
Before any interest is ever due. So, I mean, literally like over the years, because I’ve worked with thousands and thousands of product raters, they all ask the same questions, right. At different parts of the process. So all I’ve done over the last decade is I’ve. Found the best solutions to those questions.
And I literally created a platform that makes it easier, way less risky, and honestly more fun because when you’re an entrepreneur going out alone, it’s lonely, you know, and now you don’t have to, if you come to launch boom, you have a whole community of like minded people that are doing the same thing that want to help.
everyone succeed. And so it’s way more fun when you have a community of other people that are energized and excited about the products are launching and they want to share their resources and they want to make sure like everyone in the community is thriving, which is really what’s happening right now at launch boom.
So, so again, whoever’s listening to this, if you have a product idea. You don’t have to do it alone. You’re not by yourself. There’s a whole group of people worldwide here at LaunchBoom, um, that want to help you, that want to see you succeed. And, um, again, you don’t have to go at it alone anymore.
Brandon Rollins: Absolutely.
Now, follow up question on the financing. Like, of course, getting low interest financing, a lot of folks, you know, they want to see bank documents they want to see or inventory or something like that. Oh, we actually just had an inventory financing guy on. I think that one’s going to be up by the time this is up on YouTube.
But, uh, so with this, it’s like, do they look at the advertising? Do they look at the results and kind of make a determination based on what they think the expected revenues are going to be?
Will Ford: No, honestly, it’s, uh, it’s really interesting. Uh, but the, uh, credit facility that we’re working with, um, for the most part, like if you’re a U S registered business, so if you have a U a U S.
Business entity, whether it’s an LLC, a C corp, an S corp, it really doesn’t matter as long as it has a EIN number and it’s a registered U. S. business, um, they can, they can, they can lend you money. That is good to know we don’t even have to show them add metrics or any data. Like that’s literally all they need to see.
Now, obviously, depending upon how long that business has been around, how long, you know, like, uh, we’ll determine how much money they can lend you. Right. So like, if you just opened it and you reach out to them a month later, they might not be able to give you a 200 grand. They might only be able to give you a 30 or 50 grand, but they can still provide that, that.
That credit line to make
Brandon Rollins: that can still be really useful. Like if you’ve got the metrics that are backing you up, at least like internally, if you look at this and you have a very good reason to think you’ll succeed, but you’re just like 15, 000 bucks short or something could be a good option.
Will Ford: Yeah, totally.
I mean, um, it’s amazing like what resources are available to entrepreneurs today. And, and I’d say that’s probably one of the things that, um, I, I’ve really focused on the last year is providing those resources to my community in my launch room. Uh, platform. And so everyone in my community has access to all these resources that, that I’ve continued to find.
I continue to add them if I think they’re going to add value to my client. And, um, it doesn’t have to be scary anymore. It’s actually the opposite. It’s actually a ton of fun. And, um, and it can be extremely lucrative if you’ve got a cool product idea.
Brandon Rollins: Absolutely. So, um, let me think. Actually, I do have a question after this, but I guess second to last question for now.
Future Plans
Um, so kind of on an unrelated note, what do you see? Um, where do you see launch room going in the next five years? You have any other initiatives in the pipeline that you’re ready to share? Yeah.
Will Ford: Yeah. I mean, like I said earlier, like, Okay. I love what I do here at launch boom. And so does the rest of my team members.
Like everyone is genuinely passionate about supporting these entrepreneurs and succeeding in succeeding with their product launches. And so honestly, the next five years, like I just want to continue to create the lowest cost solution to make it as fun as possible and to help as many entrepreneurs as possible.
And to answer your question directly. Five years from now, I’d like to be as close to that million dollar number as possible. Like I’d love to eventually help a million entrepreneurs, product creators, um, have successful launches. If, you know, and if it takes me 10 or 20 years to get there, so be it, but I’m not going to stop until we get there.
Brandon Rollins: That’s awesome. I think that’s a good goal. So, um, real last question. If there is one thing that you think potential Kickstarter creators need to focus on, just one piece of advice to give them, what would it be?
Parting Advice
Will Ford: Yeah, so, honestly, and I know this might sound a little cliche, but if anyone out there is considering launching a new product on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, you’re going to save a lot of time and a lot of money if you reach out to my team.
And you don’t even have to hire my team. Like, like we have experts that will talk to you. Uh, we’ll, we’ll tell you the ins and outs of crowdfunding. Maybe crowdfunding isn’t the right direction for you. And if that’s the case, we’ll tell you why, and we’ll point you in the right direction, but you can save a lot of time and a lot of headache and a lot of money.
If you talk to someone on my team and, and again, you don’t have to pay any money to do that.
Brandon Rollins: All right. And anybody who’s interested in learning more about Launch Boom, I’m going to include all the links down below in the description so you can easily find them. And from there, you’ll be able to just learn anything that you want to know about Launchboom.
A Cool Success Story
Will Ford: Yeah, yeah. And again, we love learning about new product ideas. We love helping entrepreneurs. So if you’re out there and you’ve got an awesome product idea and you’ve been thinking about crowdfunding, like we’d love to talk to you. Um, But other than that, yeah. I mean, like Brandon, there’s, there’s just been so many like success stories over the years.
Um, like, um, like I know before we had this, uh, you know, this call together today, um, I know, um, you know, you were like, Hey, will, you know, it’d be really cool if you could share like a cool success story, you know, what’s one of the coolest campaigns you’ve ever worked on? Right. And I want to take a minute and talk about that because, you know, there’s so many and a lot of people, they always think I’m going to like talk about like my multimillion dollar, you know, campaigns.
And honestly, a lot of those aren’t my best campaigns, believe it or not, because a lot of those big multimillion dollar campaigns, they spent a tremendous amount on advertising to get there, to be honest. Um, but I’d say like, probably like one of the coolest stories is this, uh, group of entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka.
Uh, they reached out to me and they had this really, really cool product. It’s called Spring. And what it is, it’s basically like these like wraps you put around your calves. And, uh, it actually massages your calves, which your calves have one of your major arteries in your body. And so they found that if you wear these, uh, leg wraps on like long, uh, travel or, you know, airplane trips that it totally eliminates like being jet lagged.
Or, or, you know, uh, basically jet lag, it eliminates it. And at a time I was flying all over the world, speaking at conferences about crowdfunding. So they sent me a demo and I would literally wear these leg wraps on their plans. And people looking at me like, what’s on your legs? And it was like this awesome massage the whole time I was.
Traveling on these 10 hour flights or 15 hour flights to Hong Kong or wherever I was going. And, uh, I literally had no jet lag. I’d like land and I’d feel fresh and ready to go. It was amazing. It’s also a really cool product for like people who work out a lot and just kind of like, you know, just really great rehab type tool, uh, for people who are like super into fitness or people who run a lot.
Um, so anyway, they brought the product to me and they’re like, Hey, well. And now that you’ve demoed the product, can you help us launch it? And I’m like, absolutely. It was, it’s a phenomenal product. It’s called Spring S P R Y N G. And, uh, and we ended up launching it on Indiegogo. But before we launched on Indiegogo, Brandon, I took them through my prelaunch reservation system and we couldn’t.
Get any decent conversions. So at the time they’re like, Hey, we’ll, our cost to produce this thing is 30. So eventually we want to sell for 150, but we’re willing to give a deal on Kickstarter at 99 to maximize orders. And I thought that was an incredible deal, right? But today, Brandon consumers are super sharp, right?
So when they saw this really cool looking product with all these like massage features that they thought it was like. Well, what I concluded was that they thought that it was a gimmick or it was a ripoff because it was like almost too good to be true. Like, how can I get this awesome massage device for both my cast for 99 bucks?
It must be, uh, you know, there’s gotta be something wrong here. Right. Like, like consumers just weren’t putting down reservations. They weren’t signing up to, you know, buy the product when we bought, we’re preparing to launch. So I basically did some more market research and I told the guys in Sri Lanka, I was like, guys, listen, you guys have an awesome product here, but your competitors are selling for like thousands of dollars.
And so there’s a huge gap here. I go, I know your cost is 30, but would you allow me to sell this for 189? And then you can go to retail at like 250 or 300. Because it’s a great product and, and you’re undervaluing, um, your, your price, in my opinion. So they said, Hey, well, at this point, we just want this to work.
So whatever you think we need to do, go ahead and test it. So I tested a lead offer at 189. And all of a sudden our reservations were like the lowest cost reservations we’ve ever seen come through. We ended up getting thousands of these dollar reservations. And then when we took it to Indiegogo, we ended up pre selling over a million dollars.
And now mind you, their cost didn’t change their cost is still 30 to produce that unit, but now I just basically like tripled their profit margins, right? Because now I’m selling for 189 versus 99, right? So. As you can imagine their team in Sri Lanka, they love me, right? Because not only did I help them pre sell a million dollars, over a million dollars on Indiegogo, but I made them a huge profit margin on that launch.
And they were able to reinvest that back into their e commerce. And now they’ve got a super successful business. So like, that’s the value of the pre launch. It’s figuring out how to maximize your average order value, how to get people to actually Pull the trigger and transact with you before you get to Kickstarter.
So that’s always a story I love sharing. Uh, just because it again goes back to like really what we’re doing at the end of the day, which is we’re mitigating the risk for all of our clients and we’re helping them position their products and maximize the price of every unit they move through the system.
Yeah,
Brandon Rollins: I think that’s a really good example of just the kind of things you can do because like that’s, that’s one of those things that only you only really figure out that you need to change pricing strategy just through testing it out and seeing what happens. And it’s amazing that that just occasionally happens where people actually perceive something as being a much better product when it has a higher price tag.
Will Ford: Yeah. Yeah. And again, there’s so many other stories like that, but I know you wanted me to talk about kind of a success, a success story. And that always is like top of mind because they were ready to like throw the rag in and call quits on it. And I convinced them to let me continue testing. And because we, we, we repositioned the pricing, we ended up having a major breakthrough.
Yeah,
Brandon Rollins: that’s a pretty amazing story. All right. So at this point, what I’m going to do, probably just between you and me is I’m going to like, probably edit around the order just a little bit. So it’s a little more fluid. So I’ve got my last question last. Then pop on intro and outro, but I think we’re good to go.
I think we’ve got a lot of good video here. All right. I’m going to go ahead and pause this recording. If you could thank you for watching this interview, I appreciate it. And I know that Will at Launch Boom does too. Details on both of our companies are going to be down there in the description. And just in case you missed the name earlier, my name is Brandon.
I’m here on behalf of Fulfillrite. If you need help shipping your orders, go to Fulfillrite. com and request a quote. We’ve shipped for thousands of crowdfunding campaigns, and we would be happy to ship for you as well. The quote doesn’t cost a thing, so if nothing else, you get some good information about pricing.
Link in the description. If you enjoyed this video, please take a moment to like and subscribe. Don’t forget to slap some postage on that bell so we can express ship new videos to you as soon as they drop. And last but not least, if you have any questions, leave a comment down below. I will personally answer as many of them as I can.
Thanks for watching.
Have you ever ordered something online and wondered how exactly it got to your house? You’re certainly not alone – people may shop online a ton, but the order fulfillment process is still a little opaque.
Supply chain management, done well, is a bit like magic. Online shoppers can go their whole lives without really understanding how items get from Point A to Point B. And that’s the way we like it!
But still, you might be curious about how the whole thing works. So to satisfy your curiosity, here are the 11 order fulfillment steps that take place within the walls of our warehouse – and other warehouses like it – that make online shopping possible.
11 Steps in Ecommerce Order Fulfillment
1. Sellers notify us about incoming shipments.
Before we can talk about what happens when you click “buy”, we need to talk about how goods wind up in our warehouse in the first place! Sellers have to ship them to us in bulk, which they do by booking freight.
Freight is how you get large quantities of goods from one place to another, such as a manufacturer to a warehouse. Booking freight is a complex enough subject in its own right, which we write about in detail here. Suffice it to say, when something happens in the world of freight – like a boat getting stuck in a canal – it can really slow down the flow of goods from one place to another!
In any case, in order for us to prep our warehouse for a big shipment, we have sellers send us an ASN, or advance shipping notice. That basically tells us when they’re shipping items in and what we can expect to find in the truck. This allows us to make sure we have enough people working a given shift to unload the truck in a timely manner.
The process is the same even in other countries. For example, Adayra Lopez, Vice President of Sales at InterFulfillment, a Canadian fulfillment center, describes a similar process for knowing when new orders come in.
“Orders are seamlessly transmitted to your [fulfillment center] software through integration with your shopping cart, ERP system, or other platforms,” says Lopez. “This eliminates the need for manual order uploads, though that option remains available if you prefer to start manually before integrating. Once an order is processed, the tracking number is automatically sent back to your shopping cart, ERP system, or other platforms through the integration.”
2. Bulk shipments arrive and we bring the inventory inside.
When the truck arrives, goods are typically packed in boxes. If there are enough goods, the boxes will be packed on pallets and possibly shrink-wrapped to the pallets.
Depending on the size and number of the boxes, we may use conveyors to slide boxes quickly from the truck into the warehouse. Alternatively, we may use pallet jacks to move entire pallets of goods within the warehouse. With either method, the goal is to ultimately move inventory to a designated place in the warehouse where they will be stored for the long term.
3. We update our records after receiving.
Once we receive goods, we make to update our system to reflect where we are going to store them. This makes it easy to know where to go when we need to retrieve items for order fulfillment. We also double-check to make sure we received the correct number of boxes or pallets based on the information included on the ASN.
4. The items are stored.
This part is straightforward. Either by hand or by using machinery like a pallet jack, we physically store the items where they need to go.
5. When an order comes in, we process the order data.
Now we can get to the part where you’re involved! We had to set the stage before your part could be played, because an order going to an empty warehouse simply cannot be fulfilled.
When you place an order online with a company that is using a fulfillment warehouse, a lot of things happen when you click that Buy button. The store will collect payment from you, and your shipping information as well as information about the order itself is sent to the fulfillment company. The specifics of how this happens differ based on what software the company is using and which fulfillment company they’re working with.
Let’s use a simple and common example for the sake of conversation. Say you order 10 blue baseball caps from a local Shopify store. Your mailing address is sent to us via a Shopify-Fulfillrite integration. Along with your mailing address, we also see which SKUs – unique items – you ordered along with quantities for each.
At this point, we now know exactly what we need to look for in the warehouse, where we can find it, and to whom we need to send it.
6. We pick items from the shelves.
At this point, we look for the blue baseball caps. We check our system to see where we stored them. Then a warehouse worker goes to pick them up and bring them to the shipping table.
During this process, we scan the items so we know how many we are taking out of inventory. This allows us to keep a pretty accurate tally of how many items we have on hand.
It’s worth noting that fulfillment centers also tend to be more cost-efficient than DIY shipping. According to Adayra Lopez at InterFulfillment, “their ability to leverage economies of scale plays a significant role. By managing large volumes of inventory for multiple clients, fulfillment centers can spread fixed costs—such as warehousing and equipment—over a larger base, effectively reducing the cost per unit.”
This “economies of scale” effect is why so many businesses – from small Shopify stores to mega-stores like Costco – rely on fulfillment centers instead of handling shipping in-house.
7. We pack items for shipping.
Once the items are delivered to the packing table, we determine how best to prep them for the mail. Breakable items need to be placed in rigid boxes and wrapped in cushioning material like bubble wrap. Other items, like T-shirts, can simply be put in polybags.
Choosing the right packaging can be a surprisingly complex topic in its own right. Suffice it to say, our goals are to pack items in the smallest packages possible while providing adequate padding so they items don’t break in the mail.
8. We print and apply postage.
Choosing the smallest package possible is important. Postage prices are determined by the weight and size of the package, so we naturally want to save our clients – the companies you order from – as much money as possible.
We weigh packages before we print postage and measure them as well. This allows us to buy and print the amount of postage. Depending on where we’re sending to, we may use a carriers such as UPS, USPS, or FedEx. For international shipping, we may use DHL or Asendia. Still in other cases, we may use regional carriers such as PCF (which serves just the northeastern US).
Once we print the postage, we apply it to the package and then prep it for pick-up.
9. Mail carriers pick up packages for delivery.
Because of the amount of packages we ship, carriers stop by our warehouse multiple times a day. Before they arrive, we sort packages based on carrier. That is to say, UPS packages go in one bin, USPS packages in another, and so on.
That way, when the carrier arrives, they take the bin full of goods and it’s a very short stop for them. This is where our work ends and mail carriers’ work begins.
10. Carriers deliver mail to your home.
Mail delivery is a complex subject in its own right. Suffice it to say that mail carriers each have their own hubs and sorting facilities. The trucks that collect packages from warehouses like ours all go to hubs/sorting facilities. At that point, packages are prepped to go from hub to hub. This is what’s happening when you see a package go from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Houston and so on as it gets closer to your house.
Eventually, when your package arrives at the closest hub to your home, it is prepped for last-mile delivery. That’s when your local postal carrier picks up the package and drops it off at your place!
It’s at this point that order fulfillment is complete!
11. When customers return items, we process them.
Or is it? As many as 15-40% of online purchases are returned, which is a very wide range, yes, but even 15% is a lot!
That means the company that you shopped from needs to have a good, simple process in place for when items are returned.
Here is what the process usually looks like, though it may vary from store to store. The customer will request to return the item. They print a return label and a local carrier picks up the package.
The carrier delivers the item back to our warehouse. From there, we follow instructions given to us by the seller on what to do with returns. Sometimes we put them back into stock and sometimes we throw them away. It depends entirely on the nature of the item itself and the seller’s instructions.
Either way, returns are an important part of the order fulfillment process too, even if it’s easy to forget about them!
Final Thoughts
Ecommerce order fulfillment is a complex, multi-step process. But all these steps serve a clear purpose – moving products smoothly from seller to customers. This is what makes it possible to order items from the comfort of your own home and receive them just two days later!
Shipping your own orders gets old fast. But finding the right order fulfillment partner to take care of it is a tough decision and one you want to make properly.
Picking the right order fulfillment partner (3PL) can save you time, money, and energy. That way, you can focus on growing your business because you’re not the one putting every box in the mail.
But if you pick the wrong one, shipments might get lost and customers might get angry. You might end up paying bills and not entirely understanding why.
It’s complicated. So to help you pick the right order fulfillment partner – and tell when it’s the right time to be thinking about this in the first place – we’ve put together this guide.
Step 1: Make sure you need order fulfillment.
Before hunting for an order fulfillment partner, make sure your business genuinely needs one. Hiring help with fulfillment can streamline your operations by cutting down on the time spent shipping orders. But it’s also one of the most important business decisions you will make, and it’s not something you want to do lightly or at the wrong time.
Here are six surefire signs you need help. Even a single yes means it’s time to consider hiring an order fulfillment center.
#1: Your customer base is growing faster than you can keep up.
A rapidly growing customer base is a fantastic problem, but it’s still a problem! Having too many customers can overwhelm your ability to fulfill orders.
To scale your business effectively, you must manage increased demand without sacrificing quality. Third-party logistics (3PL) companies can help by taking over the fulfillment process. This will allow you to focus on other growth areas.
According to Chris Matthews from Zatu Fulfilment in the UK, “as your orders start to increase, you may find more and more of the time that should be spent on growing your business is taken up with shipping out orders. You may be finding that your inbox is swamped with shipping queries and return requests. These are signs it is time to speak with a 3PL.”
#2: Order fulfillment is becoming slow or inaccurate.
When order volumes spike unexpectedly, delays and mistakes often follow. Slow or inaccurate fulfillment frustrates customers and tarnishes your reputation.
Partnering with a 3PL can ensure orders go out on-time, intact, and to the right addresses. That helps cut down on customer complaints and boosts repeat business.
#3: Your employees are working too much.
Overworking employees to meet order fulfillment demands is unsustainable, increasing labor costs and leading to burnout, which negatively affects productivity and morale. Outsourcing to a 3PL can relieve this pressure, providing additional resources to handle peak times without overburdening your team.
#4: Your business is becoming really complex.
As your business grows, so does its complexity. Managing multiple sales channels, inventory locations, and shipping options can become overwhelming. A 3PL partner can streamline these operations, offering integrated solutions to keep everything running smoothly.
#5: Shipping is chipping away at your profits.
High shipping costs can eat into your profits and deter customers. A 3PL can leverage its network and negotiating power to secure better shipping rates, reducing costs and improving your bottom line.
#6: You have run out of space.
Running out of storage space can limit your growth potential. Partnering with a 3PL provides access to their warehousing facilities, allowing you to scale without investing in additional infrastructure.
That means you don’t have to spend money paying for a storage unit!
Step 2: Decide how many warehouses you need.
Deciding you need a 3PL in the first place is an important step. The next important step before even making calls is to decide how much help you need.
If your store barely exceeds 100 orders per month, one warehouse might suffice for a lean, straightforward operation. No need to overcomplicate things by building a much larger network.
Centralizing inventory in one location simplifies bulk shipping and reduces costs. When issues come up with order fulfillment, that also means you have a single point of contact.
However, if you’re handling a high volume of orders, you might need multiple warehouses. That could mean having several within a country or even warehouses spread across the globe. The key is to make sure you have enough order volume at each location to justify the cost.
Having too few warehouses can slow shipping and hike costs, especially for long-distance or international deliveries. But the opposite is true as well. Too many warehouses can lead to soaring freight, storage, and overhead expenses.
You need to do a meticulous cost-benefit analysis before you sign any papers. If multiple warehouses are necessary, you have two options: either find a fulfillment partner with multiple suitable locations or partner with several fulfillment centers. In the latter case, managing all warehouses and inventory efficiently requires robust inventory management software like NetSuite, ChannelApe, Skubana, or QuickBooks Commerce.
“Look at where your target audience is and cater to their needs,” says Chris Matthews with Zatu Fulfillment. “If you are finding you have a high cart abandonment rate for one region compared to another, chances are they are looking for region friendly shipping options. In an age of next day shipping, customers don’t want to have to wait for orders to be processed and sent across the Atlantic.”
Step 3: Review service offerings.
Before reaching out to warehouses, you need to figure out what services you need. Sure, there are plenty of fulfillment partners for small, lightweight, eCommerce items.
However, if your inventory includes hazardous materials, fragile goods, perishables, or items needing refrigeration, you’ll need to dig deeper. For stores with a high SKU-to-order ratio, such as apparel companies with diverse sizes and colors, a specialized partner can make a world of difference.
Look for fulfillment partners adept in handling your particular type of products.
Also, think about value-added services. Many fulfillment partners offer extras like kitting and assembly, customization and personalization, and even refurbishment services. If these are crucial to your business model, be sure your chosen partner can meet these needs.
Step 4: Carefully narrow down your choices.
Please Note: The information in this section comes directly from Will Schneider at Warehousing & Fulfillment. He runs a company that specializes in matching fulfillment centers, like ours, with sellers who need help shipping.
What you read in this section was previously part of a guest post, which we’ve bundled into this post for your convenience.
Make no mistake about it – your choice of order fulfillment provider is a make-or-break decision.
Unfortunately, most companies make a huge mistake when vetting fulfillment providers: they put the emphasis on product and service specialization, technology integrations, and location rather than some of the more important selection criteria.
This is an understandable first instinct, as it’s certainly important to make sure a fulfillment company will be able to perform the required tasks in a suitable location.
However, not only do most fulfillment companies in the current landscape perform a comprehensive set of services and integrate with numerous technology platforms, but there are also some more critical things that need to be investigated to make the right choice. Simply put, these more common selection criteria are not always reliable indicators of the order fulfillment provider that best fits your business needs.
Of course, investigating compatibility in terms of product and service specialization, technology capabilities, and location are not without value. But more pertinent factors foretell whether a fulfillment company is worth the cost. Here is a comprehensive list of things to look for in a 3PL provider.
Key Factor #1: The Right Quality of Service
A high-performing fulfillment provider is easy to identify if you know a few things to look for. The following key concepts will point you in the right direction and help you eliminate the wrong companies from your shortlist.
Guaranteed Performance with Accountability
A 3PL company must be able to operate at a high level, and when they do make mistakes, they must take accountability for errors. Unfortunately, many companies will tell you anything you want to hear – assuring you that they will perform high-quality work and rarely ever drop the ball.
But how do you know if their promises will be kept?
The easiest way to gauge whether a fulfillment provider is trustworthy is to go straight to their contract or agreement. Reliable companies have SLAs (service level agreements) and are willing to include performance guarantees in their contractual agreements with customers. Unreliable companies who don’t take ownership of mistakes will have agreements that “pass the buck” and avoid any penalties for lack of performance.
3PLs that provide performance guarantees will include the following in their contracts:
- Specific performance guarantees that they will meet, including the timeframe to receive goods into their warehouse, inventory accuracy, order accuracy, and sometimes even shipping accuracy.
- Remedies for lack of performance, such as reimbursement for mis-shipments and lost inventory over an acceptable level, will be noted as well.
Performance is the foundation of a healthy 3PL relationship, and the right 3PL will have a pathway to measuring and being accountable for performance. Any service you consider should guarantee performance rates through a contractual agreement.
Key Factor #2: Regular and Consistent KPI Measurement
The fulfillment provider should measure Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – and this is non-negotiable. KPIs track progress against specific targets set by your contract. KPIs often concern quality, costs, speed, efficiency, resource utilization, or personnel compliance.
It’s one thing to list KPIs in the agreement, but it’s altogether different to have codified processes and technologies that enable the measurement of them. A reliable fulfillment company will have documented processes and procedures for every task performed in the warehouse, and online reports will be available to view results on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis.
Take inventory management, for example. Operating with a low percentage of inventory loss (lost or damaged product) requires:
- Having a thorough receiving process to ensure products are counted correctly, entered in the system correctly, and placed in the proper area within the warehouse
- Performing routine inventory counts, whether cycle counts or yearly counts, to ensure no mistakes are uncovered
- Executing a near flawless order picking strategy, so that incorrect items or quantities aren’t picked
- Providing a robust set of reports for staff, management, and customers to view in real-time
All these things combined will result in a low level of errors. It won’t guarantee perfection, as no fulfillment company is perfect, but it will ensure proper levels of performance.
So how do you know if a provider meets the mark in this area? Simple…ask for the processes and procedures manual and/or ask for a demo of their technology system and reporting. If a company doesn’t have these key components, you may want to drop them from your short list of options.
One other important note about KPIs – the best order fulfillment providers hold regular meetings with your business about KPIs. A reliable line of communication ensures that fulfillment companies are accountable for results and that they are being proactive instead of reactive. High-performing fulfillment providers will have monthly meetings or at least quarterly meetings to discuss performance.
Key Factor #3: Positive and Truthful Customer Reviews
The hallmark of quality service is positive feedback. Search for reviews and ratings of the fulfillment provider on the internet – this will give you a glimpse into their performance.
The overall quality of the reviews is more telling than the number. Pay attention to what clients say about the order fulfillment company. Then pretend you’re the client. Would you be satisfied with its performance? Do its practices encourage customers to shop for your product again? Or do its practices deter customers?
Key Factor #4: A Culture of Honesty and Integrity
A quality 3PL provider emphasizes its honest business practices. You can gain tremendous insights into an operation by the types of deals they strike and the transparency of their overall operations and relationships.
Be Wary of Back-Door Deals and Middlemen
The fulfillment provider should dissuade back-door deals that negatively impact your pricing – and they should champion your best interest. Without these measures, the relationship is built on a foundation of secrecy and lack of transparency, and you may pay more for your fulfillment services than needed.
Sometimes, providers strike deals with brokers or middlemen to increase their earnings. It’s not to say that every brokered deal is inherently bad, but they are extremely challenging and oftentimes harmful to you, the client. Unfortunately, by inserting another party, these providers most likely add an additional layer of costs to your business.
There are a few matchmaking services that are legit, matching you to the best fulfillment companies and only charging a small fee for the connection that does not in any way impact your pricing. But unfortunately, most lead generation companies, ‘top list’ websites, brokers, or fulfillment marketplaces take a cut of the deal anytime they refer your business to the fulfillment company. When commissions are involved, it’s far too easy to “play favorites” and pass deals to the companies that pay the highest dollar for referrals. This leads to extremely biased matches and should be avoided.
At the end of the day – be careful who you trust. Your fulfillment provider should be completely open with you about the structure of your deal. After all, if they can’t be honest with you about this important component, can you trust them fully with your inventory?
Key Factor #5: Best Match for Size of Operations
Another relevant factor is the size of the order fulfillment service. In many cases: small 3PL providers best match with smaller businesses, and larger 3PL providers best align with larger companies. A single provider usually cannot serve all business sizes equally.
The search engines make this type of analysis extremely difficult, because most of the top results are filled with larger 3PL providers. If you find yourself in the boat of startup operations and/or lower order volumes, keep searching past the first few pages of results and keep an open mind for single-location and smaller fulfillment providers, as they will likely offer the best overall pricing and terms.
Other Factors That are Important to You
Based on personal preferences, other factors may rank high to you. These factors are not the same for every business.
Perhaps it’s important to you that the fulfillment provider is close in physical proximity to your business. In that case, make it a priority to evaluate fulfillment companies on their locations. It might make economic sense to choose the fulfillment provider nearest to you.
In another example, you could prioritize the “personal fit” of the staff at the fulfillment facility. If you want to feel at ease around the personnel, choose the facility with that in mind.
Other businesses prefer a facility that matches their company style. Perhaps an eco-friendly business seeks facilities that reduce their carbon footprint or use recycled material.
Therefore, prioritize any important “other” factors that are most important to you before conducting your search.
Step 5: Request quotes.
Once you’ve shortlisted a few promising fulfillment partners, it’s time to request quotes. This part is simple.
But how these companies handle pricing? Not so much.
There are four main fee types:
- Pick-and-pack
- Postage
- Account and storage
- Value-added services
Pick-and-pack covers warehouse labor, while postage depends on package weight, destination, and speed. Both are applied on a per-order basis.
Then there’s account fees and storage fees. Account fees vary widely by company but are usually low. Storage fees depend on your inventory volume.
Value-added services like kitting, assembly, and refurbishment are typically priced on a per-project basis. This is because there is a lot of manual labor involved.
When reviewing quotes, forecast your sales volume and potential need for value-added services.
Use the quotes to estimate your total cost. The cheapest option isn’t always best, but the overall cost should be competitive.
Final Thoughts
Choosing an order fulfillment partner is a strategic move. If you pick the right one, you can more efficiently fill orders and keep customers happy. You’ll save a ton of time and possibly some money too.
It’s not an easy decision to make and it’s one you need to be careful about. You need to consider service quality, reviews, communication, transparency, and a number of other factors. But if you do your due diligence, you can find the right partner.
Having a good relationship with a 3PL makes it much easier to run an order-based business. That’s why so many companies call their 3PLs an “order fulfillment partner.” Because that’s what they are – key partners in keeping the business running!
You want to make a board game.
But how do you…make a board game?
I’m not talking about play-testing or art or any of that. I’m talking about manufacturing.
How do you work with a manufacturer to turn that beautiful idea in your head or on some index cards covered in Sharpie into a real, marketable board game product?
That’s where Panda Game Manufacturing comes in. They’re one of the most famous board game manufacturers out there. Asmodee’s used them, as has Stonemaier, Z-Man, GMT, Leder Games, and a bunch of other huge publishers.
So that’s why I’ve brought on Tyler Lipchen, Senior Project Manager and Prepress Specialist at Panda.
Transcript
About this Interview
This transcript was generated with AI and may contain occasional minor errors.
Brandon Rollins: You want to make a board game, but how do you make a board game? I’m not talking about playtesting or art or any of that. I’m talking about manufacturing. How do you work with a manufacturer to turn that beautiful idea in your head or on some index cards covered in sharpie into a real marketable board game product?
That’s where Panda Game Manufacturing comes in. They’re one of the most famous board game manufacturers out there. Asmodee’s used them, as has Stonemaier, Z Man, GMT, Leader Games, and a whole bunch of other huge publishers. So that’s why I’ve brought on Tyler Lipchin, Senior Project Manager and Pre Press Specialist at Panda.
Brandon Rollins: Now it’s funny, I had pitched the idea of an interview with the topic of a crash course in manufacturing board games when I was working with Panda on this. Turns out they had a slideshow already made, ready to go, that was almost a word for word match on what I was looking for. I couldn’t ask for any better, so they’re going to do that slideshow today.
Now we’re going to cut to that in just a minute, but real quick. My name is Brandon. This video is brought to you by Fulfillrite. We ship orders for e commerce and crowdfunding. Link below for more details, and quotes are always free. Now, one last quick note, I edited this one with a light touch because we just want to keep it simple and lo fi and honest, just like two professionals on a Zoom call, but this time with screen sharing.
So, alright, let’s cut to the interview. So, yeah, thank you again for coming on. I really appreciate it. Yeah, no worries. Yeah, I, I love, um, that you just happened to have exactly the kind of thing that we wanted to cover anyway, just sitting around in your Google Drive ready to go. I couldn’t have asked for better.
Tyler Lipchen: Yeah, we get, we get asked the question a lot. So yeah, we’ve definitely come prepared.
Brandon Rollins: Yeah, you’re ready for it. I like that. Um, we can jump into this thing whenever you’re ready.
Intro to Panda Game Manufacturing
Tyler Lipchen: Yeah, sounds good. Sounds good. So this is our crash course in, in, in tabletop game manufacturing. Um, this is an introduction to, um, to, uh, Panda’s process in particular, but this process will be very, very similar for any mass production, um, uh, uh, supplier.
The 1st part of it will kind of go through the whole process, but some parts of it will be more geared towards like a print on demand. But the majority of this presentation will be for a full mass production facility. My name is Tyler. I’m from Panda. As you know, I am a senior project manager and pre press specialist.
Um, so I kind of handle projects from the consultation, quoting phase all the way through to, I do run pre press checks and design verification. Um, and then I actually manage a project all the way through to completion, even help with some shipping as well. So, um, that’s who I am. Uh, but let’s get into the production process.
Cause that’s why you’re all here. So. There we go.
The Manufacturing Process
Tyler Lipchen: So this is a typical manufacturing process. So, um, you will reach out, uh, at the beginning of your journey, whether you’re in the middle of a game design, or you’re planning a crowdfunding campaign, or you’re a publisher who has a product that you’ve kind of gotten past alpha testing.
So like you’ve been playtesting it, you have a good idea of the specifications of how many cards you need, how big your board has to be. Um, you have a A working prototype, um, that that could be a mass production game eventually, right? That’s kind of when you want to reach out for quotes with manufacturers because otherwise it too much is in flux and you make it an estimate that’s not really accurate.
So, um, uh, the 1st part of the process is reaching out for a quote, and I believe you should reach out for a quote once you have a working prototype. And then you just match specs to reach out for a quote. You can do it through. There are some online estimator tools. Panda has an estimator tool on our website, so you can use that to start.
If you want just a rough estimate or you can reach out to us directly for a quote, at that point you’ll be put in touch with the project manager like myself, um, who will review your specifications. Um, there are ways you can input specifications into our website. Um, or if you have like an Excel document or something, you can also work with your project manager to fill out your specs that way.
Um, someone like me and myself, again, a project manager, will review your specifications. Uh, we’ll look out for, for, um, things that don’t quite match, like maybe your, you know, the components don’t fit inside your box, or maybe you’ve kind of asked for something that’s a little bit kind of, um, uh, whether we can do it or not.
Uh, we’ll kind of look for any kind of hedge cases, anything, any tweaks we can make. Um, and also during that initial stage, we might make some, uh, suggestions. Uh, certain materials, uh, more obvious, some like cost saving suggestions. Um, if you want, um, there’s also a bit of consultation for crowdfunding, which we’ll talk about kind of at the end of the presentation where there, there’s a little bit of extra, uh, consultation that goes along with that.
Um, but generally speaking. You’ll speak to one of us or you’ll send in your specs and we’ll provide a quote. Now once you’re happy with the quote and you want to sign the quote and you’ve solidified your quantities, um, then we go into the next stage which is called design verification, um, which will be checking your files.
After that we go into pre production. Uh, which will be, uh, kind of digital printed a sample of your game and any samples of any source components, which are non printed components, then mass production, then assembly, and then shipping. And that is kind of the whole process from start to finish. I want to go through each of those, uh, points, uh, in detail, and then we’ll give you some, some tips and tricks, uh, and some more information on crowdfunding in particular at the end of the
Brandon Rollins: presentation as well.
Now, I do have a brief question about the manufacturing, the, um, Manufacturing process more broadly. And that is, I I’m seeing more and more people are doing this kind of, um, design for manufacturing kind of process where they get really smart about it. And they figure out what is actually feasible in terms of costs before they get too hung up on any idea.
Now, it sounds like your online pricing calculator can already help people with that to some extent, but do you have additional resources that can help people in that scenario?
Tyler Lipchen: Yeah, yeah, for sure. No, it’s a really good idea to, um, you know, as you’re as you’re building a tabletop game is to consider manufacturing.
We actually have a presentation called game design with manufacturing in mind that goes through it in detail. Um, but because you’re building a product and because it has to, you know, um. Take up a physical space is actual physical thing, uh, knowing a lot more about, um, kind of your, your, your, your limitations and your opportunities with certain components, uh, is only going to help your design, uh, and earlier, earlier you think about that, the better is going to be in your final product.
Um, so if you go to the Panda website, panda. gm. com and go to tools. Uh, there are a lot of tools there that can help you out. We have a graphic design guidebook, um, and a component guidebook and a crowd funding guidebook, plus templates, a template generator, and, and all sorts of, of, um, of tools that can help you out throughout that process as well.
Um, also just flipping through the website in general, like we go through each component on the website itself. Just reading through those, uh, and get familiar with them, uh, will make a big difference in your game design.
Brandon Rollins: Yeah, that, that sounds good. And I can’t recommend enough that people just get involved early in trying to cut off costs before they, uh, Commit really hard to something because if you get the costs under control early, it makes everything else easier.
And as a note for you and me, um, any of those resources you just mentioned, if you just send me the links after the, after we do this recording, I’ll drop those down in the comments. Anybody who’s watching this can, can go to the landing pages or any other resources you may want to link
Tyler Lipchen: them to. Yeah. Yeah.
It sounds perfect. Sounds good. There’s a slide at the very end that talks about tools as well. So we’re kind of jumping ahead of ourselves here, but I figured it’s a good question. It’s all good. I’m kind of jumping all over the place already, but that’s okay. Uh, like I said, you got lots of questions. Um, you know, a lot of your, your clients, people you work with have questions that you’re kind of, um, you’re, you’re kind of their avatar right now.
Aren’t you kind of speaking for them? So, um, so that’s fine. Yeah. We can jump around a little bit if we have to. Okay. Awesome.
Quoting
Tyler Lipchen: So let’s go through the first bit, which was quoting, which I kind of already talked mostly about. Um, but again, we have an estimator tool online. Some of the manufacturing may also have estimator tools.
Um, you can request a formal quote, I think you’ll have a consultation with, with your project manager. Um, go to the components, um, again, offer suggestions. And then of course there’s crowdfunding. Uh, we do have a crowdfunding package. We will talk about, uh, later on in the presentation as well. Um, but for that, we will have offered crowdfunding advice, how to particularly look at manufacturing.
Um, For crowdfunding project, uh, planning, stretch goals and add ons, and also talk about prototypes and review copies as well, which is very important for crowdfunding. So I’ll talk about that a bit at the end, but during this quoting process, that is something you will be talking about as you’re quoting your project for sure.
Design Verification
Tyler Lipchen: Um, next up, after you sign the quote, as I said, we go into design verification, and this is pre press. At this point, you will be assigned a dedicated pre press specialist. Again, I’m a dual role. I do project management and pre press, but if your project manager isn’t a dual role, you’ll be assigned a specific pre press specialist.
You’ll upload your files to our website. We have a custom built FTP, uh, for all of your files. Uh, we’ll check your files, provide a pre press report, which will say, um, kind of where there are issues. Um, any suggestions we have, uh, if there’s an issue that we, that you need to correct, we’ll provide information on how to correct it with screenshots and the whole lot.
So, um, we’ll send that report back to you. You’ll amend the files and re upload the files to us. We’ll check them again. And we’ll kind of go back and forth until I’m happy with your files. Once I’m happy with them, I will send them to our factory. Uh, they will do another final check and then create digital proofs for you.
Once you approve the digital proofs, that kind of finishes the design verification phase, and then we go into pre production.
Brandon Rollins: Do you guys tend to have a lot of back and forth on the, um, on the prepress
Tyler Lipchen: part? Yep, absolutely. Okay. For sure.
Brandon Rollins: And that’s… Complicated to account for in Kickstarter,
Tyler Lipchen: right? Yes, absolutely.
That’s one of the, probably one of the longest, um, it can be one of the longest phases in the whole production process, uh, cause it really depends on your files, um, how, how long it takes. It could take two weeks. It could take two years. Who knows? Depends on your files. But the advantage, um, you know, of working, working with Panda, working with someone like myself, is that you have a pre press specialist on call, um, who will talk you through everything, right?
They’ll talk you through how to set up your files if you need to. They’ll provide, again, they’ll provide feedback on your files to help you out. Um, And that, and that’s really important because again, it can be challenging, especially if you’re doing it all yourself. Like if you have a graphic designer who is used to tabletop games, um, it’s a little bit easier because they, you know, they kind know what they’re doing, you know, and they, they speak the lingo, right?
Um, but if you doing it yourself, which a lot of time creators are, uh, it helps to have a dedicated pre-press specialist to help talk you through these things and help check your files as you go. So. Um, don’t be too daunt. Like, don’t be too, you know, uh, you know, scared of it. It’s not like it’s going to, like, delay your project for years and years, so to speak.
Um, but it is something that you will likely need some extra support for, particularly on your first project. Uh, you will find it’s, it’s a steep learning curve, but once you do that first project. Um, the, the, you know, the reprints are very, very simple compared to a first time project. And even like a new project with an existing client, um, I find is just so much easier because like you’ve been through the process, you’ve read the design guidebook, you’ve had a pre print support, you know, what, what can be fixed.
You don’t make the same issues, you know, don’t make the same mistakes twice usually. Um, so it gets the first time. Budget extra time for sure, but after that, like it gets a lot easier to become second nature and you start to set up your files properly when you start a new game design, like, you know what card sizes you want, you have templates for the bleed and the margins, you know what to look out for, you can start to like, you know, as as an art director, help brief your artists on what you want and work within the restrictions of the components of the media.
And that makes a big difference to you’ll definitely find it. Artists and graphic designers who are, uh, industry veterans, um, their work is, is phenomenal. Um, you know, their files are, are perfect when they come in for design verification. Like it just goes right through prepress. It’s very smooth, but they work within the constraints that are inherent in the actual product and the actual processes.
Um, but they still make it look good. Right. Like, you know, they have, they have to adhere to bleed on tokens and cards, but they, they, they know those margins and bleed so well to actually use them third vantage, which is part of design. Like that’s part of game design, right? Like restrictions breed creativity, don’t they?
Like that’s, that’s inherent. Um, so same thing goes with the, with the pre press files. And again, using a graph designer who’s, who’s experienced, um, is definitely worth looking into.
Brandon Rollins: I think something just to point out for somebody who’s like, and it’s like, it’s YouTube, we get quite a general audience, but like, if you’ve never done a board game file before, or like any kind of printed marketing or media or whatever, um, that bleed is basically, you have to, um, Assume that whatever you make printed is going to have the edges cut off, so you just have to make sure that all of the critical stuff fits within a certain safe zone, and the rest is you bleed in your trim, and that’s what that’s called.
There’s neat diagrams for this, I might pop that up on
Tyler Lipchen: screen too. Yeah. And then the templates that you get through the template generator, uh, on our website does have the margin lines and the bleed lines, and it has a legend to explain what they are and things like that as well. So it’s pretty, pretty, you know, once you get the hang of it, it’s, it’s, uh, it gets a lot easier.
Like I said, just a bit of a learning curve. Awesome.
Pre-Production
Tyler Lipchen: So, uh, going through, uh, after design verification, after the digital proofs are approved, we go into pre production. So, um, at this point, uh, it says here, this is the final quality control checkpoint before mass production. Uh, we will produce a full pre production copy of your game.
That’s called the PPC for short. And that is, uh, it’s a digitally printed version of your game, so it’s used, uh, printed using a digital printer, not the offset printers that we use for mass production. Um, but it will be using the same materials and finishes as your final game. Um, the, uh, anything that’s going to be cut is going to be, uh, trimmed with a plotter as opposed to die cuts.
Um, this is very complicated. We may opt for DICUS, depending on your project manager will determine what’s best. Um, but it’s going to be a physical version of your game. Okay, kind of like, you know, kind of like a prototype you’d get at a print on demand service. Um, and this is going to be shipped to you, and then your project manager and you are going to have a, have a call.
You’re going to hop in a video call, you’re going to review the game, review the PPC, you’re going to play the game a few times with it. You have a video call with your project manager to go through any issues that you have. Now, at this point, If you have any issues, it’s fine. It can be fixed. If you find a typo in your rule book, we just go back to design verification, upload a new rule book, we check it, digital proofs are fine, approved, off we go.
Um, so at this point you can make changes if you need to. Um, after this point is when we go into mass production where it can be a lot more costly, but this is kind of like your last checkpoint before we go, we go on to mass production. Uh, during this stage, you’ll also be getting samples of any non printed components, which I call source components in this case, but, um, That would be things like dice, uh, wood, you know, wood, meeples, wood, cubes, plastic cubes, um, custom plastic minis, um, metal.
Uh, those all have kind of their own, their own process. Uh, but it’s very similar to, you know, basic print that we’ve talked about so far, like you’ll upload your files for like, it’s a three, five, we will check it, we will provide feedback, you know, re re sculpting feedback, but it’s a 3d mini or, or metal or something like that.
Um, you know, we will be some of the modifications we can do ourselves when it comes to plastic minis or metal. Um, We might revert back to you. We’ll show you what has to be done because it’s too big of a change or something like that, but we’ll, we’ll optimize your design files for, for the manufacturing process, right?
It’s like, we’ll check wood. If, um, if some parts are too thin and we’re very breakable, we’ll offer feedback, say, Oh, you know, we should pick them up the legs on this, this wooden meeple, um, or, you know, the details on this plastic mini aren’t going to show us, we should deepen these here or we should move, you know, the arm is right here and we move it to like this angle here.
Then the molds will open easier. You know, things like that is the kind of advice that we’ll offer. I said, some things we can fix ourselves for you. Um, some things we might be too much of a change that we want to, um, we want you to, to be the one to change it, uh, to make sure that it’s exactly how you want it.
Uh, well, any of these changes that we do make, we’ll always show you in advance, whether it be through a digital files or email or through a video call to make sure you approve any change that we do make as well. For any source components. Um, but once you approve those samples and the PPC, then we move on to mass production.
Yeah. And do you have any questions or comments about pre production? No, you’re good. Okay. Yeah.
Mass Production
Tyler Lipchen: So then mass production. Um, at this point, all the paper, the printed components will be printed and die cut. Um, any of the non printed components will be produced. Uh, and we will make one mass production copy, that’s MPC for short.
Uh, and that’ll be assembled and sent to you. That, the MPC is, for all intents and purposes, a retail version of your game. Uh, everything will be die cut, everything will be assembled into the box. Um, you’ll have a plastic tray, for example, and it’ll be assembled into the tray. And then we’ll be shrink wrapped and sent to you.
The only difference between the mass production copy and the final, final, final retail copies are that while we send the MPC to you for you to check, we will be acclimatizing all of your components in our factory to avoid like warping and any kind of damage from moisture. So while we send the NPC to you, um, we’ll have another video call.
Uh, you’ll unbox it. I always recommend you videotape your unboxing for your NPCs because the way that it was assembled in that box will be how it’s assembled for final. Um, at this point, again, you can’t really, well, you can change something, but it’d be costly. If you need to have you find a type or at this point or something like that, you’d have to reprint all your rule books if that was the case.
Uh, but we have so many checkpoints beforehand that, that rarely ever happens. There’s an issue at that point. Um, but one thing we can change is the way things are assembled in the box, because nothing’s been assembled yet. We’ve just produced everything. So that’s why I say, always videotape your, your MPC unboxing, just so you remember how it was packaged and it’s how you want it to be packaged.
Um, so yeah, we have a call. We go through the MPC, everything is approved. We go into final assembly.
Brandon Rollins: Yeah. Are you able to do like runs of say 15, 20, 30, if you wanted to send out copies to
Tyler Lipchen: reviewers? I will talk about that when we get to the crowdfunding section. Yeah, don’t worry. We’ll talk about that in a minute.
Assembly & Shipping
So after mass production, this is the mass production, like, you know, 1500 2000 units. We’re talking, um, after that, we go into assembly as where we actually assemble everything into the boxes. For your instructions and then your shrink draft, um, the packing, the cartons, cartons go on the pallets. Uh, and then when they wait your shipping plan, this point, they can go into a shipping container, um, that they’re being transported by ocean.
Uh, they could be packing the cartons to go on airplanes. It all depends on what your shipping plan is, uh, during the mass production process, um, that’s usually. You know, quite a lengthy time where there’s not a lot for, for me and you to do. Um, so during that time, we tend to talk about shipping, make sure your shipping plan is in place, talk to FulfillRight, make sure everything’s in, uh, all your ducks are lined up so that when the games do ship, um, everything is in order from there.
So, um, that Kind of concludes the entire production process from start to finish.
Timelines & Invoicing
Tyler Lipchen: For timelines is a quick summary, uh, design verification. The time that takes against variable files, uh, you know, for a first time client, first project planned about four weeks, um, could be a lot less, could be a lot more. It really depends on your files.
Um, Uh, pre production, uh, but before we start pre production, that’s when your first deposit invoices due, again, this could change depending on which manufacturer is, uh, who your manufacturer is or your relationship with the manufacturer, but typically speaking, the deposit invoices due before any, any kind of samples are made, um, pre production two to four weeks depends on the, on the game, depends on the components, um, some components might take longer for pre production, like again, custom metal, custom plastics will normally take longer than that.
Yeah. But dice and wood are quite quick, and so is print for pre production. Mass production, 8 12 weeks, again, totally depends on the type of components, how many different types of components you have, and your overall order quantity, right? As you can imagine, you know, making 2, 000 games is different from making 20, 000 games.
So mass production can vary. Also depends on the time of year. Um, you know, if it, if it, your mass production goes over a Chinese New Year, for example, our factories close, all Chinese factories are closed over Chinese New Year. That might add three or four weeks to your production process because of the time of year when you went into production.
After that final assembly, again, two to four weeks, um, could be a little bit longer cause it depends on the complexity of the assembly. And of course, the order. Once again, assembling 2000 games, uh, it doesn’t take as long as assembling 20, 000 games, assembling a legacy game that has, you know, certain components and certain compartments that are sealed that are in certain parts of the box.
That takes a lot longer to assemble than just some shrink wrapped cards in a tuck box, right? So, um, again, these are all kind of just overall general. You know, kind of like a pandemic style game where you’ve got a bit of print, a bit of, you know, a bit of plastic, that kind of thing all put together. But it can definitely vary.
And then, of course, shipping in the pre COVID world, ocean shipping, four to six weeks to the Western US, six to eight weeks to Eastern USA or Europe, air shipping, one to two, one to three weeks, land shipping, one to three weeks. That’s usually local to China will be anything that’s going to be a land ship for us.
Again, if you’re working with a European manufacturer, like in Poland or Germany, You know, land shipping can be anywhere in Europe, so it’s a bit different there. But, um, that’s kind of the general guidelines. Um, you know, shipping times as of the, this recording are actually, you know, pretty good. Um, so if that’s, that’s actually pretty accurate at this, at this point in time, but it can, tomorrow it can change.
So don’t just check out the date stamp when this is posted. Uh, don’t quote me on that. Um, so that’s the whole production process. Do you have any questions before I move on from there? I’m with you so
Brandon Rollins: far. I, I mean, this is like, this is, this is thorough. You guys have clearly refined this over time to, you know, kind of, um, anticipate the questions.
Tyler Lipchen: Anyways, one thing I should mention, I didn’t mention it before, is that the final invoice, we said the deposit invoice is due typically before pre production, uh, the final invoice is due before the game ship. So um, again, that’s something that you would talk with your project manager throughout the mass production, you’ll be preparing the final invoice, perhaps if Panda’s handling some of your shipping for you, that would put on your final invoice as well as we discuss your shipping plans and things like that.
General Tips
Tyler Lipchen: Awesome. Moving on. Uh, so general tips, like I said before, every first project is a learning curve. Um, so build in buffer time to begin with, right? You have to learn how to do a lot of these things as well. Um, keep usability and user experience in mind at all times. Uh, things like choosing the right colors to, you know, to avoid any challenges for people who are colorblind.
Um, choosing the right components for the job. Uh, we also do a presentation on, um, you know, UX and UI and, and, you know, game design with manufacturing in mind. Um, there’s a lot of information, um, that you can find online about this as well, but always keep the overall experience in mind, you know, like your, the way your, your tray is laid out, like, you know, think about how it’s going to be stored, how it’s going to be used, uh, throughout the entire process, because once again, game design is product design, as I said before.
Um, any game specific requirements, um, you should mention during quoting and consultation. So, um. Some games are straightforward like it’s it’s a card game. It’s me in a box. There’s a board in the scoring track, whatever. If it’s like a legacy game and you want things assembled a certain way or cards in a certain order, that’s something that’s a bit more unique.
So just be sure to mention that during our consultations. We’ll normally ask for like the elevator pitch of the game and ask how it plays that helps a lot with. What advice we can give, um, all of us are gamers at Panda. We’re all project managers are gamers. So we, we understand, we understand the lingo.
Um, if you have like a, uh, if you’re at a convention, like let us play your game, right? Like let us play tests with you. Um, if you have a mod on, uh, on online, uh, like tabletopia or TTS or something, let us play it. It helps a ton when we’re consulting you on the game and gives us a lot more context as to what you’re going for.
So. I think that’s kind of very unique for your game. Please mention it to us early. Um, think about stretch goals and fulfillment early, uh, which we talked about before and I’ll talk about again later, um, and consider table presence. Um, do more with less, right? I mean, your table presence is going to sell your game board.
Games are viral by nature. Yeah, there are solo games. Yes. But most games are multiplayer. In order to play them with somebody, you have to actually bring them to your table and show them to them. And if your game is very photogenic, uh, you know, games go viral very easily on Instagram and Facebook and social media.
Right? So consider your table presence at all times, right? That’s going to help your game overall, especially if you’re crowdfunding or trying to build up an audience at conventions.
Your Project
Tyler Lipchen: So, some tips and tricks. Cost savings. Materials and options. Um, that’s obvious cost savings, what kind of cardstocks you choose and what kind of grayboard you’re going to choose.
As you mentioned before, design with cost in mind. It’s always going to help. Um, use components, uh, in multiple ways if you can. Right. There are certain ways you can, um, you know, you can use cards to, to keep score like bonanza, right? The back of the card is how you keep your points, your scores, right? Um, think about multiple functions for, for certain components, maximize your printing sheets, right?
Um, cards print on a big giant sheet. Uh, your standard poker size car, 63 by 88 millimeter cards, uh, print 54 cards per sheet. Well, there’s 54 cards in a card deck. So, if you print 55 cards, you’re going to have to do two full sheets of, um, use two sheets. So, use 54 cards, right? Um, or, you know, max yourself out if you can.
Um, if you have, you know, 50 cards in your game, well, you kind of have four extra cards to be maybe rules reference cards or something, right? Or, or maybe they’re an advertisement for your next game or something like that, right? Um, so just use that to your advantage. Optimize your punchboard dialines as well.
Um, with Panda, we make everything bespoke. Uh, so we make your dialines bespoke, um, for your punchboards. So, utilize them. Maximize them. Maximize the space. Get the most out of it. Um, use custom shapes, right? Like double, triple encode your information. So instead of having just… Uh, you know, a coin that has a one and a coin that has a five, you can make the five bigger.
You can make it, uh, you know, a Pentagon instead of, um, instead of a circle, right? Like you can change the shape, change the sizes to help that accessibility as well for no extra cost for manufacturing, at least with us. Um, and then of course, minimize the box size. Um, that’s, that hint is particularly for crowdfunding.
Um, if you want a big shot, like a, a good shelf presence for retail, you might want a bigger box than what’s needed. Uh, but generally speaking, most people want the smallest box size possible. Cause it’s going to save you a lot on shipping. Yeah. Ocean shipping is dependent on volume. So the smaller your box, the better it’s going to be for you overall.
That’s
Brandon Rollins: a good tip for order fulfillment as well. The smaller the box, the more likely it is to get a price break on literally any kind of shipping, especially if you can get into the like the smallest possible flat rate box
Tyler Lipchen: by USPS. I was going to say flat rates make a big difference, don’t they?
Brandon Rollins: Oh yeah, for sure.
Enormous difference.
Tyler Lipchen: Yeah, absolutely. Um, awesome. Time save, uh, time save, sorry, those are cost savings. Talk about some things that can save you on production time. First of all, follow our design guidebook, which I’ll talk about later. That’s in our tools section on our, on our webpage. Um, plan your shipping strategy in advance.
Again, this, this helps a lot with any kind of delays. Um, start sampling as early as possible. You know, um, come talk to us early as possible. Start consulting. You know, you can find. A lot of times during, just during a consultation on video, we can, uh, you know, uh, find a lot of challenges, uh, that you’re going to, that you’re going to run into a lot of kind of roadblocks along the way, um, you know, kind of pinpoint where, where, where in the production process, your delays might happen, um, just by having a chat with one of us, we’ve seen it before, usually.
Use early design verification. I’m going to talk about this when we get to crowdfunding, but early design verification is basically, um, that design verification, that pre press process, doing that way in advance of, um, actual production, which we’ll talk about in a second. And of course, utilize prototype services, which will also help a lot.
So, um, I’ll get to those when we talk about crowdfunding.
Sustainable Components
Tyler Lipchen: One thing to consider as well, uh, with manufacturing is using sustainable components. Um, we can make your games FSC certified. Um, so if that’s important to you, please chat to us. Um, sometimes there’s an extra cost involved behind the material, sometimes not.
Um, we can replace shrink wrap with alternatives. We have like paper bands for cards. We have paper wrap or wafer stickers for boxes, things like that. Um, you can use a varnish instead of a laminate on your game boards and boxes. Um, you use a plastic, laminate is like a plastic sheet that goes over top of the print to protect it.
Very, um, very standard for boxes and game boards, but a varnish will, uh, will make your games a lot more recyclable. Um, you can replace plastic inserts with either molded paper trays, like pulp trays, um, or cardboard inserts. Um, and there’s going to be plenty more tips to come as we go along. Uh, we’re constantly trying to find ways to reduce, um, you know, disposable plastics, one use plastics, things like that.
So, um, okay. Keep following our website and our social media. We’ll, we’ll be constantly announcing any advances we have.
Brandon Rollins: It’s getting more cost efficient all the time too.
Tyler Lipchen: It is. Yes. It’s going more standard, right? The more standard becomes the more cost efficient it becomes. It becomes, um, cool. I mean, just one second.
Crowdfunding Tips
Tyler Lipchen: Okay. So the moment we’ve been talking about. For the half the presentation is crowdfunding tips. Um, so on our website, again, PandaGM. com slash tools, there is a crowdfunding guidebook. Um, they just, if you’re new to crowdfunding and new to the tabletop space in regards to crowdfunding, read this through.
It’s a quick read. Um, it’s just a great introduction to like how crowdfunding works with a tabletop space. It’s a little bit different. Um, the expectations with tabletop games as opposed to other projects. Um, also ask your project manager about the crowdfunding package that we offer. So, um, let’s talk about that briefly.
So we’re talking about prototypes. We talked a bit about early design verification So panda has a crowdfunding package, which is a suite of services Um that is geared specifically towards crowdfunding projects So this includes a crowdfunding consultation where we’ll have a call with you talk about your project.
We will talk about Finding your MVP, your minimum viable product, which is going to be. The version of your game that is like the bare minimum that you’ll be happy with that will be your funding will be based around. It doesn’t mean like replace all the plastic means with cardboard standees, right? It’s whatever version of your game is the version that you as a creator are going to be happy with on the market.
That could involve a whole lot of plastic means it could not, right? It depends on your project. And then also going through all of the stretch goals for that offering suggestions for stretch goals and kind of component upgrades, um, talking through the best. Um, materials and finishes, uh, for your game in particular.
Talking about add ons, uh, if you have like a deluxe game, a retail game that’s being produced at the same time, we’ll talk about how we can kind of separate the components and how we work assembly for that kind of thing. We’ll also offer suggestions on, um, you know, marketing, um, and fulfillment, uh, and shipping and things like that as well.
Um, along with that crowdfunding, uh, the consultations, we will also, um, talk about prototypes. So what will happen is we will do, uh, we can do prototypes for your, uh, for your campaign, which you’d use for, um, demos, review copies, uh, convention, you know, convention presence, taking photographs and videos, how to play videos and things like that.
Um, it will be digitally printed like your PPC. Um, the cutting, uh, will be, could be, um, die cut or plotted, depends on, on your game. And then any non printed components, um, we can also do prototypes for, uh, with the exception of. Plastic minis talk to your project manager, we may or may not be able to do plastic mini, it depends on your project.
But things like dice, things like wood, you know, simple plastics like cubes and things like that we can do for prototypes. And the advantage with working with us for prototypes is that everything will be bespoke. So if you have custom meats, we can do those for you, for prototypes. If you have custom dice, we can do those for you, for prototypes, which will make a, a massive splash on for when you go to reviewers and, uh, and, and try to show off your products.
I mean, there’ll still be a prototype, right? You know, the reviewers will still say this is a prototype. Things are substitute change, but is going to be a very good, very good prototype, um, to show off. Um, the quality, the quality is, I mean, sometimes I’m amazed by how good it is at the moment. It’s only getting better as well.
Um, so part of the, part of the package will be prototypes and with that will come early design verification because of course, in order to print your files, I’m going to have to check your files anyways, right? So I will go through the design verification process. Um, we’ll upload the files, we pre press checks with digital proofs, all of that, and then do the, the prototype.
And what that will help you out as well, not only do you get review copies and things like that, um, but, uh, when it comes to actually produce the game for mass production, we will have gone through the design verification process already. Okay. So some things may change, right? Like you may, the rule book might change.
Maybe you added some cards because there’s a stretch goal. So you have to upload a few extra files, but like 80 to 90 percent of the design verification process has been done already at this point, because you did it for prototypes. Um, you’ll still get a PPC because that’s for quality control, but because you’ve already seen the prototypes, which are very, very similar process, again, that pre production phase goes by a lot faster, right?
So if you haven’t changed like the dice at all, for example, like we can go, we can go to mass production if you approve those samples because we, because we make them all bespoke anyways. Um, it just saves you a lot on your production process, a lot of time. Your production process. So, um, that is, that’s the massive advantage of going through, um, you’re going through manufacturer, your, your final manufacturer, um, with, uh, with all your crowdfunding needs as well in advance.
So save you a lot of time, um, can save you a lot of costs in some cases in the beginning as well, because you have to pay for prototypes anyways, these days, right? Uh, it’s for your crowdfunding project. So, um, that is kind of our crowdfunding package and services that we can also offer things that we can help you with punch board layouts with packaging design, um, you know, plastic trade design to some degree, um, uh, you know, things like that.
We can, we can help you, you know, arrange your dial lines on your punch boards. And if you have anything. Dual layer boards. We can, we can help you with as well as part of that package. So, um, you know, really help hold your hand, especially if you’re new to, to tabletop games and crowdfunding. Um, it’s really nice to have a project manager and prepress specialist as part of your team, uh, to go through that process with you and help you out.
So. So that’s what we can help with crowdfunding. Um, and then a couple of tips for crowdfunding is talk to your project manager about your delivery timeline, because, uh, again, first time projects are going to take a lot of extra time when you go into production. It might cross over a Chinese new year.
For example, if you want your games out for Essin or Christmas, you got to really work back from those timelines. And you seem to have a lot less time than you think. If you think like, Oh yeah, I’m going to launch the campaign now. Then six months again, we’ll be arriving in stores. Well, I mean, ocean shipping might take eight weeks.
Well, design verification takes this many weeks and pre production, you know, this, you know, let us know your timelines in advance when you work backwards with a, with a realistic, you know, conservative timeline for you, for your project, because it was your first time creator. You don’t want, you want to be very upfront and transparent and honest with your backers.
Um, so. You know, knowing it, getting all the information in advance is going to help you a lot, um, to become, uh, a reliable creator who will go on to, you know, if you want to build a company out of this, where you want to build a publishing company, you want to gain that trust from your backers right away.
Um, so, you know, you use, use, use us, use your team. And as we’re here, we’re part of your team. So I’ll, you know, use us. Yeah, no questions here,
Brandon Rollins: but I, but I will say that yes, it is tremendously hard to make a board game and absolutely like reach out to a manufacturer early, like to get this help, not only with the manufacturing, but also with just figuring out the timeline in a fulfillment center relatively early too, because like.
In terms of two vendors to reach out to early, those are probably the two that if you get everything right and listen to the advice you get early, it will save you probably the most time and money and set you on track for that second, third, fourth product launch much, much easier.
Tyler Lipchen: For sure. For sure. Yeah.
You’ve got the relationship with the partners as well, right? Which helps. I would say there are kind of four pillars to your crowdfunding project. The like, uh, um, you know, four partners you want to, you want to have, um, the last one will be fulfillment, obviously shipping fulfillment. Second, last one will be your manufacturer.
So I’m going to make the game. Uh, then before that, you’re going to have to partner with a crowdfunding platform and a pledge manager, right? Would it be Kickstarter, backer kit, game found? Um, That’s a very important part of the process. Obviously, it’s going to determine how you structure everything. And then before that, before you even launch a campaign is marketing, you know, that’s becoming more and more necessary for successful project.
So working with, um, you know, some, some of the crowdfunding platforms offer marketing services like backer kit does working with a, with a, a program like launch boom, for example, um, you know, to get that marketing in advance. If you get those four, if you understand those four pillars, right, the marketing.
The crowdfunding platform, uh, the manufacturing and the fulfillment, um, then that’s, that’s success right there, right? You, you hit those four things and you’re good. Um, so, uh, yeah, do, do, do your homework plan in advance and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to reach out. That’s what we’re here for, right?
That’s, that’s literally what we do. So, um, don’t be afraid. Um, Yeah, and there we go. My last point is a great design will go unnoticed without great marketing. So use marketing, uh, not just like professional marketing, you know, paid marketing, but just in general, like go to conventions, uh, you know, go to protospiels, go playtest your game out in public, um, you know, uh, post on board game geek, uh, go on social media, join design groups, um, participate in rules, uh, exchanges, join the online playtesting community as well.
Um, you know, yeah. Give, give and receive, right? Like playtest someone’s game, have them playtest yours, just be as involved as you can in the board game community. It’s still, it’s a growing industry. It’s become bigger and bigger every year, but it’s still a very intimate industry. People know each other, you know, by name and by face, right?
So get involved in the community as early as possible. Um, and, uh, and just give as much as you can, because whatever you give, you’ll, you’ll get back as well, right? Like, I mean, don’t just do it for the sake of getting back, but, The more you contribute to the community, the more we all build a community together, um, which is, that’s why we’re literally having this, this, this
Brandon Rollins: conversation, this video right now is literally
Tyler Lipchen: that, right?
Like, um, yeah, just give whatever you can to the community because it only helps it grow. Right. Um, and there’s, we’ve seen so much so far in the last, you know, 15, 20 years, especially of this hobby. Uh, and there’s still so much more to see. You know, there’s, whoever’s watching this right now, like, I can’t wait to see your creation when it hits Kickstarter, right, or hits back for kids.
So, um, so yeah, uh, don’t, don’t be afraid, you know, uh, to get out there, show your game, talk to people, talk to partners, uh, get involved.
Tools
So last time we talked about tools, this is the page I promised. Uh, there’s a link right there, panagem. com slash tools. There’s template generators for custom dice and for any print components.
Uh, our guidebooks, the design guidebook that talks about, um, how to set your files for print. Um, so definitely read this and if you’re not doing your own files, send this to your graphic designer. Um, and any, any graphic designer who is like well versed in this. Book will be like your best friend when it comes to the production process for, for board games.
Um, the component guidebook talks about any non printed components. And of course, there’s also the crowdfunding guidebook as well. Um, so you’ll find all that on the tools page. Uh, and then the, uh, we got other resources as well. We have some badges and box markings. And then for the CE logo or the choking hazard logo as well, which by the way, if you need to save to test your game, please talk to your project manager well in advance.
That’s a conversation to have very early on. Um, there’s also some tools for the Adobe suite. There’s a pre flight profile. You can check your own files for certain for some of the big, um, the big mistakes we normally see for pre press. Uh, and there’s an export profile as well that will help export your files into a printable PDF that is, um.
Uh, that is in the, the, the color profile that we use for print. So, uh, visit the tools page, explore it. There’s a lot of good stuff on there. Read through all the guidebooks, um, and do yourself a big favor. And
Brandon Rollins: link is down there in the description for anybody who wants to access those resources.
Tyler Lipchen: Perfect.
Um, and yeah, any questions or information, uh, more information on our website, follow us on social media. You can always reach out on social media as well. Um, our helloappendagm. com inbox is, uh, manned by people. Not by robots. So if you have any general inquiries, just email there. If you want to get put in touch with the project manager again, just email us there.
If you want to, we’ll set you up with somebody in your time zone, preferably in your time zone or close to it. Um, and hopefully in your native language. We, um, we have. Project managers all over the world. Um, I sound like I’m from America, but I’m actually Canadian and I live in the UK. Go figure. We have project managers in Germany and Portugal and France, the UK.
Uh, and then of course, all across America as well. So you guys will find somebody in your time zone or close to it. That can help you out.
Brandon Rollins: Yeah, and, and anybody who’s got a question down below, I’ve asked all mine for, um, for the day and honestly, like you, you have already like front loaded a lot of the questions and answered those in the slides, but anybody who’s got questions, leave them down below in the comments, um, we’ll try and answer as many of them as we can as the fulfillment center has folks who’ve worked in board games.
So honestly, if we get stuck, we’ll just reach out to Panda and like, get a response to your comment as well. Thank you for watching this interview. I appreciate it, and I know that Tyler at Panda does, too. Details on both our companies are in the description. And just in case you missed the name earlier, my name is Brandon, here on behalf of FulfillRite.
If you need help shipping your orders, go to Fulfillrite.com and request a quote. We’ve shipped for thousands of crowdfunding campaigns before, and we’re happy to help you ship yours, too. The quote doesn’t cost a thing, so if nothing else, you get some good information about pricing. Link in the description.
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People don’t spend long on web pages. A 2021 report by Contentsquare says the average time users spend on a web page is 54 seconds. That means if you want to succeed in eCommerce, every element on every page needs to count. In this guide, we’ll give you eCommerce website tips and tricks to help you do exactly that.
Setting up an eCommerce shop looks easy because of tools like Shopify and WooCommerce, as well as sales channels like Amazon. In many ways, it is easier than before. But then again, so is getting lost in the crowd.
To really stand out, you need to be able to develop an excellent eCommerce strategy. Then you need to make sure your site is set up for optimum performance at every step of the way.
In this guide, we’ll focus on three areas: strategic excellence, website optimization, and apps to help you grow your store.
You don’t need to do everything in this guide. Just pick a few tips and really focus on doing them well!
Tips to Start Selling Online Now
Starting an online store is a multi-step process. In order to succeed, you need to define a clear target audience. Then you need to choose the right products and set up a seamless supply chain to get them shipped. Along the way, you’ll also need to configure all the bells and whistles in your chosen eCommerce software.
These tips will help you lay a strong foundation for your online business.
#1: Figure out who to sell to and what to sell
You can’t just sell anything you want. To make sales, you need to identify a target audience and research their online behavior. Every product you sell needs to meet some existing need that your target audience wants.
Ecommerce success starts with having a solid understanding of what your market wants. Not all products that sell well offline will perform equally well online.
You need to be able to understand your target audience so well that you can describe their wants and needs in your sleep. To get started, consider making a buyer persona. (Hubspot has a free tool to help with this.)
Once you do that, conduct thorough market research to determine what your target audience needs and wants. Make sure your product fills an existing demand and stands out from competitors.
#2: Validate the market
It’s tempting to design a product, order tons of units, and then start selling afterward. But this can be a huge mistake if you don’t go about it the right way.
Think about your ideal customers. Every product you sell needs to meet one of their needs. But you shouldn’t just take it on faith that what you want to sell will do that.
Before you commit to ordering a lot of inventory, try selling a small amount first. You want to see if there is a market for what you want to sell. If you can’t sell a small amount first, try collecting information with surveys or small-dollar advertising campaigns.
If you do this, it will help you avoid the mistake of ordering a lot of products that no one wants to buy.
You can apply a similar principle to your store’s branding as well. Make sure that the way your website is presented lines up with customer expectations. Show it to members of your target audience and ask them for their feedback. Then you implement that feedback as often as you can.
#3: Figure out the supply chain
According to a recent study with Voxware, of 500 surveyed consumers, almost 70% say they are “much less likely to shop with a retailer in the future if an item they purchased is not delivered within two days of the date promised.”
Translation: ship on-time or else.
To succeed in eCommerce, you need to be able to:
- Plan for demand
- Manage materials, inventory, and manufacturing
- Set up efficient warehousing and order fulfillment
- Process returns quickly
This is more complicated than we can cover in this article. But suffice it to say, if you plan on making it big in eCommerce, you also have to have a clear plan to ship orders to customers.
#4: Build your brand
Customer retention is incredibly important to long-term eCommerce success. According to Bain & Company, a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 25-95% increase in profitability.
A big part of customer retention is being memorable. For that, you need to build up a brand. It’s not just about having a good-looking logo, though that is valuable. You want to have clear brand values that line up with what your target audience cares about. Then you need to have all your brand elements – from logo and colors to brand voice – reinforce those values.
This is a far more complicated subject than we cover in this guide, so here is an additional resource to help you define your company’s brand identity.
#5: Choose your eCommerce software
When it comes to setting up an eCommerce site, you have a lot of different software options. Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce are some of the most common ones in use today.
Shopify is known for its ease of use and wide range of features. It’s a great all-purpose tool and ideal for small to medium-sized businesses.
BigCommerce focuses on scalability and has a variety of built-in features suitable for growing businesses.
WooCommerce is an open-source solution that can be installed right on top of WordPress, a powerful advantage, given that WordPress is the most common website management software in use today.
Choosing eCommerce software is one of the most consequential decisions you’ll make in your business. It’s not easy to switch once you start with one. Think about which of these platforms – or others not listed – is going to be the best fit for your needs.
#6: Configure your eCommerce store
Don’t launch your eCommerce store until it is set up correctly. You want to make sure you’re providing a smooth shopping experience.
You need to make sure all the backend details are handled. That means setting up payment gateways, shipping options, and tax calculations, among other things.
Make several test orders. Add different things to your cart. Try inputting different addresses to see how it affects shipping prices and availability.
Do this until you feel completely comfortable in saying that your store is in working order. The last thing you want to do is spend a ton of money driving traffic to your store, only to have errors stop people from making purchases.
#7: Drive traffic to your eCommerce store
Think about how you want to get people to find your eCommerce store. Then develop a plan accordingly. There are a lot of ways you can do this, such as:
- Search engine optimization. That includes optimizing your website for keywords to pull in organic traffic.
- Advertising. This might include using Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google, YouTube, or TikTok to put your products in front of people and entice them to buy.
- Content marketing. That will mean creating blog posts, videos, or other forms of content that people will want to see and that will refer people to your store (such as gift guides).
- Email marketing. This can be used to keep in touch with potential customers as well as repeat ones. You can also use it to educate potential customers about your products or send coupon codes.
Creating a marketing and promotion plan for your store is incredibly nuanced. There are so many ways that you can do this. But the most important thing is to figure out what you want to try and come up with a plan.
#8: Focus on improving user experience
You want to make sure your store is pleasant to use. Start by installing Google Analytics so you can gather data on user behavior. This will help you see where they are from, how long they spend on the site, and which pages they are interested in.
You can use data that you gather to run retargeting ads and send follow-up emails to users that abandon their shopping carts. This will encourage them to return and complete their purchases.
Beyond that, there are some aspects of user experience that are common sense and can be implemented almost immediately. For example, make sure your checkout process is easy. Eliminate surprise shipping fees and make sure you don’t have to create an account to make a purchase. These two things alone can make a huge difference!
Tips to Optimize Your eCommerce Website
Slow websites don’t make sales. Neither do difficult to use ones.
Time spent optimizing your eCommerce site for speed and usability is time well spent. Here are some specific tips on how you can do that well.
#9: Remove unused apps
It’s been years since most tech users have had to seriously think about deleting files and programs to clear up space on their devices. But this is still an issue you need to pay attention to when it comes to website management.
Unused apps can slow down your site, affecting load times and user experience. Regularly review the apps installed on your eCommerce platform and delete those that are not essential.
This simple step can significantly improve your site’s load times. You would be shocked!
#10: Optimize images
Using high-quality images is really important in eCommerce. Showing people what they are going to be buying is a great way to build trust.
But at the same time, large images can slow down your site, leading to a poor user experience. So you need to find the right balance.
To do this, use the smallest images you can without compromising quality. When in doubt, favor WEBP and JPG formats over others for faster loading times.
Compress images to reduce their file size and ensure they are optimized for the web. This will help your pages load faster, improve overall site performance, and enhance user satisfaction.
You can always use tools like Pingdom and GTMetrix to see how long it takes your web pages to load.
#11: Optimize fonts
Using fancy fonts is a great way to improve your store’s branding. But you need to make sure you use them correctly.
This point is a bit technical, but it’s important – incorrectly installed fonts can block other parts of web pages from rendering. This can slow down your overall website time, despite it seeming like a small detail.
When in doubt, use GTMetrix or PageSpeed Insights and make sure you’re not running into font-related errors.
#12: Install a lazy loader
Lazy loading helps load images and assets only when they are needed. This helps improve perceived loading times. Lazy loading helps your site appear to load faster, even if all elements are not fully loaded immediately.
Implementing a lazy loader is an easy way to create a smoother, more efficient user experience. As a result, you can more easily keep visitors engaged and cut down on bounce rates.
#13: Make sure your theme isn’t slowing you down
Most eCommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce are, by their nature, pretty fast. But all of them use themes in order to give sellers the opportunity to customize their sites. This is where things can start to go wrong.
Not every theme is made well. Before you commit to using one, you need to make sure that your theme loads quickly. Otherwise, you might end up spending a lot of time configuring one that’s going to ultimately slow down your site in a way that you cannot easily fix.
If you’re already committed to a theme that slows down your site, you should consider swapping to another one. It’s a pain to switch, but this is one of the most valuable things you can do to speed up your site and likely increase sales.
#14: Eliminate pop-ups and lightboxes
Overuse of pop-ups and lightboxes can slow down your site and annoy users. Use these features sparingly to balance user experience and performance.
Focus on essential pop-ups that provide real value to your visitors. Eliminate those that are unnecessary. This will help you maintain a fast, smooth browsing experience.
When in doubt, keep it as simple as possible.
#15: Find a good CDN
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) distributes content delivery load across multiple servers, speeding up your site. Or, more simply, files don’t have to travel as far to get to your users. That makes your site faster.
This is an easy way to speed up your site and increase the odds of making sales. If you’re a Shopify user, Shopify has a built-in CDN as long as you are on Shopify Plus. Otherwise, look for a good CDN for your eCommerce software solution. It’s worth it to help keep your loading times in check.
Apps to Add to Your Store
Adding the right apps to your eCommerce store can help you enhance functionality and improve customer experience.
Now to clarify – no amount of apps can replace smart strategic planning or basic website optimization. But they can make it a lot easier to handle certain aspects of marketing, customer retention, and store management.
Here is a list of some of our favorites.
#16: Smile
One way to retain customers is to implement a loyalty program. After all, giving one-time customers an incentive to return is a pretty good way of getting them back onto your website. The trick is finding a system that will let you do that with minimal hassle.
That’s where Smile comes in. This app lets customers earn points for actions like creating accounts, placing orders, and leaving reviews. It also features a referral program and provides analytics to monitor performance.
#17: Printful
Printful enables you to create custom products and connect directly to Shopify. This app is suitable for dropshippers and custom product creators, allowing you to design and sell items like t-shirts, posters, and more. Printful handles manufacturing and shipping, making it easier to manage your eCommerce store.
#18: ReferralCandy
If you’re looking for a way to make customer referrals easier to manage, start with ReferralCandy. This app allows you to create email and pop-up campaigns to encourage customers to refer their friends. You can reward customers with cash, coupon codes, or gifts for successful referrals.
#19: Plug in SEO
Plug In SEO makes it easier to improve your search engine rankings. This app includes tools for structured data, keyword optimization, and fixing broken links. It’s also pretty easy to use overall.
SEO is complicated. This often scares people away from focusing on it. But this tool makes it a lot easier to manage.
#20: Yotpo
Yotpo calls itself a customer retention platform, which is a pretty good summary of what it does. Describing it succinctly is tough because it simply does a lot!
Among its many features, you can collect reviews, ratings, and user-generated content. This app helps improve conversion rates by showcasing customer feedback prominently.
In short, if you’re thinking about “social proof” but don’t have a process for gathering it yet, look into Yotpo. It might make your life easier!
#21: Growave
Growave does a little bit of everything. You can use it to set up loyalty programs, incentivize referrals and reviews, and also manage social media.
If you’re looking to keep it simple with an all-in-one tool, Growave is a great option. You won’t have to juggle a whole lot of different apps. That will make it easier to handle the administrative responsibilities that would otherwise be frustratingly hard to manage.
After all – you know how important it is to encourage customer retention, gather reviews, encourage referrals, and show off user-generated content. As always, though, the real obstacle is finding a way to do this that doesn’t take up too much time!
Final Thoughts
Running a successful eCommerce store is not easy. But if you get the foundational parts right, including overall business strategy and technical website optimization, it’s a lot easier. Then, once you get the basics right, you can use the right apps to help you turbocharge your marketing efforts.
Over time, you can build up a loyal customer base and boost your sales. Just remember: eCommerce success comes down to three basic principles. Know who you’re selling to, sell something they want, and make it easy to buy.
Follow these three rules and you’ll be well on your way to lasting success.
The holidays are a great time to acquire new eCommerce customers. They’re also a great time to ship late, run out of stock, and generally derail your eCommerce business. The key difference between the two outcomes: making sure your eCommerce store is holiday-ready.
But how do you do that? There are a lot of things that you need to consider. There is planning and preparation and supply chain management. There’s marketing, promotion, and sales. Then you need to have a plan for after the holidays too!
It’s a lot to take in. So in this guide, we’ve covered every single way we can think of to get your store ready for the holidays. That way, you can plan and prepare your business and have happier holidays as a result!
Planning and Preparation
Effective planning and preparation are the backbone of a successful holiday season. So here is a list of all the things you need to plan out while it’s still warm outside.
#1: Know the holiday shipping deadlines
Get a handle on the shipping deadlines for different carriers to guarantee deliveries land before December 25. Each carrier and shipping method has its own cut-off dates, so staying in the loop on these deadlines helps you plan your shipping schedule. You can then pass this information along to your customers and set accurate delivery expectations.
#2: Review your supply chain
Dissect every part of your supply chain to avoid bottlenecks during the holiday rush. Make sure you have enough inventory on hand and dependable suppliers in case you need more. Your logistics need to be efficient as well, including order fulfillment and replenishment.
Here’s a quick list of what this entails:
- Planning for demand
- Managing materials
- Optimizing inventory
- Lining up transportation
- Coordinating with your warehouse team
Preparing in advance can make your supply chain run like clockwork. That way, you’re not awake three days before Black Friday wondering when your shipment is coming in.
#3: Identify your customers’ pain points
Think about common issues that customers face during the holidays and tackle them head-on. Typical pain points include late shipping, out-of-stock products, and slow customer service response times.
If you spot and smooth out these issues earlier, you’ll keep your customers satisfied and cut down on potential Grinchiness.
#4: Identify your business’s pain points
Think about your business as a whole before you head into the busy season. Are there problems in marketing, accounting, and other departments? It’s easier to deal with problems in August and September than it is in Q4.
The holiday season can stretch every part of your business thin. Solve problems ahead of time so you can stay focused when it counts. It’s easier to run a marathon if you take pebbles out of your shoes first.
#5: Map your returns process
Plan your reverse logistics to handle the uptick in returns during the holidays. You need to have:
- Clear return policies
- Simple return procedures
- A plan to handle those returns when they come in
Doing this helps you plan for returns, which you’ll probably see a lot of in January. But this also helps keep customer trust and satisfaction high, even when returns are necessary.
Inventory and Order Management
You don’t want to run out of inventory during peak sales season. You also don’t want to find yourself unable to fulfill those orders when it counts.
Here are some things you need to make sure you take care of before the holidays.
#6: Estimate your order volume
It’s hard to know how much you will sell during the holidays, but you still need to make your best guess. If you can manage to come up with an accurate prediction, you can dodge both stockouts and overstock scenarios. That way, you can meet customer demand without having a warehouse full of clearance items you’re still trying to get rid of in March.
#7: Stock up on critical supplies
Stockpile packing materials, shipping supplies, and other essentials. Running out of crucial supplies during the holiday frenzy can spell disaster, causing delays and frustration. Prep in advance to avoid last-minute panic trips to overcrowded Costcos.
#8: Hire seasonal workers for holiday shipping
Increase your workforce to handle the higher volume of orders. Seasonal hires can help manage the increased demand without the long-term commitment of permanent staff. Many hands makes light work, after all!
#9: Automate and outsource before you need to
Roll out automation tools and consider outsourcing fulfillment to handle the holiday spike.
You can start with inventory management software like Quickbooks Commerce or Cin7 to automatically track stock levels and reorder supplies. If you ship your own orders, consider using tools such as ShipStation to automate the printing of shipping labels and updating of order statuses.
Outsourcing can also help a ton. Partner with third-party logistics providers like Fulfillrite for warehousing and shipping needs. You can also outsource customer support to agencies like Zendesk to manage inquiries and returns efficiently.
#10: Check all your timetables
Verify all shipment schedules to avoid delays and ensure timely delivery. If you double-check your logistics schedules, then you can rest easy knowing your products will reach customers as expected. That means one less thing to stress about.
Marketing and Promotion
Strategic marketing can skyrocket your visibility and sales. Smartly crafted marketing and promotion plans can help you acquire customers during the holidays while people are open to shopping new places. Then that means you have a whole new base of customers to potentially retain in the new year!
With that in mind, here are some tips on how to handle marketing and promotion.
#11: Ramp up your marketing efforts
The holidays are a good time to increase brand awareness, acquire customers, and encourage repeat purchases. Whatever your standard marketing priorities are, give them extra attention during the holidays. As a rule, you should expect to generally spend more time and money on marketing during the holidays.
#12: Plan for gift shipping
Offer gift wrapping services and streamline gift shipping processes. This not only adds value for customers wanting to send gifts directly to recipients but also can significantly boost your sales.
#13: Create custom holiday packaging
The holidays are the perfect excuse to roll out festive packaging! That’s why Starbucks always rolls out the holiday cups as soon as they have a chance.
Design your own festive packaging this year. It will improve customer experience and encourage them to share their experiences online. Attractive packaging stands out in people’s feeds when they’re scrolling and can increase your odds of making a sale!
#14: Promote early shopping
Encourage customers to shop early to avoid last-minute rushes. Early promotions and incentives can help spread out demand. This, in turn, can reduce strain on your fulfillment processes.
#15: Use email marketing campaigns
Send targeted emails to keep customers informed about holiday promotions and deadlines. The goal is to send the right people the right incentive at the right time. Email is one of the best ways to do that, and it’s also inexpensive.
Of all the ways to keep in touch with customers, email is one of the most cost-effective ones.
Customer Experience
The holidays are going to bring a lot of first-time shoppers to your site. You want to make sure you are providing the best possible experience so they remember to come back later!
A stellar shopping experience can increase conversions and foster repeat business, ultimately boosting overall sales. Here are some tips on how you can do that.
#16: Optimize your website’s performance
A fast, responsive website enhances the shopping experience and can prevent lost sales due to slow load times. Supercharge your site for speed and ensure it can handle increased holiday traffic. For best results, use GTMetrix to spot problems that might be slowing your site down.
#17: Make sure your website is mobile-friendly
Make sure your website is fully functional and easy to navigate on mobile devices. Many customers shop on their phones, so a mobile-friendly site is square one for capturing these sales.
#18: Improve site search functionality
Upgrade your site’s search features to help customers find products quickly and easily. Efficient search functionality reduces frustration and boosts conversion rates. After all, who likes a store that makes it hard to check out? (IKEA being the exception, of course.)
#19: Personalize customer experiences
Use advanced personalization tools to tailor the shopping experience based on individual customer behavior. Personalization creates a sense of connection and relevance, making customers feel valued and understood.
Here are a few examples of what that might look like:
- Personalized product recommendations
- Tailored email campaigns
- Customized promotions
- Behavior-triggered messages (like pop-ups or chatbots offering assistance based on time spend on a page)
Similar to email, the goal is to give the right person the right incentive at the right time.
#20: Implement a loyalty program
The holidays will probably bring new customers to your store. If you can retain them after the new year, you stand to make a lot of money. And loyalty programs can help you do that.
Reward loyal customers with special offers and discounts. This can encourage repeat purchases and increase customer retention.
Sales and Promotions
Offering attractive sales and promotions can drive holiday sales. Here are a few tips and tricks that you can apply to your website to improve your conversion rates and drive sales.
#21: Offer free shipping
Provide free shipping to attract more customers and increase sales. Free shipping is a popular incentive that can boost conversion rates and overall sales.
Think of this way: when you see a shipping upcharge added to items right before you purchase, what do you do? Most people click away and don’t make the purchase.
Don’t do that to your customers!
Free shipping is the easiest way to remove this barrier.
#22: Use influencer marketing
Team up with influencers to tap into their vast audiences and build credibility. Influencers can showcase your products to their followers, amplifying brand awareness and driving sales. Plus, it may be a better deal than buying advertising which tends to be more expensive during the holidays.
Keep in mind that influencers are not just people with a lot of social media followers. Reporters are also influencers, as are reviewers, bloggers, thought leaders, community leaders, and so on. In fact, any well-connected person is a type of influencer.
#23: Set up retargeting ads
Don’t let potential customers slip away—use retargeting ads to reel back those who visited your site but didn’t make a purchase. Because when these reminders come at the right time, they can nudge customers to complete their transaction.
#24: Offer limited-time discounts
Create a sense of urgency with time-sensitive promotions. Limited-time discounts can encourage customers to make a purchase quickly to take advantage of the offer.
It’s hard to procrastinate when “this offer expires today, so don’t wait!”
#25: Bundle products
Boost your average order value by offering product bundles. Bundling complementary items adds value for customers and encourages them to spend more. This is one of the easiest ways to increase revenues and profitability.
#26: Create a gift guide
Make shopping easy for newcomers. Simplify holiday shopping with a curated gift guide.
Because people often have a lot of gifts to buy for a lot of people, the kind of information in a gift guide can be really helpful. On your end, the gift guide is a handy tool that can highlight popular or unique products.
Do this right and you can make it easier for customers and boost your sales too.
Customer Support
Exceptional customer support is non-negotiable during the holiday chaos. Top-notch support can turn first-time buyers into loyal customers. Here are some tips on how to handle the human element of the holiday rush.
#27: Extend customer support hours
Provide extended customer support to assist with increased inquiries during the holidays. Longer support hours ensure that customer questions and issues are addressed promptly.
Because people are so busy during the holidays, being able to quickly reach a support rep is a breath of fresh air.
#28: Provide exceptional customer service
Make sure your customer service team is well-trained and prepared for the holiday rush. Give your staff the power to set things right without having to go through bureaucratic hurdles.
Great customer service makes a big difference during the holidays. Remember that people are busy, but not so busy they won’t notice if you handle their problems well.
It’s simple but true – if the shopping experience is a good one, then they’ll be more likely to come back later.
#29: Streamline the return process
Make it easy for customers to return products. And make sure you can handle those returns easily too.
Returns are extremely common in eCommerce. This is even more true around the holidays, when people tend to get gifts they may or may not want.
For that reason, a simple, efficient returns process can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. And who knows – a gift recipient may return an item, only to be impressed and buy something more expensive. It happens sometimes!
#30: Use the return process as a chance to provide great customer service
Returns are not, in fact, the end of the world. Smart store owners use them to try to retain new customers.
When returns comes in, offer exchanges or suggest alternative products. This can transform a potentially negative experience into a positive one that keeps customers coming back.
#31: Balance customer service with expense management
Fine-tune your returns policy to strike a balance between satisfying customers while also managing costs. Before the holidays, make sure your returns process is efficient and cost-effective while still providing top-notch service.
Post-Holiday Strategies
After the holiday hustle, it’s time to review and refine. These post-holiday strategies can turn the chaos of the holidays into actionable improvements, preparing you for the next season.
#32: When the holidays are over, revisit your processes
Conduct a thorough audit of your holiday operations. Identifying strengths and weaknesses in your performance can help you prepare better for the next busy season, guaranteeing you learn from every experience.
#33: Use returns to ask customers for feedback
Returns are the perfect time to gather feedback. Customers and their opinions can reveal issues with products or processes, helping you make necessary adjustments to improve future offerings and overall customer satisfaction.
#34: Figure out what to do with returned merchandise
If you make a lot of sales over the holidays, you’ll see a lot of returns too. You need to figure out what to do with them in advance.
Decide whether to restock, recycle, or donate returned items. Managing your returns properly can save costs and help you position your company as eco-friendly.
#35: Offer gift cards
Gift cards are a versatile option for customers and a boon for business. They cater to last-minute shoppers and drive future sales, making them an excellent addition to your post-holiday strategy.
Security and Optimization
If your website is slow before the holidays, it’s going to dramatically lower your sales potential. You will want to make sure that’s not an issue before the sales start coming in.
And while you’re doing technical work, it’s a good idea to beef up your security anyway. Santa knows if hackers are being naughty or nice, but it’s better to keep your site from being breached in the first place. That will keep you safe while you’re waiting on him to deliver a payload of coal to the bad guys.
#36: Secure your website
The eCommerce holiday season is a great time to be a cybercriminal. That’s why you should implement solid security measures to protect customer data and transactions.
If nothing else, make sure your passwords are secure and you have two-factor authentication turned on. These are among the most common vulnerabilities sites have and they take five minutes to fix.
#37: Proofread meticulously
It’s a pain, but you need to do it. Proofread all your pages and make sure there are no mistakes.
Your content needs to be error-free to maintain credibility. Remember: high-quality, accurate content will increase the odds that people trust you. (Who wants to give credit card info to a store riddled with typos?)
#38: Hire a professional editor
Proofreading on your own is good. Having a professional do it is better.
If you can afford it, consider hiring an editor to polish up your website and campaign materials. Not only will they catch typos, they may be able to generally tighten up your copywriting as a whole. That can dramatically improve your conversion rates.
#39: Optimize checkout process
Simplify your checkout process to reduce cart abandonment. You want it to be as easy as possible to make that first purchase.
If nothing else – make sure people don’t have to make an account to make a purchase. (No one will bother to do that!)
#40: Use analytics to track sales
Make sure you have a sales analytics system set up before the holiday. The sales data you gather this season will help you make smart decision in the long run. For example, your sales data might make it easier for you to upsell or cross-sell in the future.
#41: Test your processes
You don’t want your website to break on Black Friday. Nor do you want your shipping operations to fall apart on December 22.
Test all aspects of your operations to make sure they’re running smoothly. Preventative maintenance is easier than troubleshooting under pressure!
Final Thoughts
When you run an eCommerce store, planning for the holidays requires a lot of work ahead of time. You need your inventory management and supply chain to be all figured out. Customer support needs to be trained and ready to go. And your sales and marketing both need to be on point.
It’s a lot to take in. But by thinking in advance, you can dramatically increase your odds of having a successful holiday season.
These tips should help get your eCommerce store holiday-ready. That way, you can confidently deal with increased demand, deliver great experiences, and retain customers for the years to follow.