Once a Kickstarter campaign is complete, you’ll need to head over to the creator’s page to pre-order the products. But that’s about to change. Kickstarter has just announced that they will be adding pre-order functionality to their platform once the campaign is over, a feature they’ve dubbed “Late Pledges.” This is a much-awaited addition that will soon be available to all creators.
If you’re familiar with crowdfunding, you’ll probably roll your eyes and think “welcome to the club.” After all, Indiegogo launched their own version of late pledges, called InDemand, almost a decade ago. But setting aside their ‘lateness,’ Kickstarter has been a pioneer in the crowdfunding space since its inception in 2009. And now, with the introduction of Late Pledges, they continue to support and empower creative individuals.
The Late Pledges feature not only opens up new opportunities for backers who missed the initial campaign, but it also simplifies the process of post-campaign contributions. It’s a win-win for all parties involved, including Kickstarter, who, up until now, saw post-campaign pre-sales happening off-site, therefore not getting their 5% platform fee. Of course, they will get their cut from Late Pledges as well. It’s a no-brainer, really.
How it works
Once a project reaches its funding goal, creators can activate Late Pledges from their dashboard. This will add a dedicated section on their project page, allowing new backers to select rewards and pledge their support at their convenience, just like during the initial campaign phase. A spokesperson for Kickstarter reassures us that Late Pledges seamlessly integrates within their platform, providing a smooth and efficient experience for all users.
For founders, Late Pledges make perfect sense. A project’s Kickstarter page often has a significant amount of Google clout and appears in the top search results frequently. So, why not capitalize on that? Late Pledges provide an excellent opportunity to leverage the momentum from successful campaigns and attract even more supporters. Plus, by offering exclusive rewards or limited-time incentives, creators can maintain excitement and visibility for their projects.
However, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns. Crowdfunding campaigns can be challenging to deliver, and there’s often a post-campaign phase where things get “really real.” This is when manufacturing and design challenges start to arise. Continuing to accept pre-orders at this point can be risky, as it adds more responsibilities for creators to manage. This includes a potentially larger number of backers, fulfilling rewards, and potentially affecting the initial urgency that drives many crowdfunding campaigns. Creators need to carefully consider the timing and duration of the Late Pledges period to avoid diminishing the impact of their initial campaign.
Despite possible challenges, Late Pledges offer significant benefits to Kickstarter creators. Backers gain more flexibility and an opportunity to support projects they might have missed initially. It’s also easy to imagine how this feature could contribute to a more sustainable crowdfunding environment by allowing projects to generate ongoing support.
It’ll be interesting to see how Kickstarter develops and enhances this feature in the future. One can easily imagine time-limited pledge windows or integration with other platform features to boost project visibility and success. This evolution of Late Pledges could also lead to broader changes in Kickstarter’s strategy, with a focus on building long-term relationships between creators and backers and expanding support tools for creators.
If you’re curious to see what Late Pledges looks like in action, check out the recently-completed Master of Realms campaign on Kickstarter.
