Lots of creators have approached us about getting messages from marketing or promotion services that promise backers. Bottom line, we think that for most projects, these services aren’t necessary. However, if you’re considering working with one of these services, make sure to thoroughly research them first, and check the following:
- Get details on the exact services that they provide. Are these things that you and your team could do on your own?
- Check their track record. Look up reviews, and if possible talk to other creators that have used these services to ask them what worked and what didn’t.
- Read more of our tips on what to consider before working with a marketing service.
- If you feel that any of these services might be spamming you, please let us know by marking these messages as spam or by contacting our Support team.
Please note: Creators are not allowed to directly, or indirectly through the use of a third party, inflate or otherwise misrepresent the number of or amount pledged by backers. Paying a service to manufacture fake backers for your project, or violating our rules against self-funding in any other capacity, will lead to project suspension, account restriction, or more.
Under Kickstarter’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, users may not distribute unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or promotional material, or any junk mail, spam, or chain letters.
If you receive a message from a user asking to communicate off platform, please remember that you do so at your own risk. We don’t control or endorse those sites, and are not responsible for their content or their privacy and marketing practices. As a reminder, Kickstarter employees will never contact you via direct messages with unsolicited offers.
We encourage you to be wary of users who ask you to send them money off platform, especially in exchange for marketing services. Scammers use urgency to get you to send money; Be wary anytime someone wants you to act now.
Creators should exercise healthy caution when accepting large pledges from unknown backers, especially those pledged without selecting a reward, or selecting a reward far below the contribution amount. If you're ever feeling unsure about a backer or pledge, please don't hesitate to reach out and we'll be happy to investigate. Remember – you can always say no!
Don’t take any actions in reliance on collecting any of the money pledged until you actually have the ability to withdraw it from your account and spend it. For example, you should be cautious about entering into binding contracts for manufacturing your rewards until after your project has successfully funded and you’ve received the payout.
Lastly, if you receive a message through Kickstarter that appears to be spam, or that violates our Community Guidelines, please make sure to mark it as spam by clicking the “Report spam” button on the message. This helps to flag any spam messages to our Trust & Safety team for investigation. Our Trust and Safety team may take proactive action on suspected spam accounts, and their associated pledges, to prevent pledges that may inflate or otherwise misrepresent the number of or amount pledged by backers.
Outside of our partnership with Jellop, Kickstarter doesn’t explicitly endorse or have an affiliation with any advertising, promotional, or marketing services. If someone makes you think otherwise, please let us know.