To let your backers know how the project is going you can post an update. Updates are like your project's blog. You'll find a link to post an update in the creator tools menu to the left of your project page. You can choose to notify all of your backers about the new update, or you can limit the notifications to backers within certain reward tiers. To do so choose the “Select tiers” option under ‘Notifications’ and select which tiers you’d like to notify.
Looking for some tips on what kinds of updates you can send to your backers? Check out these 50 ideas for sending great project updates.
You can also talk to your backers through our messaging system. To send the same message to backers in a particular reward tier, use the 'Message All' option for that tier in your backer report, which you can access through the creator tools menu. You can also message backers that fall into the specific search filters within your backer report (including backers that have or have not responded to their survey, backers with dropped or errored pledges, backers whose reward status you've marked as “Not started”, “In progress”, "Shipped", “Delayed”, etc.).
To message backers individually, just use the 'Send message' link from the backer list or their backer card. If you need to send a message to a backer who has left a comment on your project page, you can open their backer card by clicking on their name in the comment, followed by the “View pledge” button.
Backers expect to connect with you through Kickstarter, so it's best to use our tools for sending updates, messages, and asking for information. Avoid asking people to sign up for another service as it can be confusing for backers, and difficult to keep all your information in one place.
Can I pin a comment in my project’s comment section?
Pinning a comment is a great way to highlight any information shared in the comment section that you feel would be beneficial for all backers, without them needing to look for it. For example, if a backer has previously asked a technical question about a specific reward and this has been answered by the creator, or a collaborator, you can now choose to pin this to the top.
To pin a comment, click or tap on the three dots and select “Pin comment” from the dropdown menu. You’ll be able to pin up to five comments and they will appear in descending order of when they were pinned.
If you change your mind, or no longer need to pin a specific comment, you can click on the three dots again and select “Unpin comment”.
How can I update backers on the status of their reward?
You can let backers know what the current status of their reward is by updating the status in the backer report. From the dropdown menu you will be able to choose to set the status as “Not started”, “In progress”, “Shipped”, or “Delayed”. This can be done for an individual backer, or a selection of backers. You can also filter by reward tier and select backers within that tier.
When a status is set this will be visible to backers on their Backed Projects page, and in their pledge details on the project page.*
*Please note that the reward status information isn’t currently available when viewing pledge details through the Kickstarter app.