We’re excited to announce that our new and improved Backer Survey tool launched on June 25, 2024. Please note: Any existing surveys that hadn’t yet been sent to backers by June 25 will no longer be available, and a new survey will need to be created.
When you’re ready to begin collecting your backers’ information to fulfill their rewards, simply follow the steps below to build your Backer Survey:
- Select ‘Backer Survey’ from the creator tools menu, located on the left side of your project page, and click the “Start” button to begin building your survey.
- Under the ‘Item questions’ tab, you will see all of the items that were offered as part of your campaign, including any that were available as add-ons.
- To create questions and variants for each item, click “Create questions” next to a specific item.
- If there are any variants for the item, such as different colors or sizes, that you’ll need a backer to select from, you can add these by clicking “Create variant”.
- You can add more than one variant for an item, such as color and size, but we recommend adding no more than three if possible.
- For each variant, you will need to add a selection of values (e.g. the different sizes available). The values are what the backer will select from when completing their survey.
- Your SKUs will automatically generate for each item based on the item name and variant values added. For example, “Reward 1”, in size small and the color blue, will be generated as “Reward-1-Small-Blue”. You can edit the SKUs later via the SKU table.
- If you need further information for an item, you can collect this by adding an open text question under ‘Item customization’.
- For any items where there are no variants created in the Backer Survey, the default SKU will be the first three words of the item name.
- If there are any variants for the item, such as different colors or sizes, that you’ll need a backer to select from, you can add these by clicking “Create variant”.
- Next, head to ‘Backer questions’ to add any questions you’d like your backers to answer, such as how they heard about your campaign.
- For each question you will have the option of making it an open text, multiple selection, or single selection answer. You can also choose to segment questions and set them up to be available for all backers, or specific to certain rewards only. These questions can be arranged in your preferred order.
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By default a question will require an answer, any questions that aren’t required in order to fulfill your campaign should be marked as optional.
- Backers will be unable to leave answers blank if a question is not marked as optional. If a question doesn't apply to everyone in that reward tier, make sure to provide them with the option to say "Not applicable".
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- For each question you will have the option of making it an open text, multiple selection, or single selection answer. You can also choose to segment questions and set them up to be available for all backers, or specific to certain rewards only. These questions can be arranged in your preferred order.
- On the ‘Addresses’ tab you will decide whether you’d like to collect backers’ addresses as part of the survey, or if this is something you plan to do via a third-party service.
- You can also opt out of collecting addresses for any reward tiers that include only digital items. To do so, click "Yes, collect backer addresses", then uncheck the box that appears underneath that selection.
- We will run addresses that backers provide through a validation check, just to make sure that it is properly formatted and to catch any possible typos.
- When you have added all of the information you’ll need from your backers, you can go ahead and preview the survey as your backers will see it.
- At the top of the page, select different reward tiers and add-ons from the dropdown menu to see how the survey will look for specific backers. The Backer Survey will automatically ask the questions relevant for each item within a pledge, including any add-ons.
- If you’re happy with your survey, and no further information is needed, you can send it whenever you’re ready by clicking “Send survey” in the top right corner.
- As the Backer Survey can only be sent once, we’ll ask you to confirm again that you are ready to send. If you’re all set, go ahead and hit “Yes, send survey”.
Backer Survey Keywords
- SKU = This stands for “Stock Keeping Unit”, and will be the name assigned to each item that makes up your inventory to help you keep track of quantities.
- Variant = This is the way in which the reward item will differ. For example, ‘Size’ and ‘Color’.
- Value = The values are the options available for each variant. For example, if the variant is ‘Size’, the values may be ‘Small’, ‘Medium’, ‘Large’.
How many surveys can I send my backers?
Backer Surveys can only be sent once, so make sure that you are asking for everything you need in order to fulfill backers’ rewards. We highly recommend previewing your survey before sending too, to double-check that nothing crucial is missing.
What should I do if I need additional information not included in my survey?
If you realize after sending the Backer Survey that something was missed you can message your backers directly through the backer report. You can also filter the report to a specific reward tier and send a message to a smaller group of backers.
Additionally, if there is information you need from your backers before your campaign ends, you may want to collect this through direct messaging.
Can I send my Backer Survey while still collecting Late Pledges?
Yes! You can send your Backer Survey while Late Pledges are active on your project. When a backer joins your project through Late Pledges they will instantly receive their survey alongside their pledge confirmation.
After your Backer Survey has been sent out, however, we recommend that no further reward items are created for your Late Pledges. Once a Backer Survey has been sent it won’t be possible to edit it to include questions specific to any new items.
How do I lock addresses in my Backer Survey?
When you’re ready to start shipping rewards, and you’d like to lock addresses, head back to the Backer Survey page for your project. Here you can click the “Start” button next to ‘Lock addresses’ and we’ll ask you to confirm that you’d like to continue with this action. Once addresses have been locked, backers will have 48 hours to make any changes to their address.
Further reading:
How can I use the backer report?
Where can I find my Backer Survey responses?
How can I use the Fulfillment dashboard to manage reward production and fulfillment?