How to build your Backer Survey

When you’re ready to begin collecting your backers’ information to fulfill their rewards, simply follow the steps below to build your backer survey:

1. To begin, select either ‘Pledge manager’ or ‘Backer survey’, from the creator navigation bar, located on the left side of your project page.
   • For creators using Kickstarter’s Pledge Manager, click the “Start” button within the ‘Create survey (Optional)’ section.
     • If you are eligible to use our Pledge Manager, but plan to only use the survey tool, you can click the “Switch to survey only” button at the top of the page.
   • For creators using Kickstarter’s Backer Survey only, click the “Start” button to start building your survey.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Next, head to ‘Backer questions’ to add any general 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.
     • 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.
     • If there is a question that may not apply to everyone but an answer is required, make sure to provide them with the option to say "Not applicable".
5. 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.
6. If you’re happy with your survey, and no further information is needed, you can save it to be sent to your backers when you launch your pledge manager, or if you selected to only use the survey tool, you can send it whenever you’re ready.

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?

The survey 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 it before launching your survey or pledge manager, 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 launching your survey or pledge manager 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 Kickstarter Backer Survey while still collecting Late Pledges?

If you opted to use Kickstarter’s survey tool only, 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 the survey has been sent out, however, we recommend that no further reward items are created for your Late Pledges, as it won’t be possible to edit the survey to include questions specific to any new items.

If you opted to use Kickstarter’s Pledge Manager tool, you will need to end Late Pledges before the survey can be launched. The backer survey will be sent out to backers as part of the pledge manager and should only be launched when you are ready to begin production of your rewards and need to start collecting item preferences and shipping addresses.

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?