Once you’ve decided on rewards that appeal to your community, you’ll find tools and options within the Rewards tab of your project that will help you to: itemize the rewards you’re planning to offer, build a range of reward tiers, create add-ons, and organize everything to reflect your estimated delivery timeline.
When building rewards, we encourage creators to ensure that they are setting reasonable backer expectations in terms of estimated delivery dates, the options that they are offering for shipping, and how shipping will be charged. We also encourage creators to use our tools to itemize and add the cost of shipping for every reward tier and/or add-on, in order to best make use of the fulfillment dashboard and backer export to track your project’s fulfillment progress after your campaign funds.
Items
Many creators will start with a list of items, then build up their reward tiers from there. If you’re unsure about the specifics or costs of certain reward tiers, we recommend starting out by first itemizing everything you plan to offer—this will allow you to gradually put together the building blocks of your reward tiers.
- Select the ‘Items’ option on the Rewards tab of the project editor
- Click the “+ New item” button to the right
- Enter a title for your item, something that quickly and clearly describes it
- When finished, click the green “Save item” button in the top right corner
When you’re ready to create a reward tier, the items you’ve added will appear in a drop-down for you to select and include in the reward tier being created.
Reward tiers
If you already have an idea of your project budget, reward structure, availability, shipping, etc., you can begin to create your reward tiers for your project. Most creators offer 3-10 reward tiers, which can be physical items, digital rewards, experiences, or a combination.
- Select the ‘Reward tiers’ option on the Rewards tab of the project editor
- Click the “+ New reward” button to the right
- Fill in all of the fields: title, amount, description, estimated delivery, items, contents (specify if it includes physical goods), and shipping (specify shipping destination, location for in-person receipt, or digital receipt), as well as the quantity and time limit, if applicable
- Please note: Things you can eat or drink, like chocolate or hot sauce, though physical, are not considered physical goods
- When finished, click the green “Save reward” button at the bottom of the page
If you plan to have a few reward tiers with similar information (for example: 1 x my new cookbook, 2 x my new cookbook, etc), you can simply click “Duplicate” on an existing tier. This will auto-populate all fields ready for you to edit as needed.
Add-ons
If you have extra rewards that you’d like to offer outside of your tiers, you can manage these via the ‘Add-ons’ option.
- Select the ‘Add-ons’ option on the Rewards tab of the project editor
- Click the “+ New add-on” button to the right
- Fill in all of the fields: title, amount, description, estimated delivery, items, contents (specify if it includes physical goods), and shipping (specify shipping destination, location for in-person receipt, or digital receipt), as well as the quantity and time limit, if applicable
- Please note: Things you can eat or drink, like chocolate or hot sauce, though physical, are not considered physical goods
- When finished, click the green “Save reward” button at the bottom of the page
Remember, backers will need to select a main reward tier before they can select any add-ons. If the main reward tier is a digital reward, it will not be possible for backers to increase their pledge with shippable add-ons. Similarly, if the main reward tier selected is marked for local in-person receipt from a designated location, only digital add-ons and those from the exact same location will be available.
Backers will also only see shippable add-ons that are available to be shipped to the destination country they selected for their main reward. For example, if a backer selects a main reward to be shipped to Canada, they won’t see any add-ons that have been restricted to the United States.
What are add-ons?
Add-ons are optional rewards that give backers the possibility to easily select additional items that perhaps were not included as part of the main reward tier they selected. You may wish to offer add-ons that complement the main reward, such as a movie poster, game expansion pack, or a copy of one of your earlier publications.
We find it’s best when add-ons are items that are already part of your creative project, or inventory you already have on hand. Try to keep your add-ons connected to the project you’re bringing to life.
And remember, commit to what you can successfully execute. Don’t create add-ons for the sake of it, only to discover later that you’re overcommitted.
What can be offered as a reward?
Rewards are typically items created as a result of running a successful Kickstarter project (a copy of the album, a print from the collection) or more experiential rewards (visits to the set, a private cooking class). Your reward idea doesn’t necessarily need to be a physical item. However, rewards should aim to bring backers closer to your project. You know better than anyone what your community wants, think of things that would get you excited to back a project.
Reward ideas can vary so long as your reward idea fits into Our Rules, which include a list of prohibited items and subject matter, and can be set for any pledge amount up to the maximum pledge value.
For an overview on the logistics and expenses to consider while setting up your reward tiers, we recommend reading the Building rewards chapter of our Creator Handbook.
Looking for some reward inspiration? Try this list we made of 96 reward ideas. And if you’re unsure whether your reward idea would make a good fit for Kickstarter, get in touch with us.
How do I limit the quantity of a reward or add-on?
If you are only planning to create a limited run of an item, have a maximum capacity, or just want to offer early bird backers an exclusive reward, you can limit the quantity when creating your reward tier or add-on. To do so, select “Limited” under the ‘Quantity’ section and you'll be able to set the maximum number available. For add-ons, you can also limit the amount that any individual backer may select, whether the add-on quantity is limited or unlimited. This number defaults to 10 unless you set a different value.
For example, if you want to offer 20 VIP tickets to your film's premiere as a reward, you can limit the reward to 20. As soon as 20 people back this reward tier, it will be marked as no longer available and other backers won't be able to select it.
Can I schedule my rewards or add-ons?
Sometimes it's useful to add more rewards as your campaign progresses, and other times you may wish to offer a particular reward for only a limited time, such as the first day of your campaign. In order to do this, you can schedule rewards to go live on your project page on a certain date during your campaign, and you can also limit the amount of time that a reward is available.
To do so, select “Specify start and end” under the ‘Time limit’ section and you’ll be able to set the start and end date for the reward tier or add-on.
Need to edit a reward? Take a look at our “Can I edit my rewards after I've launched my project?” for more information on the changes you can and can’t make while your project is live.