Creative Crowdfunding Reward Ideas

Looking for crowdfunding reward ideas, or just need a little inspiration?

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Feeling a little stuck for reward ideas for your crowdfunding project? Here’s a whole load of crowdfunding reward ideas, starting points and inspiration to get you started.

Get creative – think about how you customise these starting points to design crowdfunding rewards that really tie-in with the aims, style, content, values of your project. Think about ways to make these rewards attractive to your backers and target audience, and think about the kinds of things they value (and what they don’t!).

Remember – fully cost out your rewards BEFORE you list them to make sure that they are realistic and achievable to deliver (and won’t leave you out of pocket). You can learn more about how to design your crowdfunding rewards in this post.

Thanks Yous

  • shoutouts (actually shouted / said, in the real world, by you / your team / your cast / people attending your event) & video toasts
  • backer name included in your film credits / CD notes / game rulebook / event programme etc.
  • social media mentions / follow backers on twitter
  • personal recorded thank you messages (video / audio) from you, your team or characters in your project
  • preforming requests to camera (sing a cover version of a backer’s song, say a message of a backer’ s choosing etc.)

Early Access, Backstage Access & Exclusives

  • access to the project / product before anyone else
  • subscription or memberships to your future activities
  • access to online ‘backstage’ updates and photos etc. not available to general public
  • code keys / ‘cheats’ / digital access codes / expansion packs
  • limited-edition hand-numbered prints / vinyl / garments
  • soft-launch / beta tester passes
  • backstage passes to gigs or events
  • ‘easter eggs’ hidden in the finished product (with clues for backers on how to find them)
  • setting up specific groups / channels that can only be accessed by backers (on Slack, or social media)

Stuff you like / your stuff

  • digital copies of favourite recipes / reading list / playlist / video playlists etc with your own commentary or notes
  • customise an item of clothing (shoes, jacket, sunglasses etc.) in your own style or in the style of something related to your project
  • ‘something from the archives’ – a randomly selected object from your early days
  • create a ‘box set’ of everything you have made to date

Naming rights & ‘your face in the project’

  • backers name a flavour, character, location, meal, dog, table, etc. involved in the project
  • backers / their loved ones / pets / hometown feature appear as an extra in your film / character in your game / location / item name or other reference point in your project
  • vanity plate (name on a plaque / brick / piece of furniture / crockery etc. or as a star on a ‘walk of fame’)
  • avatars / caricature / personalised portrait illustrations
  • backers names / character traits / ideas or other details written into song lyrics, a novel or storyline
  • mini creative direction inputs (selected backers write a few lines of dialogue, decide on a colour scheme, backstory for a character, samples of sound recorded by backers etc)
  • wear a t-shirt with picture of a backer’s face on / a backer’s name written on it during a photoshoot, interview or other public event
  • personalised etching / engraving options
  • dedicate your book / album / film / event etc to a selected backer
  • your song / voice-over included in the project
  • create a bundle of memes or GIFs using photos of your backers / their pets etc.

Face-to-face & one-to-one

  • meet & greet or photo opportunity after a gig, performance or screening
  • lunch date, skype date, studio visits (could be face-to-face, online or by phone) or dinner with the project team
  • personal / small group tour of locations important to the project and its development or creative process (walking tours, pub crawls, bike tours – backers pay for their own drinks, you provide the commentary)
  • writing personal letters or postcards to individual backers
  • sending personal SMS, txt or picture messages to backers
  • private gig in backer’s living room, basement or back garden
  • one-to-one consultations, tutorials, lessons or workshops (again, could be face-to-face or online) for backers and/or their friends and family
  • Q&A event, AMA (ask me anything) event or short videos of you answering selected questions from backers
  • interviews hosted by backers (podcast, blog, video or other formats)

Events

  • backers party, wrap party or launch party events
  • make something together (a chalk floor mural, a giant paper chain, build the set for a project etc.)
  • city scavenger or treasure hunt (find/follow clues, meet the project creators, party at the end)
  • arrange a backer meetup at a convention / existing national or international event
  • special one-off gigs, performances, play-thrus, readings or recordings

‘Leftovers’ from the creative process

  • packaging up hardcopy or digital elements that were key to the development & making of your project – scripts, storyboards, initial sketches, outtakes, code, music, sewing patterns, plans, costumes, broken guitar strings, set-lists, shot-lists, first drafts (with edits), sheet music or props. You could sign / autograph these ‘leftovers’ to add to their value

REFERENCES:

While gathering information for this post, I have borrowed some of the ideas from the following posts, which you should also have a look at!!

https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/need-some-reward-ideas-here-are-96-of-them

http://prohatch.com/blog/how_to_structure_your_crowdfunding_rewards_program

http://www.crowdfundingpr.org/25-killer-kickstarter-reward-ideas/


Have I missed something? Do you have a great crowdfunding tip that I should include here too? Or examples of really creative crowdfunding rewards? Let me know in the comments below, or tweet me @RachelDobbs1 and I’ll include it in a future post!!

You can read more crowdfunding hints and tips here, and check out this post on Building your crowdfunding team for more ideas on how to get started.


New to crowdfunding?
Check out my quick start guide to crowdfunding!!

Quick start crowdfunding beginners guide


Rachel Dobbs is one half of LOW PROFILE, an artist and educator based in Plymouth, UK. Rachel works on a range of arts and education projects, has a long-term interest in creative approaches to community development and runs workshops, teaching & training sessions for a range of formal & informal groups including students, arts practitioners and communities – contact me for more details.

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