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Kickstarter Question

periwinkle

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Yes I agree...too many tiers....perhaps just stick to honorable mention, bronze, silver, gold and onxy tiers?

Like honourable mention around 10
Bronze 25
Silver 50
Gold 80
onxy 150?

And an add-on would be for personal coaching that I am offering?
 

spirop

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Hello friends,
Don't mean to be a nervous nelly, but what happens to the donations if we don't meet the goal?
 

NewSheriffInTown

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I'm not a money guy so much, so take my input with that little grain of salt. I do think though based on my work with non-profits that you may have too many tiers. Too many choices leads to decision paralysis. (Kickstarter says that most campaigns are between 3 and 10 tiers -- I'd still say 10 is too many, but that's me...) I'd also axe the $1 one for sure and maybe other low ones -- those aren't worth administering and aren't going to get you over the hump. Maybe start at $20?

I love the "Get Your Name on a Map" idea! Is that like a name on a territory? Or is it more like "12 Domains Sponsored by Matilda the Hun"? That should be clarified. (Either way, a cool prize!) Or maybe you could have both -- a territory for one price, a whole map for another.

An exclusive Service Award medal would be cool too for the higher tiers. (Maybe that's what the "Service Award" column is? Not sure...) I know that would take coding, but this is an all-or-nothing fundraiser as you say. Presumably, you'd have the money to add that in.

I like the tournament idea too. Maybe you could set aside some of the money for a special, real-life medal to play for, like they did with the old Atari tournaments in the day. Wouldn't have to be anything fancy-fancy, just something different.

Anyway, my two cents.

-MTH

Great ideas!

I will make some changes....

Meanwhile, maybe looking at the actual Kickstarter page might answer some concerns.

This is a SPECIAL PREVIEW link. This shows a DRAFT of the page we're working on. I believe you can leave some comments once you look it over....

 

NewSheriffInTown

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Yes I agree...too many tiers....perhaps just stick to honorable mention, bronze, silver, gold and onxy tiers?

Like honourable mention around 10
Bronze 25
Silver 50
Gold 80
onxy 150?

And an add-on would be for personal coaching that I am offering?

Yeah, I wasn't sure where to put the coaching. If it were to be an add-on, then we'd have to put a price on something that is priceless! :)

But yeah, I was either going to offer it as an addon for a price (limited quantity) - Or include it in some of the higher tiers (also limited quantity)

Like for example:

$100 - Onyx Rewards
$100 - Onyx Rewards + Personal Coach (limited to the first 3 donors only)
 

NewSheriffInTown

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Hello friends,
Don't mean to be a nervous nelly, but what happens to the donations if we don't meet the goal?

It's all-or-nothing. That's why we're only asking for $5,000, and not asking for the $20,000, (which we really really want!)
 

NewSheriffInTown

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I searched through a bunch of successfully funded kickstarter campaigns for games, and most, if not all, had around 10 tiers to choose from. So I don't think too much choice is an issue. I guess it's because there is a reward involved, not just a straight up donation. So I took some time to make sure that each higher tier offered something more than the previous one.

What about this?

REWARDS

USDAll Access
Membership
(in years)
Name on
Donation
Page
Introductory
Video
Service
Award
Be a
Play Tester
Exclusive
"Generals"
1000 Point
Tournament
Personal
Trainer
201YESYESBronze
251.5YESYESBronze
302YESYESSilver
504YESYESSilverYES
706YESYESGoldYES
1008YESYESGoldYESYES
12010YESYESOnyxYESYES
12010YESYESOnyxYESYES(limited to 3)
200LifetimeYESYESOnyxYESYES

ADD-ONS

1001 Point "ADD-ON" Tournament
(Different than "Generals" Tournament)
Personal Trainer
(Valid for 2 games)
Get to Name a Territory
on a Future Map
Get to Name a Territory
on a Current Map
(12 Domains or Forgotten Kingdom)
1040275600
(limited to 6)(limited to 10)(limited to 1)


Remember to check out the preview link : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/majorcommand/763575778?ref=9ixdqe&token=6f71bae1
 

EARTHLING

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Hi, can we have a reminder announced to all via the MC site inbox a few days before close off date?
Thanks
 

MNatt

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Most of the time, the easiest people to sell to are your existing customers.

On that basis:
  • What about sending a weekly email to everybody's inbox, telling them how much has been raised, how much more needs to be raised, and encouraging folks to put their hands in their pockets.
  • It might be worth encouraging site-users to pledge sooner rather than later (and remind them that their pledge money will only be taken if the appeal is successful). On the basis that an outsider looking at the appeal is going to take it more seriously if he/she can see that it already has a good amount of backing. If existing site users are going to pledge, the sooner they do it the better.
  • I would have thought one problem might be that we are down to a really low number of regular users by now. There are loads and loads of players who used to be on every day, playing loads of games, but who have drifted away by now. Is there a way of reaching out to those people? If I was an ex-player who had stopped logging in, how would I even know about the Kickstarter appeal? Are you allowed to email those people? I don't know if there are any data-use issues involved - but given the whole point of the appeal is to get the site back to its former glory, there would be former players who would support the appeal if they knew about it. If it's legal to do so, and if the site has email details for those people, can they be emailed?
I'm sure the powers that be here have thought about all this already - but just in case...
 

NewSheriffInTown

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Yeah, that's the plan. I've never bulk emailed before, so I had to take a crash course over the weekend on how to do that. I think I finally figured it out.

I'm also terrible at writing emails, so if anyone want to draft a "please help our kickstarter campaign" message, then that would be great!

The plan is to email everyone who logged in to MajCom in 2021. That's about 8000 people.

Granted, only around 3000 of them have been on the site for more than an hour, but I think that's a pretty good list.

The mailer I'm using limits to 500 emails/day. So that will be a steady stream for the next couple weeks. We'll keep an eye on how the email campaign goes and see how affective it is after it starts. Maybe make adjustment when necessary.

If you're here, then you should be getting a message too!
 

MNatt

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I'd be happy to draft something for you. Let me know.
 

NewSheriffInTown

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So yeah, I'd be happy to use 4 or 5 different email messages to send out. I would send the different messages randomly on different days to different people, just in case some worked better than others....

If anyone wants to write one for me, that would be awesome!

You can post it below, or send it to me in a private 'conversation'. Either way is fine.

The format would be something like this:

SUBJECT LINE : something goes here

MESSAGE : the main message here:

Hi [username],
message message.
[link : view the kickstarter page!]
message message.
Thanks!

Or something like that! :)

I have the ability to add the player's username in either the Subject Line or Main Message, or both.

Don't forget it needs a link to the kickstarter page somewhere in the message!

So the variables you can insert are:
  1. [username]
  2. [link : text]
Thanks!
 

matildathehun

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So yeah, I'd be happy to use 4 or 5 different email messages to send out. I would send the different messages randomly on different days to different people, just in case some worked better than others....

If anyone wants to write one for me, that would be awesome!

You can post it below, or send it to me in a private 'conversation'. Either way is fine.

The format would be something like this:



Or something like that! :)

I have the ability to add the player's username in either the Subject Line or Main Message, or both.

Don't forget it needs a link to the kickstarter page somewhere in the message!

So the variables you can insert are:
  1. [username]
  2. [link : text]
Thanks!

I can draft a couple of messages too, if MNatt wants to split the duties. Just let me know.

Do you have the ability to split your mailing list into different segments like long-time users, regular (but maybe short-term so far) users, people who only hopped on once, etc.? It would be beneficial to craft different messages to these different groups.

Also, I would highly recommend that you use a mailing service like MailChimp for that many names. If you're sending from your own servers, they will likely get blocked and/or you'll be marked for spam. I've had clients who can't send more than 20 emails at a time from their server -- hosting companies are clamping down on mass emails (whether legit or not). Not sure what your server setup might be, but regardless, mail services also tend to improve deliverability, which is obviously a huge thing.

MailChimp only allows a total of (I think) 2,000 emails in its free version. However, you can sign up for multiple accounts to get around this. A bit more of a hassle, but saves money. Besides, if you are able to separate your mailing list into the categories suggested above, then there is a natural split for which names go where. (You can even create specific email addresses for each group, such as "[email protected]" for long-timers, "[email protected]" for new regular players, "[email protected]" for one-timers, etc. These are just examples, but (a) it helps you keep your audiences straight and (b) inspires them based on how often they have interacted with MC.

Lastly, on the spam note, I would recommend that you don't send too many emails to the one-timers. Although you are not spamming when you are sending to people who have signed up to your service, the receivers don't always see it that way, and you don't want complaints to whatever mail service you use. (Yes, MailChimp etc. has an "Unsubscribe" button, but that's not always the route some people choose -- they'll go straight to reporting.) Two emails max to this group would be my suggestion.

Obviously, the long-time/regular users will be your bread and butter. But it would be interesting to see how many new recruits you can get, too.

-MTH
 

MNatt

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All of that sounds spot on to me.

The point Matilda makes is a very good one - there is no point sending mail into peoples' spam folders.

Is it going to be possible to split the target group up into sub-groups as suggested? I would have thought prime targets for the appeal would be: long-term players/anyone who has held a paid subscription within the last couple of years say/anyone appearing on the old scoreboard or achievement boards. Those people would be unlikely to object to receiving more than 1 email.

More occasional players, or those who left a long time ago would be more likely to get the hump if they receive repeated emails - but they are probably a lot less likely to contribute anyway. So if it were possible to split the email list up - into a group who could receive regular emails/updates on the progress of the appeal; and another group who might only want a single email - that would sound to me like a plan.

I'll do some drafts and send them over - probably not tonight as I've had a couple of drinks! I would have thought if Matilda, and anyone else who wanted to contribute did the same - you can then pick what you think suits and send it.
 

Leor888

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I was not sure if I would donate, but in mean time I have a userid at the Kickstart platform.
Let's hope it will bring us one step further in reenable MC, Looking forward to it!
 

NewSheriffInTown

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Hi,

Yes, I can refine the list by certain characteristics.

It's taken me about 5 days to the following, so I'm not really able to make any more time-consuming changes, only minor ones.
  • I found a system call Mail-merge by Mergo, which uses a gmail address to send emails, so it won't be from my own server
  • it allows 500 emails / day
  • I tried several other systems like mailjet, mailchimp, backerkit, campaign monitor, yamm, etc...
  • They were all either too complicated, or too expensive
  • So I'm going to keep the delivery system for now, unless someone can make a compelling case why switching to another option is better.
The list of users on MajorCommand is very large, around 200,000 in total. We do not need to message everyone just for this kickstarter campaign. I was saving that list so I could entice old players back to the game, once the website can handle large traffic again.

That list of 200,000 players would be a big boost to the game when the site can handle it, but it might crash the site if they all came back now. Also, I don't think they are all needed just for fundraising. So....
  • I created a list of 8000 people who have logged on to the site in 2021
  • I divided the list between players who have confirmed their email address, and those you have not.
  • It turns out 3800 users have confirmed email addresses, and 4200 do not.
  • I think 3800 is large enough to get past our Kickstarter goal, that's only $1 each
  • If not, I can always expand the list in a couple weeks by using the other 4200 players, after I manually confirm their email address using some 3rd party service.
Since the list includes everyone who has logged in 2021, then they all saw the new site, so they all know what needs to be done.
  • The list of 3800 players, with confirmed email address, who logged on in 2021, includes both old-times, and 1-timers.
  • Yes! I can refine that list even more, between 1-times and old-timers!
So that's about it. I'm pretty much set up to go with email campaign, I'm ready to mail 3800 players at 500/day for the next 8 days.

I don't mind customizing the email message, so old-times receive a different message than 1-times, but the rest is pretty much set in stone, unless someone has a better idea and it's easy to change.

Thanks!
 

MNatt

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Draft attached.

(If you decide to use it remember to fill in the blanks!)

I'll try to have another go tomorrow.
 

Attachments

  • MC Kickstarter.docx
    14.4 KB · Views: 3

engineerairborne

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This is a great idea, I know I have not been around much since the old system went down, I have been very busy with work, and I am a VFW commander at my local Post. But I hope to be back some day, and now with this Kickstart I never have to worry about paying membership again, that is worth it to me. :)
 

NewSheriffInTown

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This is a great idea, I know I have not been around much since the old system went down, I have been very busy with work, and I am a VFW commander at my local Post. But I hope to be back some day, and now with this Kickstart I never have to worry about paying membership again, that is worth it to me. :)

Thank you General Engineer Airborne!! You rock! Take your time, we'll be here when you're to play. And hopefully in better condition too!
 

engineerairborne

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Nice 2 more purchased General Level on KickStart.
 

engineerairborne

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Is there a way to promote this kickstarter? I know that I have shared it with my friends on Facebook, but are there other ways to get the word out?
 
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