Where’s my perk?
Once a project ends, it’s easy to get antsy for the delivery of your perk; after all, you wouldn’t have backed the project if you weren’t stoked about it! You also expect regular updates from the campaign owner detailing their progress. Remember though that once the campaign ends, the real work for the campaigner begins. They now need to take the money you’ve given them and use it to shoot the film or manufacture their product.
What’s the campaigner doing?
By way of example, consider a hardware campaign such as the Misfit Shine.
After they receive their funds they need to begin the design for manufacture process. Even though they had a working prototype, the manufacturer still needed to deconstruct it and potentially redesign a few pieces. This way they could build it as efficiently as possible.
Once this process was finalized, Misfit needed to acquire the specialized machines that are needed to produce their specific device. A first round of testing followed to ensure that the production process was running smoothly and that the products were defect- free. Often times, products fail this test and then creators need to return to the design to manufacture step to fix the problem.
Once Misfit did pass this test though, full-scale production could begin.
Finished products were then shipped from the factory and needed to clear customs since they were coming from overseas. This can sometimes take several weeks. The Misfit Shines were then sent to a centralized warehouse where they could be sent to eagerly-awaiting backers.
Not just for hardware
This is the general process for hardware production, but other creative campaigns such as film projects follow a similar process.
As you can imagine, many things can happen between the time the project is raising funds and the expected project release date. This is what makes the post-campaign period the hardest for campaigners; they need to balance communicating with backers with completing the actual project. This is an especially challenging task when most campaign teams are made up of only a few entrepreneurs.
While we expect campaign owners to update backers and answer questions regularly, they may be unable to do so. Remember that their silence does not mean that they aren’t planning to deliver. It usually means that they have been very busy creating your perks!
With that said, we ask that campaigners be transparent about the creation process and to communicate delays and adjustments to the project timeline.