Crowdfunding Pre-Launch Page

What is a crowdfunding pre-launch page?

A crowdfunding pre-launch page is the public “coming soon” page of a crowdfunding campaign, live weeks before you start taking pledges. On Kickstarter, visitors click “Notify me on launch” and get an email from Kickstarter the moment your project goes live. Around it, smart creators run a second list they own: an email list of people who said they want to back the project.

Here is why this matters so much. Kickstarter funding is all-or-nothing: backers are only charged if the campaign reaches its goal by the deadline, and if you miss the goal, nobody pays and you get nothing. A campaign that opens to silence looks dead to every stranger who lands on it. The pre-launch period is where you line up the first wave of backers so the counter moves on day 1.

When should you use it?

• Great fit: physical products (gadgets, games, books, fashion, homeware), creative projects, and anything people get excited to show their friends.
• Works with effort: apps and software, if the reward is concrete (lifetime licence, hardware bundle, early access with a date).
• Skip it for B2B services, products you can’t ship within a year, and ideas where you have no audience at all yet. Crowdfunding multiplies an audience you already have, so build that audience first.
• Do it after a landing page test or pre-sale offer has shown that strangers care.

How do you do it, step by step?

1. Do the backer math first. Funding goal divided by your expected average pledge equals the backers you need. A 15,000 euro goal with a 60 euro average pledge needs 250 backers. Our rule of thumb: aim to have enough warm sign-ups to cover 30% of the goal in the first 48 hours. If 1 in 5 email subscribers pledges, that is 75 backers, so you need roughly 375 subscribers before launch.

2. Set the goal at the lowest amount that lets you deliver. Kickstarter collects a 5% fee on funded projects, and its payment processor Stripe takes roughly 3 to 5% on top, according to Kickstarter’s fee page. Add those, production, shipping, packaging and a 10% buffer. Then resist inflating the number: an overfunded small goal beats a failed big one.

3. Build the project and get it approved. Write the story, rewards and timeline in the Kickstarter editor and submit for review. For first-time creators, the pre-launch page becomes available after approval, in the Promotion tab of the project editor, according to Kickstarter’s pre-launch page guide. Start this 4 to 8 weeks before your launch date so review time doesn’t squeeze your promotion window.

4. Build your own email list in parallel. Kickstarter says you can’t message pre-launch followers directly; you can only post pre-launch updates, which notify current followers. That is why you also need an email list. Make a one-page site in Carrd with a headline, 3 photos and one field: “Get the early-bird price on launch day.” Connect it to a free email tool such as Kit.

5. Give people a reason to join early. A limited early-bird tier (say, the first 100 backers get 25% off) turns “nice idea” into “I should sign up now”. Say the number and keep it.

6. Send traffic to both pages for 4 weeks. Post the build process, prototypes and failures. Share in niche communities, send personal messages to 50 people you know who fit the audience, and ask related creators for a mention. Kickstarter recommends sharing the pre-launch page at least a week before launch; we prefer 4 weeks.

7. Warm the list every week. One short email per week: a photo, a decision you made, a question. Ask subscribers to reply with which reward they would pick. Replies tell you your real average pledge.

8. Pick launch day and brief your first wave. Email the list the day before with the exact launch time. On launch day, send the link within the first minute and ask your 20 closest supporters to pledge in the first hour.

What does a worked example look like?

Say Mara, a hypothetical ceramicist, wants to fund a first production run of stackable herb pots for small balconies. Her minimum run costs 11,000 euros including fees and shipping, so she sets the goal at 12,000 euros. Her rewards average about 55 euros, so she needs around 220 backers.

She activates her Kickstarter pre-launch page 6 weeks out and runs a Carrd page with a Kit form. She posts weekly balcony photos on Instagram and in 3 gardening groups, and sends 60 personal messages. After 6 weeks: 410 Kickstarter followers and 520 email subscribers, with 140 replies naming a reward.

Launch day: 96 backers in 24 hours and 41% of the goal. The campaign funds on day 9. The replies also showed her that a 4-pot bundle, which she almost cut, was the most-requested reward.

Which free tools help?

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Relying on Kickstarter followers alone. You can’t email them yourself, and you lose them all if you move platforms. Own an email list.
• Launching the moment the page is approved. A pre-launch page with 12 followers predicts a slow campaign. Wait until your numbers match your backer math.
• Too many reward tiers. Eight tiers confuse people. Three to five clear tiers, with one obvious favourite, make the choice easy.
• Forgetting shipping and fees. Founders who price rewards without shipping lose money on every backer abroad.
• Promising a delivery date you guessed. Add 2 to 3 months to your production estimate. Late campaigns get angry comments that every future backer reads.

How do you know it worked?

Watch three numbers in the final week before launch: Kickstarter followers, email subscribers and reward replies.

• Go: your subscribers plus followers, multiplied by our rule-of-thumb 15 to 20% pledge rate, cover at least 30% of the goal.
• Delay: you cover 10 to 30%. Push launch by 2 to 4 weeks and keep building.
• Rethink: under 10% after 6 weeks of steady promotion. Lower the goal, simplify the product, or test demand another way.

What should you do next?

Keep the list warm with a regular newsletter, and add a referral waitlist if your early fans like sharing. A short explainer video is also worth making, because campaign pages lean heavily on video. For a structured way to test the idea before you commit to a goal, try the startup game for women by Fe/male Switch, where an AI co-founder walks you through each validation step.

FAQ

How long should a Kickstarter pre-launch phase last?

Kickstarter suggests sharing the pre-launch page at least one week before launch. Our rule of thumb is 4 to 8 weeks, long enough to reach your backer math without losing the energy of your audience.

Can I see who follows my pre-launch page?

Kickstarter shows a follower count once 10 or more people opt in, but you can’t message followers directly. You can post pre-launch updates, which send a notification to current followers. Anyone you need to reach personally should be on your own email list.

What happens if my campaign doesn’t reach its goal?

Nobody is charged and Kickstarter collects no fees. You keep your audience, your email list and everything you learned, and you can relaunch with a lower goal or a sharper offer.

Updated 26 October 2026 · Written by the Fe/male Switch team

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