(As a "How To" blog you will want to start with the first post and work your way up to this one)

Nothing is Free!

You probably have a budget in mind right now but you need to re-think it. Kickstarter/Amazon are going to take 5% of whatever you raise (only if you are successful). With that in mind whatever figure you have in mind add 5% right now.

Rewards and Shipping

Part of the Kickstarter Program is offering rewards to people who back your project. When deciding on what rewards to offer you need to think about shipping more than anything!

I was lucky in this area. I have been shipping professionally through my company for years. I know all the companies that ship, cost of boxes, packing and using USPS (US post office) too.  I could write a book, but instead I will just point out a few things and hope it helps.

UPS- Not a great way to go for boxes under 1-2 pounds. It is expensive and you have to pay for boxes too. However, if you are offering high priced rewards, UPS does insure up to $100 as part of the shipping price. They offer great tracking and they do get boxes to their destinations on time and with very few issues. They also deliver right to the person's door. You can ship from retail outlets or take the boxes to a UPS Store. If you have a UPS account like I do, you just call UPS and they come pick up the boxes when they are ready. Learn more www.UPS.com  When you box is heavy and wont fit into a Flat Rate Box (below) then UPS will generally beat the post office every time.

USPS- Usually the way to go for light packages, books (media mail) and anything that is heavy but will fit into a Flat Rate Box.  If you do not know about these special boxes, it is time to become familiar. The post office gives you a box for free and will ship it for a flat fee- no matter how heavy it is.  The current rate as of Dec 16 2012 is $5.15 for the small box, $10.85 for the medium box, and $14.65 for the large box (these are the prices you get if you go to USPS.com and print your postage there). If you go to the counter it is a bit more expensive.  For this price you do not get insurance, but you can buy it. You get OK tracking ability, they do not guarantee a delivery date but they do a good job of delivering the box. Sometimes they will take it to the person's door and sometimes they make them go to the post office to pick it up.

When deciding on your rewards please take the time to research how you are going to ship it before you offer it. You might have something that costs you about $2.00 to make but costs you $14.00 to ship and you offer it as a $10.00 reward.  If you do this  you are going to spend all the money you make just filling rewards and not have enough to do the project!

FEDEX would basically get the same write up as UPS so I will skip it.

Tip: If you offer to ship internationally please take a moment to look at rates. I think you will be shocked at how high they are for boxes over four pounds. Flat Rate International is very expensive too. Do your homework before clicking that "Willing to Ship to International Addresses" button. The good news on this one area is that you can charge an extra shipping fee for boxes that go outside the USA.

Think Big!

This is not the time to think small. Think best case scenario- "I make double what I asked for". This will  be great news but, you will probably have double the rewards to make and ship!  Keep this in mind when deciding on what level you offer the reward and also when you set the Promise to Deliver Date. Give yourself a long time just in case your project is a huge hit. If you end up not needing the extra time you can get the rewards to people sooner than promised and they will be happy. 

Tip: Give yourself a financial and time cushion.