What kind of upgrades can I offer to my backers?

Types of upgrades you can offer to backers:

Upgrade via Pledge Level Switching

Upgrade via Pledge Questions

Upgrade via Add-on Variants

How to offer an upgrade via Pledge Level Switching

You can offer ‘upgrades’ by allowing backers to switch their pledge level in BackerKit. 

You can identify which pledge levels backers can switch to by selecting ‘Yes’ for pledge levels that backers can either upgrade or downgrade to.  

If backers switch to a higher cost pledge level than the one that they’ve pledged for during the campaign, BackerKit will collect any additional payment due. 

If backers switch to a lower-cost pledge level than the one that they’ve pledged for during the campaign, BackerKit will provide backers with a credit equal to the difference in pledge level price, this credit can then be used to purchase add-ons. 

Note: A refund will not be automatically issued, backers are required to reach out to your team to make that request. 

To enable pledge level switching:

1) On the menu on the left, click Pledge Levels.

2) At the top of the screen, click the Batch Edit link.

3) Click the Switch Pledge Levels tab.

4) Click Yes next to the pledge levels you want to allow backers to switch between.

5) Click Save.

Click here to see how backers can switch to another pledge level while they are going through the survey. 

How to offer an upgrade via Pledge Questions

If you have a reward that backers can upgrade that replaces the original pledge item, you can set up upgrade pledge questions. Pledge items are products that are included in the pledge levels that backers backed during the campaign. 

Some examples of a pledge item with upgrade options include: 

• Upgrading from a softcover to a hardcover 
• Upgrading from a standard to a big box edition 
• Upgrading from a regular to an engraved version 

Note: If you sold add-ons on Kickstarter or Indiegogo that upgrade pledge items, we recommend removing these add-ons in BackerKit altogether and providing credit to backers instead. This way, the pledge item SKU can be replaced with the upgraded item SKU. You can set up an upgrade pledge question with an upgrade fee that backers can pay using the credit available on their survey. 

To set up an upgrade pledge question: 

1) Create new or edit existing pledge questions on the Pledge Questions page with as many options as necessary, this includes both the original item that comes with the pledge level along with any upgrade options. Regardless of how many options there are, they will fall into one of the following two categories:

1. Option #1 with the original item name and SKU.
2. Option #2 or more with the upgraded item names and SKUs, along with the fee associated with each upgrade in the Price field. 

2) Once set up, use the Preview Surveys tool to preview the upgrade pledge question on surveys. 

Note: Use the SKUs created using the Item Generator tool for these questions so you can easily track your item counts. 

When you are using a pledge level upgrade using pledge questions, do not need to list the upgradeable items in the Pledge Items section of your pledge level setup. This will give your backers the default rewards, plus the rewards they select using the survey question, doubling up their rewards. Upgradable items only need to be listed in the survey question when using this setup. 

How to offer an upgrade via Add-on Variants

If you are selling an add-on that has a variant that costs more than others you can set up upgrade prices on add-ons. Add-ons are additional items that backers can purchase in the survey.   

Some examples of an add-on with upgrade options include: 

• Upgrading to a 6 pack of stickers from a single pack 
• Upgrading to a physical book + PDF from a physical book
• Upgrading to a deluxe edition from a standard edition 

To set up an upgrade add-on: 

1) Create new or edit existing add-ons on the Add-ons page with as many options as necessary and regardless of how many options there are for the add-on, they will fall into one of the following two categories:

1. Variant #1 with the original item name and SKU. 
2. Variant #2 or more with the upgraded item names and SKUs, along with the fee associated with the upgrade in the Price (+/-) field. 

2) Once set up, use the Preview Surveys tool to preview the upgrade add-on on surveys.