If you're going to start a crowdfunding campaign you will inevitably come to the point where you will need to decide what platform to use. For my first project for my book series, I ended up raising over $35,000 on my own, without either Kickstarter or IndieGogo. For my second campaign called Jim For Life, I purposely choose to go with IndieGogo over Kickstarter. Here's why.
Note: There are plenty of other platforms out there you can use besides these two. These just seem to be the most talked about.
#1 Reason I Went With IndieGogo Instead of Kickstarter
Kickstarter doesn't take all projects. Read their terms. They ask you to submit your project first, and if you pass their gatekeeper requirements you get in. I hate gatekeepers. Sure, I get why they do this, and they have every right to do it, I just don't like it.
#2 Reason I Went With IndieGogo Instead of Kickstarter
Kickstarter forces you to use the Amazon payment system. Ugh. First off, the set up of verification of your bank account is excessive and takes up to 5-days or more. And frankly, forcing people to pay this way is just ridiculous. IndieGogo takes all major credit cards and Paypal.
#3 Reason I Went With IndieGogo Instead of Kickstarter
Fees. From Lockergnome's Chris Pirrillo, Indiegogo offers users the ability to accept funding even when their goals are not met. This comes at a higher percentage (9% underfunded versus 4% for fully-funded projects) but it can help you avoid falling just a hair shy of your goal and losing any chance of funding as a result.
The current fees for projects funded on Kickstarter is 5%. Indiegogo's fees start at 4% and raise to 9% if you fail to reach your funding goal. That makes Indiegogo a better deal for folks with fully-funded projects and the only option for folks willing to self-fund to make up the difference should they miss their goal amount.
#4 Reason I Went With IndieGogo Instead of Kickstarter
Did I mention I hate gatekeepers? If you're going to offer a service, make it open to everyone. Picking and choosing who can use it pisses me off.
Want to see IndieGogo in action? Stop over and drop a buck and get with the Jim For Life project where you can get all of my books for the next year for only $1.00.