It's absolutely devastating to launch your idea (pretty much your baby that you've nurtured for however long) and having it not get the fanfare that you know it should have.
However, I'm truly happy for you that your project is successfully funded!
Some thoughts for other project creators out there in their first foray into Kickstarter:
1. Kickstarter will NOT bring a crowd for you. People think that launching on Kickstarter their idea will get 100% funded in no time and Kickstarter will do all the work.
It's counterintuitive, but Kickstarter is actually a multiplier. This means that you have to do the work to bring in your OWN audience first. Once you have people backing your project (your own audience) and traffic to the page, Kickstarter will then FINALLY start getting the word about your project out there to the world.
It's pretty much a way for Kickstarter to make money: if it sees that your project is able to raise money on their platform (they get a percentage cut), then they'll be more likely to show your campaign off to others in their network who are also likely to back your project.
2. The main way to have your own crowd for your crowdfunding campaign when you launch is to create a landing page. I wrote about it in detail here:
https://crushcrowdfunding.com/pre-launch-101-creating-a-list-of-super-engaged-backers-before-you-launch/3. Once you have your crowd (in the form of an email list), THEN you can safely launch on crowdfunding. You'll get those pledges on the first day and activate Kickstarter's secret algorithm that will promote you in their own networks.
Best of luck to all others out there!
- Nalin