**We have updated the content in this blog! Check it out here!

Today’s post will be short, sweet and to the point.

I was doing client research into the typical backer profiles and came across some interesting and perhaps powerful statistics on the nature of crowdfunding. I thought it could be beneficial for the community so let’s look a little deeper into the backer demographics of Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Just maybe these mathematical mysteries will help entrepreneurs out there launch better businesses and understand their target crowdfunding customer segments just a bit better.

Numbers Never Lie(???)

One of the main advantages entrepreneurs of today have over those of the past is data. Where once startups relied on intuition and incredibly limited customer surveys, the advent of the internet, big data and split testing are taking entire industries by storm.

That is great news for entrepreneurs everywhere, but it can be overwhelming. When contemplating mountains of data, the road forward is often anything but clear.

The Big Picture

Honestly I’ve always found it challenging to overcome the noise and instead look at the bigger picture. That’s a major motivator of this post.

The Art of the Kickstart community has been rapidly growing, evolving and gaining momentum in the crowdfunding space. I’ve heard two heads are always better than one so let’s put that to the test. I’ll present the findings, my intrepretations and then see what other smart startup oriented individuals infer. Together just maybe we can make sense of all this crowdfunding data and uncover a couple tidbits to take our campaigns to the next level.

Crowdfunding Demographics

When analyzing stats it’s always important to preface them with sources and context. Everything you see here on crowdfunding customer demographics comes directly from Quantcast, arguably the most reputable of the online statistics companies. Also keep in mind the stats shown are only for US-based users.

While unfortunate and somewhat limited in scope, the US still makes up more than half of all crowdfunders and allows for pretty important trends to be seen. Note: IGG will always remain on the left with Kickstarter on the right.

Gender

[clear-line]

Wow! Just wow. I never imagined the incredible chasm which separated Kickstarter and Indiegogo audiences was so substantial.

This speaks to just how unique each of the juggernauts of crowdfunding truly are and cannot be ignored. Note: I’ve seen stats suggesting as high at 78% of Kickstarter visitors are in fact male, well above the internet average, and of course this plays a prominent role in strategizing your crowdfunding project.

While it’s not as black and white as Kickstarter for guy products and IGG for the ladies, truthfully it seems smart to consider: who exactly is your ideal customer?

Age

[clear-line]

Interestingly it appears Indiegogo appeals to a slightly older demographic of users. While I’m unsure how significant the stats are, at scale it’s important to consider. What age range and ideal customer are your targeting? Age almost always plays an enormous role in the audiences you’re attempting to reach.

Education and Income

[clear-line]

While the age statistics seemed relatively insubstantial, when paired with the income and education levels of both Kickstarter and IGG backers, the picture takes on a new light.

Kickstarter backers are younger, better educated and more financially successful than their Indiegogo counterparts. This is incredible important. Though Kickstarter visitors are younger they’re earning more and earlier in their careers than IGG audiences. Though differing in only relatively small proportions, this would suggest a stronger, more meaningful trend.

I’d hypothesize the Kickstarter crowd is more ingrained in up-and-coming, higher-salaried industries and almost assuredly more tech-oriented than their crowdfunding cousins of Indiegogo. This is further evidenced by the greater successes of next-gen tech startups on Kickstarter as opposed to IGG.

Mobile Users

This is the most powerful and shocking of all! Honestly the entire article was inspired by this incomprehensible stat.

At this point it’s evident mobile usage is taking off across the world. More and more individuals and customers are browsing the web via sophisticated and ever-improving smartphones. Yet even as mobile internet usage accelerates, anyone involved in ecommerce, internet marketing or online entrepreneurship understands the issues of mobile.

From lower conversion rates, responsive design challenges and less screen space it seems like an increasingly annoying problem. Well, the stats speak for themselves. This beyond significant statistic would suggest significantly reduced conversion and engagement rates with Indiegogo campaigns compared to Kickstarter.

As you can see, a much greater percentage of IGG users are accessing the site on the go. Any theories on the vast differences? This is particularly perplexing, and better understanding the backer behavior could be critical in not only deciding on a platform, but in conceptualizing how your campaign is displayed.

Moral of the math: If you build your business around IGG, ensure your images, campaign page and copywriting are effective on all screen sizes.

Final Thoughts

So there they are. What do you guys think? I’d love to hear your opinions on the article, the stats and of course the conclusions I drew.

Though I’d love to claim expertise, this isn’t exactly in my repertoire so I’d love to get some other educated opinions. Maybe as a team we can unravel some of the secrets to crowdfunding success…what do you say?

Numbers never tell the entire story…