If you page through the list of Kickstarter projects, you’ll see a common theme in the rewards section. Backers can win a t-shirt. A copy of the creative work itself. An autographed copy of the creative work. Two copies of the creative work. Some creators will give you early access to the work, or even a behind-the-scenes look at the work in progress.
But a few rewards stand out in reflecting their awesome projects. Kickstarter sent me a few of their personal favorites, and I’ve found a few other of the more clever (or touching, or just cute) rewards to pass through Kickstarter’s funding process. Check them out below.
Note that some of these projects are in progress as of the writing of this article, so it may not be too late to get a goat named after you.
$150: "Name a Poplar Wood Farm 2013 baby goat (or kid in goat language)." This also comes with two photo updates, so you can show your parents how your kid is progressing.
This project needs funding by Saturday, Feb 23, 9:00pm EST.
Help an ice cream parlor expand, get a custom ice cream flavor
$200: "A custom ice cream flavor or frozen drink named after you to be featured on the menu for 1 season. Choose from over 200 existing flavors or mix and match to create your own!" There are vegan options, too. Boston-area people, what are you waiting for?
This project needs funding by Friday, Mar 1, 12:00pm EST.
This funded project spoke for itself:
$24: You will receive a unique hand-written postcard composed whilst we were sober, clear-headed and utterly focused on the task.
$25: You will receive a unique hand-scrawled postcard written while we were drunk, which we'll regret horribly by the time it arrives.
This project was funded in November 2009.
Supporting Penny Arcade earned the creators' attention.
The creators of Penny Arcade followed their funders on Twitter for one year.
$300: "@cwgabriel will follow you on twitter for one year. Your day is now a constant source of his entertainment."
Another $300: "@tychobrahe will follow you on twitter for one year. You can bombard him with 140 character requests all year long."
This project was funded in August 2012.
Ze Frank's Kickstarter was a lesson in humility.
$999: "Send me your shoes and I will walk a mile in them and send you a video of the experience back..."
What started as an off-the-cuff reward turned into a lesson in humility: As we learned from this video, Ze Frank walked in a man’s shoes..that had come from a man who had had a spinal cord surgery with less-than-positive results. (For the story, see this and start at 2:00.)
This project was funded in March 2012.
Filmmaker showed his appreciation, permanently.
When filmmaker Matt Porterfield pitched his vision for his movie for Kickstarter, he did it at a tattoo parlor, while getting inked. So this came as no surprise:
$1000: "Matt Porterfield will tattoo your initials on his arm. He chooses the font..."
$10,000: "...Matt Porterfield will tattoo, 'Special Thanks, (your full name)' on his arm." There was no word about the font.
This project was funded in August 2011.
Musician will make awesome music.
$1,000: It seems that many musicians will record a song on the topic of your choice. Then there's Nate Borofsky, who will record a song on the topic of your choice, only with more cowbell. Cowbell!
This project needs funding by Saturday, Feb 16, 8:57am EST.
Musician will make you a star?
Ken Allen, who created music for videogames in the 1990s, wrote:
$500: "You get to perform on one of the tracks, 'Space Questin,' and you get listed in the credits as a performer."
But will he make you a remix artist as well?
$1,000: "I will write a song for you and you will receive free license to use the music for any family friendly purpose. You tell me the style of music you want and the message you want to convey."
This project needs funding by Thursday, Feb 21, 10:28am EST.
Go on the same psychic journey as the main character in this book.
£100: In Tracy Whitwell's Sex and Spooks and Sauvignon, the main character visits a clairvoyant. If you fund the print version of this book, you get a half-hour reading from Philippa, the real-world person on whom the clairvoyant in the book is based.
This project needs funding by Friday, Feb 15, 3:00am EST.
Get your life told in infographic form.
Infographics organize information in a way that's visually appealing and easy to understand. Anna Vital wants to release an infographic-based book on business, Becoming an Entrepreneur. Big spenders, you may be interested in what Vital has to offer:
$6,000: "You get an infographic about YOURSELF. You get a half-day video call session with us to learn about you, what makes you successful, your insights, your personality. Then you get an infographic with yourself as the protagonist." What better way to tell the story of you?
This project needs funding by Friday, Feb 22, 1:49pm EST.
As we know, people fund Kickstarter projects because they want the idea to succeed, and no amount of clever reward incentives will get a project to its goal if the idea isn’t sound and attractive. But if the creators happens to offer some once-in-a-lifetime experiences along with their fabulous concept-in-the-making, so much the better.
Next up: 10 of the best geek-friendly Kickstarter rewards.
You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and here at Forbes.
