Kickstarter campaigns are difficult.
Here are four ways to increase the chances of your campaign being successful.
Enjoy and good luck on your campaign.
1- Build-up buzz around your project before launching.
Use social media and email those on your newsletter (start one if you don’t have one) to let me know your process of getting ready. Them hearing you are putting work into it and that you’re excited about it will help them get excited. This increases the chance they will back you or at least help spread the word about it after your project is live.
For next campaign, I plan to start dropping hints five months before I plan to launch. When people first hear about a project of any type, it is common for them to think, “Oh, cool.”
Around three months before, I will be talking about it weekly with details of what it is and how I’m preparing for Kickstarter. The entire month before I will be doing 4-6 posts a week until launch.
This build-up of mentioning it helps build interest, curiosity, and excitement to prepare people to back, share, and support the project.
2- Get feedback early and often from as many individuals as possible.
To make sure your Kickstarter campaign, video, and images are the best they can be. People want to back independent artists/creators who are professional. Having spelling mistakes and bad formatting gives potential backers a reason not to put their money down. Don’t give them that excuse.
3- Set micro-goals.
Kickstarter requires you to set a deadline that you must reach your goal by, but I recommend also having micro-goals. These are milestones you plan to hit on your way to your overall funding goal. Having these keeps you on track and gives you something to report to social media that sounds better.
An example I might use: “We are 75% to our first goal of 50% funded in the first 24 hours. We still have 12 hours to make it, so if you plan on backing do it now.”
This gives people a feeling of urgency and excitement around your project. If you miss your first funding milestone, then switch focus to the next one. This is like a long race. If you put 100% energy into constantly you will burn out. These micro goals help to keep you on track and on pace for the finish line.
Some aim for 50% by the halfway point. In the past, I usually try to get 50% funded in the first day. Break your campaign into at least three micro goals, but make sure not to make them every other day (too often).
4- Set your Kickstart goal as small as you can (but still cover costs).
If you don’t reach your goal, you don’t get funded…. I can’t tell you enough the number of times I’ve talked with creators who set their goal too high and never reach their goal.
I could write an entire book on just setting your goals and figuring out expenses. The best advice for you I have is calculated your costs, subtract what your willing to contribute out of pocket, and ask for that amount.
I tell people to set it low because people don’t want to fund something the creators not willing to back a little himself.
When I published my Madman of Magic comic book, I covered all the costs related to creating the comic. My backers were just funding the first printing. This made people feel that I wasn’t just using Kickstarter to make money, but instead using it to get me over the roadblock of printing costs.
Quick note:
Some categories, such as inventions or some projects are a little more flexible on this. The most important thing is at the end of the campaign you need to have enough that the backers get everything they asked for. This is a lot harder than it sounds, so do the math on your Kickstart finances twice… More like three or four times.
Your TIPS
Do you have any tips for fellow Kickstarters? We would love to hear them.
Post those in the comments below.
