Marketing your Kickstarter campaign is key to meeting your funding goal. While you know your project is amazing and world-changing, other people will only know – and support you – if you tell them.
JB Media Group recently managed and promoted two successful Kickstarter campaigns that raised a total of $181,504 and produced 200+ media mentions: a 3D printed, custom-fit, sustainable sweater by Appalatch and The Horizon: An all-terrain, adaptive, electric bike by Outrider USA. Each project brought its own unique challenges, target audiences and appeals, but what they had in common was a strong marketing strategy.
Here are a few Kickstarter tips to get you started on the path to successful crowdfunding marketing:
Leverage your Existing Network
People who already know you and your company are the best place to start in marketing a Kickstarter campaign. Let your network know about the upcoming campaign at least 6 weeks in advance. Ask family, friends, mentors, college alumni associations, and existing customers for feedback on your Kickstarter page by sharing a draft of the unpublished page. It’s crucial to have significant donations in the first 48 hours of a crowdfunding campaign, so ask those closest to you to commit to support the campaign on day one.
Don’t be shy! Reach out to your network through every channel available to you:
-
- phone
- in person
- carrier pigeon
Send Frequent Updates
Kickstarter lets you communicate directly with all of your backers through their updates system. Communicating with existing backers provides credibility and helps potential backers see that you take updates seriously and want to be transparent about your project. Potential backers can be persuaded to support your campaign by your pro-active communication. Plus, everyone loves to get behind-the-scenes information on your process and passion.
Videos work great in Kickstarter updates, but be sure to also include text for those who can’t watch the video. Updates can be about any number of topics:
- Behind-the-scenes look at the production (if your project is a product)
- Sharing stories from backers and supporters
- Links to press coverage of the campaign
- Invitations to events (virtual or in the real world)
- Messages of gratitude about the great support so far
- Any challenges the project is facing
- Updates on reward tiers that have sold out or new ones you’ve opened up
- Progress on the project and anything new you’ve learned since the campaign launched
Ask Backers to Spread the Word
Every Kickstarter update you send should also include a request to existing backers to share the project far and wide. Provide the link to your campaign with each request – make it as easy as possible for your backers to tell all of their friends why they should contribute to your campaign.
We plan to share more Kickstarter tips for campaign success in the coming months (we’ll be managing another campaign set to launch late summer). If you’re interested in learning more or speaking with us about Kickstarter marketing services or our crowdfunding consultants, contact us.
