How to Run A Winning Kickstarter Campaign

With each new day, there comes a new “big idea.” That idea could be inventing a completely new product or putting a new twist on an outdated creation. Those that have had the “big idea” often try to get their product or idea introduced into the marketing world by way of crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. 

At Grip6, we attribute a lot of our early success to Kickstarter. We were able to reach close to $500,000 in funding, through two separate campaigns. Now we want to share with you some of our best tips and tricks, including the advice of other amazing start-up companies, on how to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Audience

A vital piece to the puzzle is knowing who your audience is. If you don't know how your product will benefit the customer or why they should be excited about it, you're going to have a difficult time getting them to pay attention to you.

Having an audience to launch your product to is key. If there is no hype for your product, consumers won't know about it. "When I work with clients, we spend months building up an appropriate audience, building an email list, and incentivizing them to buy on day one,” Khierstyn Ross of Crowd Funding Uncut said. “When you hit your goal as quickly as possible, you'll rank on the crowdfunding sites… And when you rank well, that's where you'll create a snowball effect and increase sales."

Authenticity

It's important to be authentic in your campaign. If backers have any indication that your product is terrible or that you're not being authentic, it could turn them away from the campaign.

Video

On Kickstarter, the main thing that sells a product is video. Through video messaging you're able to show the product, show your progress, and highlight the process and hardships that it may have taken. Using a video is a great way to become more personable to your customers and let them know that you are just like them.

 

"Kickstarter campaigns that have video succeed at a higher rate than those without, by a rate of 50 percent to 30 percent."—Matt Byrom, Business.com

Here are some tips on creating a successful Kickstarter video:

• Lead with an emotional appeal
• Use the product's creator as its main narrator
• Show the product in real-life and display how it works
• Maintain a professional approach

Your video can make or break your campaign, so start with the above tips, and you’ll be on your way to success.

Product Offers

It’s important to create great product offers. One reason why backers fund a product is to be a part of something historic. It’s got to be more than just liking the product itself. One example is offering the product at some sort of discount. When backers choose to fund the campaign, make sure to get their email addresses, and create Kickstarter exclusive offers for those that helped with the funding. Also, make sure it states somewhere in your campaign description that backers will receive special deals after the campaign. "Customers love gift certificates and (treat them like) cash.” Jim Herst of Perceptive Selling Initiative said. “Plus, the costs are less than media advertising."

Contact Media Outlets

"Having local media behind your back during the campaign will not only create credibility behind the company, but will help increase backers."—Heather McCarthy, Someone Special.

If you live in an area with local television networks or newspapers, contact them with a press release or an outreach email, and let them know what you’re doing.

Lastly, you can reach out to industry specific blogs. It doesn't matter if you have a niche or far-reaching product, there is always an industry blog about it. Here’s an email example of how to contact them:

Time to Launch!

You've built an audience, created an amazing video that showcased yourself and the product, given deals to those that are backing you, and reached out to multiple media outlets…

Now what?

Put everything into place, launch your Kickstarter campaign, and enjoy the success.