Kickstarter is a great way to accrue much-needed capital to take your product from an idea to a tangible reality. But there’s more to crafting a successful Kickstarter campaign than simply posting your product information on the site and clicking “publish.”
How to Launch a new product on Kickstarter
Research shows that 10 percent of campaigns on Kickstarter fail to bring in a single cent. Kickstarter operates on an all-or-nothing system, which means if you don’t reach your funding goal, you won’t get any of the money that was raised in your favor. Research also shows that 80 percent of projects that manage to reach 20 percent of their funding goals end up being successful. Basically, the goal is to reach that 20 percent goal as quickly as possible. But what’s the key to a successful Kickstarter campaign? Check out these tips and tricks.
Keep your campaign under 60 days
Kickstarter gives you the option to set your funding timeframe from anywhere from one to 60 days. You may think the longer your campaign runs, the more money you will raise. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. Statistically speaking, Kickstarter projects that last 30 days or fewer actually fare the best in terms of meeting funding goals.
Focus on small rewards, not big ones
The most popular Kickstarter pledge amount is roughly $25. The average is $70. While it’s a great practice to offer big rewards to generous funders, you want to make sure you have a large chunk of small rewards for the average pledger. If rewards run out, you may run the risk of losing critical support. “When you do a crowdfunding campaign, you aren’t asking for donations. You are selling a product, and it needs to be competitively priced. It isn’t reasonable to expect people to pledge $50 to receive a DVD that will sell for $10. Yet, it happens all the time. Don’t fall into that trap,” explains Shawn French, an entrepreneur who successfully raised $15,899 (substantially more than his $8,000 goal) on his Kickstarter comic book campaign. “The trick is to design your rewards and price points, so you can hit your goal, while giving your fans the best deal. The transaction needs to be a win-win.”
It’s all about quality
You need to put sweat equity in developing a stellar campaign. You need a well-written, compelling text that explains the idea behind the campaign, as well as high-quality images and a clear story. Amateur-looking photos and texts with typos are a major no-no. If you aren’t confident in your own abilities, you may want to hire a professional.
Don’t wait until launch time to reach out to potential supporters
In order to maximize the power of a Kickstarter campaign, it is crucial to reach out to potential supporters before you actually launch your campaign. It is a wise idea to send out tailored messages, then follow up with people individually. For example, you might want to separate your contacts into sub-groups and customize a message for each one. In general, try to avoid posting mass messages. “While utilizing newsletters and corresponding with donors is a must, make sure you do so correctly. If you want people to support you and fork over their hard-earned money on your project, take the time to write every contact a personalized email,” explains entrepreneur Ryan Colucci. Remember, a Kickstarter campaign is essentially a form of advertising, so the more precisely you can target and communicate with potential supporters, the better.
Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with strengths in software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial design. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.
