Like it or not advertising your Kickstarter campaign is a MUST if you want to hit your funding goal. Whether you are starting or in the middle of your campaign, you should consistently promote your offer so you attract an audience to support you. In this article, we’ll discuss a number of ways you can advertise your project, reach your audience and crowdfund your big idea.
Why is the Advertisement important?
Why do some Kickstarter projects quickly reach their funding targets while other campaigns struggle to get the first donation? There are a number of variables that come into play. For example, pricing and product offer, but generally it’s simply down to not enough people knowing about your campaign.
Typically you can expect to see a backer conversion rate of 5%. So for every 100 people who are interested in your offer 5 will back you. With these metrics, you can easily work out the number of people you need to reach in order to gain enough support to help you achieve your funding goal.
Here are some tips to promote your campaign and build your crowd.
1.Carry out proper research to create an irresistible offer
Understanding who your audience is and what your competitors offer will enable you to create an offer that is different and more desirable to potential backers. You can only do this by carrying out decent research before you start your project. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Who needs my product?
- Why do they need my product?
- How is my product better than alternative options?
- How much will people be happy to pay for the product?
Then consider how much you need to raise to make your campaign viable. Do the figures work out? If so, then get ready to tell everyone about your campaign and offer!
2. Create a Lead Capture Page
Create a stand-alone landing page or add a page to your existing website that focuses on your crowdfunding campaign. Add a ‘lead capture box’, so anyone who is interested in your campaign can leave their email address, and be updated with news about the campaign launch. Use different traffic strategies to send people to the lead capture page and build a list of ‘hungry’ leads, who are ready and interested in supporting your project.
3. Use Facebook Advertising
Paid Advertising campaigns on Facebook are highly effective at promoting your product and generating interest. The top marketing agencies use Facebook ads to drive traffic to a landing page and capture leads. Using Facebook’s ‘Ad Manager’ there are a number of different campaigns you can run. For example, awareness, lead generation, conversion, and engagment. Facebook ads are great as they can reach really tailored niches and millions of people easily all at the same time. You just need a budget to make them work effectively for your campaign.
4. Use Email marketing
Connect your email marketing software up to your landing page’s lead capture box, so when people sign up they go straight into your email list. You can then message your leads directly and nurture a relationship with them. The key is to get your audience to know like and trust you. Build up momentum as you lead up to the launch of your campaign.
5. Social Media & PR
Use your social media channels to promote and build awareness of your campaign. If you have multiple social channels, post across all of them, or if not just focus on 1 channel. Engage your audience, speak with them, ask them questions about your topic, build up a relationship and encourage people to back your campaign.
Use press releases to reach out to members of the press who may be interested in writing about your product and campaign. Making appearances in the media will attract more interest and give your campaign more credibility.
6. Use Pinterest
People sometimes neglect Pinterest when it comes to advertising a crowdfunding campaign. Pinterest has great potential. It has a niche audience of its own and works as a search engine. You can posts images and videos about your product and promote your campaign. The platforms key features include creating ‘boards’ and using searchable #hashtags.
7. Use a Compelling Video and Gorgeous Looking Photos
Your video is your campaign’s most important marketing tool. It’s the first thing people look at, and if it’s not good, most people bounce to another campaign. Hire an agency that specialises in Kickstarter video production to make your video. As well as your video you’ll want nice photos of your product. Take a selection of your product on its own and with actors in lifestyle shots. So backers can see what the product looks like in a real-life situation and imagine themselves using it. Use the photos and video on your Kickstarter project page as well as in for your advertising campaigns, social networks and pr news releases.
8. Use Super Backer Sites
Many successful crowdfunding campaigns have 1 thing in common, they are backed by ‘super backer ‘supporters. Super backers are (predominately males) who have supported multiple campaigns. There are a number of dedicated super backer websites where you can pay a small fee and have your campaign syndicated to the platform’s list of super backers. Generally, you offer the super backers a special perk (Reward) which isn’t available on your Kickstarter project page. This can be a discount on the price, a free add-on, or an upgraded reward level.
9. Give Away a Prize with a Referral Campaign
Referral campaigns can be a good way to build a list of leads cheaply. The one problem with using ‘paid’ ad campaigns like Facebook Ads is that they can be expensive. Referral campaigns give you the opportunity to build a list of leads cheaply. By offering the chance to win a prize you can entice leads to sign up and build a large crowd before you launch your campaign. The only problem with referral campaigns is that the quality of leads can be quite poor when you give away a prize for free. Meaning the lead isn’t that interested in buying your product/supporting your campaign. They just want to win the prize. But saying that when you get your referral campaign right it can be a brilliant way to build a crowd cheaply and launch a successful campaign.
In Summary
There is a lot to do to effectively promote your Kickstarter campaign, but by following the 10 steps above, you will give your campaign the best chance for success. If you are feeling slightly overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done, then build a team to help you or outsource some of the workloads to experienced professionals who can support you. At Wow Your Crowd, one area we can help you in is Kickstarter video production. To find out more, simply get in touch today and arrange a free crowdfunding strategy call. To your success!
