Congratulations! You have a brilliant idea that will change the lives of millions. All you need now is the proper funding.
That should be easy right? All you need to do is start a Kickstarter campaign!
WRONG!
Kickstarter is one of the most daunting platforms you can take on. The process for creating a successful Kickstarter campaign is elaborate and vast. It can be hard to know who to trust or follow to ensure your Kickstarter is an actual success.
Don’t worry though, I’m here to give you a no-nonsense briefing that will ensure your Kickstarter gets you where you want to be.
Here are the first things you should know
- You should have at least 20 people you personally know that would buy your product. If you don’t, you can’t say you have a product the majority will want. The only exception to this is if you somehow have a huge following and people will buy from you purely due to your influence.
- You need to pick a date and stick with it! This will force you to work your ass off and increase your likelihood of success. If you have no pressure to perform and you keep pushing deadlines back, you will set yourself up to fail.
- You don’t want a failed Kickstarter! A failed Kickstarter is a big stain on your reputation. Inviting somebody to support a failed Kickstarter looks really bad, and you can’t delete a Kickstarter once it’s made.
Here are the three fundamentals to a successful Kickstarter campaign
- A solid product
- A landing page that converts well
- Good web traffic
Now let’s break those down.
First, a solid product!
So how do you figure out if you have a solid product? Well…
- Read ‘The Mom Test’. People will always tell you what you want to hear, not whether the product is actually viable. Read this book and you will know how to tell if there is a real demand for your product or if it needs improvement.
- Create a pre sign-up form. If nobody signs up or shares the form, that’s a bad sign.
- Look for a social reaction when you announce your product. If nobody cares, that’s a red flag.
- See if you can identify at least 20 people (actual people!) who would definitely buy your product.
Next, a landing page that converts well!
How do you create a landing page that converts well, you ask? Well…
- Try Unbounce, Leadpages, or Clickfunnels, to create your landing pages. Each product will allow you build, publish, and A/B test landing pages. Any of them will work, so just choose the one that appeals to you most.
- Keep your site clean and simple – you want it to do one thing. So wherever possible, avoid extra sections/offsite links e.g. Twitter, Facebook. Just create a sign-up page with as few fields to fill in as possible.
- Your site should be fast, easy to use, and mobile-friendly. It should include as many payment options as possible. Your product must be simple to buy.
You will also need a killer video. Hire a good team to create a video for you. You can look into Raw Shorts for explainer video software and Premium Beat for high-quality royalty-free music.
Last, good web traffic!
Your internet community should be jumping with excitement when your Kickstarter is about to start. You will need to do a big pre-launch campaign and everybody should be acting like it’s Christmas.
So track your links!
- Setup Google Analytics on your website
- Read this resource. You want it to be easy to see which vendor is sending you the good traffic.
Next, send your Kickstarter viral by utilizing a contest. You can use the platform Queue to create a contest. Users get ranked by how much they share and spread your content. Create enticing prizes for your top three to make your content well-known pre-launch.
For example, if you offer an underwear subscription box: first prize could be free underwear for life; second prize could be free underwear for one year; and third prize could be two pairs of underwear delivered in a gift basket.
Or, if you were launching an online coaching program: first prize could be free coaching for a year; second prize could be one month of power coaching; and third prize could be a one-hour ‘deep dive’ coaching session.
Remember, you need to go all out or walk away
You can’t just send out a single tweet and expect your campaign to take off. You need to constantly message, tweet, set talks, meetups, connect with influencers and reach out to magazines while working on a Kickstarter. You can’t be meek or sit on your ass. If you’re not ready to work yourself to death, it’s better to stop now.
Take some time and figure out what activities will get you the biggest returns on traffic.
- Build relationships, seek mentorship, give and seek advice and grow value.
- Seek press coverage or offer guest posts to publications.
- Build relationships with journalists/get contributor accounts.
- Create your own Facebook group and email marketing list, and set growth goals. How big do you want to be in one month, two months, and more? How do you plan to engage and expand that community?
You want things to be as predictable as possible. No ‘silver bullets’, just lots of consistent shots. Have your dream shots (e.g., P.R/Influencers). They will get you more immediate traffic than your own networks, but you can’t rely on them.
Wrapping up
Now that you know the three fundamentals of running a successful Kickstarter campaign, you have all the basic building blocks you need to get going. You will be working long and hard, but if you put the time in, you can become a big success.
All good things in life come to those who invest time and sweat. Good luck!
Guest Author: Vin Clancy is the Author of “Secret Sauce: A step-by-step guide to growth hacking”. Founder of Magnific, Planet Ivy, Screen Robot.