So you drive a bunch of traffic to your crowdfunding campaign, tell all your friends about it, and maybe get featured on a few blogs. You go to bed, eager to see the results of all your hard work in the morning, and…nothing happens. There are no pledges. Despite tracking your traffic using bitly or owly, none of the visitors are converting into backers.

At this point, if you’ve driven relevant traffic, you might ask yourself “Do people not care about this type of project, or am I doing something wrong with the presentation?”

This checklist will help you deal with the latter question, addressing everything from copywriting, to video length, to the structure of your reward tiers.

Video

• Keep it under 3 minutes. Our attention span tends to drift even at 2 minutes.
• Include an attractive thumbnail. You never know where you video may be embedded on the web. Having a great thumbnail can mean the difference between someone clicking “play” or closing the browser window.
• Change the camera angle on your video. I’d recommend changing the camera angle/view either every 30 or 45 seconds to keep potential backers engaged. For example, you could turn to face a new camera angle or cut to a demo of the product. It keeps the video interesting.
• Don’t just focus on the product. Provide some insight behind your dreams and vision for the product. Why are you doing this? What are you passionate about? Also be sure to include tidbits that emphasize your credibility. Why can you pull this off?
• Don’t just focus on yourself. Highlight why these rewards are compelling to backers. How will this product change their lives for the better or what problem does it solve in the world? What value are you going to be delivering to your supporters through this project?

Copywriting

• Use headlines to break up text. There’s nothing more straining to the eyes than huge blocks of text on the computer screen. They are intimidating and not scanner friendly. Use headlines to break up these sections of text and demonstrate the point you will be making with the next paragraph.
• Short paragraphs and topic sentences. This may seem like a no brainer, but in an information saturated internet world, short paragraphs that are scannable win out. Make sure the first sentence of each paragraph highlights the point you are going to make, with the paragraph including the supporting points.
• Read it out loud. Read your campaign pitch out loud. If its difficult to read out loud, you may need to cut some sentences or rephrase paragraphs to make sure they convey your mission accurately. In addition, you’ll quickly pick up on awkward grammar or misspellings.
•  Use pictures, bold words, and italics. Not only will pictures help to break up blocks of text, but the human eye is trained to look at images first. This is why facebook posts with pictures and links tend to have better conversion rates. Bold words and italics can also help you emphasize different portions of your pitch and convey tone.
• Include a call to action. All of your text should lead up to one call to action, which should be included at the end of your pitch or alluded to in each section in case your potential backer doesn’t have the time to read through all the text on your kickstarter campaign page. For more information about crafting a call to action, check out: 20 Mistakes that Will Undermine Your Call to Action and Cost You Sales.

Reward Tiers

• Gradual progression. Rather than having your rewards jump from $10 to $60, include a reward tier in-between for backers that might not be able to afford the higher tiers and still want to support your project.
• Early bird specials. You can use early bird specials to reward backers that pledge early for your campaign. You can also use these specials to create a sense of urgency and encourage backers to take action now rather than later.
• Market them separately. Market your reward tiers separately because the person that backs you at the $1 or $5 tier likely has different motives than the person who backs you at the $30 tier or the $200 tier. Some backers may just want to support your campaign. Others may want to own the product you are creating.
• Involve the backers in the creative process. The purpose of reward tiers is to involve your backers in the creative process and convey a sense of ownership in your project. Give them the ability to have an impact on the outcome of your project, be it letting them name characters in your novel or write a piece of dialogue for your screenplay.
• Use limited edition rewards. It’s true that these types of rewards seem “special” or create a sense of urgency, but they are also a great way to thank your backers for supporting your campaign.