There are tons of tools out there that you can use to launch a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Just like any other entrepreneurial endeavor, your success with crowdfunding is limited to the quality of your product, the team you’ve assembled, and the tools that you have access to.
Quite frankly, these tools can make the difference between funding success and failure. If you’ve already hit your fundraising goal, some can help you raise thousands more in funding.
With this list of tools, and some of the strategies I talk about in this post, you’re going to put yourself head and shoulders above every other crowdfunding campaign out there.
Let’s dive into a few of these tools that you can use to ensure you’ll have a successful Kickstarter campaign.
1. Kicktraq
If you have not yet discovered Kicktraq, you’re in for a grand surprise!
This website and chrome app will allow you to easily and accurately see the funding process for various Kickstarter campaign. I use it a lot in my own research.
Not only do you get to see funding process and daily data, but you can also browse through different news updates related to the project.
There is also a great curated news section.
2. Thunderclap.It
Thunderclap is a crowd speaking platform that some creators use to create a massive buzz before their project goes live on Kickstarter.
You can use this application to coordinate social sharing among your friends, family, and followers.
All they have to do is pledge their social support to your campaign. By making that commitment, they’re allowing a message of your (or their) choosing to go out on their various social networks AT THE SAME TIME.
This means that you have hundreds of people sharing a custom message at the same time when you launch.
3. AdExpresso
Advertising on Facebook is complicated. You have to first learn how all of functionality works for the power editor. Then, you have to learn the best practices of advertising on FB.
Finally, you’ll need to test things a lot before you get a really good cost per acquisition. Until then, you’re just be burning through your advertising budget.
This is where AdExpresso comes in. It’s a MUCH SIMPLER interface than the Facebook power editor and you can easily create split tests of your advertisement.
There is a free trial, but after that, it will cost a little bit to keep using. If you plan on using Facebook ads but don’t want to outsource it, I’d look into this application.
4. CrowdfundingPR
CrowdfundingPR is a free and enhanced press release service for news related to crowdfunding and Kickstarter.
It’s very difficult to get the word out for your Kickstarter campaign. Getting media attention is one way that you can get instant attention, build credibility, and continue to maintain momentum with your project.
The website has distribution and press release writing options. We set it up for campaigners to help them get the word out (without breaking the bank).
You can use the website to submit a press release for your campaign.
5. BackerKit
BackerKit is a backer survey and data management application that crowdfunding campaigns use to make the fulfillment process easier.
Along with conducting surveys, you can also manage backer profiles, add-ons, pre-orders, shipping, and more.
A lot of regular backers have expressed frustration with Kickstarter’s surveying solutions. They overwhelmingly perform outside software.
BackerKit is one solution to take away the headache of spreadsheets and manual data entry. It’s a no-brainer.
6. Wix
One of the most important and frequently overlooked parts of a successful crowdfunding campaign is setting up a high quality website.
You need an ecommerce website so that you can:
- Collect leads leading up to the launch of your Kickstarter
- Process transactions, pre-orders, and customer orders
- Direct organic traffic to your crowdfunding campapign
- Communicate trust, credibility, and gain brand awareness
If you’re not very techie and don’t know how to set up your own website, then Wix is a great solution.
It’s easy to get started and build your own ecommerce store.
7. Shopify
Wix is a great solution for beginners, but Shopify is a robust longterm solution for those that are serious about running an online store.
Shopify has much more functionality than Wix and it’s 100% geared towards ecommerce. I’m talking about lots of extensions that will add to the functionality of your store.
This application has been used by many of the guests I’ve had on my show, Crowdfunding Demystified, simply because it has all of the tools you’ll need to get a store up and running.
8. Buffer
Tools are meant to make life easier. They should save you time, money, or stress as you’re going about raising money on Kickstarter.
Buffer is great because it automates your social media. You “buffer” social media posts so that they go out at later dates.
This way you can schedule all of the social media posts related to your crowdfunding campaign ahead of time and you don’t have to remember to share them.
9. Fulfillrite
Fulfillrite is an excellent fulfillment provider that you can use to get help shipping out all of the rewards to your backers and your customers.
This company has sponsored my podcast and work for a number of years. They are honest, transparent, efficient, and up-to-date with all shipping technology.
Write their name down! I promise, once you get started in this phase, you’ll want a trusted company that won’t screw up all of the orders.
10. Hunter
There are many tools like this out there. Hunter is a Chrome application that you can use to find the email address of the admin of any website you browse.
So, if you’re trying to do PR outreach and you want to find the email of the blogger who wrote the article, you could use Hunter.
Hunter will generate a list of a few emails that you can use to contact the website administrator.
You can also save the leads to expert to your favorite CRM.
11. The Kickstarter Launch Formula
Finally, the best tool out there is in the form of a physical, digital, or audio book that you can use as a blueprint while going through this entire process.
This is… the Kickstarter Launch Formula!
I wrote this book for YOU so that you are armed with all of the best strategies and tactics out there to successfully raise money from the crowd.
It’s available on Amazon in many different formats. It’s a no-brainer. Grab a copy and implement some of the proven techniques to raise more money.
If you’ve already bought it, I would appreciate it if you could take a second to review it on Amazon.
When you have access to this book and the tools above, you’ll be unstoppable!
