Since launching, the Massage Track Kickstarter campaign has raised $57,000+ from over 600 backers in the span of 50 days. With 9 days remaining, Kicktraq estimates that the campaign will finish with $63k – $74k funds raised.
The product is a unique deep tissue self-massage tool that helps fix muscle and tendon pain. Unlike foam rollers, Massage Track uses tennis or lacrosse balls on a portable track to deliver muscle relief.
Eric Jeffrey, the founder of Massage Track, has been very open and transparent about his experience launching a crowdfunding campaign and what it’s like both from a practical standpoint and emotionally. Below, he’s shared a few tips regarding what worked for him on Kickstarter and how he’s managed the crowdfunding campaign.
Did you expect to raise 184% of your goal? Where are backers finding you from?
I wouldn’t say that I expected anything in particular. Always felt like a spin of the roulette wheel. My wife and I agonized for a few days about whether our goal should be $38,000 or up to $45,000 (the amount we really needed). I hoped for $75,000-$100,000 which is more than 184% and felt sure that if we landed any significant PR we could get there. That PR has eluded us however so we’ve fallen short.
At the time, I was paying a lot of attention to another Boulder Kickstarter project called Monki Bars, which seemed like a very niche product, but hit $111,000+ after getting some national PR from a stunt with a hot air balloon. They got the PR because some people called 911 when they saw the stunt.
After reading the book Trust Me I’m Lying, I’m wondering whether the 911 calls were planned out in advance. Regardless, I was unable to think of any similar stunt for Massage Track.
I’m having a hard time pinning down where backers are finding us – it’s a very diffuse picture.
What made you decide to do the Kickstarter and where do you see your business going afterwards?
I fell in love with Kickstarter at first sight – and I’m still using the HuMn wallet (that was my first pledge). I love being part of the community and the whole crowdfunding movement. The traffic volume and marketing reach of Kickstarter was very attractive to me, but now I see there’s much more than that. I’m really tickled by the process it puts you through.
I wrote a little more about this last night on our blog when I realized that crowdfunding is a big life event, like a wedding. It forces you into a whirlwind of planning and preparation and when the dust settles, you come out with video, testimonials, PR, and customers that some businesses go 10 years without lining up.
After Kickstarter, I think the big challenge for me and most other project creators is lining up distribution.
What have been the most effective techniques for marketing your Kickstarter campaign?
Around 55% of our backers are showing Kickstarter as the referrer but the external referrers are very splintered – I am unable to say that any particular category is working well. It’s just a big mishmash. I put a lot of effort into marketing using email, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn but have not seen much direct evidence that those efforts are paying off significantly.
I’m also experimenting with paid ads on Facebook, twitter, Google Adwords and Bing Adcenter with very small budgets. We had Fundzinger do a blast for us at one point and I could see that it drove a nice traffic spike, but no PR.
How have you been able to maintain momentum throughout the crowdfunding campaign?
I’m not sure we have maintained momentum very well. 59 days is a long run. I think the best I can say is that whenever we had really slow days I got inspired to do a new wave of marketing! I also burned out a couple times and switched tasks while I recuperated my energy.
How long did it take you to plan for the campaign and did do you wish you did anything differently in this phase?
I’d say the campaign planning and execution took 6 to 9 months and the one thing I wish I had done differently was produce more prototypes. I had none left to send to media. So I found out the hard way that the vast majority of experts and publications won’t write about something they can’t play with. I’d also have planned to have a marketing budget during the campaign.
Do you plan to use any products or service providers?
Not currently. I backed a project that used backerkit and the experience of claiming my reward put me in a rage. I’m open to the idea that it was just a messy unfortunate implementation, but at the moment I’m leaning towards doing it myself.
Would love to use fulfillment company but have a feeling it’s best to handle fulfillment in house before outsourcing.
What are the top 3 lessons you learned from doing the campaign?
1. Produce more samples and send them out for industry PR.
2. Plan to spend money (not just sweat equity) marketing the Kickstarter project after it starts.
3. It really is like having guests in your house every day. You will burn out (would’ve been nice to have a partner).
Conclusion
Massage Track will be available on Kickstarter until Aug 21. Be sure to check it out here and back it if you’ve been looking for a solution to back and muscle pain!
Has your Kickstarter been an emotional roller coaster ride? What have you found to be effective when marketing your campaign? Let me know in a comment below.
