Are you set to launch a campaign on Kickstarter?
You’re in for an extremely rewarding journey. But in order to pull off a successful launch and smash your funding goal, you’ll need to implement a dedicated pre-launch strategy.
And part of that pre-launch approach can be the utilization of a press release. While this element isn’t as important as things like:
Press releases can still drive traffic to your campaign page — even if it’s only a couple of backers. But when it comes to crowdfunding, every person counts.
In this article, we’ll tell you everything that goes into blasting out a press release that can lead to conversions. Let’s get started!
Structuring Your Press Release
A press release should be somewhere around 500 words and use third-person pronouns. That means you should always refer to your company name and team members without the use of words like “I” or “my” or “our” or “we.”
The wrong way:
I started this product in 2018 after realizing X problem. Since then, we have worked to bring my product to market for the consumer.
The right way:
X product was born in 2018 after Founder John Doe recognized X problem. Since then, the company has worked to bring the product to market for the consumer.
Here are some things that your press release should include:
- Keywords that relate to your product for SEO performance. You can use this free keyword tool to generate ideas.
- A description of the product, as well as the story behind it’s creation.
- Any social proof / credibility that demonstrates momentum behind your project.
- A quote from a key team member (preferably the founder of the company / creator of the product).
- A Call to Action at the end of the press release that includes a link to your Kickstarter campaign page. You could also add a link to your website or social accounts for readers to learn more.
Distributing Your Press Release
Now that you know what it takes to structure your press release, we’ve got to get it out there to the masses.
In today’s world, average consumers aren’t as prone to read press releases as they used to be. Therefore, paying a large chunk of cash to a distributor probably isn’t going to lead to a huge Return On Investment (ROI).
Check out this article for more information on where budget should be spent for your crowdfunding campaign.
As for your press release, we recommend either using some free distribution services or allocating a small percentage of funds for a paid service.
In this article: 10 Free and Paid Press Release Services For Your Crowdfunding Campaign, you can discover which newswire might be right for your project.
And while you’re doing research, make sure to take a look at this article as well:
3 ways to Improve The Visibility of Your Press Release.
When to Blast Your Crowdfunding Press Release
You’ll want to make sure that you have your press release locked and loaded for distribution a couple days (ideally up to a week) in advance of your project’s launch date.
While the press release process starts during pre-launch, there’s really no need to blast it out before your campaign goes live.
Why?
Because the point of the press release is to get people to take action and back your campaign. Sure — you could direct people to your email-list generating landing page, but that probably won’t be too efficient. A much better way to gather emails is through:
- Targeted Facebook Ads
- Blog posts
- Organic social traffic
To learn more about getting emails for your Kickstarter launch, make sure to pay a visit to this article.
Additional Press Release Best-Practices
- Link Press Releases: On your Kickstarter campaign page. For backers that want to do additional research before supporting your product, this can help to add some credibility in their minds.
- Use Social Media: Send out your campaign news release in your Facebook Group and any other social platforms that you’re using. Make sure to include some supporting copy to induce a click; bare links aren’t going to help you out much.
- Reach Out to Bloggers: In addition to your press release, reach out to bloggers, influencers, and personalities in your niche and ask them to promote the product. In these pitch emails / DMs, make sure to take on a personal tone. People won’t respond to copy-and-paste spam!
Conclusions – Is a Press Release Important for Crowdfunding?
The short answer is yes. Utilizing a press release to generate some additional traffic for your campaign can never hurt, so if you have the bandwidth — make one and blast it out.
However, keep in mind what we mentioned at the top of the article. You should allocate most of your pre-launch budget to:
- Targeted Facebook/Instagram ads that lead to a landing page to generate an email list
- Paying social influencers, bloggers, and other media outlets to write about your project
- Assembling a dedicated, experienced team that knows how to run a successful campaign
Think you could use some help with that last bullet point?
Check out this article: 9 Best Kickstarter Marketing Companies and Agencies.
There, you’ll find advisors that can help to catapult your campaign into the six-figure range on your funding meter. Keep in mind that agencies are expensive (usually around 10k), but if you’re willing to put in the money, it can lead to a huge payoff.
Here at CrowdCrux, we’ve worked with hundreds of creators to bring their crowdfunding dreams to life.
If you’re interested in working with our expert team, book a coaching call with the founder of CrowdCrux, Salvador Briggman.
But if you’re not quite ready for that yet, we’re still here to help you out. Here are some great resources for you:
- Subscribe to the CrowdCrux email newsletter for weekly insights directly to your inbox.
- Visit our Youtube Channel for all the best insider tips, tricks, and secrets.
- Check out the Crowdfunding Demystified Podcast and this book for interviews with wildly successful creators who have run six-figure campaigns.
- The Kickstarter Launch Formula book and/or course that gives A to Z processes for launching your campaign.
We hope that this article has been beneficial to you. Use us as your trusted resource going forward, and good luck with your campaign!
