Hi! I’m Salvador Briggman, the founder of CrowdCrux, which is the crowdfunder’s one-call-away demystifier. My goal is simple: to demystify the process of launching a successful Kickstarter campaign.
When building out campaigns, I used my tested and proven practices that can vastly increase chances of reaching (and, better yet, smashing) funding goals.
I’ll share several tricks for launching a successful Kickstarter campaign. I’ll also discuss some tips you can use to be successful with a crowdfunding campaign.
These Kickstarter success tips and tricks are the result of:
- My experiences in coaching thousands of students
- My creation of more than 400 podcast episodes
- My countless successful launches on Kickstarter
- My encounters with different crowdfunding campaigns over the years for different clients from different product categories
You’ll come away with some amazing insights into the process, including how to use Kickstarter maximally for your product category! Let’s dive right in.
1. Line up a crowd beforehand
We’ve got a secret for you: the most important element of your Kickstarter strategy and campaign happens before you even click “Go Live.”
What we’re talking about here is pre-launch.
Having this crowd in place before launching is one of the best kickstarter tricks. It will help you:
- Hit your goal sooner
- Rank higher in the crowdfunding marketplace
- Stand out from all other projects in your category
Pre-launching involves activities such as:
- Running paid social ads to generate qualified leads
- Building an email list that is primed to show up on Day 1
- Having organic social media promotion through Facebook groups, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), etc.
To learn more about the step-by-step proven framework for a killer campaign, I’d like you to consider enrolling in my course, Smash Your Kickstarter Goal.
In this course, you will never consider quitting a Kickstarter campaign again. Your motivation will ignite as you learn more than the basics, the core of a Kickstarter campaign, and everything it takes for a Kickstarter success.
If you’re ready to smash that Kickstarter goal, then you’re also ready for the applause of the world, including the backers, superbackers, and future product users.
2. Start building your email list ASAP
This goes hand and hand with the first point. Email is still the top converting source for clicks and purchases.
Learning how to grow your email list before your launch puts you in an awesome position to rack up the pledges on Day 1 of your launch.
You’ll have many opted-in subscribers who care about what you’re doing and how they can support it!
The other benefit of having an email list is that you can track which links in your email get the most clicks and the wording that resonates with potential backers.
Remember to send personalized emails to mobilize your core network of friends, family, and colleagues, using language that demonstrates your passion for your campaign.
Motivating the people who know you best is low-hanging fruit — don’t miss the chance to pick it!
If you are still unsure how to do this, you can use Leadpages. It is a robust and user-friendly platform designed to help businesses and entrepreneurs create high-converting landing pages and websites.
3. You will learn who your friends are
Obviously the worth of a friend is not measured in how much they give to your Kickstarter campaign.
But sometimes, creators are surprised by the lack of people who show up for their projects.
The good news is that there is usually a reason behind this. Addressing problems before launch can ensure everything goes smoothly.
Common reasons someone in your core network won’t pledge:
- They are confused.
- They don’t know how to pledge.
- They don’t know why this campaign matters to you.
- They think you’re just sending the same message to everyone.
- They don’t know what crowdfunding is!
This is why it’s so important to connect with and educate friends about Kickstarter as you prepare for the campaign. This way, you can encounter and refute any objections that might come up.
4. There’s a benefit in the immediate timeline.
The countdown that’s associated with a Kickstarter campaign makes it easier to rally and motivate backers to pledge because they have a limited time to do so.
Creating a sense of urgency is Marketing 101 and one of the most successful Kickstarter tricks. Plan your communications throughout your project and deliver them on time to take full advantage of the typical Kickstarter funding curve.
If you wish to learn more about this curve and how Kickstarter works for success, you can read my book, “Tricks for Launching a Successful Kickstarter.” With this, you can turbocharge your launch through our well-researched, well-implemented, and consistently successful Kickstarter tips.
5. Prepare all assets ahead of time
In line with point #4, many successful creators emphasize the need to have their assets prepared before hitting that launch button. What does that mean?
You should have the following ready to go:
- Finalized video
- Well-crafted campaign text and graphics
- Interesting rewards
- An idea of your add-ons and stretch goals
- Main social media messages (can pre-schedule with Buffer or Hootsuite)
- Your emails at each stage of the campaign (including pre-launch!)
- Some wording/ideas for updates as your live campaign progresses
- A schedule for replying to messages, comments, social media comments, etc.
- Who you’ll reach out to when conducting PR outreach.
You can check some of the most effective Kickstarter campaigns to help you prepare your assets. By analyzing what works for them, you can discover what will work for you. Check the following campaigns:
One of the Most Popular: Arkadi and the Lost Titan by Legendary French Artist Caza
One of the Most Funded: Surprise! Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson
One of the Most Backed: Exploding Kittens
If the thought of preparing all assets ahead of time overwhelms you, Leadpages can help you create custom landing pages, choose professionally designed templates, capture leads, drive engagement, track your page performance, and much more.
6. Getting on the right blog can get you funded
How to win at Kickstarter? There are a lot of sources where you can reach potential backers outside of the Kickstarter marketplace.
Most creators think that you need to be everywhere with your outreach strategy. That’s not true.
For most campaigns, most of your success outside of the Kickstarter marketplace will come from 1-3 sources and likely one big hit, whether through PR, being picked up on Reddit, or getting on the right blog.
Reach out to relevant blogs in your niche with social proof, whether during pre-launch or your live campaign.
You can tell them the following data:
- How many people are on your email list? In your Facebook Group?
- How many backers have shown up?
- How much money have you raised?
You want to pitch your campaign as a can’t-miss opportunity to write about.
To make this even more possible, you may wish to enroll in my Smash Your Kickstarter Goal course. Always invest in further learning to hit your Kickstarter goals.
7. Look at similar projects in your category
If we had to pick one thing to do before launching a new crowdfunding project, it would be to study Kickstarter campaign examples from others in your category.
You can use the “Show me” button to filter the category you want to explore:
You can also change the search results by location. On “Earth” means that Kickstarter will show you campaigns worldwide in your chosen category.
If you have a target location, you can also click the drop-down button and type the location of the products you wanna look for.
Moreover, you can also sort campaigns by Magic, Popularity, Newest, End Date, Most Funded, Most Backed, and Near Me.
Research goes a long way! Agree?
Questions You Need to Ask Yourself:
- What graphics did they use to make the page pop?
- How did they stand out to you with their title wording, thumbnail, and description?
- Which rewards were the most popular and why?
- What kinds of questions did they get through comments?
- How did you feel and what did you think after watching the video?
- Where did they get media hits online?
Once you’ve answered these questions, feel free to emulate these strategies. With so many successful projects out there, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel! The following are two Kickstarter campaign examples:
(Note: I used the category Arts, subcategory Crafts, location on Earth, and filter Most Funded.)
(Note: I used the category Arts, subcategory Crafts, location on Earth, and filter Most Backed.)
Feel free to use different search filters to examine the campaigns in your area of expertise best.
8. Send thank-you letters
Seems simple? It is, but it’s also a highly underused marketing tool.
Thank-you messages are among the best ways to make a good impression on existing backers.
They may be kind enough to increase their pledge later or share the project with a friend.
It’s easy to take a nearsighted view of a Kickstarter campaign, but don’t forget that you might be building a brand that could lead to an ecommerce empire, and the name of the game is good impressions and relationships at scale.
9. Find partners to help you launch
Again, the name of the game is relationships. When you’re trying to attract backers outside of the Kickstarter marketplace, you need to find individuals, groups, or publications with existing online audiences.
Now, how do you get noticed on Kickstarter? Check out this article for an in-depth discussion on how to find cross-promotional partners for your campaign.
10. Backers can retract their pledge.
This is a little mentioned but hard truth.
You’re likely going to see some backers drop out throughout the length of your campaign.
Don’t be worried. This is natural. If you see a large outflow of backers, this is cause for concern, but if it’s just one or two, don’t worry about it. Just be prepared.
11. Be careful with trademarks
Running an online crowdfunding campaign is just as public as a normal product launch.
You might get others trying to copy your product or find out that you’ve infringed on another creator’s trademark.
Be aware of this before you launch your campaign. If you think you might be in jeopardy of infringement, consider contacting that company beforehand—you don’t want your campaign to get shut down or, worse, sued.
If this matter bothers you, I can help you with my one-on-one coaching call. You can also start reading or revisit my book, Tricks for Launching a Successful Kickstarter.
12. Don’t set your goal too high
I can’t stress this enough. Set your goal as low as possible.
After completing my ebook on Kickstarter tips and tricks that Kickstarter doesn’t tell you, this was probably the biggest consensus of all the creators I interviewed.
Setting an unrealistic goal is a recipe for disaster.
Setting a low goal makes it easier to:
- Generate momentum
- Hit your funding goal early
- Raise more through stretch goals and add-ons
13. You need visuals in your campaign text
How do you get a Kickstarter to go viral? Having good visuals is one of the items in the Kickstarter checklist.
Not only do visuals draw a potential backer’s attention to the sections they care about, but they also make your campaign appear more professional and well-crafted.
Attention spans are short in the modern age. View your copywriting as a supporting element, and do your best to structure your campaign around graphics, gifs, and images.
14. Being in the ‘Recently Launched’ section helps
You are going to have a very narrow window after you launch your campaign to collect pledges from the Kickstarter marketplace.
During this time, you’ll be in the recently launched or new and noteworthy section.
To access Recently Launched campaigns, use “Sorted by” button and choose “Newest.”
Showing up in the ‘Recently Launched’ section is highly dependent on how many people show up for your campaign in the first couple of days, going all the way back to Lesson #1 of pre-launch.
Don’t neglect your pre-launch, my friend! Below are screenshots of the recently launched projects as of the time of writing:
15. Traffic doesn’t matter. Conversions do.
It’s always sad to hear from a creator who spent a bunch of money generating traffic to their campaign page, only to have none of it convert into pledges.
Before sharing it with the world, first, verify that there is demand for your project or product.
In your category, search for: What is the #1 most funded Kickstarter? This allows you to gauge whether your product will have a potential demand.
A lack of conversions is usually one of two things:
- The traffic is not relevant.
- The product/campaign page is not conversion-optimized.
To ensure that you’re not making traffic-focused mistakes, check out this article: The Ultimate Crowdfunding Marketing Strategy.
16. Backers won’t respond to surveys right away
There is one word to describe this: maddening.
How aggravating would it be to have the last 2% of your backers respond to their surveys 4-8 months after the campaign has finished? Well, it does happen.
The best way that you can encourage backers to respond to their survey promptly is through consistent emphasis and explaining why it’s important.
You can also hit them up through the message system if they are lagging behind (a good follow up to the thank you technique I mentioned in point #8).
17. Ask yourself what your call to action is
Whether you’re going on a podcast (like mine), sharing an Instagram photo, or posting a video to Facebook, always ask yourself what your call to action is. What do you want people to do?
Otherwise, you might improve your relationship with followers but not inspire them to take any kind of action.
With every interaction with your backers, inspire them to take action, whether that’s to make a pledge, follow you on another platform, or complete your survey.
18. Pay attention to some advice, but not all
Kind ironic that this is in the middle of an “advice” blog post, right? But it’s true!
Many creators report how they sometimes receive conflicting advice and feedback and have to decide what to make of it.
Take every bit of constructive criticism from your friends, target market, and others who preview your campaign page with a grain of salt.
Categories vary widely on Kickstarter and it’s very difficult to predict human behavior.
When in doubt, I’d recommend following any data that you collect on your website, social media accounts, email list, etc.
You could also team up with experts who know exactly what they’re doing.
19. Do not underestimate cost of shipping or production
In general, creators tend to underprice their rewards. Yes, it’s important to give early adopters a discount on your product or the deliverables for your project.
But, still, you also need enough margins to handle unanticipated expenses or overfunding.
A Few Questions to Consider:
- Can you finance stretch goals or add-ons?
- Will you offer free shipping?
- How will you handle international shipping?
- What happens if you’re overfunded by a large percentage?
- What might cause a delay in production or shipping?
Check out this article for a more comprehensive evaluation of shipping and production costs.
20. It’s much harder than you think
Planning a crowdfunding campaign is not for the faint of heart!
It takes a lot of effort, worrying, energy, and flexibility. Almost everyone in the thread underscored this warning.
Either give yourself to the project 110% or don’t launch.
Before committing, get a better idea of the amount of time that you’ll spend on your project.
21. The last 48 hours are crucial
The last hours of your campaign are crucial. It’s now or never.
That relative or friend who has been putting off pledging to your campaign now has a limited time to join the project, help you out, or claim one of your rewards.
You’ll also appear in the ‘Ending Soon’ section of Kickstarter, meaning that your page will appear when backers check to see which projects are nearing the end of their campaign duration.
Takeaways
Learn some things in this article?
Here at CrowdCrux, we’re the leader in providing crowdfunding education.
Stay in touch with us and check out these additional resources:
- The Crowd Crux blog, podcast, and Youtube channel where we’re always working to deliver the best insider tips, tricks, and secrets from experts who have a wide range of experience in the industry.
- The Crowd Crux weekly newsletter that delivers awesome, valuable insights to your inbox every Thursday.
- Books and courses designed by yours truly, Salvador Briggman (CrowdCrux Founder), such as The Kickstarter Launch Formula
- Coaching that ranges from advice all the way to A to Z crowdfunding services. Book a coaching call with me today!
Cheers to your Kickstarter launch! We’re here to help if you need us.
