Kickstarter Live is a new way for you to interact with your backers through a live stream video chat.
On the live stream, you can showcase your product, answer questions, encourage pledges, or conduct a performance!
I’ve been continually stressing the importance of your RELATIONSHIP with your backers. This connection is what makes a backer trust you and decide to back your project. You don’t want to piss them off once you do gain their trust.
With so many other streaming apps, there’s a lot of skepticism that creators aren’t going to use Kickstarter Live, but I disagree.
Just last month, I was mentioned on the Kickstarter Live show that was put on by the Foundr Kickstarter Campaign.
I’m going to go into a few tips that I have for doing your first live stream. These pointers will ensure you have a smooth experience the first time around!
1. Make Your Backers FEEL Involved
Kickstarter Live is not a channel for you to just shout about your project and hope that you gain more backers. Instead, look at it as a way to make your backers feel involved.
When we feel involved or invested in a project, company, or initiative, we’re more willing to go out of our way to do things FOR that organization.
Have you ever seen a friend jump up and down and SHOUT at their TV? I know I have.
When was the last time this happened?
Likely, it was when they were watching sports. It could have even been during an intense TV show or movie.
Even though they aren’t the one running with the football or throwing Hail Mary passes, they feel like it’s their team.
When their team wins, they celebrate and gloat about it to their friends. When their team loses, they blame the referee and change the topic of conversation.
Many sports fanatics will plan big game day outings in advance. They’ll buy merchandise, pay for expensive tickets, and have a huge party with all of their friends.
If you allow your backers to feel involved, you’ll be granting them the emotional benefits of bringing a cool new project to life, without having to do the heavy lifting.
They will feel like they are a part of a tribe that has the same core values. They have something in common with everyone else who has backed your campaign.
Here are a few easy ways to engage your viewers:
- Call out viewers by name. You can say, “Welcome ___.” “Type in the chat where you’re watching this from. I’m in Brooklyn, NY.”
- Ask a question. You can ask for a short reply by having people type “1” for yes or “2” for no. This is a very fast way to survey your viewers. You could also capture longer replies.
- Answer specific questions. There is a specific section where viewers can ask and up-vote questions. You could answer some of the most popular questions that will benefit the community.
- Have viewers take selfies! Since viewers can take a selfie and post in the chat, you could ask people to post a photo of themselves to make the experience more real!
Let’s talk a bit more about the anatomy of a Kickstarter Live stream.
2. Max Out The Live Stream Functionality
Let’s take a look at a live stream. Below, I’ve included a screenshot of the live stream, “Card Combos and Q&A With Chris Kluwe” by Victory Point Games. This company has created 7 Kickstarter campaigns, with their most recent raising over $50,000.
Looking at the image above, you can see a bunch of functionality. Let’s break it down. First, there’s the Q&A, Chat, and Kickstarter Pledge buttons.
Under the Q&A, you can submit questions to be answered by the creator of the project. Other users can then upvote your question if they also want it answered. You do not need to be a backer of the project to ask or upvote a question.
The chat allows you interact with other backers, viewers, or the creator of the live stream. In the bottom of the chat, you’ll also see a photo button. This lets you to post a selfie photo in the chat room.
While the Q&A section is more structured, the chat is far looser of a communication stream. I’ve done live streams on other platforms. It can quickly get overwhelming.
You’re bound to get a troll every now and again. A troll is someone who simply wants to spread hate on the internet. They could also just want to poke fun at you. It’s best to ignore these types or make light of the situation.
The Kickstarter Live stream chat functionality will give you an overall barometer of your audience. If you want them to be invested in your project, encouraging use of this chat is a great way to do it.
To the right of the Chat and Q&A section, you’ll find the Pledge button. When you click this, it has all of the information about your various reward tiers. Backers can also visit your project page from this section.
This is super IMPORTANT. By including this functionality, Kickstarter has enabled you to turn website browsers into campaign backers.
In my recent Amazon ebook, the Kickstarter Launch Formula, I shared how your #1 goal should be to convert visitors into backers. This is done by following the step-by-step process I outline in the guide.
There’s no other way to say it. You might be a creative type or a designer, but first and foremost, you’re in the business of marketing and sales. You need to convince backers WHY your project is amazing. Why should they invest their time and hard earned dollars in your project, and not someone else’s? If you make the live stream a compelling experience, you’ll end up raking in more pledges!
In addition to the functionality I’ve mentioned, there is also a social share button in the bottom right hand corner of the live stream screen. You can ask backers to share this live stream Fabebook, Twitter, or other websites. Right next to the share button is a little eye icon, which shows you how many people are currently viewing the stream.
Finally, in the lefthand corner of the stream, you can see a subscribe button. If backers want to stay up to date with your future project launches, they can hit this button. They’ll also be notified when you back someone else’s project. If you’re planning on launching any future projects on Kickstarter, this is a killer way to get some early traction when the campaign goes live.
3. Presentation Tips and Tricks
These are a lot of subtle tips and tricks that I’ve learned from doing live streams and posting YouTube videos. I’m going to share them down in a checklist fashion.
- People tune in at different times. Don’t expect people to watch the entire stream. This means that you’re going to have to repeat yourself a bit. Example: “Awesome, and if you just joined, we’re now talking about ____. If you have any thoughts, you can submit a question, etc.”
- People get bored and look around. Eventually, someone’s attention is going to shift from what you’re saying to other things in the frame. They could look at something in the background of your vid, your clothes, your facial expressions, etc. You could get creative and have a cool location, not just a white wall.
- Your lighting matters. If you skip to 10:50 of this video, you can see how lighting makes a huge difference in my overall vibe. The emotional tone of the video changes.
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- Your camera placement matters. As you can see from the last image, the camera placement doesn’t look that great when I’m looking down at you. I think the camera placement looks best when I’m either at eye level with the camera or slightly looking up.
- People will replay your stream. Since people will replay your stream, you can include a message for those individuals at the beginning of the live stream. This is also a great way to fill up some time while you’re waiting for people to arrive. You could say, “Hey replay viewers, thanks for tuning in. I’m going to be covering x,y,z. The project is ongoing until ___, etc.”
- People will vibe off of your energy. Smile!!! If you’re positive, upbeat, and energized, viewers will naturally stick around longer.
- Be yourself. Don’t try to be a “sales guy” or some version of yourself. It will come off as inauthentic and it will erode trust. I’ve made this mistake in the past.
- Speak up and have good audio. Of course, you should also have good video, but good audio makes a huge difference. At the very least, you need to speak up. Most of us sound quieter in real life than we think we sound.
Here is a version of me speaking loudly and confidently.
Here is a version of me where I thought I was speaking loudly and confidently. I also thought I was being myself… but I wasn’t. Haha!!
- Make yourself feel at ease. This is actually a big mistake that many presenters make. They try to be funny FOR the audience. They try to entertain the audience. They are seeking approval, validation, and a reaction. Instead, say things and do things that make yourself laugh or feel at ease. Your viewers will feel if you’re tense or if you’re relaxed. As your mood improves, you can crack a joke or two for the audience.
- Don’t have a script going in. When I was younger, I used to memorize my speeches. They came off as robotic. When I forgot a word, I would panic. If you can speak to your friends without a script, you can talk to your backers without a script. Just have a few general points as to what you’re going to say. I will also have a written reminder or two when I do a podcast.
- Speak to your audience, not at them. You want to give the feel that you’re having a personal skype call with a member of your audience… except lots of people are on the call. It’s really hard to do. The more authentic you can be and the more you can speak TO your audience, rather than AT them, the better. You’ll form a very strong emotional connection.
4. Don’t Be Afraid To Sell!! (But, do it in the right way).
Sometimes, I’ll get pushback because I sell products online. I really don’t care. Here’s why…
I do my best to make useful content for my audience. I’m sure that you do the same.
Not everyone MUST become a customer. For the small percentage that want to level up their game and raise more money on Kickstarter, I invite you to check out my Kickstarter Launch Formula (video).
If you want to become a full-time creator, then you have to be willing to market and sell your products. But that doesn’t mean you have to be pushy.
After delivering a TON of value to your audience, you can excitedly remind them that they can still upgrade their reward, or for the viewers who aren’t yet backers, they can still become a part of the community.
You can leverage the SOCIAL PROOF of the backers on the live stream and quickly generate testimonials. Ask people to share WHY they backed your campaign. Ask them to share what they liked about it.
All of a sudden, you’ll get a bunch of messages in the chat (which you can reference later). Someone who’s not yet a backer can see those messages and decide to back your project.
Rather than selling directly, you’re letting your audience sell the project for you.
Instead of simply talking about the specs of your product and why someone should back it, you can share the STORY of why you decided to create it. You can highlight the pain points you experienced, the struggles you’ve overcome, and your reception thus far.
You can also talk with key backers ahead of time and share THEIR story while on the live stream. Why did they say “aha!” when they happened upon your project? In future posts, I’m going to be talking more about the role of story when marketing or selling a product.
