I talk to a lot of entrepreneurs and companies looking to launch a project on crowdfunding.
After these conversations, I always come back to reflect on what the highest needs are.
From a collection of calls, I’ve narrowed down 5 not-so-obvious crowdfunding tips to run a successful campaign.
1. Email is still the number one most important information you need.
People used to go around knocking on doors to sell their goods and services.
With a campaign that happens online, the best equivalent to this is email. Getting someone’s email is like being welcomed into their home.
Grab it.
Use it.
Email marketing is HARD, but it’s one of the most profitable marketing channels when it comes to online marketing.
Be sure to grab emails and strategize around it for your campaign.
2. Don’t use Facebook lead forms to generate leads.
CHEAP LEADS!
People fall into this trap all the time. That’s all they see and their eyes go wide.
They use Facebook forms, get cheap leads and wonder why their email list isn’t converting when their campaign launches.
When you get leads from Facebook lead forms, there is less effort from the audience to click into your ad, go to your landing page and to learn more about your product.
There isn’t that one additional step of connecting with your product and your campaign.
The better way to quickly build your email list is to get people to click on your ad, go to your landing page and enter their email there.
Sure you can get leads at 50 cents each from lead forms, but they’re not worth it if they’re not going to convert into pre-orders.
It’ll decrease your email deliverability and make it more likely for your stuff to shoot straight to spam.
3. There’s a simple formula to figure out EXACTLY how many leads you need to crush your crowdfunding campaign.
There’s a little-known “30% rule” for crushing it on Day 1.
Forget the 100% funded (that’s a nice personal “stretch goal”), you only need to get to 30% of your total funding goal on Day 1.
What? Really?!
Yup!
There are 2 reasons for this:
- Hitting 30% on Day 1 tells the crowdfunding platform team that the campaign is worth keeping an eye on. This can mean additional promotions, like newsletter inclusions or Project We Love badges, on the crowdfunding platform.
- A campaign that is 30% funded right off the bat makes newcomers more likely to contribute. It’s just psychology of the masses; they want to get in on the ground floor of something new, exciting and looks like it will be funded.
There’s an INCREDIBLY simple formula you can use to determine how many leads you need to collect:
N = (0.3 * A) / P * E
N = Number of leads required at launch
A = Total amount you need to raise (your funding goal)
P = Price point of your main reward tier
E = Email list conversion rate (this number can range from 0.05%-5% depending on your list)
That’s it. No tricks.
Just plug and play to know the EXACT number of leads you need right off the bat.
If you’re looking for how to determine what budget you need to get this done, head here.
4. Forget paying big money to get press mentions, YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF.
It just takes time and a whole lot of effort.
It’s definitely something a lot of people don’t bother with.
There’s an in-depth article about it here, including step-by-step instructions on lead-sourcing, pitch drafting, email writing and more.
5. Leverage cross-promotions
In 2013, Kickstarter reported that 29% of their backers or 1,473,393 are considered “Repeat Backers” and support multiple projects.
This number has only grown since then.
Where can you find “repeat backers”? Other campaigns of course!
As a creator, leverage this pool of “repeat backers” and “super backers” by working out cross-promotions with other campaigns.
Other creators, like you, are breaking their backs to get more eyes on their campaign.
Here, mutual cross promotions will help each campaign drive more traffic to each other so they’ll be more than happy to work together.
You don’t have much space in the cross promo blurb, so be sure to include the most important information in it.
Hungry for more actionable tips? I’ve recorded an online Masterclass to help you launch in 90 days.
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We’re here to help you crush your crowdfunding campaign and fund your dream. Our team has helped creators successfully launch and raise over $13 million on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We’re so excited to help you on this journey to launch!
