Hi Inga,
Thanks for your question. Firstly, congratulations on getting as far as you have thus far. Anyone that has undertaken a project that starts with a thought and has the gumption to translate it into a tangible item, has performed a monumental task indeed, as you know. So kudos for getting this far, the samples look great.
Okay, now for my insight - prefaced with a disclaimer: these are just my straightforward opinions, and nothing more. I don't know the answers. No one does. That said, I see a few things that could be improved.
I believe you're going to have to bring the backers to this campaign. I'm not sure this will resonate with the KS community. KS has not published their demographics, but based on my experience in 4 campaigns, seeing and interacting with thousands of backers and project creators, I believe the audience is around 65% male. In that group, it would be difficult to imagine your solution to short nail brush applicators being in high demand. One step further, if you're thinking the men on KS will get this for their girlfriends, wives, etc., I think this is a stretch. So, be prepared to embrace a massive campaign off Kickstarter to drive people to your project - press release, blogger outreach, friends and family, etc. This is not a cool gadget that will get easily embraced just by showing up like some KS project do.
Your video is entirely too long - 7:27 - you have 10 seconds to get my attention, and if you go over 2 or 3 minutes for the whole video, you'll probably lose the majority of your audience. If you study a number of campaigns you will see the first section shows the "wow" - the problem and solution (for problem solving items like yours), followed by the backstory section, concluding with the "why I'm on Kickstarter" - where the funds will go, what the backers will get, etc.
I don't see the 'how and why' behind your product until 2:32. The
demo doesn't start until 4:10. And I don't see anyplace that tells me why you need the funds.
Backers want to know what you plan to do with their money.
For the backstory and the 'where the funds will go section', since your husband is the machinist, you have a wonderful opportunity to get interesting video footage of things being made, the drawings, etc., and through this, you can tell an interesting story of your struggles to get where you are, how you make your item, etc. This is the magic ingredient to draw us in to want to help you.
For the opening, you'll need to
intrigue people with your story (watch this opening from my current campaign for an example:
http://kck.st/1mjrFc2 OR you'll need to
jump into the demo quickly. Watch the opening to my first video:
http://kck.st/14t3Syu Get us excited. "It all began one day when I realized my $30 bottle of nail polish left about $15 in the bottom that I couldn't reach." Or, start with a conspiracy angle. "Do you want to know a secret? Did you know nail polish companies make their brushes short on purpose so you buy more nail polish sooner." Or shock us: "Every time you buy a bottle of nail polish you might as well pour half of it in the garbage." Intrigue and tempt me to want to know more....
Random thoughts: ~ I would ditch the erroneous info so your video doesn't come across as a business plan. IMHO, the KS community won't be interested in your product's potential in other markets. They're looking for something cool - that they want or need.
~ Overall, you'd benefit greatly by quick cuts - or "step-outs" - for your demo, especially in places where you currently are doing mundane things like unscrewing caps, etc. You could make it interesting by even speeding up the demo like they do in those whiteboard drawing adverts or like I did in my first campaign with the demo and the backstory.
~ Story section needs a "How I will use the funds."
~ The bold text is a turnoff -
use bold to get our attention - true places you want to highlight.
~ You might want to consider making your applicator fit all those other industries you show in one of your graphics. This might broaden your audience.
~ You mention in your video that you got tired of holding bottles between your legs but you don't show the nifty device you created to solve this problem. You have a nice graphic for it in the story section though so perhaps you might want to add it to your video.
~ You have a lot of typos in your written section.
~ Music - consider adding some. It will help pacing.
At the end of the day, you need a great project/product, a compelling story that draws us in, and you need to entertain us in 2-3 minutes. You're in show business!!! Well, Inga. I hope this helps. It's to the point, I know, but I hope you see my intention of wanting to help you craft a better campaign.
Good Luck!!!