KickstarterForum.org

We launched our campaign on Wednesday July 30th as we were fortunate enough to land an interview on the Money With Melissa Francis show. We're only on our 3rd day of the campaign. Would anyone be kind enough to review our campaign and comment (only honest comments please) as we are a bit unsure of a few things.

Many thanks

Andrew
The Smart Dash
Kickstarter campaign link: http://kck.st/1rFYkYF

I would say that early weekdays should be slightly better, but I don't think there is a lot of difference...

You guys take everything in mind thats great so many helpful tips in here !

The "when" for launch is so important to think about. I’ve found that there are 4 factors to take into account for a launch.

1. What time are people checking emails?
I’d also recommend to launch projects bright and early in the morning, around 6am PT/ 9am ET.

Why?

As you know, email lead generation is huge for Day One success of a campaign. By launching it early, you’re sending emails to inboxes right when people are checking it. Earlier than that and they’re probably all sleeping, any later than that and “life” usually gets in the way.

This is an extension of the previous point, too. Launch early enough so that your project can catch the daily wave of news reports (especially if you’re sending out a press release).

Also, by launching early in the day, you’ll be launching early enough for the project to be live for most of the day while people are actually awake.

2. What days are people checking emails?
When you launch a campaign, you’re looking for people to click on your email. It’s the biggest driver of Day One success and the culmination of your lead generation work the past months.

Through your email, they’ll see that you’ve launched and then click to your campaign to support you.

So yes, email is incredibly important.

Following a slew of testing, I’ve found that Tuesdays are days with very high email open rates.

Wednesday is a close second.

It seems that on Monday, people are rushed and trying to catch up on what they missed over the weekend.

On Thursday and Friday, people are wrapping up the week and dreaming of their next escape from the 9–5.

3. Is your product seasonal?
To get a bit more macro too, you need to think like your audience. Check Google Trends to see if your product is seasonal.

Sure you might have a great email list and all the stars are aligned for press, but if you’re launching new-age summer swim gear in the middle of snowpocalypse across the country, you might not be as top-of-mind.

Who buys swimwear in the middle of winter?

Running a campaign (heck, being online and selling something in general) is about being relevant. This includes being relevant at the right time with the right message.

4. Are you ready to launch?
This one is a biggie! Seriously, are you ready?

You should have gone through months of preparation to put a plan in place.

Does your audience know you’ll be launching on a certain date at a certain time? If not, it’s time to tell them and hype them up for the launch!

Do you have people ready to back on your first day? Enough that you meet at least 30% of your crowdfunding goal within 24 hours? Here's how to figure out if you meet the 30% rule: https://crushcrowdfunding.com/is-my-crowdfunding-campaign-ready-to-launch/

Do you have people ready to write about you? More people writing about you = more eyes on the page = more potential for people to convert into backers.

Do you have methods to get the word out to people? Again, the more people see your page, the more opportunity you have to convert them into backers.

Do you have a means to encourage people to share? Make sure people who love your product (and have backed you) have the means to share about your project!