KickstarterForum.org

Hey everyone! So we got an awesome thread going in the questions section where for the past year, amazing creators have shared what they wish they had done differently after having launched their Kickstarter project.

I'd now like to expand on that discussion by asking you: What are your top 1-3 Tips for new Kickstarter creators and why those tips? These tips should come from your experience fundraising.

They can be anything regarding the preparation, creation, marketing, or delivering of rewards.

My Top 3 Tips

1. Make your title, description, and thumbnail image clickable.

I see so many projects on Kickstarter where the title, thumbnail image, and description don't reveal much about the project or aren't compelling. If people are browsing the newly launched section or they see your project embedded on a website, they will be more likely to click on it if you have a good title, description, and thumbnail image.

2. Don't forget about taxes.

Not all pledges are considered "donations" for your campaign. Many pledge tiers are considered taxable. If you're not using up all of your funds as expenses and have profit left over, it's likely taxable. I wrote up my complete thoughts on this issue here.

3. Direct emails and messages convert better than mass emails or facebook posting.

This tip is corroborated by others on this forum and my own experience. Even if you export your fb friends list and send everyone an email blast, you can't expect it to be as well converting as if you directly emailed each friend (personalized introduction). This is also true when posting your project on facebook. You will get a better ROI if you direct message each friend and also answer any concerns. Not everyone knows what Kickstarter is or how it works. You sometimes need to do some educatin'

My TOP TIP is to launch with a tribe.

A tribe is at least 10 people (or 100), who will tell 10 people, and that have a debit or credit card, who know how to use the internet and social media, and who will become a “ride or die” supporter and spread the word about your campaign.
This tribe is usually made up of your family and social media friends.
(I think of a tribe as campaign volunteers, you are asking them to commit, not just donate and walk away)

Yes, cool name but crowdsourcing is very different from crowdfunding, correct?
And you can't go wrong with a word like ULTIMATE

I'll re-iterate the email suggestion.

I spent literally DAYS and countless man hours prepping for my first KS campaign, and thought I had everything just right. Out of the gates, even with some of the "tribe," as was mentioned earlier, we still stalled at just a couple hundred bucks after about half of a day. So I got on Word, typed out several email templates, based on the different demographics of people I was trying to reach (college friends, family, co-workers, colleagues, etc) and catered each email differently depending on the person.

So for example, I knew my college friends were poor, so I asked them more to spread the word than to donate. My family, I made it about being a passion project, a dream as a filmmaker, etc. For co-workers/fellow filmmakers, it was about helping to create a local, independently produced film.

I spent hours writing these out, compiling lists, and finally, at the end of Day 1, with still just a couple hundred bucks in the KS bank, I blasted them out, and went to bed.

I woke up the next morning to see $1,500 of our $5,000 goal was raised.

I can't speak enough for the incredible power of email.

Remember people: FB posts and tweets can get easily lost in the shuffle, especially with how fast people scroll through Newsfeeds now. Emails are direct, and the perfect email pitch can make or break your Kickstarter.

Plan. Feel free to break the plan if a better idea comes along, but plan. I've interviewed bands that planned their campaigns six months to a year in advance of the execution, and the more planning the greater the success. During the planning phase, reach out privately to the artists you know and plan what you can do together for this common cause. Plan expenses.

As for that second sentence, I liken planning of this to how I plan writing manuscripts. Plans are concrete until you set them in motion, then they're necessarily fluid. Use the plan to know what you plan to do, but don't feel like you're chained to it.

Interesting feedback and helpful tips. Thank you.

At the moment we are in the middle of our first Kickstarter campaign and the hours spent socializing online is really something. Always looking for new ideas to spread our project.

Make sure you make a good video. Campaigns without a video are less successful!

Tip #1 is to have a list of people who will likely back your project before you launch. Then make sure you have all the information they need to close the deal. You don't want to spend days on your actually campaign doing things you could have done in advance.

Tip #2 Is to focus all of your attention during the campaign on getting funded. By hitting your goal early it lets you be able to relax. A lot of things will fight for your attention but you have to stay focused.