KickstarterForum.org

I found your post interesting and I can relate to some of it. I am 20 days into my campaign and 16% funded so pretty discouraged. I don't like asking people for money and have never done so before with my business so this is new for me. I am trying to think of other things to do which is one reason I joined this forum. Hopefully I can get some helpful ideas to use for the remainder of my campaign.

We're planning to start a kickstarter campaign for our product - sensor tap with integrated soap dispenser - later this year and reading your post was really quite eye opening. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for all the great insight. I have learned some of this about the family and friends being in Real Estate for 17 years. These are great to be aware of. Thanks for sharing your story.

I cannot agree with the family and friends part anymore if i tried

I really wish I'd read this before we went live on our Kickstarter. We didn't want to rely on Aunts and Uncles and extended family, so we made a few posts on social media in case anyone we knew was interested, but only actively told our closest friends and family.

It was a surprise when close family that seemed genuinely interested and made promises about pledging and reaching out to their circles disappeared, As soon as the campaign went live we received complete silence, except from some unsolicited "advice" from my mother after the project had been live for a few days, about the fact we hadn't been picked as one of Kickstarter's "Project's we love".

On the other side of the scale a few once close friends who I haven't spoken to in some time, and who don't even play games, swooped in, backing the project, and have been really kind in spreading the word and just being little rays of sunshine in our notifications.

i can understand why our families may have decided not to support the project, but it really does put things into perspective.

I find it weird to ask friends and family to donate. However, I do ask them to share the project with everyone they know and on social media.

Honestly could not agree more with the family and friends part. We just launched on Kickstarter and the amount of people not even willing to share the project and tell people about it is astonishing. Not even asking them to back... It just tells you who really is a part of your network and care to help make you a success.

THIS is super insightful. I don't think I could've said it better myself. And makes me feel a bit better about myself.

flikframe wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 9:24 am At the end of the day, don't take it personal with the friends who didn't support, like Fader_Pugs said it could be people not wanting to see you do better, its the ugly side of human nature, doesn't necessarily means bad friendship. But it DOES really show you who are your biggest pillars in life, and its important to be grateful for that.

I see what you're saying and I completely agree. Most people will not be interested in the project you're working on for whatever reason, starting with the fact that most people are not used to the crowdfunding way of purchasing goods.

With that said, I still believe talking to friends, family, and colleagues is a point that shouldn't be avoided for several reasons.

1. You never know who will be interested. If your product is for example a board game, chances are you don't know if everyone in your social circle likes board games. You have to present the idea and get to know them.
2. It's not about them directly, but also about the people they know. Again, if you have a board game and present it to your cousin, who is not into board games, he might know of someone who does like board games and pass the message along.
3. Friends, family, and colleagues are a good starting point to receive feedback. Is like your own focus group. You can check the field and see what they think or how they perceive the idea.
4. You practice pitching your idea. If your project is successful, you'll have to pitch it several times more in different situations, and practice makes perfect, so friends and family are a good opportunity to do so.

No matter what strategy we're talking about, creating an audience is never easy, and sometimes getting no real interest from family and friends can be discouraging, but it's still important to do it.

Great luck in future projects and campaigns.

Thanks for sharing your experience - hadn't thought of the fact that people would un-donate on a parley - that's very low of them!

I don't mind a 'good luck' message - I wouldn't want friends to donate their money if what I'm offering doesn't float their boat, but it's very nice (and free) if they can share on their social media etc.