Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services
  • Jean_Cave
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    Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services

    by Jean_Cave » Wed Nov 11, 2015 8:32 am

    It's 20 days until the launch of my digital magazine. You can see it here for now: sustainabledesignandarchitecture.com/shop

    I've done all the research myself, featured in blogs and local newspapers, created databases with thousands of contacts and so far not paid for any outside help.

    Has anyone else done this and still been successful? It's very time consuming, but better for those on the other end because they are talking to the creator, not a random PR company blasting emails.

    Every email was tailored to the person with their name and something they would be interested in. For reaching potential backers such as architects, I offered them a spot in the magazine in return for their support and recognized one of their achievements. So far, every single architect has written back. It has been well worth my time.

    I'm thinking of doing another follow-up email, particularly to those bloggers that haven't replied.

    So far it's all through word of mouth and few niche blogs featuring me but I've found it to be the most effective tool yet. Sending emails, however, individual emails to hundreds of strangers is such a tedious task, bear that in mind!

    Let me know your tactics when your on a budget for outreach, especially if you're doing something that doesn't get a lot of attention such as a publication.

    You can sign up to for my magazine here: sustainabledesignandarchitecture.com. Share it around, and I'll share your project to my audience of 1,000+ people on my private FB page :)

    Let me know if you've done so and send me the link, would love to help!

    - Jean
    sustainabledesignandarchitecture.com


  • Bebe
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    Re: Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services

    by Bebe » Sun Nov 15, 2015 3:16 am

    That is awesome, I am glad to hear that there are such great people out there.
  • Conorrees
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    Re: Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services

    by Conorrees » Wed Nov 18, 2015 3:26 pm

    I have just launched a magazine of my own and looking to find ways to get exposure to the project. Have a look here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/97 ... escription

    This article is very helpful and I shall contact some bloggers in my field to see if i can spread the word more.
  • Ayudos.com
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    Re: Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services

    by Ayudos.com » Wed Nov 18, 2015 4:35 pm

    Jean_Cave wrote:It's 20 days until the launch of my digital magazine. You can see it here for now: sustainabledesignandarchitecture.com/shop

    I've done all the research myself, featured in blogs and local newspapers, created databases with thousands of contacts and so far not paid for any outside help.

    Has anyone else done this and still been successful? It's very time consuming, but better for those on the other end because they are talking to the creator, not a random PR company blasting emails.

    Every email was tailored to the person with their name and something they would be interested in. For reaching potential backers such as architects, I offered them a spot in the magazine in return for their support and recognized one of their achievements. So far, every single architect has written back. It has been well worth my time.

    I'm thinking of doing another follow-up email, particularly to those bloggers that haven't replied.

    So far it's all through word of mouth and few niche blogs featuring me but I've found it to be the most effective tool yet. Sending emails, however, individual emails to hundreds of strangers is such a tedious task, bear that in mind!

    Let me know your tactics when your on a budget for outreach, especially if you're doing something that doesn't get a lot of attention such as a publication.

    You can sign up to for my magazine here: sustainabledesignandarchitecture.com. Share it around, and I'll share your project to my audience of 1,000+ people on my private FB page :)

    Let me know if you've done so and send me the link, would love to help!

    - Jean
    sustainabledesignandarchitecture.com


    Sounds like you have it all down Jean!

    Sending out personal emails is a key and feel like most people don't even bother with the grunt work.
    I feel like there have been plenty of highly successful projects who don't pay for any PR, but maybe that's just because they do the legwork and research required like you have done.

    Just keep doing what you're doing and I feel like you'll do great.

    What is your total funding goal?

    Can't wait to see how successful your launch is.
    Last edited by Ayudos.com on Thu Nov 19, 2015 12:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
  • Jean_Cave
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    Re: Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services

    by Jean_Cave » Wed Nov 18, 2015 8:35 pm

    Yeah! For a couple of really successful projects, I actually reached out to them. They hadn't used PR at all but started getting people excited about their product months and months before.

    Having a strategic plan with a good understanding of your target market really helps for the type of blogs and people you reach out to as well, ensuring your time is being to good use! There's nothing worse than going through the grunge of writing sets of personalized emails when it's been to the wrong people!

    My total is $1,300. Low, right?! But this is my first project, and digital magazines are actually really cheap to produce. There's countless other benefits than just the money. I have however, made stretch goals of $25,000 for a video series and $120,000 to take the magazine to print.

    Right now, I'm just testing the product and the marketplace. I've cancelled a project with the same product because I just expected to get the money easily and the funding goal was too high.

    Thanks for the support! :)

    sign up with the link below and I'll email you when it launches.

    sustainabledesignandarchitecture.com/shop/
  • Jean_Cave
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    Re: Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services

    by Jean_Cave » Wed Nov 18, 2015 8:43 pm

    Conorrees wrote:I have just launched a magazine of my own and looking to find ways to get exposure to the project. Have a look here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/97 ... escription

    This article is very helpful and I shall contact some bloggers in my field to see if i can spread the word more.


    Your magazine has a great concept.

    I like how you made the pages stand out and have nice graphics in the 'About this project' section. Although I'm normally against the merchandising fad, I like yours because people would ACTUALLY wear it when they are doing adventure activities!

    Best of luck!
  • sachin
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    Re: Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services

    by sachin » Tue Dec 15, 2015 5:40 pm

    Thats really good to hear. It seems like its really helpful to acknowledge those who've helped you with your campaign on your facebook page.

    We were thinking about using a PR firm, but it seems like personal marketing is more effective. Did you include any content in your email? I'm thinking about including a small JPG of our design within the emails we send out.
    Check out our LooLedge Kickstarter campaign! http://kck.st/1G2RKSF
  • Jean_Cave
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    Re: Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services

    by Jean_Cave » Tue Dec 15, 2015 6:00 pm

    Hey Sachin,

    I went with the images. People seem to love being able to get a visual of what you're making. I got a few comments from people that once they saw images, the project looked really professional and impressive.

    One thing that was surprising is once I got the email sign-ups and started using MailChimp instead of personal emails, they were less effective. Not many people pledged on the first day. I keep the emails to a minimum now so when they get another one, it will come across a lot more meaningful and hopefully those people will convert into pledges.

    Good luck with your campaign :)

    Mines finally launched!

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sd ... e-magazine

    Cheers,

    Jean
  • MusicMayhem
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    Re: Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services

    by MusicMayhem » Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:16 am

    Hello Jean -

    Sounds like you are well prepared! Very professional video as well! We recently launched our campaign http://back.musicmayhem.net and have been deluged by dream merchant groups that want to sell their services, PR firms and all sorts of different advertisers and marketers. It's hard to sort through all of the noise and I'll bet that your personal approach will be more effective though time consuming as you said.

    Wishing you all the best.! Bill
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    GlaciusWhite23
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    Re: Have not Paid a Dime for PR or Crowdfunding Services

    by GlaciusWhite23 » Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:33 pm

    We're running a kickstarter campaign to raise awareness about Solar PV and Energy storage. Does anyone have any advice for this kind of project? I am wondering whether to pay for PR?
    Everlasting snowman to be powered by Solar PV: HELP US BRING HIM TO LIFE! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/17 ... ng-snowman

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