KickstarterForum.org

Hey everyone. First time poster, long time reader here. Just wanted to throw my two cents in and see what everyone else thinks. I’ve been thinking about doing a kickstarter project for the better part of 3 years now. I am a big believer in building it and they will come, and I see many others here are of the same mind. I just don’t know how to build something people want though. I just don’t have any ideas on what to make. Does anyone know of a type of product that is not capital intensive? Im looking for a good first experiment to make a campaign out of.

I think tee shirts can be done at a low cost

Don't get your hopes up kid. It takes year and years of failed attempts before you finally get a win on kickstarter. Honestly the hardest part is making sure you don't get scammed by people when you go live. That's about 90% of the job right there.

littleguy101 wrote:Don't get your hopes up kid. It takes year and years of failed attempts before you finally get a win on kickstarter. Honestly the hardest part is making sure you don't get scammed by people when you go live. That's about 90% of the job right there.

I don't think this is accurate. I am about to launch my first project and I don't think it will take years and years before it succeeds.

yes i think this is a true to an extent. If you've got a great product then obviously you don't need to do any marketing. I bet none of those big campaigns even spend a diem on marketing... lucky for them.

drudge wrote:If you've got a great product then obviously you don't need to do any marketing. I bet none of those big campaigns even spend a diem on marketing... lucky for them.

You might not "need" to do any marketing, but it can still help. Especially if you value expanding your customer base more than you value having profits. In some cases, marketing can help tremendously, turning a five-figure campaign into a six-figure one, or a six-figure campaign into a seven-figure one, et cetera.

Speaking of big campaigns, it's inaccurate to say that they don't spend a dime on marketing. I know for a fact that at least some do, and our sales team could probably take an educated guess as to what percentage do. Although I don't have any precise numbers, I can say for sure that, out of all the 250+ Kickstarter campaigns that raised over $1,000,000 each, the following campaigns DEFINITELY used marketing:

BAUBAX travel jackets
Everyday messenger bags
Filippo Loreti smart luxury wristwatches
Amabrush automatic toothbrushes
Ticwatch S & E smartwatches
Liberty+ wireless headphones
Purple Pillow head beds
Kuroi Hana Japanese knives
ADV3NTURE hoodies
HyperDrive Thunderbolt 3 USB-C hubs
NOMATIC travel bags
Vi artificial intelligence personal trainers
Field skillets
Noria window air conditioners
PUGZ wireless earbuds
Trunkster zipperless luggage
Cubiio compact laser-engravers
Ravean heated down jackets
Barracuda smart collapsible ergonomic designer luggage
MEATER wireless smart meat thermometers
HiddenHUB adaptive sound systems
BetterBack posture improvement straps
LVL wearable hydration monitors
Solo Stove Bonfire fire pits
SMART BELTS
FaceCradle travel pillows
UPRIGHT GO posture-correcting devices
FireFlies affordable wire-free earbuds
Steadicam Volt smartphone stabilizers
Knix Wear Evolution brassieres
EOZ Air wireless headphones
Filippo Loreti Italian luxury watches

I know that these campaigns engaged in marketing because they hired my employer Funded Today to do at least some of their marketing for them. They often conducted their own in-house marketing at the same time, and some even worked with multiple agencies.

chet.matrine wrote:I am a big believer in building it and they will come

I agree that, if you create a good enough product, then it'll virtually sell itself.

And, in such cases, a great presentation coupled with great promotion will only enhance the success that it would naturally enjoy on its own.

And, conversely, marketing can only do so much for a bad project. It can only present reality in the best light possible---it can't change that reality. And if the reality is that the figurative Mustang that you built turned out to be a figurative Edsel instead, then even the best marketing on Earth won't be able to save it.

In short, your product-and-price is always key and, if you don't get that right, then the rest ultimately won't matter much.