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We did it! Teething for Odin is 100% funded!

Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 12:48 pm
by hellesteeth
With 9 days left, we have reached our goal! Helles Teeth 'Teething for Odin' viking themed non-toxic silicone teething toys for babies is successful :D http://kck.st/1p44vYp

What an interesting experience this project has been. As many other first time project creators experience, I completely under-estimated how much work promoting it would be. My goal is relatively low (nz$3,700), but for those with 'small' projects, here is a quick run-down of what worked for me!

Facebook - Firstly, I have found FB invaluable throughout this project. I posted on my Facebook page about a project I'd been working on, asking my friends to check it out and share. I then made a FB page for the company and invited all of those I thought would be even slightly interested, and the page got 90 likes after the first day, and is now at 150, with mainly 'randoms' liking it over the past week. I boosted the initial post on FB which cost me $8, and I got a handful of hits straight away. Through the business page I created an ad with a budget of $3.50 a day, which is still running and pulling in a steady trickle of pledges. Every couple of days I send personal messages to friends I think will be interested and post it to related groups, and twice a week I post an update (screenshot of stats, promo shot, etc) to the business page, and once a week on my personal page so that I don't piss my friends off too much! After 22 days it has been shared 734 times on Facebook.

Updates on KS - I have released an update to backers only twice a week so far, I think that helps keep the project 'visible' on Kickstarter. I get a lot of personal messages with positive feedback from backers; I really wish they'd comment on the project! I don't quite know how to encourage this without sounding like a douche, but comments on the project really helps boost it on KS popularity wise.

Blogs - I emailed a number of blogs relating to my product (viking themed silicone teething toys for babies); metal music blogs, mum blogs, dad blogs, viking blogs, toy blogs.. and got 2 write ups, which pulled in pledges. I started this project assuming that mothers would be my biggest supporter but quickly discovered that 90% of backers are male, and about 30% of those don't have children but are using the product as decoration, etc. Learning that curved which blogs I focused on. I've since had a few more short write ups, and now have small businesses/shops interested in stocking the items once they have been produced.

For the first 2 weeks I agonized over writing a press release, convinced that the project would not succeed without it. After 2 weeks I gave up on that idea and it felt like a massive weight had been lifted! I plan on releasing another teether design on Kickstarter, and when I do, I'll use this successful project as the 'news worthy' angle that I was struggling to find for it.

I worked as hard as I could (with a baby on my lap!) solidly for 2 weeks to really get the project out there, and I was lucky enough to get a bite without resorting to paying for advertising campaigns (outside of FB). Small projects will not magically take off themselves, but put enough effort in at the beginning, and they'll gain traction!

Does anyone have any more tips for small or large project that worked for them? Or comments on the points I've made?

http://kck.st/1p44vYp

Re: We did it! Teething for Odin is 100% funded!

Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 4:35 pm
by gulliver
Congratulations on being successfully funded.

Gullivers Team

Re: We did it! Teething for Odin is 100% funded!

Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 5:50 pm
by movieshowtheater
Congrats on the success! I am 12 days away from the ending of my own campaign, and found your post to be extremely helpful. Especially the the promotional aspect, as that is what I 'agonize' over now. Good luck on your future endeavors, and especially Teething for Odin! Here's my kickstarter page, in case you have any tips or suggestions...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/32 ... ow-theater

Re: We did it! Teething for Odin is 100% funded!

Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 8:53 pm
by Scot Sier
I just joined today and saw your post. Enjoyed reading your tips, very good and congrats on your funding!

If you have time, have a look at my campaign and let me know what you think: tinyurl.com/nhdg2de

My Best,

Scot Sier

Re: We did it! Teething for Odin is 100% funded!

Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 10:10 pm
by hellesteeth
Hey Jimmy/movieshowtheater,

I had a look at your project and although I'm no Kickstarter expert, I really appreciate honest advice.

Your project looks like a great start and I'm so glad you're half way there! There are a few things you could add that may help encourage people to pledge on your project:

1) Tell people who it's for and why they need it - It's for film buffs/people who enjoy the classics/etc.
2) Give them something tangible to pledge on - get a graphic designer buddy to help with a logo or slogan graphic to make into stickers, buttons, mugs.. it doesn't need to be expensive, and just one of those will do.
3) It's great that we got your story, but who are the other people? Introduce them so we know who we're backing.
4) What will be done with the money? What equipment do you need?

I felt like I was explaining the hell out of everything on my project, but people want to know the meat and bones of a project and appreciate transparency; it shows that there has been a lot of pre-planning even for small budget gigs.

Best of luck!

Re: We did it! Teething for Odin is 100% funded!

Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 10:19 pm
by hellesteeth
Hi Scot,

Great project! What avenues have you taken for promotion? It looks like you have everything covered on the Kickstarter page, now it's just a case of getting it out there. What have you done so far?

Regards

Sarah @ Helles Teeth

Re: We did it! Teething for Odin is 100% funded!

Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 10:45 pm
by Scot Sier
Hi Sarah,

Thanks for writing back. Writing music bloggers, posting updates on Facebook and Twitter. Looking to get more viral attention. Perhaps FB ads, how was your convergence rate? Thanks for your help!

Scot

Re: We did it! Teething for Odin is 100% funded!

Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 8:45 pm
by Unicorn Hunter
Congratulations!

Re: We did it! Teething for Odin is 100% funded!

Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 9:17 am
by Arthletic
First of all congrats on your success! You did an amazing job! And also, thank you so much for sharing your experience and what you did! It really means a lot! <3

Re: We did it! Teething for Odin is 100% funded!

Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 6:35 pm
by sbriggman
14 hours to go! That's awesome! Congrats!! Thank you for sharing your experience and tips.