ksampson wrote:This is my first time doing a Kickstarter campaign. I'm just in day 4/30 but I've noticed that there has been an overwhelming number of people who are in support of it, but haven't backed it yet. Is that normal in the early stage? Anyone have advice on how to get supporters to take the plunge? I assume the more backers in the early stage the better!? I'm definitely sending out personal e-mails & FB messages to ask for donations. Any advice? Thanks!
I think that your best chance of getting someone to back you early (no matter who you are nor what your project is), is for something on your project page to "connect" with the person viewing your project page.
And the best way to accomplish that is by making a positive first impression, when they visit your project page for the very first time.
When you reach for the Facebook message or for the e-mail message that is a plea for money, that is just, exactly what it is - a plea for money. You are seeking to appeal to their wallet, and contrary to popular belief, an awful lot of people have brains guarding their wallets. Many of them also hedge their bets, by having personal experiences to call upon, as an additional guard upon their wallets. In other words, people will naturally be more on guard (and, hence, less likely to pledge) in instances where you are straight up asking them to pledge money. - regardless of what the reason is.
So, when you invite someone to pledge to back your project, you are, in essence, also inviting the skeptic in them to tag along.
There is a reason why your project page should be taken seriously. A big part of the challenge of getting people to back you is to get them to your project page, first, which is where the pledge buttons for your campaign are.
I visited your project page, last night, and I didn't even receive a Facebook message or an e-mail in which you appealed for a donation. Yet your project page didn't make a good, solid first impression with me. It didn't even make a good second impression with me, as I was watching your project video - this in spite of the fact that you are a well-spoken individual, and in spite of the fact that you look comfortable in front of the camera talking to people.
Your project page is visually boring. Your project image has a cobbled together look to it (the letters not aligned, although that was intentional on your part). Plus, it's a documentary that you are wanting to create, which to many people equates to boredom in film.
Those things collectively formed your project page's first impression for me.
The second impression came at the point in your project video where I am struck by the irony of your overall message about lack of diversity in major Hollywood films, with you sitting at your desk with the movie poster of Tom Cruise behind you. I was like, "Say what? Huh?? What's THAT?!" You advocate in favor of diversity, yet the poster behind your own desk is a poster child (pardon the pun) for a lack of diversity. To me, you are sending mixed messages, and that tends to generate confusion, which in turn can impede your project's ability to persuade people to pledge. I highlight this for you, to underscore that the message that you think that a project creator is sending out to people may not necessarily be the same message that they end up receiving.
To get people to pledge, something or someone has to persuade them to part with money. The actual amount is far less relevant than the initial barrier of persuading them to actually pledge, which requires that they are receptive to either the message or the messenger.
If your project page makes a bad first impression with people, then they may not be willing to give your project a second chance, later. If it makes a positive first impression, however, even if they don't pledge upon their initial visit to your project page, your project will reside in their memory along with that positive first impression that it made. Thus, should they visit it again, the positive first impression can translate into them already being receptive to your project, and by extension, receptive to the possibility of pledging to support it.
