Page 1 of 1

Any tips on what to do when launch didn't go as planned?

Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2017 1:58 am
by AJAeroasis
Hello everyone!

We launched our first Kickstarter campaign about 10 days ago (a hydroponic Smart Garden for growing food indoors), and am sad to say it is not going as well as we hoped. Pre-Launch, we had over 180 news outlets post our article through PRWeb and had a decent family/friend following + some others unknown personally to us. When launch finally happened, very few bit the bullet and donated the amount we expected.

We managed to raise 8k out of our 55k goal within the first 5 days or so and it has completely dropped off with 19 days remaining to get funded. We are constantly reaching out to friends, family, restaurants around the world ... literally anyone who may be interested in seeing this project come to life...and aren't getting much feedback.

Obviously ... we aren't the only ones at this stage. What is typical plan of action when it seems your Kickstarter isn't going to get funded? Bust butt and do everything for exposure ... cough up some extra resources for more press ... find Kickstarter boosters ...? What are the possible options?

Any feedback is greatly appreciate! Thanks!

Re: Any tips on what to do when launch didn't go as planned?

Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2017 2:44 am
by therriaultk
Hi there!

Sorry to hear that your launch didn't go as planned. Looks like you did a lot of great prep getting the word out to the press and your campaign looks pretty good. I also think your Twitter marketing is great. Worst case scenario, if you can't turn it around you can always take what you've learned and try again!

Here are some of my thoughts from checking out your project:

1. Your campaign page looks nice but is a little text heavy. There were a few things that could have been highlighted more, I think. Can you use any type of seed? If you can I would stress that because some of these systems have proprietary seeds you need to buy. Also, how many plants does Oasis Mini fit in its three chambers? That info might be in there somewhere but skimming through I didn't see it.

2. Have you tried promoting in any online groups like this one?: https://plus.google.com/communities/104 ... 9676140421
They have a lot of members. Google+, LinkedIn Groups, etc. are good places to find large groups of people who are in your niche. Just remember not to spam your campaign and start by commenting on other posts, giving helpful advice, etc.

3. I also think more info on the team would be helpful. I like that the creator is in the video and that you have a testimonial from a beta user, but knowing more about your expertise, how you got into indoor farming, etc. would be nice.

Overall, I think you have a good thing going but the indoor garden market is really big right now so you really need to show why yours stands out compared to the competition. Hope some of this helps and good luck with the rest of your campaign! Keep us updated. :)

Re: Any tips on what to do when launch didn't go as planned?

Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2017 12:25 pm
by hyperstarter
I wrote before about this campaign, but as a follow-up perhaps you should relaunch.

Where I believe it fails is your rewards. $5 I guess is ok for a donation, $25 for seeds, pdf, coasters and wristbands and coasters isn't a rewards. Who would want this?

$50 for a tshirt, stickers, coasters and wristbands is a huge amount!

At the $100 point, it makes sense if you're including seeds, cubes and pots. Remove the hoodie, it's not needed. The rest of the rewards make sense.

The problem is you're asking people to pay for your brand merch, which in reality should be given away free. Just give people what they want, make it clear on the page what they're going to get and this should bring you alot more sales.

BTW - You messaged me on the forum and gave me an email to contact the other day. I replied but didn't get any reply from you, so that's not a good start :)

Best of luck.

AJAeroasis wrote:Hello everyone!

We launched our first Kickstarter campaign about 10 days ago (a hydroponic Smart Garden for growing food indoors), and am sad to say it is not going as well as we hoped. Pre-Launch, we had over 180 news outlets post our article through PRWeb and had a decent family/friend following + some others unknown personally to us. When launch finally happened, very few bit the bullet and donated the amount we expected.

We managed to raise 8k out of our 55k goal within the first 5 days or so and it has completely dropped off with 19 days remaining to get funded. We are constantly reaching out to friends, family, restaurants around the world ... literally anyone who may be interested in seeing this project come to life...and aren't getting much feedback.

Obviously ... we aren't the only ones at this stage. What is typical plan of action when it seems your Kickstarter isn't going to get funded? Bust butt and do everything for exposure ... cough up some extra resources for more press ... find Kickstarter boosters ...? What are the possible options?

Any feedback is greatly appreciate! Thanks!

Re: Any tips on what to do when launch didn't go as planned?

Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 4:38 am
by lowkey
lower funding goal.
fix your pledge offers.
educate your audience.

good product tho.