KickstarterForum.org

[daveyboy]

Hi, so I'm relatively new to Kickstarter. I stupidly didn't know there was as much work involved as there is! Considering it's just me doing it aswell makes it a toughy!

Here's the link to my short film project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/125 ... short-film

Any advice on what I need to improve on would be amazing. I've contacted everyone I know and have run out of contacts really. I can't really see how people will see my project or even donate when they don't know me. I'm not sure how best to get it out there. Are there any good sites to post Kickstarter campaigns? Can I do it on Film forums etc? I'm not sure where is accepted and where isn't if I'm honest.

What are people's thoughts on the paid marketing side of things, or if they've had experience with it? Paying $100 to have someone send it out to 13,000 people or whatever seems a bit odd to me. As I imagine those people will get sent loads of campaign emails and probably don't even want to see them in the first place!

Any help would be amazing. And if it's not too cheeky, please do Facebook 'Like' & Tweet my campaign if interested...

Thanks so much!
Dave

[StoryBox]

Hi,

I really like your film idea. You have laid out everything very well on the Kickstarter page, so I don't think any of that is a problem. It's hard to get exposure. Beleive me, I'm right in the middle of my campaign and I'm stuck!

I would certainly promote on film forums and anything else you can think of. I have had some success contacting local media outlets. They are always looking for stories about local people doing cool things!

[sbriggman]

"I've contacted everyone I know and have run out of contacts really."

Would any of your contacts be willing to introduce your project to their friends? Have you been in touch with any local film groups? I know there are a few on Meetup.com in NYC, but not sure about UK.

"I can't really see how people will see my project or even donate when they don't know me."

Why would people pay to watch a movie they have never seen before? Have you researched how in the movie or short film industry, creators sell upcoming films?

"Can I do it on Film forums etc? I'm not sure where is accepted and where isn't if I'm honest. "

I would first interact on film forums, g+, linkedin groups, etc and include the link in your signature (for the forum). I wouldn't make your first post asking for pledges.

"What are people's thoughts on the paid marketing side of things, or if they've had experience with it? Paying $100 to have someone send it out to 13,000 people or whatever seems a bit odd to me. As I imagine those people will get sent loads of campaign emails and probably don't even want to see them in the first place!"

You can always buy traffic, but it doesn't mean it will convert into pledges.

[BitofaGeek]

Hi Dave!

You come across very well in the video and the page has all the right info on there.

I noticed you don't have a Twitter account linked to your Kickstarter page. Do you have one? If not, I'd recommend that you do. Follow other filmmakers that you admire and join in their discussions. Post daily about relevent news in your industry. Join in on film-related trending hashtags. Eventually you'll get like-minded people following you and before you know it, you'll have a little fanbase going.

Really though, that takes months to achieve. The social media aspect of your projects will take lots of time to prepare and should be done well before launching a kickstarter.

To save you using a PR company to send emails to uninterested recipients, use Twitter advertising instead. You can promote your tweet (in this case, a tweet about your kickstarter campaign) to your exact audience. This is because it allows you to show the ad to only people who talk about relevent things. For example, you might customise it so that only people who have tweeted the words "film noir" or "indie movies" see the ad. That way you're only paying for every set of film-loving eyes that see it.

I used the same advertising technique on Facebook and it's got me almost 20,000 followers on my page over the course of a year. It can work!

If you really want to save your campaign this time around it looks as though you're going to need to get an influential blogger to write about it. Here are some good sites that might be able to help you.

www.indiewire.com
www.filmindependent.org
www.thefilmcollaborative.org
www.filmcourage.com
www.filmschoolrejects.com
www.theblackandblue.com
www.televisionwithoutpity.com

All the best! I hope at least some of that has been helpful.

[InfiniteHorizonsUly]

Bitofageek,
That was just about the best first post in the history of the internet!

Members like you will make this forum thrive!!

[daveyboy]

Thanks so much for your help Bitofageek. That's really awesome!
I think trying to get in with bloggers if definitely the way forward.

Thanks again, really appreciate it.
Dave

[BitofaGeek]

Thanks you two