KickstarterForum.org

[customglow]

So I've seen a few pre-launching platforms to gather leads before your real campaign:
http://prefundia.com/
http://www.pitchfuse.com/
http://www.launchrock.com

LaunchRock seems the most feature rich with analytic and what not. I have not used Pitchfuse yet. I started on Prefundia but quickly opted for my own custom landing page backed by outside analytics and Mailchimp for leads. I'm a web designer so setting all that up came naturally for me, I would assume not everyone would be able to make their own landing page without a platform. With that said, has anyone used any of the above three throughout their campaign? How did it go? Pro's and Cons?

[sbriggman]

First I'll say I'm biased because PitchFuse is J.A. and my website. It's in beta mode, so it's still relatively basic, but we'll be continuing to improve the UI/functionality.

LaunchRock definitely has a solid product and analytics. I've used them before for other projects, but ultimately I've always found myself going with a customized landing page (wordpress CMS usually). I like Unbounce more than LaunchRock.

If you're a web designer, I would recommend doing your own landing page (included an open source option here: http://www.crowdcrux.com/3-reasons-to-u ... -campaign/). Scroll down to "How do you create a landing page?"

We've gotten good feedback about PitchFuse and items that need to be improved. However, it will be several weeks before we begin to push new changes.

With regards to Prefundia, the main criticism I've heard is that the stats show visitors to your page, but few people have experienced signups or pledges from the website. Again - I am biased and think some others should contribute on this point!

[customglow]

Oh very cool, yeah the banner at the bottom of the forum should of hinted at that.

I see your putting it together with Bootstrap, very efficient. The contest idea is unique and a great idea, how are you tracking referrals for that?

Yes Prefundia's analytic are almost non-existent, and they wont even let me port out the leads that I had in there so they are kinda stuck. 300 people that I won't be able to email

[rallen]

First I'll say I'm biased because PitchFuse is J.A. and my website. It's in beta mode, so it's still relatively basic, but we'll be continuing to improve the UI/functionality.

LaunchRock definitely has a solid product and analytics. I've used them before for other projects, but ultimately I've always found myself going with a customized landing page (wordpress CMS usually). I like Unbounce more than LaunchRock.

If you're a web designer, I would recommend doing your own landing page (included an open source option here: http://www.crowdcrux.com/3-reasons-to-u ... -campaign/). Scroll down to "How do you create a landing page?"

We've gotten good feedback about PitchFuse and items that need to be improved. However, it will be several weeks before we begin to push new changes.

With regards to Prefundia, the main criticism I've heard is that the stats show visitors to your page, but few people have experienced signups or pledges from the website. Again - I am biased and think some others should contribute on this point!

Pitchfuse? I have never heard of that one but will attempt to try that one, thanks.

[Prefundia]

http://www.prefundia.com gives you predictive analytics (i.e. tells you how much you are likely to raise once you go live on Kickstarter) -- no one else does that.

PS I'm also biased since I am a Prefundia co-founder.

[sdmompreneur]

What are some of the advantages to using one of these platforms? It seems like it might hurt a campaign to put out material (videos & photos) that aren't professional.

[sbriggman]

If you're using LaunchRock or similar type of prelaunch page hosted on your domain, the primary advantage is you can begin building up your email list from day 1.

If you're using prefundia, their website says the value propositions are "Get feedback, suggestions, and encouragement to help make your awesome project awesomer. Get real time stats on page views & number of followers to make accurate decisions."

We're going to be implementing some new functionality with PitchFuse shortly. Right now the main value proposition is getting feedback on your project and being tweeted out on @pitchfuse when you launch.

[sbriggman]

I would also highly recommend checking out Thunderclap.It. I've done two positive reviews of them:

1. How to use Thunderclap to increase social media traffic: http://www.crowdcrux.com/use-thundercla ... a-traffic/
2. 10 Tips for Promoting Your Thunderclap (w/ Analytics): http://www.crowdcrux.com/tips-promoting ... analytics/

[turtlemaster]

good stuff, thanks

[enjoy-aiia]

We did pitchfuse as a pre-launch for our Kickstarter campaign, but never received any positive effect...