KickstarterForum.org

[CatPageant]

My name is Jessica and I LOVE animals. I especially love cats. I started a new project because I think it could unite all of us crazy cat ladies. I would love to have little pageants! How fun would that be? Or am I just super weird. lol https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/45 ... t-pageants Tell me what you think. Would love the feedback!

[Charles]

My name is Jessica and I LOVE animals. I especially love cats. I started a new project because I think it could unite all of us crazy cat ladies. I would love to have little pageants! How fun would that be? Or am I just super weird. lol https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/45 ... t-pageants Tell me what you think. Would love the feedback!

I don't have a cat, but I think that it's a great idea. Many animal lovers likely won't, though, but many will.

BUT.....you're invested very little time and energy and effort into making your project page appealing. Don't make the assumption that, simply because your idea or concept has merit, that your project page reflects that in an effective manner.

You want ten thousand dollars, but your project page isn't worth ten cents. Is that even your cat in the project image? No people on the project page. No video. Plus, you want to distract from your own project with a mention of Honey Boo Boo.

The concept has merit. Almost all concepts do. It's in execution of them that the failings generally lie. This page should be plastered with photos of cats - cats belonging to actual people, and not stock footage cats, either.

You also need a video. You want to do a pageant, but you can't even be bothered to create a project video? That sends a subliminal message of rank amateurism. Not so much simply because you have no video, but rather, in conjunction with the fact that you're seeking ten grand in funding.

Your project page is ultra-brief. That's likely how long a span of time that most people will spend on this project page, before they click it off, never to return.

I think that your Cat Pageant page on Facebook will prove to be more successful than this fundraiser on Kickstarter. It actually has cats on it, after all. It also has 19 "likes," compared to zero pledges on your Kickstarter project page.

You didn't even bother to explain to people on your project page why you need the amount that you are after. For really small amounts, to be quite honest, many people will just go ahead and pledge, if something on your project page connects with them. Because there's so very little content on your project page, that equates to there not being many things there which have a chance of somebody connecting with them.

So, in layman's terms, what you have effectively done is to handicap your own project, thus undermining your own attempted raising of funds, by giving people little to no reason to give any serious thought to tossing some dollars your way.

This isn't about the cats. This is about you. Revise it. It HAS to be about the cats. People who pamper their cats is whom this would appeal to. But, what I'm seeing isn't about the cats.

Take this excerpt from your project page, for example:

I would love to travel around hosting Cat Pageants and finding the most beautiful cats around. Every single cat is special and has it's own story to tell. I want to hear as many as possible.

It is YOU who love to travel. You say that every single cat has its own story to tell, yet look how short the "story" is for this cat pageant concept that you are trying to sell people on. There are no details, so that sends the message to project viewers that you've done no actual preparations.

In its current iteration, this is a wish, not something that people will take seriously. You want serious money? You want serious pledges? Then get serious with your project page!

That will require SERIOUS revision!

[Manbird]

I think it's an excellent idea. Especially for cat lovers (I am one). Agreed, you should add some more content and goodies on your kick starter page. The more the better. Perhaps describe some of the places you will visit, and in what form the completed project will appear. Plus I like your enthusiasm for the idea!

Good luck with your campaign!

[CatPageant]

Thanks for the awesome feedback! I totally want to revise the entire thing. When I originally posted I made it all about the cats and basically fundraising for animal shelters but the site made me erase all that. I will try and think of a video for this and change it up. I appreciate all the advice a lot!

[CatPageant]

I added a video now and am still working on the content. I would love some additional feedback as you both have been so helpful so far. Thanks!! ~Jessica

[onesuit]

Hi Jess,
super cute idea! I am a cat lover.....but not too enamoured with the idea of dressing them up. But each to their own.

You certainly have a lot of money to raise but what for? And why have you only got $1 or $5 pledges?

If you want to reach your funding goal you need to add more pledge amounts, rewards and give the backers a clear idea of what their money is going towards.

Good thing you have 56 days.....hope the modifications suggested above are going well.

Kerry

Ethical rainwear for commuter cyclists
http://kck.st/1AdvDqV

[Charles]

I added a video now and am still working on the content. I would love some additional feedback as you both have been so helpful so far. Thanks!! ~Jessica

Jessica,

You created a video, and I clicked it on to play it, but apparently, you completely failed to take advantage of the advantages that the medium of video actually afford. You chose to make it a silent film, from what little that I bothered to watch, and it is a video comprised of still photographs . This is a counter-productive approach to utilizing video as a tool to advance the cause of your Kickstarter project.

I watched the video for a short while, and because it had no sound and no actual video, I started clicking on different spots in the video. Again and again, the same deficient approach. A video like that will get you nowhere. What's the point of taking that strategy? You end up losing the most appealing qualities that video has to offer - namely, full motion and sound.

I see that you've still put no real thought or effort into the project page, itself. It remains both bare bones and desolate. Your core idea isn't any worse than countless others on display on Kickstarter. But, your execution of your idea is woefully lacking.

Thus far, your project has zero backers. Not even any of your 244 Facebook friends have backed your project, yet, either. Why don't you tell us why you think that is, or why you think that nobody, anywhere, has bothered to pledge to your project, yet? It's certainly not because no one likes cats. We all know that people all over the place love cats - and they like things that have something to do with cats. But, your project is catching absolutely no traction, thus far. Why do you think that is?

I think that the reason is because you've presented things in a very boring manner, and because of that, it just isn't appealing to people. Your love, energy, and affection for cats doesn't show through. The project page doesn't capture your passion and enthusiasm for cats.

On a blog that I created recently called Squatch Kick, which pertains to Kickstarter and Kickstarter projects, I made mention of a cat in one piece that I wrote there. I included a link, in case you want to read the whole thing, but here's one part about the cat that I saw on display on that project's page:

"Eric Allard has opted to give HP Lovecraft a talking cat. I really love his rendering of that cat, with ears of exaggerated length. If you're a cat lover, then you really need to check this out!" Eric's project is titled: [urlhttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/169250540/tales-of-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly]Tales of the good, the bad and the ugly[/url].

And the cat wasn't even the main focus of that other project's page on Kickstarter.

I don't even have a cat, but Eric's rendering of a cat caught my eye. I noticed it. I blogged about it. And here I am, using it as an example to another person who is doing a Kickstarter project.

So, cats certainly have appeal. Concepts associated with cats have appeal. Your project page, in its current form, is lacking appeal. The lack of appeal is what you need to fix.

You presence on your own project page is lacking. The cat with the roses isn't going to sell this project on the public at large, I don't think. Your page is visually bland.

You do need more pledge categories, as was suggested. But, if you don't address the blandness factor, it won't matter how many pledge categories that you create.

[Charles]

I looked for the Kicktraq link for your project. It is here.

In order for your project to succeed, it needs to acquire an average of $179 per day, every day, for each and every day remaining in your Kickstarter campaign cycle. Currently, Kicktraq statistics reveal no life of note for your project. You've got to change that.

The biggest problem that you have right now is not the lack of backers nor the lack of pledges. Rather, if you click on that Kicktraq link that I provided for you, Jessica, you can see a blue box that says SHARE. That number currently stands at 6.

So, nobody seems to be sharing your project, so your project is failing to get the word out.

But, if you bust your ass to get the word out, and your project page is boring and bland to look at, it will prove to be wasted effort. Every day that you wait to turn this thing around, the higher the number will grow, as far as how much in pledges that your project needs to obtain, in order to be successful at meeting the funding goal that you set for it.

Additionally, your page still doesn't explain why you need ten thousand dollars, nor what it will be spent on. This creates a transparency issue for your project. If people don't know where their money is going to go, then they will be less likely to trust you with it.

Where are these cat pageants going to be held?

[Manbird]

I think it would be great to have a film like this about actual felines that have one contests. Each one, indeed, has its own story, from when they were adopted to their experience through the competitions (are there any?) , AND the cat owners wouldn't mind having their animals featured in the film so access to filming them could be quite easy. Not to mention offering framed portraits of popular renowned contest winners as a reward tier. (Hey, just thinking outside the box!) . Done with professional photography or videography, you could really deliver a fine end product.

[Charles]

Nice, Damien.

Or, the cats could be entering their "humans" in the pageants, for a twist on the same concept.