If you are running a Kickstarter campaign, it is very important that you market your idea to get as many backers as possible. However, even before you start your project, you should plan your strategy. It all starts with marketing, and in this post we will unveil the strategies that top creators rely on to raise more funds for their campaigns.
Make sure your idea fits on Kickstarter.
Before you get started, it’s key to make sure your project is a good fit for Kickstarter or any crowdfunding in general. You can do some research beforehand to see if others in your niche have had success on any of the big crowdfunding sites. While Kickstarter defines itself as a place for creatives to come together and create great things, the biggest campaigns tend to fall into the gaming, design and technology categories, so it’s something to keep in mind.
How to reach potential sponsors?
As the project creator, you can classify your target into two groups. First of all, people who already know your project and are committed. Secondly, the people you have not yet reached and know nothing about your brand. In developing the strategy, the approach will be different for each of these groups in a way that corresponds to their needs.
If you are making a crowdfunding marketing budget and wondering where to invest first, we recommend you start with the first group, the audience you already have. When you market with Kickstarter, it’s much easier to get people who already know you to visit your page.
On the other hand, many people go to the platform with the goal of being part of something great from the start and getting something in return. It is very useful to offer attractive rewards to sponsors as a thank you for their support, but we strongly recommend keeping it simple and product-focused.
Increase interaction with your community
To mobilize your community and make sure they are getting the right messages at the right time, it is important to design a mailing strategy for your Kickstarter campaign. In terms of timing, we recommend that you send emails at these key moments: one week before launching the project, the day of the launch, a few days later and just before the end of the entire campaign.
Find new sponsors through social networks and paid marketing
It is possible to reach new sponsors through organic tools, such as social networks and email. Posting content regularly and participating in relevant community conversations is a great way to build a loyal audience. Even so, it is very important to select the most appropriate platform for the audience you are looking for, you can even make a Buyer Persona to know your target better.
While organic marketing is an important and effective part, investing budget in outreach can give you a big and quick boost. Paid marketing covers a wide range of possibilities, which vary in effectiveness depending on the target audience. Here are some of them.
- Brand marketing: the objective of this action is to create brand awareness and create a compelling story for consumers to remember you. While useful, it is not the one we recommend most for Kickstarter as the effectiveness is limited.
- Public relations marketing and
influencers
The key is to identify influencers or opinion leaders who produce content adjacent to your project’s category and align with your brand values. This strategy helps enormously to spread the word about your campaign and create a good reputation. - Facebook Ads: by basing your ads on the interests and demographics of your audience, you can effectively reach people potentially interested in your project. This tool also allows you to measure results reasonably well and includes all Facebook platforms.
- Behavioral targeting: this strategy is the most precise and is achieved through performance marketing. Instead of simply targeting people who are similar to the type of sponsors you hope to attract, target people who have taken actions or engaged in behaviors that make them good prospects. With behavioral targeting, you can connect with real people who have supported a project like yours and recommend your project to them through ads. This data makes your marketing investment go further, which is why this is the most popular Kickstarter marketing strategy among top creators.
Measure the success of your campaign
The last step is to measure the results of your campaign. To make sure you get the best return on your advertising investment, you’ll need to track ad performance. A recurring mistake creators make is that they need to optimize efficiency if they want to have a successful campaign on Kickstarter. While it is important to keep this factor in mind, chasing those returns need not be your primary focus, as it is only meaningful if it can be scaled.
