Preparatory work to help you conquer Kickstar [a few forgotten common truths]
You came up with a cool idea, recorded an amazing promotional video, spent several months preparing, made a page a week, launched a campaign awaiting dizzying success and ...
nothing has happened…
')
In this post I will try to share with you some well-known (and not so) moments that are often neglected by domestic developers, although they can have a significant impact on the fate of your project.
You probably know that to withdraw a project to Kickstarter you must be a US resident (however, there are a number of other countries, but the US is still preferable). There are 2 ways to get around this limitation: open a legal entity in the States or use the services of an intermediary. If you plan to attract significant investments (more than 100 thousand dollars), the intermediary is not for you. It makes sense to enlist the support of an American accountant and open a legal entity. Taxes will have to pay in any case, but there are many options to reduce them. Fiz. a person is not suitable for two reasons: high taxes and, in the event that something goes wrong, the person will be fully accountable to backers. As for intermediaries, in addition to ~ 9% (Kickstarter + Amazon), they will take another 10, plus a certain amount for working with the project ($ 500-2000).
By the way, Kickstarter can be used not only as a means of raising funds, but also as an excellent marketing weapon for launching a product into new markets. For example, projects of one client collected significant sums twice (> $ 250,000), but were canceled at the last moment. Firstly, there is no headache problem with taxes, deliveries and deadlines, and secondly, the project passes the test of battle, gets a certain share of media attention, gathers a certain audience around itself and gives a certain idea of ​​the potential demand in new markets. And yes, Kickstarter, among other things, can act as a low-cost and effective tool when scaling a company. But I seem to have moved away somewhat from the topic.
In general, the success of your campaign consists of 2 factors: attracting an interested and convertible audience, and a well-prepared Kickstarter page.
With well-prepared pages, things are more or less well, but still let me point out a few things.
It is difficult to give alternative advice that will suit everyone, so carefully study the projects of their competitors. You must have at least some unusual awards. Take care of people who are willing to pay 50-300% higher than the rest of Becker, for a unique opportunity to take part in the design of a particular character, the choice of suitable sounds and other trifles that will give a person a sense of involvement in the project. For example, from the last: there was a couple of people who wished to say hello to mom / dad / girlfriend / humanity on a billboard, which was the “usual background thing” of one intricate game, paying an additional 750 bucks for it. Trifle, but nice.
It is very likely that you should include Reward in the “Give Back” list. This is not our invention, but it does work. Becker may not be interested in your product, but he will be happy to lay out a couple of dozen (hundreds?) Bucks if he knows that thanks to him some orphan from an orphanage, or a poor family from a neighboring village, or a small local school received this cool useful thing. In addition, this option can serve as a good lead for journalists and bloggers who are much more likely to agree to highlight your project in the media (but more on that later), knowing that with their post they also help a certain circle of people. Win-win-win situation.
As in any business, special attention should be paid to pricing. Look for similar campaigns, think carefully about the numbers. After launching 4 successful projects, which brought together more than 350 thousand dollars, I personally came to the conclusion that 1 dollar reward is evil. Much more money will bring the initial five-dollar option, if your project is really worth something. There were several successful examples when projects collected more than 10 thousand for 1 dollar, but this is not your case with us (if you just do not have many thousands of army of fans on Facebook, and a couple of well-known top bloggers).
Many projects fall short of the line due to excessive crushing of awards: 1-3-5-7-10-15-20-30-50-100 dollars. In this case, the potential backer can trite "do not screw up" to really attractive and profitable (for you) proposals. 5-20-50-70-100 bucks in this case look more preferable (again, everything depends on your project, but do not be afraid of higher options, and mercilessly remove excess small values. You need more money, don't you ?) Of course, the magnitude of the rate should be reasonable, so I urge you to carefully move your brains to create really juicy and attractive offers.
No matter how unique your idea is, there are always a few (tens?) Of similar projects. Examine them well.
Many do not know that if you add a plus to the short Bitlitov link to the kick-project, you can get quite detailed information about the clicks. For example, If you click on the short link of the Passion Planner project (after adding a plus), which miraculously gained $ 480,652 with the declared 10,000, you will see sufficiently detailed information about the transitions, including time intervals (for which, using Google, You can try to track the most important publications), geography and sources of clicks (the latter is usually not so important, because Facebook comes first, then Twitter, then many small sites) http://kck.st/1un3QW2+ . By the way, this project, which offers a free pdf version for users who helped spread information over the network, is a great example of how you can get the most out of every visitor to your page.
Carefully google sites and blogs that have published any information about similar projects. https://images.google.com can help you speed up the process. Searching for images of competing projects is a good life hack, which allows you to save time and find information about additional potential communication channels. Build a database containing information about blogs, authors, their contacts. Find really relevant resources. SimilarSites.com will help you find similar sites.
By the way, about your database with contacts of journalists. I hope that you understand that bombarding letters directly to the media is practically useless. You need to collect the contact information of the authors . In addition to emails, I highly recommend that you subscribe to twitter, blog, facebook “victim”.
There is one fairly effective and obvious strategy that often works, but is rarely used:
Instead of throwing journalists about your projects to journalists, become their fans. These are the same guys as you and I, who differ only in the fact that they were particularly bothered by impudent startups who regularly litter mail with all sorts of nonsense. Stand out! Just try to treat them humanly. First of all, subscribe to their Twitter, Facebook, blog. Regularly monitor the release of new posts and leave the first relevant comments. Hurry up first to thank the author for such a useful article. Twitter is awesome stuff. Retweet their messages (they notice this, believe me), mention them in questions, try to start a discussion. It is desirable that your name on Twitter, Facebook, blog comments match the name of your mail. In the same Twitter you can leave a personal message that you are going to send him a letter: " could I drop you a quick line on an exclusive story? ". It works. Especially when you fry in his information space. It takes a lot of time, sometimes annoying, but it works. And the trick is that having obtained such contacts, you can always give the blogger useful information for you (and for him?) In the future. These are good contacts. Thanks to this approach, we regularly received publications in TechCrunch, Mashable, TheNextWeb. And then they spread like a snowball. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you do not make a mass mailing to the base of journalists, but use a more personalized approach. The exhaust is much higher.
Many people write about writing a press kit: forget about it. A folder with good, juicy pictures on the dropbox and 5-7 bullet points about your project (here you should also mention the social component and Give Back Reward) - that’s all a blogger needs. Well, share a link to a ready-made, but not yet launched page on Quique. There he will be able to find further information for the post, plus will give a certain sense of uniqueness.
In conclusion, I note that any campaign on Kickstarter is a daily, almost round-the-clock work, for at least 2 months . That’s why you shouldn’t set a campaign longer than 30 days. And exhale yourself, and the interest will fade away. As a rule, there is only one powerful flash of interest, then money drips a little bit throughout the rest of the campaign. In general, success largely depends on the start. Playfully started - attracted more attention. Well, do not forget to actively communicate with the Becker, so that they help you in the promotion. I gave a good example above: a girl offers a free pdf version for repost in social networks. And Facebook, as a rule, bring about 30 percent of all money. This must be taken into account.
For today, perhaps all. Perhaps there are not enough specific examples, but I can not use them because of the NDA. At the same time, I tried to convey quite obvious things that for some reason very rarely pay attention. I will definitely think about more practical advice that helped us in the past, and maybe I will write another post.
nothing has happened…
')
In this post I will try to share with you some well-known (and not so) moments that are often neglected by domestic developers, although they can have a significant impact on the fate of your project.
A few words about taxes
You probably know that to withdraw a project to Kickstarter you must be a US resident (however, there are a number of other countries, but the US is still preferable). There are 2 ways to get around this limitation: open a legal entity in the States or use the services of an intermediary. If you plan to attract significant investments (more than 100 thousand dollars), the intermediary is not for you. It makes sense to enlist the support of an American accountant and open a legal entity. Taxes will have to pay in any case, but there are many options to reduce them. Fiz. a person is not suitable for two reasons: high taxes and, in the event that something goes wrong, the person will be fully accountable to backers. As for intermediaries, in addition to ~ 9% (Kickstarter + Amazon), they will take another 10, plus a certain amount for working with the project ($ 500-2000).
By the way, Kickstarter can be used not only as a means of raising funds, but also as an excellent marketing weapon for launching a product into new markets. For example, projects of one client collected significant sums twice (> $ 250,000), but were canceled at the last moment. Firstly, there is no headache problem with taxes, deliveries and deadlines, and secondly, the project passes the test of battle, gets a certain share of media attention, gathers a certain audience around itself and gives a certain idea of ​​the potential demand in new markets. And yes, Kickstarter, among other things, can act as a low-cost and effective tool when scaling a company. But I seem to have moved away somewhat from the topic.
Closer to the point
In general, the success of your campaign consists of 2 factors: attracting an interested and convertible audience, and a well-prepared Kickstarter page.
With well-prepared pages, things are more or less well, but still let me point out a few things.
- In addition to creating a good promotional video and page layout, take care of a competent structure of awards.
It is difficult to give alternative advice that will suit everyone, so carefully study the projects of their competitors. You must have at least some unusual awards. Take care of people who are willing to pay 50-300% higher than the rest of Becker, for a unique opportunity to take part in the design of a particular character, the choice of suitable sounds and other trifles that will give a person a sense of involvement in the project. For example, from the last: there was a couple of people who wished to say hello to mom / dad / girlfriend / humanity on a billboard, which was the “usual background thing” of one intricate game, paying an additional 750 bucks for it. Trifle, but nice.
It is very likely that you should include Reward in the “Give Back” list. This is not our invention, but it does work. Becker may not be interested in your product, but he will be happy to lay out a couple of dozen (hundreds?) Bucks if he knows that thanks to him some orphan from an orphanage, or a poor family from a neighboring village, or a small local school received this cool useful thing. In addition, this option can serve as a good lead for journalists and bloggers who are much more likely to agree to highlight your project in the media (but more on that later), knowing that with their post they also help a certain circle of people. Win-win-win situation.
As in any business, special attention should be paid to pricing. Look for similar campaigns, think carefully about the numbers. After launching 4 successful projects, which brought together more than 350 thousand dollars, I personally came to the conclusion that 1 dollar reward is evil. Much more money will bring the initial five-dollar option, if your project is really worth something. There were several successful examples when projects collected more than 10 thousand for 1 dollar, but this is not your case with us (if you just do not have many thousands of army of fans on Facebook, and a couple of well-known top bloggers).
Many projects fall short of the line due to excessive crushing of awards: 1-3-5-7-10-15-20-30-50-100 dollars. In this case, the potential backer can trite "do not screw up" to really attractive and profitable (for you) proposals. 5-20-50-70-100 bucks in this case look more preferable (again, everything depends on your project, but do not be afraid of higher options, and mercilessly remove excess small values. You need more money, don't you ?) Of course, the magnitude of the rate should be reasonable, so I urge you to carefully move your brains to create really juicy and attractive offers.
Analysis of similar projects
No matter how unique your idea is, there are always a few (tens?) Of similar projects. Examine them well.
Many do not know that if you add a plus to the short Bitlitov link to the kick-project, you can get quite detailed information about the clicks. For example, If you click on the short link of the Passion Planner project (after adding a plus), which miraculously gained $ 480,652 with the declared 10,000, you will see sufficiently detailed information about the transitions, including time intervals (for which, using Google, You can try to track the most important publications), geography and sources of clicks (the latter is usually not so important, because Facebook comes first, then Twitter, then many small sites) http://kck.st/1un3QW2+ . By the way, this project, which offers a free pdf version for users who helped spread information over the network, is a great example of how you can get the most out of every visitor to your page.
Carefully google sites and blogs that have published any information about similar projects. https://images.google.com can help you speed up the process. Searching for images of competing projects is a good life hack, which allows you to save time and find information about additional potential communication channels. Build a database containing information about blogs, authors, their contacts. Find really relevant resources. SimilarSites.com will help you find similar sites.
Work with the press
- Even if you already have an excellent base of journalists and bloggers, do not rush to throw their own pitches .
First, install some tracking mail supplement. I used Streak , which allows you to understand whether your letter was open and forgotten, or if the journalist did not even notice it in a continuous stream of messages. This will make it easier for you to decide what to do next: whether to duplicate the letter, send a reminder, wait for an answer, or just score. - If you know English at a sufficient level, or know a person who knows him, take a profile on reddit e. As practice shows, it can be an excellent resource for attracting Becker, but for this you need to make a certain contribution. You have to agree that few people will have the desire to seriously look at a person with zero posts in a profile that offers to get acquainted with his amazing and inimitable project. Prepare a dozen or two other interesting posts not related to your project in advance, periodically fill them with relevant subreddits and take part in discussions. Before the start of the campaign - try to come up with a few viral posts that you and fill in the beginning / during your campaign. A boosted account and good posts brought 10-30 percent to our campaigns. By the way, being in Editor's choice on Kick contributed on average about 20 percent of the total.
By the way, about your database with contacts of journalists. I hope that you understand that bombarding letters directly to the media is practically useless. You need to collect the contact information of the authors . In addition to emails, I highly recommend that you subscribe to twitter, blog, facebook “victim”.
There is one fairly effective and obvious strategy that often works, but is rarely used:
Instead of throwing journalists about your projects to journalists, become their fans. These are the same guys as you and I, who differ only in the fact that they were particularly bothered by impudent startups who regularly litter mail with all sorts of nonsense. Stand out! Just try to treat them humanly. First of all, subscribe to their Twitter, Facebook, blog. Regularly monitor the release of new posts and leave the first relevant comments. Hurry up first to thank the author for such a useful article. Twitter is awesome stuff. Retweet their messages (they notice this, believe me), mention them in questions, try to start a discussion. It is desirable that your name on Twitter, Facebook, blog comments match the name of your mail. In the same Twitter you can leave a personal message that you are going to send him a letter: " could I drop you a quick line on an exclusive story? ". It works. Especially when you fry in his information space. It takes a lot of time, sometimes annoying, but it works. And the trick is that having obtained such contacts, you can always give the blogger useful information for you (and for him?) In the future. These are good contacts. Thanks to this approach, we regularly received publications in TechCrunch, Mashable, TheNextWeb. And then they spread like a snowball. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you do not make a mass mailing to the base of journalists, but use a more personalized approach. The exhaust is much higher.
Many people write about writing a press kit: forget about it. A folder with good, juicy pictures on the dropbox and 5-7 bullet points about your project (here you should also mention the social component and Give Back Reward) - that’s all a blogger needs. Well, share a link to a ready-made, but not yet launched page on Quique. There he will be able to find further information for the post, plus will give a certain sense of uniqueness.
In conclusion, I note that any campaign on Kickstarter is a daily, almost round-the-clock work, for at least 2 months . That’s why you shouldn’t set a campaign longer than 30 days. And exhale yourself, and the interest will fade away. As a rule, there is only one powerful flash of interest, then money drips a little bit throughout the rest of the campaign. In general, success largely depends on the start. Playfully started - attracted more attention. Well, do not forget to actively communicate with the Becker, so that they help you in the promotion. I gave a good example above: a girl offers a free pdf version for repost in social networks. And Facebook, as a rule, bring about 30 percent of all money. This must be taken into account.
For today, perhaps all. Perhaps there are not enough specific examples, but I can not use them because of the NDA. At the same time, I tried to convey quite obvious things that for some reason very rarely pay attention. I will definitely think about more practical advice that helped us in the past, and maybe I will write another post.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/243811/
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