Crowdfunding PR and Why it Matters for Campaigns.
Crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo have collectively raised over $1 billion dollar for project makers. Each year hundreds of thousands of crowdfunding campaign projects go live. So what does this mean for founders? Increased competition for attention and more noise than ever to try and break through.
Founders, artists, and entrepreneurs are increasingly using crowdfunding as a way to raise capital and the industry is expected to surpass traditional angel and VC models of raising money for startups and companies in the very near future.
Every day there's several hundred new tech enabled product, film, clothing line, or design project going live. You've spent the past year or longer working on your project, prototyping your idea, and bringing your product to life. The moment of launch has arrived, how do you break through?
“Valiant entrepreneur / startup creates brand new product against all odds with innovative tech set to take on the world… “
Your story is probably a similar one worth telling and it's worth doing right. It is important to nail down the true story of what it is your selling, what you've created, and why it matters and needs to exist in the world. Think about your favorite brands and companies in the world, there's something special about each of them that creates brand loyalty and separates them from their competitors.
There are 5 true and proven ways to promote a crowdfunding project, gain backers, and become a success story:
- Friends / Family / Personal Contacts
- Building up a Mailing List in Advance of Launch
- Social Media Advertising
- Public Relations / Crowdfunding PR Campaign
- Organic Traffic from the Crowdfunding Platform
The fist three should are strategies that usually work in advance of the campaign. Once a campaign launches you can hope to become a trending project on Kickstarter or Indiegogo to rank higher on their page and score organic traffic that way.
You can also pump money in to Facebook Advertising and hope to drive traffic that way. However Facebook Advertising isn't always the most cost effective way to market your project. One the Cost Per Click (CPC) can often get expensive and many times we hear of campaigns who aren't seeing a solid return of investment on social media advertising.
That leaves a Crowdfunding PR Campaign as your greatest chance to get the word out your project.
Every successful crowdfunding campaign has a few things in common. But the overriding feature that all of these have is media exposure. Getting picked up by media and blogs is the true secret to success on platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Major media outlets are always looking to share the latest projects and there are dedicated communities out there that are dying to hear about your project whether it's a 3D Printer, a Drone, or an EDC (Everyday Carry) product.
The great thing about utilizing a crowdfunding PR (including Kickstarter PR and Indiegogo PR) strategy is that this works out to be the most cost effective way to spread the word and cast a large net about your project. A single feature on a major outlet can drive serious traffic and pledges to your campaign page. From a promotional standpoint you won't get better value anywhere.
Notice the major campaigns with all the major media logos posted on their campaign page? A crowdfunding media strategy can provide serious legitimacy to your project and show the rest of the world that this is one project they don't want to miss.
