By Carmine Mastropierro
Crowdfunding with Kickstarter is a quick way to generate capital for a business and make your idea come to life. In fact, Kickstarter campaigns have a 37% success rate for becoming fully funded, and nearly $4.7 billion has been pledged in 2019.
However, it’s much easier said than done.
As nice as it would be to launch a campaign and see the money rolling in, you need to have proper strategies in place if you want to see serious results. Here are five examples of wildly successful Kickstarter campaigns, and takeaways on how you can replicate their success.
1. TGT wallet
With an original goal of $20,000 and a final amount of $317,424, the TGT wallet Kickstarter campaign reached over 15 times its goal.
The wallet itself is made out of high-quality elastic and Italian leather. However, what makes it different is the fact it easily fits in your pocket, can quickly be found in a bag, and doesn’t get in the way like traditional bulky wallets.
What made the campaign such a raging success?
First, the crowdfunding campaign had a minimum donation amount of $16. This isn’t a huge amount to dedicate towards getting a great quality product, encouraging more people to fund the campaign versus a higher amount. However, it did offer continually increasing rewards for those that donated more. These rewards included an extra wallet, full product collections, gold membership status, and more.
Main takeaways:
- Set a low minimum donation amount to get more people to support your campaign.
- Offer rewards for users who donate increased amounts of money.
2. Font Awesome 5
Anyone in web design or development has heard of Font Awesome, a vector and graphic framework. The Kickstarter campaign for Font Awesome 5 managed to raise over $1.7 million with 36,550 supporters.
The campaign’s page is filled with neat infographics that explain Font Awesome 5’s features, benefits, and rewards. It also includes a fun video explaining what Font Awesome is through the use of humorous characters and scenes. Pledging gave users access to discounted rates for Font Awesome services, branded t-shirts, mugs, and other goodies.
Main takeaways:
- Incorporate entertaining videos into your Kickstarter campaign page to increase engagement.
- Use infographics to quickly and clearly display information.
3. Vector, the home robot
Vector is the sci-fi geek’s dream come to life. He’s a tiny smart robot that roams around by himself, serving you when needed, and similar to Alexa and Sira, will provide answers to your questions. He also has built-in timers and the ability to take photos. Unlike Amazon’s Alexa, however, Vector was designed to have a personality and character.
Vector’s Kickstarter campaign was able to raise $1.8 million thanks to 8,293 supporters. The campaign’s page features no shortage of information about the product, too. It answers every single possible question you could have about the robot including the technology inside of it.
Main takeaways:
- Provide as much detail as possible as the product. Predict any questions or objections supporters may have, and solve them via thorough product descriptions.
- Record a video showing the product being used in real time so customers understand how it works.
4. AlpinerX smartwatch
The AlpinerX is a smart watch made by the Alpina brand that has produced Swiss watches since 1883. However, in 2018, the company wanted to do something a little different. Alpina launched a crowdfunding campaign for a smartwatch that has a regular design, giving users all the function and power of high-end tech with an everyday appearance. Better yet, they let supporters design and choose the specs.
Alpina took all of the feedback they received from backers and the watch community to influence the look and features of the AlpinerX. They even directly compared the watch to big competitors, showing off unique abilities that weren’t available in other models.
Main takeaways:
- Display a unique value proposition that explains why your product is different compared to everything else on the market.
- Integrate community feedback into the product to make customers opinions matter.
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5. Atom, the world’s smallest 4G smartphone
This smartphone was created with the outdoors in mind, so Unihertz added dustproof, waterproof, and shockproof features. And while the phone might be small, Atom’s Kickstarter campaign was massive, bringing in $1.2 million thanks to 5,310 supporters.
One of the factors that contributed to Atom’s success was a listing of media outlets where the product had been featured. This acted as social proof, increasing trust among users and making them more likely to contribute. The Kickstarter campaign also included a loyalty program, which gave supporters an extra free product for backing the campaign.
Main takeaways:
- Use reviews, testimonials, and media placements to act as social proof for your campaign.
- Create a loyalty program that offers extra incentives for those that pledge a certain amount or fill specific criteria.
Other tips for Kickstarter success
Sure, users will find your campaign via the Kickstarter campaign naturally and especially if it goes viral. However, promoting it will ensure it gets seen by a maximum number of people, which means a higher potential of backers.
- Promote your Kickstarter on social media. Facebook and Twitter are great places to begin since they are all about conversations and community. Furthermore, don’t forget to take advantage of groups. You could be placing your crowdfunding campaign in front of a huge audience for free
- Create an email newsletter. Next, send out an email newsletter explaining your Kickstarter and the benefits of backing it. As a matter of fact, 40% of marketers agree email is crucial for success at content marketing, making it a priceless tool.
- Don’t underestimate word of mouth. Heck, it’s how things go viral in the first place! If your campaign is revolutionary or life changing, people will naturally want to share it with others. You should tell as many individuals as possible about your crowdfunding campaign.
After the campaign
You’ve raised all of the money for your idea and more. Now what? Don’t be one of the entrepreneurs who has a raging success at crowdfunding and then lets it slip through their fingers due to lack of planning. In fact, 63.5% of all Kickstarter campaigns aren’t successful.
You need a detailed plan of action for exactly what you are going to do once your crowdfunding goals are reached. It should include ideas for marketing, advertising, creating new products, and how you will retain the customer relationships you’ve developed thus far.
Perhaps the next step is launching your own website, creating an email list of subscribers, and holding your first live event. Continually planning ahead like this will ensure the success of your new business idea.
There’s no such thing as an overnight success
As nice as it would be to launch a campaign and see it flooded with instant supporters, it just isn’t going to happen—and that’s okay. You need to be patient with your Kickstarter because it will take time to generate donations and a buzz around your idea.
Seeing as Kickstarters can last anywhere from one to 60 days, you have plenty of time to start promoting and getting the word out there, too. Take the time every day to promote the campaign via social media, email, outreach, and other strategies. This will create a compound effect that will ultimately help you hit your funding goal.
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