Crowdfunding PR and why it is important for campaigns.
Crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo have collectively raised over a billion dollars for project creators. Every year, millions of crowdfunding campaign projects are launched. So what does this mean for founders? More competition for attention and more noise than ever to try to break through.
Founders, artists, and entrepreneurs are increasingly using crowdfunding as a way to raise capital and the industry is expected to outgrow traditional angel and VC models of raising money for startups and ventures in the very near future.
Every day there are several hundred new tech-enabled products, movies, clothing lines, or design projects going live. You’ve spent the last year or more working on your project, prototyping your idea and bringing your product to life. It’s time to launch, how do you break through?
“Brave entrepreneur / startup creates a new product against all odds with innovative technology to conquer the world…”
His story is probably a similar one worth telling and worth doing well. It’s important to pin down the true story of what you’re selling, what you’ve created, and why it’s important and needs to exist in the world. Think of your favorite brands and companies in the world, there is something special about each of them that builds brand loyalty and sets them apart from their competitors.
There are 5 real and proven ways to promote a crowdfunding project, win backers and become a success story:
- Friends / Family / Personal Contacts
- Building a mailing list before launch
- social media advertising
- Public Relations / Crowdfunding Public Relations Campaign
- Organic Traffic from the Crowdfunding Platform
The first three should be strategies that usually work before the campaign. Once a campaign launches, you can expect to become a trending project on Kickstarter or Indiegogo to rank higher on your page and get organic traffic that way.
You can also pump money into Facebook advertising and hope to drive traffic that way. However, advertising on Facebook is not always the most profitable way to market your project. One, cost per click (CPC) can often be expensive and we often hear of campaigns that don’t get a solid ROI on social media advertising.
That leaves a crowdfunding PR campaign as your best chance to get the word out about your project.
Every successful crowdfunding campaign has a few things in common. But the primary feature that all of these have is media exposure. Getting picked up by the media and blogs is the real secret to success on platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Major news outlets are always looking to share the latest projects and there are dedicated communities just dying to hear about your project, whether it be a 3D printer, drone or EDC (everyday use) product.
The great thing about using a crowdfunding PR strategy (including Kickstarter and Indiegogo PR) is that this turns out to be the most cost-effective way to spread the word and cast a large net about your project. A single feature in a major selling point can drive significant traffic and engagement to your campaign page. From a promotional standpoint, you won’t get better value anywhere.
Do you see the major campaigns with all the major media logos posted on their campaign page? A crowdfunding media strategy can provide great legitimacy to your project and show the rest of the world that this is a project they don’t want to miss out on.