Hacking kickstarter presentation for WeCo
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3 Hacking Kicstarter Adam Long Find me on LinkedIn 01.05.13 | weco.com.au Marketing Strategy // Step Change Marketing
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Hacking Kickstarter: Crowdfunding Your Project Adam Long, Marketing Strategist Discover the secret weapons that entrepreneurs use to raise millions of dollars through crowdfunding What’s the difference between a project that raises $5000 and a project that raises $10mil? Preparation, strategy and messaging. Simple, but not easy. It’s time to take crowdfunding to a professional level. This presentation is a practical session in building crowdfunding campaigns that rock, as we create a plan and content for a ready-to-go campaign. We cover: getting started, the logistics and preparation, crafting messages that resonate with people and tweaks that make the biggest difference to the success of a campaign. This presentation is for entrepreneurs with a project suitable for launching on Kickstarter. It can be your amazing new product, a fantastic service, a revolutionary aid project or something unexpected. If you are planning to launch your crowdfunding project in the next 6 months, this could be the presentation that makes the big difference. We’ll look beyond superficial “crowdfunding coaching” and start building your campaign. Adam Long is an experienced crowdfunding manager, entrepreneur and predatory marketer for Step Change Marketing. One of Australia’s top 30under30 entrepreneurs, he has sat on the Board of Engineers Without Borders and is a Director of Beehive, the sustainable design lab he founded in 2010. He takes a triple-bottom-line view of success, and his thinking has been sought out and implemented by the likes of AusIndustry, Red Cross, Sony Music and 3M.
Transcript of Hacking kickstarter presentation for WeCo
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Hacking Kicstarter
Adam Long
Find me on LinkedIn
01.05.13 | weco.com.au
Marketing Strategy // Step Change Marketing
AGENDA
• Getting started • Crafting your message • Video, project page and rewards • Engaging your audience • Media coverage • Traffic • Beyond the campaign
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ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE
• You know what crowdfunding is and the elements of it
• You’ve got a project you want to fund • You’ve seen some of the best and want
to know how they were so successful
AIM: A SOLID
CAMPAIGN PLAN
THIS IS A CAMPAIGN
(NOT A PROJECT)
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HOW I LEARNT
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Opena case Dumbo Feather Panda Pad
GETTING STARTED
‣ HACKING KICKSTARTER: CROWDFUNDING YOUR PROJECT
• Test the market • Raise funds to do something • Build your database • Build a community • Build proof for a capital raising round
6 WHY CROWDFUND?
Each require a different strategy – stay focused on
your real goal
“JUST GET ME ON KICKSTARTER ALREADY!” 7
• Simple, just create your project and get an Amazon Payments Account
WARNING: GET SPECIALIST
ADVICE
• Which means: • Create a US Tax Identity
(consider a US LLC Company) • Set up an EIN and TIN • Have a US Address and forward
mail and phone to you • Have a US Bank Account
http://www.robyward.com/2012/03/how-to-setup-a-kickstarter-project-if-youre-australian/!
• How we did it:
• Pool the cost • Borrow an account • Partner with an account
OR
WHICH PLATFORM SHOULD I USE? 8
+71 OTHERS!
If you have a database big enough (divide number in
database by average pledge)
Then,
It doesn’t matter!
If you have a specialty or niche interest
Then,
Find the specialist platform http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Comparison_of_crowd_funding_services!
9 STATS
http://www.kickstarter.com/help/stats!
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SOME BAD NEWS: MOST CAMPAIGNS HAVE
FAILED BEFORE THEY HAVE EVEN STARTED
Today
What To Say Making It Work
Campaign Plan
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WHAT TO SAY ‣ HACKING KICKSTARTER: CROWDFUNDING YOUR PROJECT
On the internet, information is a barrier to action
13 GET YOUR MESSAGE RIGHT
FEATURE Specific (Don’t put everything into the one) Measurable (Can you actually measure it?) Exact (Would it stand as proof in court?)
BENEFIT The utility you derive from that feature
IMPLICATION What’s now possible in your customer’s life?
CUSTOMER IMPORTANCE How important is it for your customer?
ADVANTAGE How does it compare to what’s already out there?
START BROAD
RANK BY VALUE FOR EACH AUDIENCE
STICK TO YOUR BEST, START WITH IMPLICATION THEN PROVE IT
MAKING IT WORK
‣ HACKING KICKSTARTER: CROWDFUNDING YOUR PROJECT
The tools of effective squeeze
pages
What have you already got? • Community • Journalist links • Database of fans • Organisation links • People who can create media • Graphic designers or videographers • A database of similar successful campaigns to look at?
15 ASSET AUDIT
16 SIDE NOTE: LEARN FROM SQUEEZE PAGES
Kickstarter is a platform for making
squeeze pages!
THE THUMBNAIL 17
THE THUMBNAIL 18
• Professional photo that explains what it is or taps in to
category values.
• Name + description explains what your project is and
why you’re doing it.
• Shows social proof from progress in funding.
Activity
• What should your image be?
• What should your text be? (Hint: use your key
messages)
THE VIDEO (YES, IT IS COMPULSORY) 19
Look at:!http://www.dollarshaveclub.com/!http://kck.st/Mfvs9y Ouya!http://kck.st/uu4Ty8 Elevation Dock!http://kck.st/TYUFHF LIFX!http://kck.st/LMr8ec Panda Pad!!!
THE VIDEO 20
• Hire a professional
• <2 min (information is a barrier to action)
• Inspire, build credibility then drive to pledges
• Answer “can you do it?” and “will you do it?”
• Show rewards
• Show the team
• Explain what crowdfunding is
Activity
• What should be in your video?
TIP A professional video looks that way because of lighting, colour grading, good quality sound, rhythmic editing and subtle camera movement.
THE REWARDS 21
Look at:!http://kck.st/JliwH9 Amanda Palmer!http://kck.st/xHMnCZ Ze Frank!http://kck.st/UUUCMf CST-01!!
THE REWARDS 22
• Keep it simple and few. Limit options (such as
colour, customisation – that comes later). Make
your life easier and don’t provide decision barriers
• Create rewards for their PR value or visual value.
• Show photos or cinegraphs in your customers
world
• Don’t be cheesey (eg. $10 for a thanks?)
• Hit major price points – $10, $25, $50, $99, $200,
$1000
• Release new rewards in batches to match
production cycles. Eg. Cap every reward and
change the delivery date for that reward
TIP For products, use a “compare at” device. $99 retail $79 for backers
Activity • List your 5 (no more)
reward ideas
23 WAYS TO TELL YOUR STORY WITH IMAGES
THE SQUEEZE PAGE 24
Look at:!https://lockitron.com/ Lockitron!http://kck.st/VduOf2 Lumio!http://fourhourchef.com/ 4 Hour Chef!http://kck.st/uu4Ty8 Elevation Dock!!
THE SQUEEZE PAGE 25
• Update often
• Drive to video first
• Provide trust marks and PR evidence
• Tell your top key messages
• Provide major headings to make the page easy to
scan
• Drive to pledges
• Introduce your dashboard/timeline of steps needed
• Use a real budget and show how it scales
CAMPAIGN PLAN
‣ HACKING KICKSTARTER: CROWDFUNDING YOUR PROJECT
MORE BAD NEWS…
OBSCURITY IS YOUR GREATEST RISK
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17,010
14,826
Average number of followers for Kickstarter projects that raise more than $1million:!
YOUR TWO GOALS 28
DATABASE Activate your existing networks at launch, aiming to get listed on “Staff Picks” or “Popular Projects”
BLOGS Get on the blogs that will drive traffic to your campaign
YOUR DATABASE 29
• Tease early.
• Crowdsource from your database. Ask for suggestions and either - do them,
explain why they can't be done, explain what else needs to happen for that to work.
• Give your database ownership by telling them what they've suggested and how
they have affected the outcome.
• Provide an offer for early bird backers and let your database know about it.
• Launch them into the campaign and ask that they pledge the day you open.
• Say thanks to anyone who pledges and ask for referrals.
MEDIA 30
Identify Candidate Journalists Search for articles with similar or complimentary angles. Look for
journalists that display passion for energy, power or the environment and has multiple pieces published.
Introduction Where possible, use your LinkedIn networks to gain an introduction to the journalist. Otherwise, seek their personal blog or Twitter contact
details to get in touch.
Develop Angles: x6 Headlines Identify the PR angles that are most suited to our three core audiences. Use a professional copywriter to develop these into complete articles.
MEDIA 31
Deliver pre-prepared content from copywriter Under the guise of making the journalists life easier, provide the pre-
prepared content written to our core messages.
3x Pitch w/exclusive
Pitch the three different ideas to the journalist to get them excited in the story. Offer to develop the angle of their choice into full content. Approach the highest value channels first and offer an exclusive.
MEDIA 32
The �Secret Weapon� for finding crowdfunding journalists The link shortener bit.ly has a little known feature whereby adding + to the end of a shortened link
will show a full list of referrers.
Bit.ly provides the shortened links for Kickstarter, so by adding a + to the end of their short link, you can find which media channels (down to the article) have been most critical for launching new
Kickstarter products. These journalists can be the most powerful in driving traffic to your campaign.
See the following pages for examples from complimentary Kickstarter projects.
MEDIA 33
SURVIVING THE REST (TIPS AND TRICKS) 34 Dashboard Reporting
Budget – Including your time or contractors/employees
Timeline – What stages need to happen? How are they progressing? Build
into an infographic
Delivery – Use a Dropbox spreadsheet or web page just to show if rewards
have been dispatched
THIS MATTERS The delivery matters - so that you survive a massively scaling project (kickstarters go up and up), so you have repeat backers.
Design Prototypes Manufacturing Early Bird Rewards
Second Batch …
Progress Designs have been finalized.
We discovered an issue with the electronics – See Update #6
Will start 4 weeks late because of the issues with electronics.
Original Estimate 12 weeks
4 weeks
12 weeks
December 2013 January 2014
Today’s Estimate Actual – 8 weeks
8 weeks
12 weeks
January 2014
March 2014
SURVIVING THE REST (TIPS AND TRICKS) 35 Your page is not editable after the time period ends, so at the last minute put
up a holding image that directs to your website.
SURVIVING THE REST (TIPS AND TRICKS) 36 Delivery
• Start your Australia Post account early - it takes about 3 months
• Don't collect addresses til you are ready to ship. They change, they cause
headaches.
• Expect parts to arrive broken or not to arrive at all. You need to budget for
this as well as the time to fix it.
BEYOND THE CAMPAIGN 37
Beyond the campaign: building crowdfunding into a business launch
Delivering rewards - Ask for comments, facebook likes etc. Let others know it
has been delivered.
Encourage sharing and telling stories by tapping into the self expressive parts
- what does backing this say about me? Eg. competition - what have you used
this product for?
TIMELINE 38
- 3 months out – Messaging, budgeting, preparation
- 2 months out – start teasing and activating your existing database
- 1 month out – line up journalists and PR exclusives. Invite existing
database to launch
- Campaign – 30 days
- Follow Up – commit to follow ups and stick to that schedule
DISCUSSION TIME
39 ‣ HACKING KICKSTARTER
‣ Adam Long Marketing Strategy, Step Change Marketing
‣ [email protected] ‣ 0421498170
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don’t forget my detailsget in touch soon!
Made with love in SydneyAdam Long
Find me on LinkedIn
Marketing Strategy // Step Change Marketing
01.05.13 | weco.com.au
