THE Q & A SERIES - HOW TO LAUNCH A KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN
Hi Emily,
I hope this email finds you well?
I'm a quilter/seamstress/designer/teacher and I'm about to launch a Kickstarter campaign for a project I'm very excited about.
I'm wondering if you have any tips you would be willing to share from your successful campaign? I've got a few people in my circle of friends/contacts I'm going to be asking and I hope it's OK that I asked you.
Thank you so much; I look forward to hearing from you,
- L
Hi L,
Thank you for reaching out. How exciting that you are about to launch your own Kickstarter campaign! Although it was a tough slog, I would definitely recommend it and say it was by far one of the best things I've done for my business so far.
It was a great opportunity to connect with my community and meet other makers. It also really validated what I'm doing and gave me the push I needed to get my patterns out into the world. I hope this information doesn't overwhelm you (I'd suggest making yourself a cup of tea, as it's going to be a long one!) - it's just all the things I would have liked to have known before going into it.
understanding the playing field
I started my campaign by researching the Kickstarter platform a lot and finding campaigns that looked great and had been successful. This gave me a good idea of what I needed my campaign to look like and what information to include.
My approach is to always look at the best work (even if it took a whole team to produce it) and model my work against that. My theory is that although I will never be able to make work as polished (I am a one person show), it gets me a lot closer than if I was modelling my work up against projects that weren't as strong. Like the saying goes “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”
I found the Kickstarter creator handbook really helpful. I printed all the information out and worked through it - taking notes as I went. This became the scaffold of my whole campaign.
PLANNING REWARDS
In terms of rewards, I know it's tempting to offer heaps of different things, but I'd say hold back. I thought I'd given just enough options, but then found it difficult to fulfil one of the rewards (a slow sewing planning template) as it took longer than I had anticipated. It would have been easier (and reduced stress) if I had just offered the patterns and tote bags.
I also think it's a good idea to put an option down that is just a donation with no reward. For my campaign I did a $50 reward that was 'nothing but a whole lot of love' and a number of people picked this option as it's good for people who want to support you, but don't sew or need your product.
Also, make sure you've got a broad range of price options. I had rewards from $1 to $150, and probably could have even had an even higher value reward. It was clear that some people who were really excited about it were just scrolling down to the highest reward and picking that one.
THE VIDEO
I am not sure if you are planning on making a video, but if you can, I'd say it's definitely worth it. I found the video the most stressful part of it all (I'm quite camera shy), but it really did bring it all together, and it's the easiest way to succinctly say what your project is about.
Just like I said in the first point, I watched a lot of videos to see what I liked / didn't like and modelled mine on that. I was also lucky enough to have a trusted friend create the video for me, so I knew he would be able to create a video that was able to tell the story of me and my brand.
I prepared by writing a script that succinctly summed up what my project was about and had my friend ask questions / prompt me during filming.
PHOTOS
If you can, I'd suggest getting some professional photos taken of your product / what you are creating. I had taken some on my phone and at the last minute, decided to get a photographer in and it was a game changer. I also got her to take portraits of me for the campaign and it was good having fresh photos to use on the campaign as well as on social media. These images really brought it all together and gave my campaign a very cohesive and on-brand look. You are really selling yourself as well as the product when you're crowdfunding, so make sure you show people who you are. Also a great excuse to get some photos of your beautiful work!
DESIGN COLLATERAL
The other thing that I also found made a difference to the look of the campaign was to get a graphic designer to design all my collateral. She is the designer I worked with for my branding, pattern envelopes etc. and then she just rolled it out onto illustrations of the rewards, as well as templates for me to use on social media when I hit certain targets (for example, 'We're halfway there').
REWARD FULFILLMENT
In terms of fulfilling rewards, I had said I would get all my rewards out to people in April and found that a huge struggle. I got all my Australian ones out in time, but the international rewards were a month late. No one seemed worried about it, but I did find it stressful. If I were to do it again, I'd definitely give myself a bit of extra time. I was expecting a certain number of people to pledge and then there were a lot more in the end (which was great), but it did mean it was a lot more work to pack and send the rewards than I had thought.
As for postage, make sure you have a really good idea of how much things are going to cost to send out. I thought I'd estimated well, but quite a surprise when I got to the post office (this especially applies to shipping things internationally)!
FINAL TIPS
When it comes to launching your campaign, keep in mind it needs to be approved. I was on a bit of a deadline and hadn't taken this into consideration. It didn't take long, but I think it could take up to a couple of days - so worth keeping in mind.
To promote the Kickstarter I started by emailing all my friends and family, before I let people on my business social media / email list know. I thought it looked good if a few people had already pledged before I spread the word further.
Also, I'd suggest being as organised as you can. You want to enjoy the campaign period, so be ready to respond to questions and have posts prepared for sharing on social media etc.
Best of luck with your campaign!
Happy sewing,
Emily
P.S. Would you like to know what the Q & A series is all about? This page tells you a little bit more about the motive behind the series.
Don't have a question, but found this newsletter helpful? I'd love to hear from you! Get in touch and say hi.
