👋, I’m Kimberly. I’ve been creating obsession-worthy brands for the past fifteen years. And now, I’m giving away my secrets every week in this newsletter.
One of my regular Brands That Get You readers wrote to me and said that she was working on her first crowdfunding campaign.
And, it just so happens that I personally know the Kings of Kickstarter—twins Karl & Hans Reichstetter.
So this week, I got their best advice to share with her (and all of you).
Karl and his twin brother Hans enjoy launching new products and screwing up corporate idioms: “nobody wants to see how the cow ate the cabbage.”
Their process is straight-forward—identify a shortcoming in their lives and see if they can design something that addresses it.
Since 2012, they’ve launched 7 successful Kickstarter campaigns, with plans for more.
One of their greatest hits is Freezy Freakies, the radical winter gloves from the 80’s where designs appear out of thin air when the glove gets cold.
They’ve also found huge success with Rumble Jar, the next-generation cold brew coffee kit that lets you make barista-quality cold brew right in your own kitchen with just 1 minute of prep time.
“We’re industry agnostic; once we’ve agreed on the high-level concept, that’s when we bring in the smart people.”
Here's their best advice for anyone approaching a crowdfunding campaign.
Your Video is King
This is SUPER important.
Max out on your video quality. It needs to look very professional. You're getting very quickly judged by it.
Some people will watch videos with sound. The voiceover quality should be solid and not echo-y.
Some people will watch videos without sound. Take this into account while you're scripting and producing. Titles are important but don't overdo them, especially since it can be difficult to read small font on a phone.
Make it Shareable
If the video goes viral, that's a big win to drive to your campaign!
But… Not Everyone Will Watch the Video
Build your campaign content as if your video never existed. Grab their attention and get to point(s) early in the page.
Top Line Your 3 Key Selling Points
Keep your key selling points at the top of the campaign to 3 distinct and strong points of difference.
People will be scanning the campaign quickly for interest. Your product may have LOTS of benefits, but concentrate on 3 to start.
And keep the rest for deeper info on the page.
Think About Partnerships
It’s nice to include extras in your Pledge packages.
For RumbleJar, Karl and Hans included different power bars that a friend's company provided for free as part of the Kickstarter package.
Customers like free things—and the company who you partnered with might promote your campaign, too.
Get Backers Jazzed for Day 1
This applies to both press mentions and friends and family.
Line all of your support up to drop the day before the campaign.It's critical to get a big burst of funding on Day 1 so that Kickstarter or IndieGogo will feature your product.
Email everyone you know!
Ask them to support on Day 1!
Line up press coverage for Day 1!
Don’t Focus on Making a Profit
If you can break even after all is said done with your campaign, that’s great.
The most important aspect of the campaign is getting product in hands, getting backers to tell their friends about it, and getting feedback from them on how you might make the product better. And if you’re lucky, you’ll get an unexpected PR hit.
Kickstarter is a marketing effort, not a money making effort.
Once you’ve gained traction in the market and are scaling the business, then you can focus on profit (e.g. higher pricing, lower manufacturing cost, negotiated shipping rates, nationwide fulfillment centers etc).
Take Care of Your Community
One of the most beneficial things about running these types of campaigns will be the feedback loop.
Customers who pledge or purchase through this campaign will feel VERY involved with you. They will give you feedback (amazing!) and also be demanding.
Make sure you take very good care of them. Or they will let you (and others!) know if they are displeased.
Don’t wait too long to respond to questions and comments from backers
Give frequent, open, and honest updates to your backers. If you’re aware of a problem or delay, tell your backers about it. They will appreciate it, even if you have multiple setbacks.
Never over-promise. In our experience, everything takes at least twice as long as the original schedule suggests; consider baking this into your campaign timeline from the very beginning.
Your fulfillment process and experience will be key. You’re trying to build a rabid base of fans who will propel you forward.
Bonus Advice from Me
Factor All the Costs Into Your Perks
For three years, I served as CMMMO (Chief Marketing, Merriment, and Motivation Officer) of Big Imagination, a nonprofit that fuels bold and inspiring projects for the betterment of humanity.
As our first initiative, we converted a Boeing 747-300 jumbo jet into the biggest moving art installation in the world. Here is in all its glory.
We ran an Indiegogo to help fund “The 747 Project”—and our campaign broke records for the most money raised and fastest funding ever for an art project on any crowdfunding platform.
For the campaign, we put together many levels of perks and rewards. Some were big (like PanAm style backpacks and onesies), some were small (like captain’s wings and stickers), and many got made overseas.
Once people had claimed the perks, the actual fulfillment part became a bit of nightmare.
Shipping costs WAY more than Amazon Prime would have you believe. And logistics and labor of packaging and delivering all the good in a timely manner were significantly more than we originally anticipated.
So, my best advice is to keep the perks themselves simple. Or at least—simple to execute.
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About Me
I help early stage founders create the kind of brands that get customers so obsessed, they’ll do your advertising for you.
Based on my experience founding my own consumer brand, I developed The Branding Sprint—a uniquely collaborative, streamlined, and agile approach to brand creation.
Click here to learn more about The Branding Sprint, or schedule a call with me.