A Kickstarter project has a very short shelf-life. With a maximum of 60 days and an average of only 30, it doesn't give you much time to get the word out about your project.
To be successful, you have to maximize the word of mouth marketing. Literally figuring out a way to get other talking about your project for you.
This episode talks about Word of Mouth marketing as having Time Horizons. Your launch has a long ramp up period for you to generate conversation, but once it launches, the launch event quickly drops off, it has a very short time horizon in order to generate word of mouth conversations.
The same goes for your ending date. When the time begins to draw near, there is a sharp ramp up of conversation and interest. The time horizon leading up is sharp, and the time horizon afterwards is a sheer cliff. It really is pointless to talk about a funding event after it is over.
The key to success is to create a series of smaller events. Manufacture conversations around milestones.
These include:
- First round number of dollars raised. i.e. $100 or $1,000
- Hitting 10% of funding
- Hitting 30% - The magic number for Kickstarter projects
- Hitting 50%
- A dollar milestone of $2,500, $5,000, or $10,000
- Hitting 75%, then 80% then 90%
- Hitting 100%
- Stretch goals for a certain percentage or dollar amount
- Ending date
This should give you a wide range of opportunities to comment on and discuss each of these mini-events. Updates should be sent when these milestones are hit. A tweet, a Facebook post, or an interview of some kind. You must not squander these tiny conversation starters. They are the lifeblood of successful funding.
Listen to Funding the Dream Word of Mouth Marketing here
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