~~ Warm the Engine and follow up with leads – can I count on you?
I love, love , love this part of the journey, I'm so excited, because I know that announcement your crowdfunding project is one the most meaningful things I can do with your life – I see how it's creates a funnel for prosperity and creativity to pour through everyone who does it. A crowdfunding project is so much bigger than the money you might raise, because the people you touch and inspire are going bring unheard of resources and exceptional ideas to your business , and then they will go on bring other people to you to do the same. I sincerely believe it's the best way to gain momentum with your business
How has your response been so far? Are people writing back telling you that they want to preview your link, have you sent the preview link?
What I'm going to share with you now is appropriate to do when you've had a certain amount of response rates. This part of your launch is actually reserved for people that have demonstrated engagement with you over the last few weeks.
Go ahead and create a new list, calling this one: engaged audience. This is anyone who wrote back to either of your emails, and anyone who is consistently “liking” your posts on social media, and anyone who “opt-ed in” to your landing page.
Once you have a complete list of engaged audience, and it's possible that most of these folks you are talking to your have their email, but for some it might just be a text file or spreadsheet listing the names and handles of people who you often see activity from on Facebook, instagram, and twitter, whatever it is, make sure that you see the list in front of you now.
This is a magical thing to see – how many names are there? How many actual people have demonstrated engagement around your project? Send a big wave of love toward them – because in the next week or so, many of these people will become your backers, much based on what I'm going to share with you next.
Fundraising for entrepreneurs has always been a challenge, but thankfully now we have crowdfunding experts who know indegogo and what to expect for kickstarter vs indiegogo traffic. As far as the fundraising consultants you'll get in our fundraising school, they are masters in kickstarter promotion and know so much about the perks definition.
The thing about fundraising consulting firms and crowdfunding for investors is that many of the top crowdfunding sites touted by fundraising consultants UK don't have the same indiegogo review for gadgets. I much prefer, for any type of campaign, teaching the basics of nonprofit fundraising so that the tactics from indiegogo.com and kikstarter don't get overlooked in our training program.
So the way to move these people into the category of a backer is what you do now. You need a message that can build urgency, express gratitude, and have an absolutely clear direct ask for them, all the while educating them about why it's so important that they help you. And you want to do it in a format that still feels completely personal (i.e. short).
Here the message I send to everyone through serialmailer, mixmax, mail merge, or just plain personal direct message, about 3 to 5 days prior to my launch day:
Subject: Can I count on you?
Body:
Hi {first name}, thank you SO MUCH for connecting with me these last few weeks about my upcoming project – I'm proud to say that I'll be launching my campaign for {your project name} on {Your launch date}, which is in X days.
It would mean the world to me if I could have your show of support when we go live with this. Can I count on you to be one of my backers on the launch day?
Here's why it's so important: Projects that get 35% funded in the first 24 hours of launch are 10X more likely to succeed, and I need all of my inner circle friends, family, and fans to chip in at the right time to guarantee my best chances to succeed with this.
Would you make a pledge and become one of my backers on the exact day we go live ({the launch date}? Your support makes all the difference ! Just write back Y/N and if you'd like to be on my launch team I'll be sure to send you a link the moment we go live.
Thanks in advance, see you soon,
Michael
This is the way we prep our followers, everyone who we think might be remotely interested, and we determine this from how responsive they've been for us in the past, will get this personal message with your direct ask at least 72 hours prior to the launch day.
how to market your kickstarter campaign
In my training program for www.indiegogo.com and kickstarter pr, we divulge the aspects of crowdfunding consulting and kickstarter consulting that most fundraising firms aren't aware of.
The thing about indiegogo campaign tips for indiegoog is that your fundraising consultant and most of the top fundraising consulting firms can't compete with a crowdfunding guide when it comes to kickstart coaching.
When I teach people the things to write about in our online training courses, the truest solution for is that crowdfunding pr the most direct course for finding backers is the perks definition that in include on your indiegog. Perks, and how you price them, are one of the most important fundraising ideas for nonprofit organizations.
Now, a word about launch day partnerships. Remember when we discussed strategic partners – anyone who has infleunce on social media or their own mailing lists who you have been connecting with? You'll send a similar “can I count on you” message to them, but the ask will be slightly different. Instead of “Would you make a pledge and become one of my backers”, you would ask- “Would you write a short blurb and put my link out to your newsletter?” do the same thing for people who have large followings on social media – “Would you write a short statement and put my link out to yoursocial media followers?” Then use the same steps to remind them why the first 24 hours is so crucial.
When you line everyone in your life up like this, you'll have the one thing that many crowdfunders lack during their launch day – an organized launch team all committed to act as one.
The “Big Bang” method of your 48 hour launch
Congratulations! You've made it to your launch day! Here's what to do. First off, wait to make any big posts on social media until you are already 20% funded , let your inner circle do the work so that any spectators who might be encountering the project for the first time don't have their hopes dashed by clicking on a social media link that goes to $0 dollars funded – we say take your project not the public arena only if you are showing some significant momentum during the launch day.
When it comes to kickstarter vs indiegogo or go fund me fees, our academy let's you giveforward on www.indiegogo.com so that you don't have to worry about which top crowdfunding sites raise the most for you launch. Of all the best fundraising sites, when you learn through training courses how to run your crowdfunder, then your fundraising ideas for nonprofits will take you alot farther than what is shared in the kickstarter faq.
When you click “go live” , you send out your next round of messages.
Here's what you say:
Subject: We're live, let's do this!
I'm happy to announce that {your project name} is now live! Please visit the project link and get involved today. Your support at this exact moment makes all the difference!
About the project: {Amount of Time} ago I came up with the idea for {your project name} , and now I'm finally ready to share it with the world! Please join me in support of the tremendous decimation that has gone into this by becoming a backer and making a pledge today.
Remember, projects that his 35% on their launch day are 10X more likely to succeed. Your involvement today make all the difference!
Thanks again for everything,
Michael
Now, you need to be prepared to follow up fast in case people don't respond – this is your moment of urgency and it really does count ….
To everyone who you just sent this to, create a list of the 50 people you believe are most likely to contribute, and then a list of the second 50 people you think are most likely to contribute. Now, after 4 hours, check your backers list. Of these hundred people, who hasn't given yet? Send each one a text AND a personal message via email – did you get my last message? Is everything okay? Today is the launch day and I'd really love for you to be part of the team! Thanks so much!
How to make a viral share link
Now we're going to talk about the role of thank you messages and how to create a viral share link. What you want to do is upload your video to facebook. with a short project announcement message and a clear call to action. Video post perform way better than image posts, and link post are pretty much useless at this point. A lot of people are going to click “share” on Kicstarter, but this is not what's sign to get traction on Facebook. It's your video that you want people to see. So go ahead and upload your video to facebook.
Make sure the clickable short link to your campaign is within the first three lines of your announcement, and also once you make the post, and also pastt the shortlink into the comments so that the link is there also. Now here's what you do. Go to your profile and locate the post that you just made, then click on the date – this will open a window with the URL – copy this url minus the “&theater” operator – this way it is the real page and not some black box page.
Store this post URL somewhere special, you are going to need it later on.
Okay, you've got your post URL, now head over to the share generator. Paste your URL into the facebook URL share generator, and the link it gives you will be an instant click link for someone to personally share the video. Last step – go over to goo.gl and past this link into there to shorten it – you'll end up with a google shortlink that automatically shares your most likely viral post with the world. Way to go!
Now here's what you do with it. First, make an image slider on your project page that says “share this project” and link the image to your good.gl shortlink . This way when someone clicks share on your page, it actually shares something that you can track, that has way more likelihood to perform well on face book.
Finally, the main place where this link is used is in your thank you messages. For everyone who backs, as soon as you get notice that they became your backer you need to send a personal follow up message to them. This is a very important customer service approach and it will benefit your people down the line. Here's what you say.
Subject; Thank you!!!
Body: Thank you so much for joining my project. I sincerely appreciate your support and I look forward to having you be a part of this. You rock!
Just one more thing. Will you share my project on Facebook with this special share link? Even if you already clicked share on the campaign page, this Project Share link is a much better thing to share because it lets people watch my video right inside Facebook, and it's way more likely to get notices than some off-the-cuff link sharing (links don't get served by facebeook nearly as well as videos). Please click this share link, say a couple nice things about the project, and tag a few friends who you think might be interested. Your support today makes all the difference. Thank you you so much!!!
This way, when people get this thank you message, you are training them in the very next thing.
Now here's why we have you share a video post. Not only will it perform well naturally, you will be able to track it. Now, go back to your share url, and you'll see who has shared it according to your instructions. For every post that is shared, add a comment with your project short link, so that there is always a link to your campaign in the comments of every post that is made about it.
Congratulations, you did a launch day, you followed up with people who are in your inner circle, and you send thank you's with distinct call to action to click on your viral share link. Great work!
Places to find even more backers: clubs and indexes
analyze, retarget and unlock new participation (screencast)
Do you want to know one of the ways that I succeeded best with my own campaigns, especially during the middle time after the big launch? It's called retargeting. And no, this isn't the same retargeting as is used for paid ads – that rocks, and its a good way to send paid ads to people that have already been touched by your project. You can research pay per click retargeting if you want to learn more about that.
The retargeting I'm talking about is something you can do with your facebook friends to analyze and determine who would be most likely to donate, based on their proximity to you and another backer.
Here's how you do it. Anytime someone backs, of course they get a personal thank you email with your share instructions. But you also thank them publicly on their facebook wall. And as you are writing the post, you do a simple analysis of your mutual friends.
So, someone has become a backer to your campaign. Now you'll go and view their profile, and check out the mutual friends you have with that person. Next, you can decide which three or four of these mutual friends would be most likely to donate if they knew that your existing backer had already gotten involved. Write down their names in a spreadsheet. Then write your public thank you post on the persons wall. Dear {backer name} Stewart. (tag them). Thank you so much for becoming a backer to my project! Your support means the world to me and I'm so grateful to have you onboard. Do you think Sally, John, Steven, or Phyllis might be interested (tag these people to). If so, could you forward this link to them and put in a good word? Thanks so much and I look forward to sharing more about the project as it develops! “
Then you include the link to the project page, and click post.
Now think about what this does. Stewart get's a nice feeling that you are praising them for being involved, and they might even personally encourage the tagged people to join. The tagged people see that Stewart pledged, and they now see that someone who they respect has chosen to join your project. This changes the level of interest that they might have your project, and it acts as a personal character referral. They know and love your mutual friend Stewart, and if he were willing to give to the project, maybe they'll consider it too.
Although these posts might feel a little exposing at first, this is one of the best ways to draw in more backers, because it's not just you asking them, they are seeing references in the outside world of how you are performing. And they'll get a nification in facebook abou the post they are tagged in, and they mightt very well click the link. And here's the thing. You've kept their info in a spreadsheet, and if they don't donate after three days, you can follow up with a short personal message. Hey {tagged persons} name, you came to might and I wondered – did you have a chance to check out my project, the one that Stewart donated to? I would love so much if you could become a pert of this and help my project get out into the world!
Usually this second follow up will do the trick and they'll become a backer from your personal attention. Even if the targeted person is already on your mailing list for personal contact, it's okay to tag them and relate to them in this way, because it's more of a friendly mention than a direct ask, and it can help facilitate the conversation.
Now let's look at other forms of retargeting. You can send create a spreadsheet for anyone to receive retargeting if they have give you love and support on social media. Look through all your posts. Is there someone who likes your posts frequently but still hasn't donated? Write their name down. Is there someone on instagram who @mentioned you or liked multiple of your project posts but they still haven't donates? Write their handle down. Now, send a direct message to anyone on your social media retargeting list, just very simply stating : thank you so much for showing me support for my posts about my project! This is so great and I appreciate having you in my life. The thing I need most right now though is actual backers – is there any chance you'd be willing to view my project page and become a backer today? Here's the link:
This will generally wake them up to you saying – hey, I notice your support on social media, but here are a few things that reallyy move the need for me.
These kind of people it's generally good to corner them and ask directly if they are willing to commit something more than just a “like” – in some cases, the answer will be no, but in other cases when they see that you notice how they've been supporting you,a nd you get authentic with them about the kind of support you really need, they will give. So go ahead and start keeping really good track of your backers and the mutual friends that you have with those backers, and also keep tabs of anyone who shows you adoration on social media in the form of a link, a comment, or a share – anyone who gives you this kind of attention ought to get a t least on personal outreach message and a follow up during the middle part of your campaign.
