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Prepare For Your First Kickstarter Campaign Launch

Name: Prepare For Your First Kickstarter Campaign Launch
Rating: 4.6 (89 reviews)

Crowdfunding guide for launching a Kickstarter project at a minimal cost on your own

Highest Rated

Created byVilius Stanislovaitis

Last updated 5/2020

English

What you'll learn

Methods to gather potential backers with no budget
Creating a landing page at a minimal cost
Creating an automated email sequence to nurture ("warm up") your leads
Using Facebook Ads to generate leads
Reaching out to bloggers and journalists to get press for your project
Using influencer marketing to connect with new audiences
Creating a compelling Kickstarter project description
Effectively launching and running your Kickstarter campaign

Course content

9 sections • 46 lectures • 3h 33m total length

Section introduction0:34
In this section:
I will compare two very popular reward-based crowdfunding platforms: Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
I’ll show you how to use a few helpful tools: SimilarWeb, Google Trends, and Facebook Audience Insights.
Using these tools you will easily master a skill to compare any other competing platforms or websites.
You will also learn the strengths and weaknesses of Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
Finally you will be able to make a rational decision, which platform is better specifically for your project.
Popularity1:56
This lecture compares the popularity of Kickstarter and Indiegogo by using the following tools: SimilarWeb, Google Trends, and Facebook Audience Insights.
Marketing5:29
This lecture compares the marketing capabilities (remarketing pixel, a secret perk, upselling, additional promotion) of Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
Other differences7:53
This lecture compares other differences between Kickstarter and Indiegogo: platform fees, payment processing method, and funding type (flexible funding vs. fixed or all-or-nothing funding).
Conclusion1:10
This lecture concludes the differences between Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Section introduction1:01
In this section I will:
Tell a story of how I got in touch with a creator of one campaign and what was the outcome
Share an email that I used to reach out to him (so that you can use it as a template)
Show the process of analyzing similar campaigns so you could have an idea how to do it yourself
Find similar crowdfunding projects3:14
In this lecture, you will learn how to find similar crowdfunding campaigns. To do that we will use Google search and internal search on Kickstarter.
An example of project analysis7:01
In this lecture, you will learn how to analyze similar crowdfunding campaigns one by one.
Reaching out to creator4:43
In this lecture, I will give you two examples of how I reached out to the creators of crowdfunding projects and what I have learned.

Section introduction0:58
In this section you will learn how to:
Utilize your personal and business network
Find relevant groups, forums and engage with your potential backers there
Find potential backers using Google and LinkedIn.
Utilize your personal and business network3:27
In this lecture, you will learn how to utilize your personal and business network and turn them into potential backers.
Automate personal outreach with Mail Merge for Gmail4:50
In this lecture, I will explain how to automate email outreach if you have a list of people and you want to send them a personalized message. You will also learn the difference between opt-in email (typically, this is some sort of mailing list or newsletter) and cold email.
Find potential backers using Google and LinkedIn5:38
In this lecture you will learn:
How to find potential backers using Google. I will share an example of how I was searching for swimming coaches in the US for one of the projects.
And I will also show how to use LinkedIn to add new connections, reach out to them, and grow your network of potential backers.

Section introduction0:48
In this section you will learn how to:
Create a landing page
Warm-up subscribers who have signed up on your landing page
Create anticipation for your audience and prepare them for your product launch
Use Facebook ads to generate leads
Systemize stages of your pre-launch campaign with a funnel
Predict how many leads will eventually become your backers
This section is the biggest and the most important in this course.
Creating landing page12:12
In this lecture, I’ll explain the structure of the landing page (what elements it consists of) and what platforms can be used to create it.
A lead nurture sequence10:31
In this lecture, I’ll show how you can build a bond and strengthen the relationship between your subscribers and you, with the help of a sequence of periodically sent emails.
Involve your audience9:48
In this lecture, I will share additional methods of how you can involve your audience.
Facebook ads (PART 1)6:59
In this lecture, you will learn how the process of lead generation using Facebook ads looks like.
Facebook ads (PART 2)8:33
In this lecture, you will learn the difference between ads during the pre-launch and live campaigns and I will also show some live ad examples.
Pre-launch funnel and conversion rates9:38
In this lecture, I’ll share some examples of possible conversion rates and I’ll explain how you can systemize stages of your pre-launch campaign with a funnel.

Section introduction0:36
In this section, you will learn how to:
Build a media list of journalists and bloggers who write about topics related to your niche
Build relationships with the most important, the top 20 contacts from your media list
Create a press kit and write a media pitch
And finally, we’ll discuss whether to do the media outreach yourself in-house or to hire a PR agency
Build a media list (PART 1)5:16
In this lecture, you will learn how to build a media list of relevant journalists and bloggers who write about your niche.
Build a media list (PART 2)6:37
In this lecture, you will learn how to find the email of any professional (including journalists and bloggers).
Build relationships with journalists5:12
In this lecture, you will learn how to build relationships with journalists.
Create a press kit3:52
In this lecture you will learn:
What a press kit consists of
And how to prepare a press release that is a part of a press kit.
Write a media pitch9:35
In this lecture, you will learn how to write an effective media pitch.
Story of Food Sniffer. In-house PR vs. PR agency2:56
In this lecture, I will share a very interesting story of “Food Sniffer” that hired two different PR agencies and received totally opposite results.

Section introduction1:00
In this section, you will learn how to find relevant influencers and how to reach out to them.
How to find influencers4:45
In this lecture, you will learn how to find relevant influencers.
How to establish a connection3:26
In this lecture, you will learn how to establish a connection with relevant influencers.
Submit your video to top video publishers8:26
In this lecture, you will learn how to submit your video to top video publishers (Mashable, Unilad Tech, GIGadgets, Tech Insider, Interesting Engineering, Futurism, etc.).

Section introduction0:29
In this section you will learn:
How to create project title, description, and rewards
How to upload project image and video
How to set your funding goal and campaign duration
Once you’ve done that, you’ll be ready to launch your campaign.
Your Eligibility. What if your country isn’t supported?4:16
In this lecture, I will review who is eligible to create a project on Kickstarter and what to do if your country isn’t supported by the platform. If you are from a supported country, you can skip this lecture.
Start with the basics. Project category, title and image3:50
In this lecture, you will learn how to fill in the basic information of your project (title, subtitle, category, main image, and campaign duration).
Create a compelling video2:04
In this lecture, you will get tips for creating a video for your Kickstarter campaign.
Set the funding goal3:06
In this lecture:
You will learn how to set the funding goal.
I will share mistakes, done by the creator of Rubbee (an electric drive for bicycles)
We will use the funding calculator to estimate your real goal by taking platform fees and taxes into account.
Create motivating rewards7:34
Project description and final steps before you launch4:26

Section introduction0:43
In this section, you will learn:
What is the best timing to launch your campaign
How to plan the launch day
How to maintain momentum during the mid-campaign
How to do upselling
When it is worth creating stretch goals
When you can expect to get organic traffic from Kickstarter
What to do during the last days of your campaign
Project launch timing4:05
In this lecture, you will learn more about the best time to launch your campaign.
Plan the launch day2:48
In this lecture, you will learn how to prepare for your launch day.
Maintain momentum during the mid-campaign7:02
In this lecture, you will learn how to prepare for a period, when all the excitement from your backers is gone - the mid-campaign slump.
Upselling and stretch goals5:14
In this lecture, you will learn how you can do upselling and when it is worth introducing stretch goals to your backers.
Getting organic traffic from Kickstarter5:46
In this lecture, you will learn, in what cases you can get organic traffic from Kickstarter.
Last days of your project2:37
In this lecture, you will learn how to prepare for the last days of your campaign.

Requirements

No prior experience is needed. Just a desire to learn and apply what you’ve learned.

Description

This course will help you to prepare for your first Kickstarter campaign launch effectively and with a minimal budget.

At this moment Kickstarter has a 37.66% success rate, which means that the vast majority of crowdfunding campaigns fail to reach their funding goal. Why? Because most creators launch their projects without any preparation and hope that Kickstarter will do some magic.

That’s why the biggest and the most important part of this course is about the pre-launch which explains how to collect potential backers early in advance and get them excited about the upcoming launch.

By learning this you will prepare for your Kickstarter campaign effectively and launch it with a higher rate of success than those who launch without any preparation and hope for the best.

After completing this course you will be also able to apply this knowledge in other areas, such as launching new products, validating new business ideas, and reaching out to influential people.

How it all began?

I launched my first Kickstarter campaign 5 years ago because I wanted to raise money for my first book and since then I have become really excited about crowdfunding and Kickstarter. So I interviewed other creators of successful crowdfunding campaigns that raised from a few thousand dollars to a few million, participated in a few projects as a collaborator and finally decided to share all this knowledge and experience in the book “Your First Kickstarter Campaign: Step by Step Guide to Launching a Successful Crowdfunding Project” and in this video course.

If your goal is up to 10K USD

If you check Kickstarter statistics, you will find out that projects that raise up to 9999 USD form 67% of all successful Kickstarter campaigns. I believe that if your goal is within this range, there’s a big chance that you will be able to gather your crowd without spending a single dollar on marketing. There’s a dedicated section “Gather Your Crowd With No Budget” which covers different methods to collect leads that don’t cost you anything.

If your goal is between 100K and 1 million USD

If you want to raise hundreds of thousands or millions, you will have to spend around 25-30% of your goal on paid advertising. I interviewed an extremely talented Facebook geek who has helped eight Kickstarter campaigns to raise over a million dollars with the help of Facebook ads. There’s a dedicated section “Advanced Lead Generation and Nurturing Methods” for this which explains:

What the pre-launch funnel looks like,
How to create a landing page,
How to nurture your leads,
How to drive traffic to your landing page (or Kickstarter campaign) using Facebook ads
What conversion rates you can expect

Join this course now and I really look forward to seeing you on the other side!

Who this course is for:

Those who want to launch their first project on Kickstarter
Those who want validate their idea at a minimal cost
Those who want to build a strong community of backers who will be their first client
Those who want to get press and publicity for their project
Those who launched a crowdfunding campaign before, but are not happy with the results
Anyone else who is curious to learn more about how to prepare for a crowdfunding campaign

Prepare For Your First Kickstarter Campaign Launch

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Kickstarter vs. Indiegogo5 lectures • 17min

Analyze Similar Campaigns4 lectures • 16min

Gather Your Crowd With No Budget4 lectures • 15min

Advanced Lead Generation and Nurturing Methods7 lectures • 58min

Media Outreach7 lectures • 34min

Influencer Marketing4 lectures • 18min

Creating a Project on Kickstarter7 lectures • 26min

Launching And Running The Campaign7 lectures • 28min

Final Section + Gifts!1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: