Have you ever wondered why less than half of crowdfunding campaigns reach their desired targets? Generally, 33% is the accepted standard of success but there must be a way to blueprint a successful framework. This article will focus on how to attract the necessary pre-launch subscribers. Firstly, let us go through what we believe is the best pre-launch crowdfunding campaign checklist:
A- Brainstorm a concept or idea
B- Analyze self, product, and market environment
C- Design a prototype
D- Shoot high-resolution pictures and videos of our product (s)
The ultimate goal of the pre-launch campaign is to identify a quantifiable following that will attract many investors on launch day and generate continuous investment within a short period of time. A good goal would be to generate at least 30-50% of the campaign’s total funding from the pre-launch subscribers alone.
Put in an equation shared by Indiegogo…
If:
S=number of prelaunch subscribers needed to hit the minimum target
E=The launch announcement emails conversation rate
T=Total funding goal
P=Percentage of the total funding goal expected to be covered by prelaunch subscribers
Then the calculation would be S= (T*P)/E
However, it takes more than a blanket equation to get satisfactory results, so let’s look at four major barriers to an effective pre-launch crowdfunding campaign to avoid unnecessary mistakes:
- The product (s) does not resonate with the targeted audience or customers
- Faulty planning, poor flexibility when things go wrong
- Unattractive perks
- No initial traction and interest in the product
Now when you get rid of the small avoidable issues, look at running your campaign with three main functions that lead to a successful crowdfunding campaign:
1-EFFECTIVELY pre-launch the crowdfunding campaign
2-Interact with early adopters and collect feedback
3- Launch the main crowdfunding project campaign
In addition to this try to choose the correct campaign for their needs and product. Allow different perk offerings for a different amount of pledges and set goals for every tier individually.
After setting out a target subscription number, one fundamental subsequent step is setting up a landing page with a subscription form then driving traffic to the site to build an email list. Then, offer the lowest tier perk from your crowdfunding campaign as an incentive for referrals.
An example includes early bird access to the product and discounting options for when the product goes on sale or a new line of products that can be used as rewards themselves.
At the core of the project is the landing page which converts visitors to subscribers. This landing page should have clear and precise copywriting, aesthetically pleasing visuals, bold and engaging call to action buttons (SUBSCRIBE NOW / BUY NOW etc).
If you want to persuade people to buy or invest in the product, then you need to engage your audience with good copy editing on your site. Passive, over-complicated language usually drives people away.
The design of the landing page, like the copy, should be simple, bold and engaging. Pages with paragraphs and paragraphs of information may serve as a deterrent to success whereas minimalism and simplicity appeal to readers. Uniformity throughout the site and high-definition pictures and/or screenshots of the prototype will increase the appeal of the site as a whole.
Calls to action are a last critical step in converting visitors and interested parties into subscribers of the pre-launch crowdfunding campaign.
Distribution
Most people who create a product believe in it, but potential alone does not ensure success. The pre-launch will be used to test and warm up the distribution channels including-
1. Social media and Paid marketing(advertisement)
2. Pushers or influencers and Groups, gatherings and/or online communities
3. Public relations and Quality output or content
1. Social media and paid marketing
Social media offers the opportunity to observe your target audience and create interest by using organic means, like shares/comments/likes i.e. promoting engagement.
Aligning the medium of advertising with potential backer use is important.
2. Pushers or influencers and groups, gatherings and/or online communities
If budget allows it, ask celebrities, macro-influencers, professionals and micro-influencers to review your product or give you a shout-out to engage their own crop of following. Influencer marketing can help you to break into tight-knit groups and communities but this requires patience and consistency.
3. Public relations
Crowdfunding has forced us to rethink how we do public relations. Social media has become the dominant fuel for engaging the investor public that supplies enormous funds within just 3 to 6 months from the pre-launch. It is clear that a great PR strategy includes reaching out to influencers such as bloggers, podcasters, and journalists to drive the proper promotion of the crowdfunding campaign.
Did you know that Pressfarm can easily build the required buzz for your crowdfunding campaign project online? Our PR team works hard on your crowdfunding project to build contacts, reach out to journalists and get your brand covered in top-tier industry blogs and media outlets.
By creating professional press releases, creative media kits and feature articles for your brand, we can help you generate more media coverage. More coverage means more eyes on your campaign and therefore more contributions. We also offer all our clients access to our comprehensive database of over 1 million journalists across industries. In addition, we create curated media lists for each client, tailored for their niche. Combined with our media database, these media lists should help you to continue doing media outreach for your brand long after we’re done working on your PR campaign. Check out our packages and let us know how we can help your crowdfunding project get the publicity it deserves.
Strategic PR for Crowdfunding
PR must play the role of contextual overall marketing and not as a single factor in any campaign. The most laudable outcome of public relations is being able to tap into “the inner circle.” This is a collection of the most influential and powerful players in the sphere of marketing. Once you’ve connected with these people, you can try to raise the minimum 30% needed to build good momentum in the early stages of a crowdfunding campaign.
Targeted Public Relations Plan:
- Developed a list of influencers, podcasters, journalists and bloggers: targeted media for your target audience
- Created a media outreach program that has shown proof of concept and market validation.
- You have created a buzz or story to write about so media will pick up and follow through naturally.
- The outreach plan fits the overall crowdfunding strategy and complements the marketing objectives as well.
- Target industry influencers and those with an interest in the campaign product
- Time the implementation of this strategy perfectly; only when then the project has some traction do we launch this part of our plan.
Hiring professionals to help with this is a good idea. PR specialists and PR firms with experience can make sure there are no obvious obstacles that may affect your coverage (i.e. a similar product that launched just a few days prior). If you plan to build a public relations strategy on your own, here are the keys to success as far as we have observed.
1. Being relatable is massively important
It is vital to connect with journalists in a relatable way, just as your crowdfunders need to relate to your product. Finding common ground helps things go more smoothly.
2. Intricate, personalized pitches perform better
Journalists sift through a lot of information; probably thousands of emails on a daily basis. For this reason, shorter more concise emails are more successful. Personalizing your pitch by greeting a journalist by name and recognizing their previous work can also boost your chances of success.
Check out our email pitch templates to get started
3. Utilizing social media
Platforms like Twitter can be an excellent way to craft a short (within a limit of 140 characters), precise message that saves time on both sides and provides access to information via cutly or bitly links directing people to your landing page. Other platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat can provide the same opportunity.
There should be a balance between the administration of a good plan and allowing the natural flow of information to drum up interest. Rather than trying to push journalists to write about your product, you will achieve better results by creating healthy relationships with these journalists beforehand. If a journalist feels appreciated, then their article will be more genuine.
Implementation of good PR strategies will drum up investor interest in the crowdfunding campaign. For this reason, PR is vital to the success of any crowdfunding campaign.
4. Go for non-profit
In the crowdfunding industry, some platforms are designed for nonprofit fund-raising. Going in this direction could help you build a good reputation in many communities.
5. Create a want and need
The world is filled with unnecessary products and inventions but empires and reputations have been by creating products that are needed. Strong campaigns do exactly that, convince potential investors that their product is necessary to their existence and should be part of society as a whole.
6. Manage expectations
It is not easy to become successful so it is very important to keep the expectations of clients realistic throughout the campaign. Getting media coverage does not generate donations immediately. Once the public hears about the product, getting donations is a collective effort that will involve many different parties. Garnering support on social media can also contribute to more donations.
In conclusion, this is exactly how we would employ a pre-launch campaign and why a good PR campaign is necessary to the success of any crowdfunding project. We hope this article helps you reach your goals.
How Pressfarm can help
For an entrepreneur, getting media coverage can put your brand in front of the right people. At Pressfarm, we help companies define the right narrative in the media for their brand – either to improve their credibility or resolve a PR crisis. If you are an entrepreneur wondering how to improve your company’s publicity, get in touch with us. We can help you to craft and distribute your press releases, develop compelling guest posts and design eye-catching media kits for your brand.
Learn why we are good at what we do from our customer success stories.