How To Be Successful on Kickstarter: 5 Tips

Ever wonder how to be successful on kickstarter? Kickstarter has become an easy solution for beginning entrepreneurs, getting them closer to materialize their ideas. It is an online platform founded in 2009, which helps creative people to gather funds for their projects. And while there are some other platforms that offer the same services, Kickstarter remains to be one of the most popular.

The website has gained appreciation, being praised by many major publications. Since its launch, many entrepreneurs have managed to create companies and launch new products on the platform, without needing large sums of money spent by major companies on matters like R&D or marketing. Aside from entrepreneurs, many artists, bands, designers or movie directors have managed to get financing for their projects.

Since 2009, about 45,000 projects have raised over $700 million, that has been donated by millions of people. Projects are involved in almost every area of our lives, from art and movies to technology and video games.

However, while Kickstarter seems like an easy way to get the necessary funding for a start-up, we should not ignore the fact that no investor would take his money for granted, so an entrepreneur needs to convince investors through Kickstarter that his project is worth something. While there are thousands of ideas posted, only a small amount of them manage to go further than just the planning stage.

And while, the website has some guidelines that have to be fulfilled in order for the project to start gaining popularity, people who stand behind the idea must do a lot of things on their own. One of the main ideas on Kickstarter is that it involves the so-called “All-or-nothing” funding, so a project must reach a certain amount of financing, or it does not get any money at all.

With this in mind, we have compiled a list of advice that might help a “Kickstarter” reach the necessary milestones and succeed in his or her endeavors. Let’s take a look at how to be successful on kickstarter:

No. 5 Create noise

Facebook Inc. (FB)Popularity is a very important factor. Let’s say that 1,000 people check out your project, and 10% of them make donations. Now, imagine if 10,000 people check it out, or 100,000. You see where we are going. The more people learn about your project, the more chances that you will succeed in receiving funding. Lucky for you, currently there are many ways to gain popularity without spending much money. Facebook, Twitter, blogs like Tumblr, and other social media networks are only some of the online tools that are successfully used for online marketing and advertising.

No. 4 “Elevator Pitch”

The “Elevator Pitch” technique is widely used by entrepreneurs who have an idea about a business. Originally it follows the idea  that you are in an elevator with an investor, so you have to present him your idea in as little time as possible, until the elevator goes up (or down). Since Kickstarter is an online platform, the “Elevator Pitch” can be transposed in this environment as well. Basically, what you have to do is to present your idea in as little words as possible, because people can get bored reading large amounts of information. If your short story will impress your potential investors and will attract their attention, be sure they will go further to see all the details.

No. 3 Make a great video

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Visual information is much easier to be received, so if you shoot an interesting video presenting your idea, it will certainly give your project funding a great boost. Even if you are not skilled in video-making, hiring someone who can do it is an important investment that will pay off later.

No. 2 Say “Thank you!”

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By saying “Thank you!” we don’t mean that you should be polite, we even don’t mean that you literally need to say thank you. On Kickstarter, aside from gathering financial support, one can see the appreciation of the product that seeks to be released. Once a project is released, other people can back the creators and promote this project, aside from just pledging money. So, what the creators should do is come up with some reward system for the backers of their project. For example it could be a significant discount for the acquisition of the product.

No. 1 Plan the next step

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Even though you have not reached the milestone you set for your project, you may see that it is gaining popularity and has many supporters, so you should start planning what you are going to do in case you actually succeed. It will help you materialize your idea and inspire you to pursue your financial goal.