Keep backers enthusiastic and the dashboard curve keeps going up!
A well-planned and executed campaign launch is an exciting event. You and your team have put in the work, hit the launch button and the pledges are rolling it. Your fans have been waiting to take advantage of Early Bird Deals and you are headed toward your funding goal. However, as any successful crowdfunding campaign manager will tell you, this early momentum is not easy to maintain in the long run. Once your most loyal backers have pledged, things tend to slow down to a steady level of traffic and interest. Running a campaign is a little like riding a bike, if you pedal fast you can quickly gain speed but if you coast for too long, you inevitably slow down.
Maintaining good momentum through your entire campaign period is the key to smashing your funding goal and reaching new heights for your project. To do this, you need to keep your backers enthusiastic and engaged so that they continue to share your campaign, keep your community active, and invest even more in your project. Here are some proven techniques to keep the momentum going and ensure the success of your campaign.
Examine your most successful pledge tiers and consider adding some appeal with an exciting new reward. Typically, you will have one very successful lower-cost tier and also a higher-cost tier that is outperforming others. Take some time and analyze how you can offer a new tier that will be attractive to new and current backers. In some cases, adding a special edition or giving a bonus will be enough to gain a backer who may be on the fence.
Could adding a reward with a bonus such as a useful or fun product accessory get your early backers to jump back in for more or upgrade from a previous reward level?
These are extra items or add-on accessories that users can add to their pledge for an additional pledge. Add-Ons affect a campaign in several ways. First, they can be made as an update to your page at the mid-point of your campaign which increases traffic, activity, and interest in the project. An Add-On can be a great time to reengage with your email list with this new offer. It is a way to add value to your backer’s reward and add contributions to your funding goal. Add-Ons should be priced reasonably, add utility or value to your product and be useful to your backers.
Another way to positively engage with your backers, keep them interested and make them feel like they are an integral part of the project’s success, is to simply thank them. It may seem like a small thing, but taking the time to reach out to your supporters with a sincere thank you email can go a long way towards keeping people excited and feeling good about the investment they have made with you. You can thank your backers immediately after they pledge or choose a time when momentum is slowing and you want to give it a little boost. While thanking your backers you can encourage them to visit the campaign, leave a comment, or take part in a discussion on one of your other community channels. Remember, you aren’t just trying to make a sale, you are trying to win a fan for life.
Just because you are approaching your initial funding goal (or exceeding it!) is no reason to stop the fun. Creating Stretch Goals is a way to keep pledges rolling in after a project's funding goal has been reached. Stretch goals are upgrades or addition to your project that will become available as the campaign reaches certain funding milestones. When stretch goals are announced or are approaching, it can be a real boost to your campaign and a great way to re-engage with current backers. It can also encourage a new round of campaign sharing and earn new backers who may be interested in the new offer. Be realistic about your stretch goals. Make sure that they occur on milestones that are achievable so that people will feel confident to back your goal or upgrade their reward.
Announcing stretch goals can make the difference in getting your funding goal to the next level and create new activity on the campaign page as users continue to check in as the stretch goal nears its milestone. Stretch goals get backers excited and can also be a way to test interest in new product features or iterations that may help you as you further develop your product.
During the course of your campaign, your backers will have many questions and inquiries about your product and its development. Keep them involved with a robust and dynamic FAQ. As your campaign progresses add more information, respond with explanations regarding your backers’ most common questions and keep the information accurate and up to date. Give backers more information as your product development continues and give them a reason to keep visiting your campaign.
Use social media or a forum to give your most enthusiastic backers a chance to get in on the conversation about your brand. Assign a team member to moderate the discussion, listen to backer suggestions and respond to them promptly. When people feel like they are an important part of the process, they will be encouraged to continue sharing information about your project and can become an army of advocates for your brand.
A successful crowdfunding campaign is a perfect way to launch your product, but like any worthwhile endeavor, it requires ongoing effort to keep your backers excited and engaged. Use these techniques to keep up the momentum, increase sales, and boost interest at key times during your campaign. Work out your plan in advance and spread these events over the course of your campaign in addition to your other ongoing marketing efforts to increase traffic and maintain momentum. A little extra work can make the difference between a good campaign and a GREAT one.
