Just saw this on Facebook and thought it was really good advice for anyone wanting to run a Kickstarter.
Rosh Govindaraj wrote:
RUNNING A KICKSTARTER? Here's how to get picked as a 'Project We Love' and push more traffic to your project.
1) Have a great project image - Don't clutter it with logos and text, keep it clean, but make sure it stands out among the sea of projects on your category page.
2) Have a great project - I don't mean the product, I mean the project itself. Make sure you've got a solid video, professional images and great copy.
3) Interact with your backers - You should be messaging every backer to thank them for backing you. Include a little link they can click to share to FB/twitter. Finally, add a message asking them to let #Kickstarter know about your project. This is what we sent to our backers:
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"Hi xx, thanks so much for backing us! We really appreciate it and can't wait to get your products to you. If you have a sec, could you please let staff at Kickstarter know that you've backed us? It would make a HUGE difference to getting us funded faster. I've written a little spiel to make it easier to do :) Thanks so very much!
TO: stories@kickstarter.com
SUBJECT: Check out Issara's trackable luxury bags.
MSG: Hi guys, I've just pledged on Issara's smart, trackable luxury bags. Just wanted to let you guys know that it's a great campaign and deserves the "staff pick" seal of approval :) Thanks."
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4) Get on Kickstarter's radar - email stories@kickstarter.com before you launch, and periodically with project updates. Tag Kickstarter in tweets and via other social media when you're promoting your project. Your exposure helps them too and will make you stand out a bit in the sea of projects.
5) Have a well planned project with noteworthy press coming to it - see #4 above.
6) Ask KS staff - Find the appropriate Kickstarter staff for your category, and write a short, respectful note telling them about your project and how much the badge of approval will mean to you (use LinkedIn and verify-email.org to find their email).
7) Patience - It took us a week to get the email saying we'd been featured. Just be patient, keep doing your thing and good things will come.
8) Don't rely on this - Yes it gives you a push, but each case varies. You need to keep pushing, everyday, with press, influencers etc to hit the finish line.
Good luck and I hope the above helps some of you!
- Rosh & Peter
