Chances are you have heard the saying, “If you build it, they will come.”
Unfortunately, that doesn’t really apply to crowdfunding campaigns. The truth is that many campaigns launched on Kickstarter and Indiegogo fail.
Know that I’m not saying this to discourage you from trying, I just want to make sure that your expectations are realistic. We see so many viral campaigns in the news these days, but what we don’t see is the work that goes into making those campaigns blow up.
An important part of running a successful crowdfunding campaign is offering the right rewards.
In the past, we’ve talked about Facebook marketing, email marketing, and press releases. On this blog post, we’re going to discuss crowdfunding rewards.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when you’re coming up with rewards, so you backers will want to jump on them right away:
1. Ask your fans what they want
By fans, I mean anyone who knows about your project and can give you feedback.
If you have a large following on social media, ask your followers what types of rewards they would like to get from your crowdfunding campaign.
You can run a Twitter poll to make it fun and compare the popularity of different ideas.
Fans can also mean your friends and family, the people who you are talking to before you take your idea and start trying to turn it into a reality.
People you trust can be a huge source of feedback when you’re planning a Kickstarter campaign, especially if they are as excited about your project as you are.
2. Offer discounts
One way to make sure that backers will want to buy your product/art/idea/service/etc. during your crowdfunding campaign is to offer rewards at a discount off the intended retail price. This will ensure that they back your campaign instead of waiting to see if you will sell your products online later on.
Discounts will help convince less certain people to back you in the crowdfunding stage of your endeavor, especially in cases where services or products might not be fully developed yet.
3. Solve a problem
Don’t think of what your backers can do for you, think of what you can do for them! How can you solve a problem your backers’ lives? Be creative with this and make it clear in your video and campaign text.
How can you solve a problem your backers’ lives? Be creative with this and make it clear in your video and campaign text.
Does your product solve some sort of everyday problem? Is your art meant to inspire people, or make them happy? Do you have a service that is better than what’s currently out there in some way?
People don’t want to back a campaign if they aren’t moved by it or if they can’t figure out what’s in it for them. Your job is to make that clear. Be grateful for their help and tell backers why you need it, but try to take the focus off yourself when it comes to why you want them to back your campaign.
4. Make rewards exclusive
In addition to discounts, making rewards exclusive is a great way to encourage people who love you to back your crowdfunding campaign early on. Scarcity drives spending. Telling them that you are offering rewards that won’t be found anywhere else and that there are a limited number of rewards available will have people backing sooner because they don’t want to miss it.
Telling them that you are offering rewards that won’t be found anywhere else and that there are a limited number of rewards available will have people backing your project sooner because they don’t want to miss it.
You can also think about making higher tier rewards exclusive and limited (like your finished product/art/service), while keeping some smaller reward tiers like shout outs and exclusive t-shirts unlimited.
5. Be creative
When you’re thinking about what kinds of rewards you can offer backers, remember that you can be very creative. You can offer brand merchandise, a product, services, shout-outs, and even custom rewards.
Custom rewards are great because backers can personalized rewards are extra special, you just want to make sure that you have the time and that these personal rewards won’t make manufacturing more complicated for you.
6. Remember that experiences can be rewards too
Rewards for crowdfunding campaigns don’t have to be physical items, they can be experiences too. Running a film campaign? Consider offering backers a trip or tickets to see your movie premier. Have a lot of fans? Offer video chats with fans so they can meet you and talk about your project.
Conclusion
Once you’ve gotten your campaign just perfect, you can approach us and submit a press release on our website here. We have both free and premium options.
Remember, have fun when you are choosing what to include in your rewards crowdfunding campaign, but make sure that rewards are well thought out and not too complicated. Offering rewards that backers will love is an essential part of successfully reaching your goal.
Be sure to keep things realistic and include your estimate of the funds you will need to manufacture and send rewards in your funding goal.
Check out our post, 9 Tips for Creating Must-Have Kickstarter Rewards, for more great tips on setting up your crowdfunding rewards!
Feel free to leave any questions or comments below!
