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How I got my Kickstarter back on track when all seemed lost
  • Willpowered
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    How I got my Kickstarter back on track when all seemed lost

    by Willpowered » Tue Nov 03, 2015 5:57 pm

    Hi all,

    With only 10 days left in my campaign I thought all was lost.

    I had gradually funded for the first 15 days getting to about 47%...but then I ran out of steam. Over the next 5 days, I barely passed 50%! I thought I was doomed.

    But then I turned everything around!

    In the last 5 days, I raised 46% ($5500) of my funding and just completed my goal.

    Here are 3 simple things I did to make it happen:

    1. I stopped selling and started sharing.

    My project is a book about the practical science behind how huge successes like JK Rowling, Warren Buffett and Kobe Bryant used their willpower to achieve greatness. And for the first 20 days, I was trying to sell people on the fact that anyone can learn from their stories and apply the concepts to real life.

    That started getting old....So I decided that rather than continue to tell them it could be done, I was going to show them!

    So I wrote a blog post about how I was going to use the concepts in the book to overcome my own big challenge and reach the goal!

    I shared it with friends, subscribers, and fellow bloggers. Instantly, the mood shifted. They went from ignoring me, to rooting for me! People hate to be sold - but they love the underdog.

    2. I started doing for others what I wished others would do for me.

    More than anything else, we need people to come to our pages, give their full attention to our videos, back our projects if they believe in them, and then share it with all of their friends (hoping they have thousands!)

    For 20 days, I sat there waiting for those people to come to me. And I felt sorry for myself when they didn't....

    Why don't they like my project? :(

    Then it hit me - how can I expect others to do that for me if I'm not willing to do it for them?

    So I started being the person for others that I needed myself.

    I started browsing Kickstarter, backing projects I believed in, sharing them with my audience and reaching out to the creators to see if there was anything I could do to help!

    You'll be surprised how you're received when you genuinely want to help someone like you reach their dream.

    3. READ and TAKE ACTION

    I was arrogant and stupid at the beginning. I read posts...but I didn't really think they applied to me.

    My project was different....special...so awesome it will go viral!

    Then I was desperate. I finally had no choice but to take action and start trying new things.

    Those 2 points above were not my ideas. They came from this blog post - > http://stonemaiergames.com/10-daily-act ... our-crowd/

    And it's only taken 2 days for those lessons to turn everything around!!!

    Conclusion - You're not in this alone.

    There are countless people that you need to learn from, support, and share your story with.

    I'm so glad I learned that before it was too late - Good luck to you all!

    Colin
    The Will of Heroes

    P.S.....I'm putting my money where my mouth is!

    If you reply to this thread with you project, I promise to give it my full attention. And if I truly believe in it, I will back and share it with my audience. I look forward to seeing what you got!
    Last edited by Willpowered on Fri Nov 06, 2015 9:29 pm, edited 5 times in total.


    Check out our Kickstarter: http://kck.st/1LqcZT5
  • BrockPocRoc
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    Re: How I got my Kickstarter back on track -when all seemed

    by BrockPocRoc » Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:01 pm

    Colin,

    Thanks for the story, and the great Project! I backed you immediately :)
    We just launched yesterday here http://kck.st/1N9dK0W, funny video and geeky gadget :)

    Let me know if I can help you in any way,
    Brock
    Pocket Rocket -- Car Phone Charger and Spare Battery in One! http://kck.st/1N9dK0W
  • Willpowered
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    Re: How I got my Kickstarter back on track when all seemed l

    by Willpowered » Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:32 pm

    Man...this is awesome!!

    I'm seriously impressed. No wonder you're crushing it already.

    Definitely back and sharing this one :)
    Check out our Kickstarter: http://kck.st/1LqcZT5
  • BrockPocRoc
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    Re: How I got my Kickstarter back on track when all seemed l

    by BrockPocRoc » Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:40 pm

    Hahah, Thanks man, Hope you finish strong!
    Pocket Rocket -- Car Phone Charger and Spare Battery in One! http://kck.st/1N9dK0W
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    Backertree
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    Re: How I got my Kickstarter back on track when all seemed l

    by Backertree » Wed Nov 04, 2015 12:23 am

    Willpower and perseverance are definitely important when running a campaign that doesn't go 100% to plan. It's great to see the same values in alot of the quotes on your Kickstarter page conveyed in your story above.


    Best of luck mate, I hope you can reach your goal in time :)


    Kind Regards,

    Team Backertree!
    Submit Your Crowdfunding Press Release And Promote Your Project: http://backerpress.com/submit/
  • Jean_Cave
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    Re: How I got my Kickstarter back on track when all seemed l

    by Jean_Cave » Wed Nov 04, 2015 12:37 am

    Thanks amazing, dude!

    My own Kickstarter project was starting to flop too. I think it mainly came down to the graphics not appealing to everyone visually, and my video was just the video about my business and didn't explain what my magazine was all about at all. Ugghhh. Live and learn. Attention to detail is everything when you're perfecting your image.

    Now after that experience, I cancelled it, told my backers that I'm going back to make things perfect, and am set to launch again at the end of this month. You can get an email before it comes out here by the way: http://sustainabledesignandarchitecture.com/shop/.

    I'm definitely going to write a blog post after your first (stolen) tip though. Thanks!

    All the best :)
  • Sneakerbelt
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    Re: How I got my Kickstarter back on track when all seemed l

    by Sneakerbelt » Wed Nov 04, 2015 2:03 am

    Superpost Colin. Very helpful since I am having similar thought and worries.

    Great campaign too. Just backed and tweeted.

    Cheers,

    Tiger / Dennis
    Wear sneakers and denim? What belt do you wear with that? drcli.fnd.to/sneakerbelt
  • Willpowered
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    Re: How I got my Kickstarter back on track when all seemed l

    by Willpowered » Wed Nov 04, 2015 4:52 am

    Thanks all!

    Glad you liked the post. @Jean_Cave probably a good call canceling and starting over. There are so many things you don't realize until you're in the trenches with your campaign. Just subscribed. Looking forward to that blog post!

    Thanks as well for support, @Sneakerbelt. What are your worries about? Your link said it was funded?
    Check out our Kickstarter: http://kck.st/1LqcZT5
  • Sneakerbelt
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    Re: How I got my Kickstarter back on track when all seemed l

    by Sneakerbelt » Wed Nov 04, 2015 6:07 am

    Hi Colin,

    Thanks for asking. This is a better link: http://kck.st/1Hq4548

    My personal circle pledges have seemed to dry up.
    1) I find it hard to create an audience that actually pledges.
    2) Even though we had 1548 pageviews (Google Analytics) only 29 backers pledged. So this is 1,8% of all visitors.

    - How is your conversion rate?
    - Any advice for improvements to our page itself?

    Happy to hear from you!

    Cheers,

    Dennis / Tiger
    Wear sneakers and denim? What belt do you wear with that? drcli.fnd.to/sneakerbelt
  • Willpowered
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    Re: How I got my Kickstarter back on track when all seemed l

    by Willpowered » Wed Nov 04, 2015 2:42 pm

    Hey @Sneakerbelt,

    1) What audience are you targeting right now? To be honest, I don't really care about fashion. So if you're going for people like me, or the general public, I think you need to narrow your scope a lot.
    2) It's much more important to figure out which sources are converting rather than looking at your total conversion. For example, my Kickstarter Discovery conversion is 1.2%, my subscribers are 10.8%. Clearly that's saying 2 very different things.

    For improvements to your page...My big question was "where exactly is the $22,000 going?" My conversion jumped when I created a visual budget of what I needed the money for.

    Hope this helps!
    Check out our Kickstarter: http://kck.st/1LqcZT5
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