Eight: Raising Funds to Create a Better Night’s Sleep

Early in 2015, Luna, now going by the name of Eight, launched their smart mattress cover on Indiegogo, hit their initial goal of $100,000 in just 6 hours, and went on to raise more than $1.2 million dollars through Indiegogo’s InDemand program. The smart mattress cover has already started shipping and they expect to be able to fulfill all pre-orders by the end of July.

So, how did they achieve such rapid success?

Social Media

Eight is active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where they post a mixture of interesting articles related to sleep and home gadgets, press coverage and, as of recent, photos of those who have received their Eight mattress cover. Because they mix-up their content, they are able to keep users engaged, which results in more clicks, likes and interactions. This compelling content has brought in nearly 9,000 likes on Facebook, over 2000 followers on Twitter, and more than 400 followers on Instagram for Eight.

Video

Eight’s video starts by describing human behavior trends like how much time we spend in bed. The video discusses the health risks associated with a poor night’s sleep and then quickly offers how the Eight smart mattress pad can be a solution to those problems by showing off all the features like temperature control, sleep tracking, sleep recommendations and more. This is interspersed with dialog directly from the co-founder and CEO, which adds a personal touch and makes viewers feel more connected to the project. Finally, the video ends with an “ask” from the co-founder directly to backers.

In just over three minutes, the video gives potential backers the most important information they need to know – what the product is, the problem it solves and why they need it. It’s not only compelling, but it makes viewers realize they need a mattress pad that they never even knew they wanted.

Campaign Page

The campaign page currently starts with a shipping update, which makes sense because a large number of their updates have been information regarding shipping and they are anticipating many page visitors to be backers wondering when their product will ship, which is very normal when a project has delayed past their original expected ship date.

Image source: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eight-the-first-smart-mattress-cover#/
Image source: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eight-the-first-smart-mattress-cover#/

After the shipping update, visitors can find all the information about the product itself, such as its features, different perk levels available, press coverage with pull quotes from notable journalists, then a deeper look into each feature of the mattress pad. It also includes technical specs and an extensive FAQ section, so a potential backer isn’t left with remaining unanswered questions.

Perks

Eight kept their perks simple. The project is still on InDemand, and at the moment is only offering five perks: one for each bed size from full to California king, plus a perk for international shipping. This makes it easy for backers to get exactly what they want, without getting confused by too many different options. Because Indiegogo lets backers pick more than one perk, this simple perk setup makes it easy on backers to pick the different sizes of mattress pads that they want.

Eight perks
Image source: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eight-the-first-smart-mattress-cover#/

Press

As expected with nearly all million-dollar campaigns, Eight got a significant amount of press coverage. Notably, though, they’re still getting coverage more than a year later. Just check out this mention in Royal Fashionist, or this mention in Marie Claire.

Eight press coverage
Image source: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eight-the-first-smart-mattress-cover#/

Key Takeaways

So, what can crowdfunding project creators learn from this project?

  • Mix up your social media content; don’t just post about yourself, but keep content relative to your industry and interesting for your followers.
  • Keep your campaign video short and to the point, but make it interesting and engaging so that by the time viewers finish watching it, they want to back the project.
  • Place the most important information at the top of the campaign page, and note that what is most important can change as the campaign goes on.
  • Try to answer every question a potential backer could possibly have on your page; lingering questions can keep people from backing your project!
  • Keep perks simple, as people are less likely to contribute if they’re confused about the perks.
  • A good product and successful project can help you get press coverage long after the project ends.

For more crowdfunding success stories, tune in to our podcast.

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