If your crowdfunding campaign has reached a plateau, or if you are looking to give your product a boost of interest and sales, a flash sale may be right for you. Both Kickstarter and Indiegogo, the two largest crowdfunding platforms, have easy tools to set these up – but how do you get the most out of a flash sale? Here’s how to take advantage of this useful tactic.
Flash Sales Provide a Boost to Sales
The advantage of using flash sales on crowdfunding sites is that you have suddenly created a sense of urgency – which can lead to a burst of fresh interest and sales. Companies that use crowdfunding often find that pre-orders of their product eventually come to a standstill. With the right boost, you can bring it to life again and get more pre-orders. Keep in mind, a flash sale is best when you run it for somewhere between 24 and 48 hours.
Choose Your Price Carefully
When you offer a flash sale, you want to be sure that your price is right for it. You do not want it to be so low that it hurts your business, or so high that it prevents people from buying it. You might try offering an early bird reward, or just try lowering the cost by $5 to $10 off the regular price.
Advertising Your Flash Sale
Since raising money is your objective, you want to be careful about who you send your sale advertisement to. Avoid sending an email to those people who are already signed up to be backers, as this gives them an opportunity to cancel their pledge and re-sign up at the discount price. Instead, reach out to those on your list that you have not contacted yet. Facebook or other social media is great for this. You also do not want to mention the flash sale when you provide an update on the status of your campaign.
When reaching out to the people on your lists that you have not contacted yet, be sure to mention the sale price and the special time frame involved so people can move quickly and get in on it before the time expires.
Completing the Flash Sale
Depending on which crowdfunding site you use, you may need to treat the sale pages differently. When you use Kickstarter, the flash sale pages are removed automatically. They have special scheduling calendar just for this purpose. On Indiegogo, you must remove the pages manually when the flash sale is over.
When your crowdfunding sales are lagging and your hope for the money you need to fund your new startup is beginning to founder, you can create a powerful sense of urgency by using flash sales. This can quickly change the whole picture, helping you finish with the money you need.
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