A big part of a successful crowdfunding campaign is clear and consistent communication – both at the onset and throughout the project.
Your launch day communications likely generated initial interest and funding. Maintaining momentum, reaching out to broader audiences and achieving the final goals, however, requires regular updates throughout the project. Your updates keep backers engaged and show them how the campaign is coming along. Ongoing communications also make those who are hesitant to jump in more comfortable with offering their financial support of the project.
Balancing Act
Regular updates give people the opportunity to “check back in” with your campaign and, hopefully, share the information with their contacts. However, deciding on the type and frequency of communications is not easy. You don’t want to overwhelm your audience, but communicating regularly builds trust and excitement.
Campaign lengths vary, but we typically recommend 30-40 days. Indiegogo reports that, on average, successful projects post at least four campaign updates. Use that as a benchmark, but you may want to add an extra post in between, if something special happens like hitting a stretch goal. Just make sure you regularly reach out to those who have contributed to your campaign.
Keep your backers informed about the progress you’ve made, whether it is being covered by the media, reaching significant milestones or introducing a new reward level. Using images and video reportedly boosts success by making the update more intriguing and reader-friendly. Pictures of the project, if possible, let people know exactly where you are in the campaign.
Keep in mind that updates to the campaign do not have to be sent to everyone. Posts can be public or visible to backers only.
Crowdfunding Project Update Ideas and Topics
Announcing a successful first day or that the funding goal was reached are obvious project update topics. Other updates worth giving fall into three main areas: timing or goal related, human interest and involvement, and perks and rewards updates:
– Timing and goal-related topics often have the greatest impact on your campaign’s success. People want to know when goals are reached, stretch goals are added, the campaign is extended and milestones are hit, such as reaching 100 or 500 backers. There should also be an update that starts the countdown clock for the campaign (such as 10 days out, five more days, one more day), as well as a final update on the funds raised. You’ll also want to provide updates after the campaign ends, as you move into development, production and fulfillment.
– Human-interest updates allow you to profile team members, give a behind-the-scenes look at the efforts and invite backers to comment on why they are supporting the campaign. They can also be used to thank contributors publicly. Two effective topics are updates sharing any media attention the campaign received, and updates announcing upcoming livestreams. Kickstarter Live, the platform’s live streaming tool, can be used to share something exclusive or offer a product demo.
– Perks and rewards updates are part of many campaigns, as they incentivize people to contribute more. Successful campaigns offer perks or rewards initially, of course, but introducing additional rewards during the campaign can keep the audience engaged. This is also where announcing stretch goals can be helpful!
Getting Help and Advice
Information in updates should be succinctly presented, sharp and to the point to keep backers involved in the campaign. If you’re stuck on how to provide great updates to your backers, Art Of The Kickstart is a resource for crowdfunders with free examples, tips, interviews with successful fundraisers and more. We also offer a crowdfunding course and services like Facebook ad management for a low cost.
For more tips on crowdfunding projects, subscribe to our podcast or contact us today.
