If you want to raise funds for your project on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or any other crowdfunding platform, you need to spread the word about it, especially in the first week of your campaign.
Crowdfunding is a way of raising money for a project or a cause by asking a large number of people to contribute a small amount of money. Crowdfunding can be done through various platforms, such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, and others. Crowdfunding can help you turn your idea into reality, but it also requires a lot of work and planning. You need to create a compelling campaign page, set a realistic goal and deadline, offer attractive rewards, and most importantly, promote your project to your potential backers.
Marketing a crowdfunding project is essential for its success, but not everyone has a large budget to spend on advertising. The good news is that there are numerous ways to market your crowdfunding project for free. In this guide, we’ll explore seven effective strategies to help you boost the visibility of your campaign, engage with your audience, and ultimately increase your chances of reaching your funding goals without breaking the bank. Let’s dive into these cost-effective marketing tactics to make your crowdfunding project a resounding success. Let’s take a look at each of these platforms and how you can use them effectively.
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Reddit
Reddit is a website where users can share and discuss news, entertainment, and other topics. Users can create, vote, and comment on posts, which are organized into subreddits based on their themes. For example, there are subreddits for Kickstarter, Crowdfunding, Gaming, Music, and more.
Reddit is a community that values quality content and genuine participation, so it’s not a good idea to spam your project link everywhere. Instead, you should join the subreddits that are relevant to your campaign and contribute to the discussions. You can also occasionally share your project link with some context and feedback.
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Submit a free press release
You can use various online platforms to publish a free press release for your project or news update. You can directly submit a free press release to Crowdfunding PR or you can choose one of these free press release distribution sites. Some of the advantages of doing a free press release are:
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You can get a well-formatted press release link that you can share with journalists.
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You can rank in major search engines like Google and Yahoo for keywords related to your company and campaign.
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You can reach a wider audience through the website’s traffic.
A free press release is a simple and effective way to promote your project. However, it is not a guarantee of success. You still need to have a compelling story and a clear message.
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Kickstarter Forum’s “GET TWEETED OUT” promotion
KickstarterForum.org is offering a free tweet on @crowdcrux’s Twitter account. They also have a VIP program that you can join for free and get extra promotion for your campaign.
Forums and online communities are great places to interact with other users and spread the word about your project. You should use forum signatures (which can include a banner ad) and avatars to attract more attention to your project. These are small images or texts that appear below your posts or next to your username.
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CrowdfundingForum’s “VIP” Program
CrowdfundingForum has started a free VIP program (which is now closed for new members) to encourage the community and foster discussion. By being active on the forum, creators can get their link on the forum sidebar, be shared on social media, and do an interview on the forum about their project or startup. The forum also had a Twitter promotion to tweet out (which is now over).
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Pinterest
Pinterest is a social media site that can help you promote your crowdfunding campaign. The main idea with Pinterest is to create or join a board that is related to your category. For example, if you are making a new fashion accessory for women, you would want to be part of a board that is about fashion or use the hashtags that other members are using. The board below has almost a million followers and its pins are often re-pinned by others.
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Social media websites & blogs
If you want to find more blogs related to crowdfunding, you can check out our extensive list of resources and learn how to discover bloggers in your niche. Another way to boost your online presence is to create social media profiles for your business and use them to promote your campaign. You can also design attractive header and cover images that showcase your project.
Reaching out to bloggers and journalists is not as easy as promoting your project on social media. You can use tools like Buffer or Hootsuite to track the performance of your social media posts, such as how many clicks or shares they get.
But it’s harder to measure the impact of your PR outreach. You should start by making a list of the publications you want to get featured in, and then another list of the journalists who work for them and cover topics related to your story or product.
You can find these journalists by looking at the publications that similar crowdfunding projects have appeared on. Once you have your list, you need to craft a compelling pitch for your story and highlight what makes your company and product unique.
Your pitch should be tailored to each publication and journalist, taking into account their audience and interests. Think of it like sending a resume. You want to customize your resume (or pitch) for each person you are contacting and emphasize what they will care about most.
When you email a journalist, keep it brief and clear, with a catchy subject line. The journalists can then check your longer press release if they want to learn more about your company.
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Buzzfeed
Another platform that you can use to promote your crowdfunding project for free is BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed has helped some of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns, such as the Coolest Cooler, to go viral on Facebook. You can also find examples of KickstarterForum members who have used BuzzFeed to market their projects. To create a post on BuzzFeed, you need to register first and then use your user dashboard.
The Bottom Line
Crowdfunding is a great way to raise funds for your project, but it also requires a lot of marketing and promotion. You need to reach out to your potential backers and convince them to support your campaign. Fortunately, there are some free platforms that you can use to spread the word about your project and attract more attention. By using these 7 free platforms, you can increase your online visibility and credibility, and attract more attention and support for your crowdfunding project.
SAG IPL streamlines the journey of crowdfunding campaigns with specialized shipping rates. Our crowdfunding shipping rates calculator empowers you to effortlessly estimate and compare shipping costs for your campaign.
Moreover, we offer comprehensive guides encompassing diverse aspects of crowdfunding, spanning fulfillment to campaign management. Beyond the campaign phase, SAG IPL extends its assistance in transitioning your venture from a campaign into a fully-fledged eCommerce enterprise.