When Yeastie Boys raised half a million dollars in half an hour, to many, it looked like magic.
Boom! Out of nowhere a tiny company pulled a rabbit out of a hat, sending business reporters stumbling backwards in shock.
But I knew better. Having watched the campaign since it’s initial announcement, I knew that their success came down to a very real, very planned, and very well-executed communication strategy.
Which is why I went on to break the whole thing down into a timeline. I wanted to tear down the curtain, and show you how it was done.
Because the fact is, the Yeastie Boys success can be emulated by anyone.
Even you.
Success in crowdfunding is never random
Every major campaign has a strategy. And often a team behind it.
A communication strategy lays out what the plan for the campaign is. It gives you a blueprint to work from.
It’s important to think about it in advance because crowdfunding is a very emotional experience. It’s easy to get carried away down the wrong track and miss the forest for the trees when you’re in the middle of it.
While there are definitely circumstances you need to be able to react to as they happen, there is also a lot to be said for staying the course.
Your strategy should begin months before your campaign does
Yeastie Boys’ strategy began 2 months out, but they had been planning the campaign for much longer.
Even before that, they had spent 6 years building a crowd that loved their product.
The communication strategy was really aimed at pulling together a crowd they already had and telling them about something they were already excited about.
It should talk to the people who want to listen
Consider: who is your crowd? What is it about your project that will interest them?
There is no point yelling randomly at people from a street corner. You are much better off approaching a small group who are genuinely interested in what you have to say.
Knowing who your crowd is, and getting them into the same place is only half the battle. You also need to know what you’re telling them about.
Consider what you actually want to communicate, and when
It’s possible you have an entire team working on your project. You’re certainly increasing your chances of success if you do.
But only if you are all on the same page.
You need to know what you want to say, to who, and when. Part of your strategy is about releasing information in the right way, at the right time.
For example, you don’t really want to announce your crowdfunding project to a mailing list of 5 people, while sending out a press release about the price of your shares and minimum investment.
It’s far more effective to broadcast the big announcement of the upcoming campaign through a press release.
Then, once your mailing list has grown thanks to the coverage, let the people who have expressed interest in what you are doing, in on what you’re offering.
Start now
Grab a piece of paper and work backwards from your launch date.
Consider when you will be sending out press releases and making major announcements.
Work out how you will communicate with people – both now, and during your campaign.
If you haven’t read the Yeastie Boys case study, make sure you do. It will give you a clear idea of how a communication strategy works to breed crowdfunding success.
Check out how to send a crowdfunding email that works, and how to write and send a press release.
You can totally do this. It just takes a bit of thought, and planning.
If you’d like to chat to Kat about developing your own communication strategy, you can book a one-on-one Skype call through the website right now.
