If you’ve looked around this blog much, you’ll already know that you shouldn’t count on the “stranger vote” to get your project off the ground.
Without a doubt, it’s your own crowd – friends, family, and early-adopters who you have bought on board – who will get you a significant portion of the way.
But once you hit 30%, you’ll start to notice that strangers are starting to contribute to your campaign. This is particularly true if you have a product of some kind – like a gadget or a game.
Once your crowd has given their vote of social confidence, others will be more likely to pay attention, and want to get on board.
So this week I’m going to look at the three things you need to get right in order to get people to actually click on your project. I’ll be looking specifically at Kickstarter, but the lessons will cross platforms.
1. Your title
Kickstarter’s search algorithm works on the title – not on the description. That means it’s important to have your key words within the title. Take the four examples at the top of this page (at publishing time, they are the most-funded projects on Kickstarter).
Notice how they all contain two things: the name of their product AND a description of what it is. Just by looking at them, you get an idea of what it does – before you click, you kinda know what you’re going to be learning more about.
Having the name of the product means that if someone hears about you, they can easily find you. Having some key words in your description means that if they only remember the general gist of your product, they can find you too.
How to do it right:
Neil Patel of QuickSprout recommends you come up with 10 titles for a blog before you decide on one. I recommend you do the same thing when it comes to your crowdfunding project.
Include the name of your product/project, followed by a description that includes the keywords you think someone might search if they’ve been told about you in a conversation.
2. The still image
Again, there’s another pattern here. All of these images put the product itself front-and-center. There are no banners or text. You can clearly see what the product looks like. No distractions.
This actually surprised me, but for the majority of projects in the top 20, it’s the general rule.
How to do it right:
Get professional product shots made. Make it look beautiful. Clearly present your prototype so people know what they’re getting.
3. The short description
Another pattern emerges here. All of these projects tell you what they do for you, simply, in only a few sentences.
They all highlight the user. It’s not a bland product description – it tells you what this project will do for the backer, and sells the larger dream.
How to do it right:
Words matter. After your title, these few words are the most important of all the words you’re going to write in your project.
There’s no point slaving to come up with kick-ass rewards, or filming the world’s most innovative crowdfunding video if no one is clicking on your project to see them.
Think about your project from the point of view of a backer. What are the key problems your product solves? Why would someone want to back you? Start there.
Takeaways
Getting organic traffic is about clear communication and copy. It’s about making sure the viewer gets a really clear idea of the project at a glance.
The people of the internet are pretty lazy and passive. You need to be clear and interesting to get clicks. It’s those clicks that could turn into pledges.
Use these three areas of your campaign to optimise your appeal in order to maximise your audience. Check out this post for more tips on maximising your crowdfunding copy.
