If you’ve ever talked to me, or you’ve read a few of my blogs, you know that I am a big believer in the power of the update.

To me, the update is the core of a great project. It turns a backer into a Forever Fan. It mitigates customer service problems, reduces overheads and is the most impactful marketing technique at your disposal as a crowdfunder.

But there’s an art to it.

One thing I hear from my backers is how much they love getting their updates. 6 months on from my project closing – and having completed the objectives – I still send them out because my backers still want them!!

I’ve recently moved my list to the Mailchimp platform, and since moving, I’ve been able to view the metrics… and boy are they interesting! I have a 65% open rate, and some of my backers open the email (presumably to read it) 4 or 5 times. That tells me I give good updates, and I’ve got great engagement. So what makes this list so special, and how have I worked to engage them?

1. I never expected them to follow

I kept the updates in the place they found me. For the first 6 months, the updates were done via the platform I ran my crowdfunding project on. After that, I downloaded the list of backers and moved them myself.

Expecting a backer to move to Facebook or your website on their own accord will only reduce your engagement.

Meet them where they are, and reduce the expectations and workload for them at every turn. If you want these people to follow and fall in love with you, then make sure you are the one leading. Move them into a database you control if you must, but don’t expect them to do the work.

2. No update is about me

Well, they are. They’re personal and they go in-depth with where I am, and what I’ve done in my business. But I don’t talk about it as being my success. I talk about as being their success.

Everyone likes to back a winner, and your crowd is no exception. In my case, every person I help, was helped by my crowd. Every dollar I raise, is in part because my crowd gave me the education I needed to raise it.

It’s not my success, or your success, it’s their success.

3. Regularity and habit

When I was going through B-School, updates were sent out every Sunday like clockwork. I was clear and honest about the schedule. I didn’t run to fill their inbox with every piece of news. Instead I crafted my updates over time.

This is even more important now I’ve backed off to a monthly update. There are times when I wish this was more often because I am genuinely excited to tell them what’s going on.

Instead, I take the full month to write the update. I write when things are fresh and my passion and excitement still shines through. Then, when it comes to sending out the update, it’s all there. I can proof-read it, edit it, and send it out with very little fuss.

4. Honesty

Sometimes shit hits the fan. When it does, these are the people I talk to. My project was a personal one, so my updates are sometimes concerned with the personal:

You know what happened after that update? Two backers offered me their houses. A bunch of them bought my stuff. One travelled 3 hours to help me hold a garage sale. Honestly. You don’t have to convince me I have the most epic of crowds. I know I do!

5. Genuine gratitude and respect

I know some people think the word “awesome” gets bandied about too much, but not an update goes by where I don’t reiterate how much I appreciate my crowd.

I take every opportunity I can to tell them they are awesome. The collage photo at the top of this post is of all their faces, and I’m dedicated to ensuring that photo becomes a slide in every presentation I ever give. Not because it was a reward or anything, but because I just love them that much. And you know what that means for me? It means that you can’t mention crowdfunding around any of them without hearing my name.

It means that there are people out there (perhaps you’re one of them) who heard my name 4 or 5 times before they decided to check me out. This is a two way thing. I was genuinely humbled by their support. The people that came out of the woodwork to support me really surprised me, and that gratitude shines through in every single email.

6. Action and substance

My emails are always about action. They are about the things I am able to do because 46 individuals bought some cookies, or took me up on an offer to weed their garden 6 months ago.

Even when the news kinda sucks, they are about how I’m changing things, not moping about how much my life sucks. They positively radiate action.

They’re also pretty long. Usually 5-6 solid paragraphs. Sometimes I’ll employ lists if there’s a lot to say, and I nearly always format them to help people skimread the important points (using bold text and capitals). But they’re still long, and the feedback I’ve had is that my backers like that. They don’t want fluffy updates, they want real ones.

Takeaways

No matter what your project is, there’s something you can take away from all of this. If you don’t feel like your crowd is incredible, and you’re not telling them how amazing they are, then I suggest you reconsider crowdfunding.

I believe the most important thing in this activity is always going to be the crowd. When I talk about crowdfunding, I explain that the money is just the icing on the top. No-one crowdfunds because they don’t want or need the money, but if you’re really smart, you’ll know that the crowd is so much more valuable.

That crowd will become fans, evangelists and life-long customers. But it all starts with a humble update and some simple human connection and communication.