For any crowdfunding campaign, connecting with the target market early is essential to getting backers and achieving your goals. Peter Li of Atlas Wearables shares the pre-campaign process and the value of building an email list early in order to achieve the goals of his campaign. He shares with Khierstyn many tips and strategies that truly set his brand apart from others and allowed Atlas to well exceed their goals. Peter offers advice to new funders who are ready to tackle their goals.
The first product launched by Altas Wearables was the Atlas Wristband, a high-tech fitness tracker that leaves its competitors in the dust. The mind-boggling capabilities of this one-of-a-kind tracker sets it apart from the rest, which Peter knew would give him the edge when it came to crowdfunding. The key was to start spreading the word early and gain the attention of the target market in order to get the backers they needed. Peter shares the timeline leading up to the campaign and how he approached building his email list. Because of the unique nature of his product, it was all about connecting with the people who were looking for a solution to the problem the Atlas Wristband solves.
Peter Li believes in keeping your foot on the gas throughout the campaign when it comes to networking. In the 9 months prior to the campaign, the Atlas team attended events, meetups and conferences where their audience would be. This allowed them to build their list, network, and connect with people who could propel the campaign forward. The most important part of building an email list? Understanding the problem and how your product solves it. Peter also shares why they chose crowdfunding instead of going straight to retail, knowing how unique the product was.
Maintaining momentum is key to the long-term success of your campaign. Altas Wearables started off strong, hitting their goal early in the game. But, how did they maintain this momentum? According to Peter, it’s all about continuing to network even after your campaign has started. He shares the importance of continuing to get the word out and how it really lies on the shoulders of the funder to make sure that happens. For Altas, that meant going to gyms, races, and fitness events because that’s where they would find people who needed their product. Peter goes on to share the role of PR and paid marketing in the Atlas campaign.
The Atlas Wearables campaign was a huge success and Peter offers his advice to crowdfunders who are approaching their first campaign: Underpromise and Overdeliver. He explains the importance of this in the long-term success of the company and the satisfaction of the backers. Peter also explains why they chose Indiegogo and if they would go with Indiegogo again for a future campaign. This chat with Peter Li is filled with valuable insight into the pre-campaign process you can implement into your own strategy.
CONNECT WITH KHIERSTYN: K(at)crowdfundinguncut(dot)com
We hear a lot about how to build successful crowdfunding campaigns. But, what we don’t hear a lot about is what to do after your campaign. In this chat with Netta Shalgi of G-RO, Khierstyn investigates the importance of understanding how to maintain momentum beyond your crowdfunding campaign. Netta explains that crowdfunding isn’t just a product launch; it’s also the creation of an online business. Dubbed by Khierstyn as “The James Bond of Luggage”, Netta headed a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign for his business G-RO. Along with his co-founder, Netta was able to launch a unique, innovative product, which saw huge success in gaining backers. This conversation is filled with practical tips that can transform your next campaign.
Netta Shalgi and his partner approached crowdfunding with great care, paying attention to every detail along the way. They understood the value of refining the product before launch and ensuring that they were offering something that backers would love. The pre-launch process was lengthy – with many months of preparation. Netta explains the role of PR companies as they moved towards product launch and how this paved the way for a fast start. After meeting their original goal in a mere few hours, it’s clear G-RO was well-received by backers. Netta shares with us how they made sure they would launch with a bang.
Netta shares with Khierstyn one of the most important aspects of his campaign – being prepared for anything. Before they even considered starting the campaign, they knew they had to have a fully functional product with every kink worked out beforehand. This was an integral component of finding footing early in the campaign. From PR to marketing efforts, the G-RO reached out to friends, family, and their extended network to spread the word about the product pre-launch. This helped them gain a significant amount of referral traffic in the early days, which made a big impact on the early success they saw.
As the start date of the campaign grew closer, Netta wanted to make sure they did everything right. The team considered a 30-day versus a 60-day campaign, landing on the latter because they felt it was the right choice for the product. Early momentum ensured success, but maintaining that momentum would be a greater challenge. Netta shares a “secret” to his success: revealing new sides of the project throughout the campaign. This helped them keep backers interested, and attracted new backers as the project moved forward. In retrospect, Netta says he would be more diligent about setting stretch goals to improve the project, but overall the G-RO campaign is certainly a success.
Netta Shalgi shared many useful tips and tricks to help fellow crowdfunders launch with confidence. With over 7000 backers to date, G-RO is poised to move to the next stage at the top of its game. Netta shares with Khierstyn some tips on what comes after crowdfunding, offering ideas that can take any business to the next level. This episode is filled with inspiration on how to prepare for and manage a hugely successful crowdfunding campaign. Netta Shalgi gives us a new perspective on how to approach crowdfunding with long-term goals in mind. If you’re ready to think beyond crowdfunding, you don’t want to miss this week’s episode.
Each crowdfunding campaign faces its own unique issues. From niche products to technology-based ones, project creators must understand the market before they move forward with the campaign. In this chat with Helen Thomas (founder of Touchjet), Khierstyn discusses how she successfully launched a very futuristic product in spite of facing heavy doubts along the way. The most important issues facing a campaign like this? How do you get backers to understand a product when they may not even believe the technology exists? Even with these major obstacles, Helen and the Touchjet team have seen massive success and she shares how she got there.
When they came up with the idea for Touchjet WAVE, Helen and team knew the most important aspect of the campaign would be telling the story. Investors expressed great doubt in the viability of a product that claimed to turn any screen into a touchscreen. Armed with determination, Helen knew she had to go to the consumers to find out more about how well the product could do. Step 1 was the prototype; step 2 was surveying consumers to find out just how viable this futuristic product was. Using experience from the first Touchjet campaign, Helen understood the most important part of any campaign: listening to the audience.
After conducting multiple consumer surveys, it was time to move forward with the campaign. Helen understood that the very best way to find out if her product could make it was to let the community speak. In spite of the doubt she faced along the way, consumers showed a great deal of enthusiasm for the Touchjet WAVE, which was evident when they reached their $100,000 goal in just 24 hours. This innovative, first-of-its-kind product seemed to thrill backers. To date, they have over 5000 backers, which is up 2000 from the first campaign. Seeing success like this comes from paying attention to the details, understanding the market, and offering a truly unique consumer-focused product.
Like any crowdfunder, Helen understood that each campaign would provide valuable lessons that must be applied to future campaigns. The first Touchjet campaign certainly saw success. As she approached the second campaign for Touchjet WAVE, Helen put the lessons learned from the first campaign to good use, most importantly maintaining diligence in connecting with the mailing list throughout the campaign. Helen shares why she chose crowdfunding to launch Touchjet WAVE versus opting for a mainstream approach to bringing the product to market. Reaching a global audience, she says, is a game-changer.
Seeing such tremendous success with a campaign for such a unique, futuristic product is something to be proud of. Helen shares how they managed to gain such momentum early in the game and reach their goal of $100k in just 24 hours. Her goal was to connect with a community of backers that were as passionate about the product as she was, and that’s just what she did. With 5,000 backers to date, the Touchjet WAVE is a huge hit. From mailing lists to PR, Helen Thomas shared many tips to help fellow crowdfunders get started with a bang.
CONNECT WITH HELEN: www.Touchjet.com
CONNECT WITH KHIERSTYN: K(at)crowdfundinguncut(dot)com
Gaining momentum early in the #crowdfunding #campaign, with Helen Thomas of #TouchjetWAVE
Understanding the #viability of your product from the consumer’s perspective, with Helen Thomas of #TouchjetWAVE
Gaining insights from previous #crowdfunding #campaigns, Helen Thomas of #TouchjetWAVE
The top 3 strategies that gain momentum early in a #crowdfunding #campaign, with Helen Thomas of #TouchjetWAVE
Overcoming doubt when taking a #futuristic #product to market, with Helen Thomas of #TouchjetWAVE