What do you need for kickstarter

In April , Migicovsky decided eschew traditional funding in favor of crowdfunding. The project was destined for success because the product at its heart was sleek, innovative, and useful.

It was perfectly executed, from top to bottom. The first step is to have a bright idea along the lines of the Pebble E-Watch. Your project needs to be one that you would actually want to fund with your own money if somebody told you about it. This could be anything from an invention to an app to an ebook.

Think of Kickstarter as a way to gauge the feasibility of your idea out in public without having to invest any money up front. Before you dive in, make sure Kickstarter is right for you by checking the requirements below. One in four project proposals are declined by Kickstarter. Kickstarter only funds projects.

Every campaign undergoes a review process and must be accepted by Kickstarter before it goes live. Neither does philanthropy. You can see a full list of Kickstarter guidelines and restrictions here.

Indiegogo is less popular, but also less restrictive. With a few exceptions, the advice contained in this article is applicable to all crowdfunding websites, including Indiegogo , GoFundMe and GoGetFunding. For a comparison table of crowdfunding sites, you can visit this helpful Wikipedia entry.

It will take hours of work to develop the project you must build it, create a video, and determine the rewards — but it will take even longer to maintain and promote the project through the funding process. Once the project is successful, your job is far from over. You must then use your newfound capital to complete the project and distribute the rewards to your backers. As you build your project, take your time! The average successfully funded creator spends nearly two weeks tweaking their project before launching.

A thoughtful and methodical approach can pay off. That will give you plenty of time to fine-tune it and build up anticipation amongst your network. According to Kickstarter Cofounder Yancey Strickley, they strive to respond to each new proposal within 24 hours. But they do get bogged down with submissions and it can take as long as a week in some cases. In order to use Kickstarter, you must create a simple account. It requires only your name, email, and password and takes about 30 seconds to set up.

Many founders set up a personal account, but Eric Migicovsky decided to make a profile for his company, Pebble Technology. This has the benefit of making his project seem more official, reputable, and dependable. But it also makes it harder to create a human, emotional connection with the Kickstarter community. Your project image is the single most important branding element of your project.

Try to include some important keywords while still striking up curiosity. This is one of the smallest but most difficult tasks when setting up your project. That means that the pledges are only redeemable if you meet or surpass your goal. The response from previous backers was amazing, and they reached percent over target in just four days. Another great example of a Kickstarter campaign that continually touches base with backers is that of Reading Rainbow, one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns of all time.

They start off with a shocking statistic informing backers that one in four children in America are growing up functionally illiterate. They then go on to say that, thanks to Kickstarter funders, the problem is being tackled.

More than 16 million books have now been read over the last two years on Reading Rainbow tablets. They have achieved repeated funding thanks to their regular updates showing real results and connecting backers to the people who benefit from the funds.

Some of these stipulations include working on cures for illnesses, energy drinks, or raising money for charity or political causes. If you manage it well and provide regular updates, you can use Kickstarter to kick-start your business, and also to finance new projects and ideas along the way.

Christina Comben is a copywriter and content manager at Day Translations. She specializes in website content, article writing, content optimization and blogging. You can connect with Christina via her website, through Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Read Starting By: Christina Comben. The cause of Kickstarter failure Why do so many Kickstarter projects go unnoticed and unfunded? Before you put the time and effort into setting up your Kickstarter, make sure to set realistic expectations for what you can achieve on the platform.

Ludenso , another company that has successfully executed Kickstarter fundraisers, suggested building an audience before going to Kickstarter. The best way to estimate how much you could raise is to count the people you know who are likely to donate.

To start setting up your campaign, you will need to create a free account on Kickstarter with a username and password. Then, you will start a new project , which is the same as a fundraising campaign. This includes:. Writing your project description is perhaps the most important aspect of your Kickstarter. Adding a video to your page is optional, but projects with videos tend to get funding more often than those without.

Of course, you also want viewers to read the rest of the page and see how funny you are, what wonderful prizes you have to offer, and all that jazz — but people are busy. These rewards are also key: Your rewards should be exciting enough to pique interest and make backers feel like they are part of your project. Create reward tiers to incentivize higher contributions. Use yourself or your staff as a metric. Before you press launch, have a marketing plan in place. Remember, Kickstarter is full of great ideas competing for attention.

Post your crowdfunding campaign on social media and your website, and send it to people on your email list. Kickstarter's official guidelines suggest that you demonstrate the status of your project with technical drawings, CAD designs, photos, videos and sketches, "along with a prototype demonstrating the product's current functionality. Read the guidelines carefully, and then read them again, Kuriyama says.

Should I create a video for my Kickstarter campaign? Videos aren't required, but Cebulski, Kuriyama and Kickstarter itself recommend using them. Projects that include a video are 50 percent more successful than those that don't, according to Kickstarter. The best videos are short, personal and passionate, whether they're professionally produced or shot on a smartphone.

Tell the human side of the story behind your project in the first 20 seconds of your video, which generally shouldn't last more than two minutes, Kuriyama says.

Briefly discuss what inspired you to create the project, why it should be funded and what stage it's currently at. How should I publicize my Kickstarter campaign? Once you're ready to launch your project, it's time to spread the word in your personal, and professional networks, both online and off.

Kuriyama says he avoided mass emails and opted instead to write dozens of personalized emails to friends, family, colleagues and tech industry influencers, introducing his Kickstarter project while also inquiring about his recipients' lives and careers. You can also consider drafting a press release about your campaign to send to local print, TV and radio media, as well as online media and bloggers who write about products like yours.

Can I choose how long my Kickstarter project will last? Kickstarter campaigns last between one and 60 days. How long yours runs is up to you and you set your own start and end dates. Kickstarter recommends running your project for 30 days or fewer because month-long campaigns have the highest success rates. Which project category should I enter?

Your project must fit into one of the 13 main categories: art, comics, dance, design, fashion, film, food, games, music, photography, publishing, technology or theater. There are now also 36 subcategories.