4 Common Mistakes to Avoid on Kickstarter and Indiegogo

Creator, I get you, you’re planning or you’re about to launch your first crowdfunding campaign on the most common platforms: Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Most of the time it could be a struggle, you may not know where to start, which guide to consult, which article to read… but first things first.

Before launching your first campaign it could be useful to know what are the most common mistakes most of the creators did while launching their first campaign (trust me, I’ve been one of them and helped a lot of them too!).

That’s why today we’re going to talk about (and try to avoid) the 4 common mistakes on Kickstarter and Indiegogo!

Keep reading to know more!

1° MISTAKE: SETTING THE CAMPAIGN PAGE AS YOUR FIRST STEP

I see you, being excited and ready to create your first campaign page, you may start to involve and hire professionals to start designing your page and setting up engaging content.

Well, stop right where you are. Doing this you're stepping into the 1° mistake, that's because you're wasting budget for a step that should not be your first priority but one of the last.

Just think about this, how people are going to visit your campaign and back it if they don't know your project? Or don't need your product because the market is full of similar projects?

That's why I always say to my client is to focus on the preparation of a proper pre-launch phase as their first step. Building the right pre-launch phase with market research, community building, email marketing and all, will allow you to have a deeper knowledge of your market and your backer's needs.

By the time you're sure about your project and already have all set in your mind, you can create a Campaign page on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

2° MISTAKE: TREAT KICKSTARTER AND INDIEGOGO AS AN E-COMMERCE

The most common misconception is to think about these platforms as a place to sell new products. Actually, Kickstarter and Indiegogo are the complete opposite of an e-commerce, mainly because the core of these platforms is community.

Since people are going to back their money on something that doesn't exist, you cannot act like you're on an e-commerce platform, you will need to engage them, make them feel involved, and create a real community interested in your project.

For this reason building a proper pre-launch phase is fundamental to create a crowd around your project, and I'll help you with that at the end of the article!

Once you've gathered a crowd of interested people and kept them ''warm'' it'll be easier to sell your product!

3° MISTAKE: RELY ON A THIRD ENTITY TO MAKE THE JOB FOR YOU

Another common misconception I spotted among my clients and people I've consulted is the belief that handling all the management of their crowdfunding campaign to a third entity, most of the time a crowdfunding agency, will do the work, but it's not like this.

You may tend to think that in this way your job will be simplified and you'll get results right away, but I want to inform you that there could be no one that could build and run your crowdfunding campaign better than yourself.

Hiring a crowdfunding agency could be dangerous and a huge expense of money, and some of my clients, unfortunately, had to try that on their skin. A lot of my clients didn't have the required competencies to supervise and control what the agency was doing and if they were really doing something for the campaign's sake.

Hold on, I'm not saying that crowdfunding agencies are not good for running crowdfunding campaigns, but for sure they will not put the same effort you would put in running the project of your dreams. The fact is that these agencies have loads of campaigns to manage and they cannot effectively focus on just your campaign, so what they will do is the bare minimum, are you sure you want to run your crowdfunding campaign with minimum effort?

For that reason, no matter if it's a crowdfunding agency, a manager, or a friend, remember that you are the leader of your project, the success of the campaign is in your hands!

4° MISTAKE: LAUNCHING A CAMPAIGN WITHOUT A PRE-LAUNCH PHASE OR COMMUNITY

As I told you before, the most important steps for a successful campaign are the pre-launch phase and the creation of a community interested in your project. Doing other things before that is a waste of time and budget, and you don't want that!

There are several ways to attract people, start with creating a landing page where you share the story behind your new proposed project, gather interested people to send them newsletters about your project, create a Facebook Group to update your community about your project's progression and so on...

These 2 steps are fundamental to rise awareness in your project, gathering interested people, and create hype around your first campaign.

If you wanna be sure to understand more about a proper crowdfunding pre-launch, I’ve got you covered with my crowdfunding pre-launch free e-book called ''3 steps to success on Kickstarter and Indiegogo''. 

It’s gonna guide you through the right strategy to follow in order to build a solid and warm community of potential backers for your project.

WRAPPING IT UP

It's very common to occur in these mistakes, due to the fact that there are many misconceptions about the crowdfunding industry, my job here is to guide you through the right strategies to follow in order to build a successful crowdfunding path, as I did with many clients!

Be sure to remember these tips and now that you know what to avoid you should have clear in mind the next step to take, creator!

Don't forget to stay updated for the next articles I'm going to drop and download the free e-Book now ''3 steps to success on Kickstarter and Indiegogo''. 

Ciao ciao

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