3 Major Crowdfunding PR Mistakes To Avoid

Failing to do PR outreach throughout the duration of your Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or other type of crowdfunding campaign can make it harder to maintain fundraising momentum, attract more backers outside of the Kickstarter community, and take advantage of the “Kickstarter Effect,” where you continue to see a spike in sales and website traffic, even after your campaign has finished.

There are several key components to putting together a comprehensive PR strategy for the launch of your crowdfunding campaign. In this article, I’m going to cover a few major mistakes that you should avoid when planning out the PR for the upcoming launch of your project.

1. Giving no thought to the story behind your team or product.

A great PR story doesn’t just explain what the product does and why you need funding to make this particular project happen. It also introduces the journalist, reporter, or blogger to the reasons why you are passionate about this problem, how your team came to work on this product, and the vision you have for the future.

A journalist is not in the business of simply disseminating your news to the public or trying to get you more pledges, backers, and sales with a favorable article. They are in the business of pleasing their readers. This could mean stories that will fill their readers in on:

• A technology gadget that will change the world.
• A fun entertaining project, game, or experience that they or their family might love.
• A compelling story that exemplifies the american dream and inspire them to work hard
• A heartfelt story that will make them feel good about their life.

When crafting the story behind your campaign and the story that you will use to seduce journalists and bloggers, give thought to what type of story their audience would be interested in and why this story is a great fit for their publication, not why you want them to write about your project.

2. Failing to develop a relevant media list.

The initial thing that most creators do when they finally launch their crowdfunding campaign is blast their story or press release out to the email inbox of as many media outlets as possible and hope that a journalist writes about them or that they get a cover story.

Unfortunately, this technique is a sure recipe for failure. Not only is it spammy, but it is also a waste of time.

I do think that press releases bring value, particularly if those media outlets are opted-in to receive press releases. However, if you’re directly pitching journalists, then you need to tailor your message to each reporter, blogger, or editor.

Developing a media list is a simple way of saying that you’re going to compile a list of all of the publications or journalists in your niche that have either:

• Written about similar products or campaigns before.
• Cover your industry and you’ve come up with a pitch that is in-line with other stories they have written.

I’ve linked to a rudimentary example of some of the major websites in the crowdfunding industry. Rather than using this list, I would develop a similar list for your niche, whether that’s video gaming, film, or a table top game.

3. Not using rapport-building techniques like these.

What is “rapport?” “Rapport is a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well.”

Personally, I think that definition is a little too formal. I define rapport as that feeling you get when you’re really connecting with another human being. That individual doesn’t see you as some entity, like a corporation, nonprofit, or business. They see you as another human. If you’re very effective, then they see you as another human being who is desirable to be around.

Here are a few ways to stand out in the mind of a journalist, blogger, or reporter and develop rapport more easily online.

• Read and reference their previous work.
• Interact with them on multiple channels (like social media) before connecting with them via email.
• Use statistics, awards, and credibility boosters to show that you’re a person worth listening to and that may have an interesting story
• Match your email subject line to be similar to the headlines from other articles they have written.
• Customize your gmail image so that when they receive an email, they will also see your professional photo next to it.
• Make it easy for them to see which other publications have already picked you up and why this story is worth writing about.