Need help with social media marketing and press release for my crowdfunding campaign

[pkaiken]

I currently have a kickstarter campaign and cannot get enough backers to pledge. I have a unique magnetic repair guide called "Repair X" that shows a technician how to disable a game system, computer, or smartphone or tablet. Many have said that is "smokes" every other repair guide on the market and many are begging to buy it now. But I am struggling to get my campaign recognition. I have followed over 2000 repair stores and repair schools on twitter, instagram and post images of my product daily using hashtags relevant to this industry. I get many likes on my posts daily and many followers daily. But this has not affected my campaign at all. I know internet marketing is a little unique for crowdfunding sites so I need help with the following:

-I have a press release written but I have no clue how to send it to web sites or blogs to get it featured
-I do twitter and instagram and get followers daily (I currently have over 100 followers on each) but how do I best use these sites for promotion?
-How do I even us Facebook if most (if not all) groups consider posting any kickstarter campaign in a group is spam? How do I even use Facebook beyond making a business page (that no one looks at)?
-I have exhausted all my funds so I cannot afford a PR firm or social media ads anymore (Ive tried them and they brought 100's of NON-targeted likes, which is useless). So what other "free" options are out there?
-How do other stupid kickstarter campaigns get double or triple their funding goal, while I have been contacted by the CEO of a chain of repair related companies wants my product in bulk for distribution, but I can't seem to find a strong following beyond the handful of supporters I have? (I need more than just 20 serious people to get funding)

P.S.

I have already tried 3 PR firms and they also had no effect on my campaign:

-A twitter PR firm promised an increase in traffic to my page but I didn't notice anything different by the time the campaign ended (my campaign stayed at 17 backers for 20 days straight and actually got people concealing their pledge the last 5 days before it ended)
-Another PR firm I paid $1500 for their "top level" promotion that was supposed to do serious promotion. Again, my campaign went up by 1 backer over the corse of the campaign. They sent an analiztics and its showed only about 200 people even visited my page.
-Finally I submitted my campaign to fundedtoday.com. They said they can promote it but I need to give them $3500 up front and then they take 35% of the final funding. If I am only asking for $20,000 funding on my campaign, that means they take $10,500 from me. That’s over half of my funding money! What money would I have left over to send the backers their product?

No more PR firms for me!!!!

[Harold Mansfield]

Sorry to hear about your frustrations, but it is a common one. Marketing is hard, especially online and there are a lot of people who will take your money to tell you want to want to hear.

I've been on both sides of the isle here. Needing to promote my own stuff, and running a popular blog that other people wanted to be promoted on. So I can tell you what I've learned, observed and what has helped me and my clients.

Some of these things are things many of us discussed with you back when you first brought up Kickstarter a few months back.

First of all you said that you wrote your own press release. Nothing wrong with that, but since it's your first it's probably not that good. My first press release wasn't good either. Technically it was a press release, but looking back now..it sucked. Yours could probably do with an overhaul to incorporate better sales copy and calls to action that follow through to somewhere that is also well done. Things that are specific to your product, not just a boiler plate that fills in the blanks with words.

Also, press releases NEED media to get anyone to actually look at them. Professional photos of the product, company info and logos, videos and so on.
(I know you'll say "But I have that". Then consider the possibility that it's not that good. It's not personal, it's about doing what you can to be the best you possibly can. Bad media is worse than no media. If what you were doing was awesome, we wouldn't be here. )

In all the years that I ran a music blog and wrote for Examiner I got press" daily. The ones I paid attention to and posted on my site sent press packs that provided me with media for publishing so that I didn't have to go searching for it on my own, and of course the music or event was good.

Some promoters had it down to a science and whenever I saw their stuff it was immediately posted. They sent awesome media along with it. Multiple high quality photos. Clips. Free downloads for my readers and so on.

Others were pretty bad at it, boring press releases, sent incomplete emails without any artist info, no media, no buy links, nothing. Even worse many were "click here for more info" and then the landing page sucked, or I was directed to a 3rd party site that didn't tell me much more. They were written from the position that if they just built it, everyone in the industry would immediately just support it.

My readers wanted to know about the artist, tours, see a video if it existed, maybe learn about previous releases they were on or produced. It was a music blog, not just a list of tracks, and many times tracks was all some promoters sent. That did me no good. They can do that on Soundcloud.

I know what they wanted. They wanted me to listen and then write a review about how awesome it was. But I wasn't a music review site. I was a news site. They didn't do their homework to understand what I was looking for and the kind of things that I wrote about, and just sent me the standard crap link that they send to DJ's and radio stations looking for air play. IOW, my audience.

So understand that every media outlet is not the same. Some are publications that other people in the industry read to see what's new. You should have enough materials that you can customize what you send specific to who you are sending it to. NO ONE is going to go the extra mile to make you look good.

People who have influence want to share awesome things with their readers. The people who take the time (and sometimes expense) to create that for them get noticed. Editors and publishers are not going to search for additional information to promote your product. If you don't make it easy for them, you get deleted and forgotten about.

Once you've built an awesome press pack, then comes the question of how to get it out there.

Easy, you send it influential people and publications in your industry. Merely following people on social media means nothing. At the moment you are no one so they don't care what you post. You're just one of millions of people constantly promoting their own stuff on any given day. You have to go the extra mile with your presentation and knock it out of the park to get noticed.

Don't send people to a personal Facebook account.
Don't send them to a LinkedIn account that says nothing about the product company.
Don't sent them to dead accounts that you never post on.
Don't create accounts that are nothing but the same self promotion over and over again.

Make sure that what you DO connect to is ready. Professional. That your website is ready to sell and gather leads. That your newsletter program is ready to go. It all works together. You can't just go through the motions and sit around wondering why no one is paying attention. Someone did pay attention and what you showed them wasn't enough for them to care.

The bottom line is you're approaching it from "Look how great my product is" and what people care about is "What's in it for me?" or how will this make me look good to my readers. Is this the kind of thing that keeps them coming back, or does it look like I'm a shill for hire to promote whatever crap lands on my desk?

Even with all of that, nothing works as good as sending influencers the product. Words can only do so much. If you want people to pay attention and discover how great it is, you have to find a way to get it in their hands.
There is no way around that. You can't do less than other people who also want their attention and expect the same results.

To answer one of your last questions about what other "free" options are out there. There are none. Nothing is free. You either learn how to do it yourself ( and you have to actually be good at it), or you pay someone. However if you have no idea about any of it, you end up paying the wrong people. Even the free stuff takes professionalism which costs money to create. Good graphics, video, copy writing and so on. You can't do everything yourself and given the time frame that you are under, you don't have years to learn how to do it effectively.

You also need to get out there. Podcasts, webinars, get on people's shows or "How to" You Tube videos and so on. You can't do this from a desk with no interaction with the world.

Have you ever seen a You Tube review or unboxing that was just words and they didn't have the actual product in their hand? If you have, it probably sucked. Words are supplements online. What people want is to see it.

Don't get caught up in what other people are doing and how they didn't do something and "it" still worked. This is about what YOU need to do. You aren't them, don't know the full story, have have no idea of the connections, accounts, or expertise that they may have walked in the door with.

Also understand that it may not work. That's just reality. You could dance and jump through hoops for years and never get any traction. That's the risk of going into business for yourself and also the reality of Kickstarter. It takes more than a good idea. Good ideas are a dime a dozen. Short of having dumb luck, it's execution, promotion, and marketing that separates the men from the boys.

[Harold Mansfield]

Wanted to add a few things about some of today's "PR" and social media firms that promise to make something go viral or promise you traffic, or followers or likes through the magic of some knobs they are going to turn or this secret network that they have.

It's all fake.

Traffic is faked by scripts that can fake location info, IP addresses and so on.
Social Media likes and visits are done by off shore cheap labor. It's not real people.
You can do press release distribution yourself with a premium account on PR Web.

And anything else those kinds of companies promise are total BS.

Marketing starts from the ground up and follows through from beginning to end. Anyone who promises to make it all better without overhauling your presentation first, is lying to you.

Success online isn't about magic exposure, secret networks and tricks. It's about presentation and execution of your idea and targeting and engaging with your market.

[pkaiken]

Thanks again for a very deep response. Here are the points that gave me something to think about:

-First, You said I need a very very professional press release written, and not only that, but customized for each blog or web site that I send it to. I am resourceful and can write a strong press release but you make it sound like my greatest efforts are in vain and the only way I can even use a press release is to get it done by a professional which costs a lot of money. Ive read other articles saying to just send the press release to web sites and blogs with the best you can do and just see what happens. You don't really need a pro if you really can't afford one. Many have done their own press release and marketing and found success.

-Second, you said that I would need a professionally organized web site that people can go to as well. Ive seen many (successful) kickstarter pages that made a lot of money have very basic web sites, some even use the same base shopify template and have just basic info on the page and say to go to their kickstarter page. I would love to have a professional web designer but I just don't see that many campaigns have one. Some don't even have a web site. I thought the whole point of kickstarter was to raise funds FOR setting up the full website for sales after funding is reached. You mention things very few startups can afford. GoDaddy charges $1500 for a web site you say I would need, and thats just for setting it up, photos of the product and video is an entirely separate thing. Video production is also very very expensive, in the $7000 to $20,000 depending on quality and complexity. Kickstarter even features campaigns with a "DIY" feel to them, filmed on a "shoestring" budget and they have become successful.

-Third, You said there are no "free" stuff. Simple searching and talking to other kickstarter people will point you to many free places to promote your campaign. It may not be as affective as a more professional and paid service but it will still bring in some traffic to your page. If you convince an promotion expert that your product will be successful, they may even do the full PR treatment for you and then get paid after the campaign gets funded.

-Forth, you said you "can't do it all by yourself". That's also not necessarily true. I have built my product from the ground up. I made my own patent drawings, my own logo, designed the product to get it drafted to be used by a manufacturer to make the product. I used freelancers to set up my LLC, business plan, and trademark, I made my own logo, designed my own kickstarter page, made my own (professional) videos for it, set up my own web site (though it is basic) and I am making more of the product using my graphic design skills. I am doing my own marketing using Facebook, twitter, instagram, and tubmlr. And I wrote my own press release. I have NO ONE helping me outside of freelancers who are only doing the paperwork for the legal and technical parts of my business. All designs and write ups were done by me. I only need promotion help for my campaign and then I can officially say I am a one man business taking my idea from concept to a full profitable company.

-Finally, you said that most PR sites that promise "success" are fake. It seems that way to me, but I have been contacted by other PR firms who have said they set up their own PR firm that actually knows what they are doing because they got scammed by the fake PR firms when they had their campaign. Also, many top rated PR firms take only partially funded campaigns to help and if mine got more, they would promote mine with the fee being paid out of final funding. So I am not going to try another one but I'm sure there is some PR firm out there that can actually produce results. I do agree with you that the entire presentation needs to be perfected before promotion can truly work.

TO CONCLUDE:

If all you said above where absolutely the only way to get backing, I would give up right now and just shelve my product. The things you mention above are indeed true, but they are VERY expensive. I have read articles where people have promoted their own campaign by being resourceful and persistent and using the available resources online and have found success. I have been told by many people in my industry that my product will knock out all the others and that they want to be a distributor of it simply from viewing my video. The CEO of a chain of repair stores and connections to several networks wants to help as much as he can to get my product out there. Its not enough for just 20 to 30 loyal fans to back me, I need at least 300 or 500 backers. That's my problem. Many have said they took 6 months of marketing and getting their name out there before they saw the backers increase enough to fund them. (And I'm talking about less unique ideas than mine). I really believe that if I get this press release circulated, I will at least get enough backers to fund my campaign.

My question still goes unanswered:

How do you send a press release? How do you get the email addresses of these people who have connections with the web site you want to send it to?
How do you know what sites are interested in press releases and what sites are not? (The only reason why I am even wanting to send my own is because the PR firm that did mine did a very poor job, and I read an article that says many sites actually want a new story to feature and prefer to receive the press release from the creator himself rather than a secondary person).

[Harold Mansfield]

-First, You said I need a very very professional press release written, and not only that, but customized for each blog or web site that I send it to. I am resourceful and can write a strong press release but you make it sound like my greatest efforts are in vain and the only way I can even u.......

That's not what I'm saying and I'm here trying to help you do it yourself. But I'm not going to blow smoke up your butt and tell you how easy it is or that something is guaranteed.

Yes, SOME people do it all themselves and find success, and it's because they learn all they can about it to do it well. Anyone go stumble their way through putting something together, but you have to also be good at it. It's more than just plopping up some words and images and waiting.


-Second, you said that I would need a professionally organized web site that people can go to as well. Ive seen many (successful) kickstarter pages that made a lot of money have very basic web sites, some even use the same base shopify.....

OK so you're running your marketing based on seeing other people do the bare minimum and getting success. So how's that working out for you? They are not you. You need to do what's best for you. You can certainly do it yourself, but you also need to know how to do it well.

Your entire strategy here seems to be "mine is better than theirs, and others have told me so, therefore I shouldn't have to do much to promote it. I just need to plop it up somewhere and people will fall all over it. ".

That will never work. You need to get humble and realize where you're failing and move like a CEO to fix it. Not dig in because you want to do it all yourself and that's good enough. It's obviously not or we wouldn't be here.


-Third, You said there are no "free" stuff. Simple searching and talking to other kickstarter people will point you to many free places to promote your campaign. It may not be as affective as a more professional and paid service but it will still bring in some traffic to your page. If you convince an promotion expert that your product will be successful, they may even do the full PR treatment for you and then get paid after the campaign gets funded.
Again, how's that working out for you? You're relying on luck. Your not here because you haven't tried those things, you're here because that's not working for you. I'm merely suggesting that you go the extra mile and create something that is truly noticeable and execute it 100%. Not keep spinning your wheels trying to get lucky because of what you heard.


-Forth, you said you "can't do it all by yourself". That's also not necessarily true. I have built my product from the ground up. I made my own patent drawings, my own logo, designed the product to get it drafted to be used by a manufacturer to make the product. I used freelancers to set up my LLC, business plan, and trademark, I made my own logo, designed my own kickstarter page, made my own (professional) videos for it......

Again, how's that working out for you? That's all great and congratulations, but it's time to move on to the next phase. What you've done is great. But you're now at the "What's next? phase and you don't know how to do that part. So it's time to get realistic and stop relying on things that you've read that keep telling you how easy it is, and get out of your own bubble about how great your thing is.

I'm confused here. On the one hand you're asking for help, on the other you're saying "I know how to do everything myself".

If everyone was good at everything no one would need you or your idea, they'd build it themselves. Right?


-Finally, you said that most PR sites that promise "success" are fake. It seems that way to me, but I have been contacted by other PR firms who have said they set up their own PR firm that actually knows what they are doing because they got scammed by the fake PR firms when they had their campaign. Also, many top rated PR firms take only partially funded campaigns to help and if mine got more, they would promote mine with the fee being paid out of final funding. So I am not going to try another one but I'm sure there is some PR firm out there that can actually produce results. I do agree with you that the entire presentation needs to be perfected before promotion can truly work.
Yeah, they all say that. I'm not saying they are all fake. There are some awesome marketing companies out there. You haven't been using those. You've been using the cheaper, fly by night ones who tell you what you want to hear. I'm just telling you how they do it.




TO CONCLUDE:

If all you said above where absolutely the only way to get backing, I would give up right now and just shelve my product. The things you mention above are indeed true, but they are VERY expensive. I have read articles where people have promoted their own campaign by being resourceful and persistent and using the available resources online and have found success. I have been told by many people in my industry that my product will knock out all the others and that they want to be a distributor of it simply from viewing my video. The CEO of a chain of repair stores and connections to several networks wants to help as much as he can to get my product out there. Its not enough for just 20 to 30 loyal fans to back me, I need at least 300 or 500 backers. That's my problem. Many have said they took 6 months of marketing and getting their name out there before they saw the backers increase enough to fund them. (And I'm talking about less unique ideas than mine). I really believe that if I get this press release circulated, I will at least get enough backers to fund my campaign.

There is no "absolute" way. It's a crap shoot. That doesn't mean that you don't need to give it 100% and get creative.
Most projects don't get funded just like most businesses fail. It's great that people are telling you that, so my question is why aren't they funding it? Why aren't they promoting it? Because you still have to show proof of concept. They want to know that you have the ability to get it past just good idea. That you know how to act like a CEO. Not just some dude with a good idea.

You're only going to get so far reading what others have said, including what I'm telling you. At some point you're going to have to execute your own strategy and do it well. My suggestion is to swing for the fences and leave no stone unturned, no question unanswered and knock people's socks off.

I'm here to tell you that merely circulating a press release is not going to be enough unless you get some dumb luck. That's just one aspect of marketing. It's not the only thing you should be doing. Don't merely replicated what someone else claims they have done. Do something that no one has done before.

People lie. They love to tell others how easy it was AFTER the fact, but no one ever tells about the down and dirty, the nitty gritty. And most don't turn around and then sell their secrets to everyone else.

If someone is selling it, it's already saturated. No one gives up their honey hole or strategy. No one.


My question still goes unanswered:

How do you send a press release? How do you get the email addresses of these people who have connections with the web site you want to send it to?
How do you know what sites are interested in press releases and what sites are not? (The only reason why I am even wanting to send my own is because the PR firm that did mine did a very poor job, and I read an article that says many sites actually want a new story to feature and prefer to receive the press release from the creator himself rather than a secondary person).

1. Email works just fine. If you're sending a sample of the product and their address isn't on the website, just ask them where you can send a review sample? Bloggers love getting the actual product in their hand that they can feel and show readers. wouldn't it be great is someone else made a video review or demonstration of the product besides you? How can they do that if they don't have it?

2. Find the industry or related publications that you want to know about it. Most have some kind of contact email. Every reputable website has contact information. If it's not clear who to sent to, just ask. They will tell you.

3. Every industry site is interested in press releases. Sounds like you haven't clearly identified your target market. You need to do that or nothing you do will be successful. You can't just sent stuff into cyberspace and hope the right people see it.

When I started my music blog I had to do the opposite. So I identified all of the promoters, artists management, and record companies of that specific genre that I could and sent them all emails asking to be put on their list. IOW my target market. It was tedious, and ongoing for weeks. But it had to be done. I stayed on it. Every time I found a new label, I emailed. Before long I had the entire industry sending me press and I didn't have to ask anymore.

I'm not really sure what we're doing here. Do you want advice? Or do you want us to tell you that you can do it all yourself and everything you've done is awesome?

[Harold Mansfield]

Or you can ignore everything I'm saying except one thing. If you're dug in that what you've done is good enough, fine.

If all your eggs are in one basket, getting it to that right person that's going to sing your praises to the world,. at the very least identify your target market and the influencers in it. and send them the product. Talk is cheap. SHOW THEM.

Target people who make You Tube videos in the industry and send one to as many as you can.

At least do that one thing. Don't just say "all I need to do is..." , do it.

[Fulcrum]

I know I've said it before - you've got a good product idea.

Now I'm going to say it again - you've got a good product idea.

Here is where your execution fails - you're so concerned, and focused on, with making a Kickstarter campaign work you've stopped selling your product. You're nowhere near ready for the full scale production/sales that you think you are. A proper injection mold is going to run you $10,000-$100,000 depending on where/who you deal with and their ethics. I've heard of too many horror stories of start ups spending that kind of money and then going broke because the factory used a flawed mold.

Find a hungry job shop (small cnc mills) in your area that can handle making 100 pcs of your tray (you don't need injection molds to start). You can either do finish assembly yourself or have the job shop do it.

Now you've got some product that you can sell to boot strap the funding for the next 500 - 1000 pcs. After this you will be ready for a kickstarter campaign but guess what - you probably won't need it because you've started to put the sales channels in place.

[Harold Mansfield]

Also this:


I have built my product from the ground up. I made my own patent drawings, my own logo, designed the product to get it drafted to be used by a manufacturer to make the product. I used freelancers to set up my LLC, business plan, and trademark, I made my own logo, designed my own kickstarter page, made my own (professional) videos for it, set up my own web site (though it is basic) and I am making more of the product using my graphic design skills. I am doing my own marketing using Facebook, twitter, instagram, and tubmlr. And I wrote my own press release. I have NO ONE helping me outside of freelancers who are only doing the paperwork for the legal and technical parts of my business. All designs and write ups were done by me. I only need promotion help for my campaign and then I can officially say I am a one man business taking my idea from concept to a full profitable company.

That's great. But it's not about you, and you aren't selling your services as a start up consultant. Hopefully this isn't your sales pitch.
This is how MOST people get started so it goes without saying.
It's about the product. Put the product first. It doesn't work for you, you work for it and you'll do what it takes regardless of whether or not it was your idea.

No one has ever known how to do every possible thing successfully enough, all on their own, to grow an idea into a company.
It has never happened in the modern history of world economics.

This is the epitome of the phrase "Ideas are a dime a dozen, execution is everything".

I say this because it doesn't seem as if you're in the right frame of mind. You don't even have a company yet and your main concern seems to be that you have to be and know everything and you can't. No one can. we are all in because we specialize in things. Not because we know everything. There are many things, especially when it comes to marketing, that take years to get good at with constant learning. It's too important to try and just wing it, which is what you are doing and then declaring that you know enough...while asking why it's not working.

I am exactly where you are with a project that I'm developing. I know what I'm good at and what I'm not and need the expertise that is.

Just like building a website. Finishing the site is just the beginning. Great, you got the plans all done. Now it's time to get to work. Putting all of your eggs into Kickstarter will not end the way you're envisioning it. You've put far too many expectations on this one thing solving all of your problems and you're not accepting that the odds are against you, but that does mean that you shouldn't be doing other things to get your company off the ground.

If it was as easy as Just go on Kickstarter, every good idea would be funded and be a viable business. Hubris has killed many, many good ideas.

[pkaiken]

I know I've said it before - you've got a good product idea.

Now I'm going to say it again - you've got a good product idea.

Here is where your execution fails - you're so concerned, and focused on, with making a Kickstarter campaign work you've stopped selling your product. You're nowhere near ready for the full scale production/sales that you think you are. A proper injection mold is going to run you $10,000-$100,000 depending on where/who you deal with and their ethics. I've heard of too many horror stories of start ups spending that kind of money and then going broke because the factory used a flawed mold.

Find a hungry job shop (small cnc mills) in your area that can handle making 100 pcs of your tray (you don't need injection molds to start). You can either do finish assembly yourself or have the job shop do it.

Now you've got some product that you can sell to boot strap the funding for the next 500 - 1000 pcs. After this you will be ready for a kickstarter campaign but guess what - you probably won't need it because you've started to put the sales channels in place.

Hi Fulcrum. Thanks for the response and thanks for the complements of my product. I actually have 100 already made and ready to ship to the early bird backers. Since the main part of my product is made of foam, it does not need injection molding. The prototype cost only $250 to make and now they can make many more from that. If it did, I wouldn't be talking to you right now because I could never afford the $10,000 cost they originally quoted me when they thought I was making it out of plastic. It only costs $2.50 per product to make. The guides themselves are just paper and cost as little as $0.05 when printing 10,000 guides. My web site is just a dormant site that can be converted to an online store in days. Everything is already set up for sales or can be converted within days. All I need is capital and I can go global. If I had just $5000 I could do pre-sales of my product, but I have exhausted my funds. Again, everything is ready for retail, all I need is start up capital as cushion and money to pay a virtual business assistant to aid me with doing distribution and international shipping.

[pkaiken]

Again, thank you for spending the time to talk to me about this. I have ignored the more rude parts of your response and focused on just the most informative parts.



Anyone go stumble their way through putting something together, but you have to also be good at it. It's more than just plopping up some words and images and waiting.

I understand that. I was just saying that I can write up a good press release by simply doing my research, studying others, and just trying to do my best. Paying someone is out of the question for me so I have to just try and do my best. Writing a one page press release on your OWN Product doesn't necessarily require a skilled professional. No one knows your product better than you.



OK so you're running your marketing based on seeing other people do the bare minimum and getting success. So how's that working out for you?

Again, I am low on funds and can only use what I can afford. Paying someone is out of the question for me so I have to just try and do my best. Others have succeeded with "bare minimum" so I am going to do my best with what I can. I'm here to get advice on how to do it. I know about the more expensive way.



Your entire strategy here seems to be "mine is better than theirs, and others have told me so, therefore I shouldn't have to do much to promote it. I just need to plop it up somewhere and people will fall all over it. ". That will never work. You need to get humble and realize where you're failing and move like a CEO to fix it. Not dig in because you want to do it all yourself and that's good enough. It's obviously not or we wouldn't be here.

I never said I don't have to promote it because "mine is better than theirs". Also, I am not "failing". And my product is very solid and ready to sell. If I had start up capital, I can have my product sent out by a very skilled distributor who has contacts with many repair parts stores. Again, my entire point is that I need to find out how to promote my product without having to pay $10's of $1000's. If i had $5000 or more to spend on marketing, I wouldn't be talking to you now, I would just pay whoever I need to pay to get my product in front of targeted people on social media. Since I DON'T have that kind of money, I have to do it all myself. I'm not stupid. I know that even the greatest product still needs promotion so people know it exists. A smartphone that reads your mind and shows holographic images and costs $50 will never sell if no one knows it exists.


Again, how's [the free promotion resources] working out for you? You're relying on luck. Your not here because you haven't tried those things, you're here because that's not working for you. I'm merely suggesting that you go the extra mile and create something that is truly noticeable and execute it 100%. Not keep spinning your wheels trying to get lucky because of what you heard.

I never said I have tried them all or have even exhausted myself using these services. I simply said that there are services that can promote a campaign for very little or no money. I am currently trying them, some I have only used for a couple of weeks. So I don't know if they work or not yet. My reasoning is that if its free, it at the least, won't take away attention from my campaign. And again, paying someone or some service to do this is out of the question, so what are my options? Just give up since I can't "create something truly noticeable"? Of course not. Remember, the worst product with the best promotion will still fail. Many products have received success from word of mouth alone. (not saying I believe that will necessarily happen for me but it is not impossible either).


Again, how's [running things yourself] working out for you? That's all great and congratulations, but it's time to move on to the next phase. What you've done is great. But you're now at the "What's next? phase and you don't know how to do that part. So it's time to get realistic and stop relying on things that you've read that keep telling you how easy it is, and get out of your own bubble about how great your thing is.

Thanks for your complement. I do think my product is great. But as Ive said before, my product is ready to go and all I need is funding from kickstarter to start that. I have distributors standing by. As I wait for the funding, I am actually tweaking and perfecting parts of my product as well as expanding my product. I am trying to find other industries that can use this repair system and not limit myself to just smartphones, tablets, game systems, and laptops (even though I am currently the only one in the world who would be covering these areas). I am thinking about outsourcing the creation of these repair guides as well as explaining my web site to rival ifixit.com the leading web site dedicated to showing how to disassemble devices. I have created repair guide videos that will accompany each repair guide that uses a unique structure that no other repair video uses. If they saw it, every repair video online would copy me. Several people who will be instrumental in this are standing by waiting for me to get funding. All these things I have planned as I wait simply for the funding to get start up capital. I have several other ideas that I will not mention online. So the "what's next" phase is already set up.


I'm confused here. On the one hand you're asking for help, on the other you're saying "I know how to do everything myself".

Well, you are partially correct. I have done most of the hard work (that is setting up my company, web site, kickstarter page with videos and content, and actually having the product ready) but again, my main question was how to effectively promote your kickstarter campaign yourself without paying $$$ to a possibly fake or ineffective PR firm. I am new to social media promotion and hoped to get some advice. This forum is not designed to hold anyone's hand so everyone who comes here has some kind of skill or knowledge of business, so of course, I will comment on advice given to me.


If everyone was good at everything no one would need you or your idea, they'd build it themselves. Right?

This statement was unnecessary. This is not an argument. I am very interested in what you have to say, make no mistake. So rudeness is not necessary.


[Responses continued in the next reply]

[pkaiken]

[Part 2 of reponse]


Yeah, they all say that. I'm not saying they are all fake. There are some awesome marketing companies out there. You haven't been using those. You've been using the cheaper, fly by night ones who tell you what you want to hear. I'm just telling you how they do it.

I haven't used the "awesome" ones because I don't know where to find them. I also did not use the "cheaper" ones. The one I used was much higher than others I later discovered. But as you said, they will say what you want to hear so you can pay them. They have no obligation to work hard for you because they got paid even if your campaign gets no extra backers from their effort. I wish I knew this before I tried them. But using some of the "awesome" ones take large chunks of your final funding and end up making more money off your campaign then you would. So why not try it myself? I only have time to loose. Eventually something is going to happen if I try to promote it myself using all the tools those PR firms claim to be using.


There is no "absolute" way. It's a crap shoot. That doesn't mean that you don't need to give it 100% and get creative.
Most projects don't get funded just like most businesses fail. It's great that people are telling you that, so my question is why aren't they funding it? Why aren't they promoting it? Because you still have to show proof of concept. They want to know that you have the ability to get it past just good idea. That you know how to act like a CEO. Not just some dude with a good idea.

People don't fund something because there's no point if the funding goal is not being reached. Even though I don't have that many backers as it is, I am very sure that more than double that are watching closely ready to pledge. Kickstarter even says that most pledges come at the end of the campaign when its clear the funding will be reached. Most backers wait until the end to pledge. Only the die hard fans pledge early. The entire point of the early bird reward tiers you see on most pages is to CONVINCE backers to pledge earlier rather than later so it can look like theirs people interested in the product. Do you really think only a handful of people are interested in my product after I have sent so many people to my web site and kickstarter page through my own social media promotion and using (albeit substandard) PR firms? Most campaigns don't get funding because backers are afraid to back something based on what the campaign doesn't explain clear enough, or it simply lacks what a good campaign needs, or (the most common reason), they don't know it exists because it's buried in the back of kickstarter's deliberately poor search results, and overshadowed by the campaigns that are getting big funding.



You're only going to get so far reading what others have said, including what I'm telling you. At some point you're going to have to execute your own strategy and do it well. My suggestion is to swing for the fences and leave no stone unturned, no question unanswered and knock people's socks off.

I totally agree with you.


I'm here to tell you that merely circulating a press release is not going to be enough unless you get some dumb luck. That's just one aspect of marketing. It's not the only thing you should be doing. Don't merely replicated what someone else claims they have done. Do something that no one has done before.

Okay. Now I'm getting some advice on press releases. But this begs the question; If social media promotion and sending out press releases is not the only way to promote your product, what is the thing "no one else has done before"? Why hasn't it been done before? Because it doesn't work? I'm not good at gimmicks or PR stunts. That's the only thing that others haven't done that I can think of. Also, why have successful campaigns done just the standard things like press releases and social media marketing without doing something gimmicky or "new"? Not trying to counter every statement you make but there are always two sides to a coin.


People lie. They love to tell others how easy it was AFTER the fact, but no one ever tells about the down and dirty, the nitty gritty. And most don't turn around and then sell their secrets to everyone else. If someone is selling it, it's already saturated. No one gives up their honey hole or strategy. No one.

Wow, never though of that. Since I am new to all of this, I can only go by what others say. That is why I am on this forum to hear what others say. I may not get the nitty gritty from anyone but I can analyze what works and what has not worked for people, and create a strong strategy based on that info to start off stronger than those who have already done it without any info at all.




1. Email works just fine. If you're sending a sample of the product and their address isn't on the website, just ask them where you can send a review sample? Bloggers love getting the actual product in their hand that they can feel and show readers. wouldn't it be great is someone else made a video review or demonstration of the product besides you? How can they do that if they don't have it?

2. Find the industry or related publications that you want to know about it. Most have some kind of contact email. Every reputable website has contact information. If it's not clear who to sent to, just ask. They will tell you.

3. Every industry site is interested in press releases. Sounds like you haven't clearly identified your target market. You need to do that or nothing you do will be successful. You can't just sent stuff into cyberspace and hope the right people see it.

WOW, all these words you wrote just to finally get an answer to my question. This is what I have been looking for.




I'm not really sure what we're doing here. Do you want advice? Or do you want us to tell you that you can do it all yourself and everything you've done is awesome?

I don't need anyone to tell me what Ive done is awesome. An awesome idea makes no money. I know that a product does not have to be "awesome" to be successful. Many "awesome" products have faded into oblivion, and many stupid ideas became wildly successful. As I have stated already, I needed advice on promotion of a kickstarter campaign mostly focusing on press releases and how they are sent out. I apologize if I confused you or made it seem like I am promoting my campaign and looking for attention. This is not the place to promote a kickstarter page, especially not my product. There are 100's of repair related forums to post something like this. I came here for business advice. I got it today by your's and other's comments. Thank you very much. I really like this forum and that is why I come back for advice. Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions completely. It has given me a lot to think about.

[pkaiken]

Also this: That's great. But it's not about you, and you aren't selling your services as a start up consultant. Hopefully this isn't your sales pitch.... No one has ever known how to do every possible thing successfully enough, all on their own, to grow an idea into a company. It has never happened in the modern history of world economics.

There are many companies that became successful because they were started by ONE person. If you have no one to help you, you have to do things yourself. Im not saying I can do it all myself, but I am saying I can START it all myself. Also, it is possible to run every aspect of a business yourself. You just won't do it as affective as a team of dedicated workers can. Many very small businesses are run by one person or a small team of 2 or 3 people. That doesn't mean that they didnt start hiring more people later on. My point of my statement you quoted was that I got to the point I am by using my own skills and resources, which allowed me to create product with very little money. There are large teams with big projects that cannot do any graphic designing and have to pay a firm $10,000+ just to make content for their page. If I didnt have the skills I have, I would not have been able to afford to get to the point I am now.



This is the epitome of the phrase "Ideas are a dime a dozen, execution is everything". I say this because it doesn't seem as if you're in the right frame of mind. You don't even have a company yet and your main concern seems to be that you have to be and know everything and you can't. No one can. we are all in because we specialize in things. Not because we know everything. There are many things, especially when it comes to marketing, that take years to get good at with constant learning. It's too important to try and just wing it, which is what you are doing and then declaring that you know enough...while asking why it's not working.

Again, I am not saying I can do it all myself and don't need anyone else. My LLC is formed, I have a business plan, I have a product, web site, manufacturer on board, and customers waiting to purchase the product. If that doesn't mean I have a company, I don't know what is. It may not be an active one, but it still is one. And again, if marketing needed "years" to know how to do it, then many startups would be screwed. Im not saying anyone can do it, but being resourceful and persistent can go a long way. And finally, I never said that something was not "working" for me beyond the PR firms that I used. I only tried 2. There are many more out there, some that really know what they are doing. My question is and has always been, how can I do it myself without paying someone? This should be clear by the time you read this replay that this is my ultimate question.


I am exactly where you are with a project that I'm developing. I know what I'm good at and what I'm not and need the expertise that is. Just like building a website. Finishing the site is just the beginning. Great, you got the plans all done. Now it's time to get to work.

I worked very hard to get to the point I am at. Now I need money to hire the experts to take me to the next level. Even if I truly "knew it all" I still can't do it all. One person can't do 10 tasks even if he knows how to do them. No man is an island.


Putting all of your eggs into Kickstarter will not end the way you're envisioning it. You've put far too many expectations on this one thing solving all of your problems and you're not accepting that the odds are against you, but that does mean that you shouldn't be doing other things to get your company off the ground. If it was as easy as Just go on Kickstarter, every good idea would be funded and be a viable business. Hubris has killed many, many good ideas.

Now this is advice I need. I am using kickstarter because it promises start up capital and customers who want to see your product succeed. The only other option is a business loan or giving equity] of your company to a venture capitalist or investor. If I want to keep control of my company (and also not dig myself deeper in debt), kickstarter is the way to go. If kickstarter does not work for me, I will use the other options. Simple as that. I am convinced I can succeed with kickstarter not because I think my product is great, but because Ive seen bad or stupid Ideas get big funding. A stupid stencil set of aliens and space ships on kickstarter got $20,000 funding. I see nothing unique about that product. I see stencils like that in the dollar store. So surly my idea has a chance to succeed. Im not blind to the fact it may not, I am just being very hopeful. I have plan B in place. I don't have tunnel vision.

Thanks again for your comments. I needed to hear some of these things so I can think about all aspects of my business, whether I agreed with them or not.

[Fulcrum]

Let's take a real deep breath guys. Let's not forgot that this is the internet and tone is hard to convey.

With that said, one of the reasons I'm skeptical that you will get kickstarter funding is because it's kickstarter (and the fickleness that comes with that). Not much of an answer but that's how I see it. Stop looking at what other people are doing and getting and start focusing on and moving toward your end goal. I can't speak for Harold, but it appears to me that you are relying on kickstarter so heavily that you are ignoring other avenues for sales.

Going back over to the product itself, what's your retail price on this?
Why are you not taking the 100 assembled items to local repair centers and hustling them for sales?
Why rely on other people (kickstarter) to fund your business?

I'm going to suggest you do the following:
1) Shave and shower
2) Put on a clean set of clothes and some comfortable running shoes
3) Hop in the car and make sure you got a full tank of fuel
4) Drive to the local repair facility and give them your sales pitch
5) Rinse and repeat with every repair facility in an ever enlarging radius of your operating location

If your product is as solid as it sounds, you shouldn't have too much trouble selling out of the trunk of your car.

[Harold Mansfield]

pkaiken, I don't visit and volunteer on the forum to be rude, or because I have nothing better to do. Forgive me for not sugar coating things . I can see that you're taking what I'm saying as antagonistic, and it's feeling a little familiar.

It's probably best that I just wish you luck and move on since we're starting to go around the same circle as before.

[pkaiken]

pkaiken, I don't visit and volunteer on the forum to be rude, or because I have nothing better to do. Forgive me for not sugar coating things . I can see that you're taking what I'm saying as antagonistic, and it's feeling a little familiar.

It's probably best that I just wish you luck and move on since we're starting to go around the same circle as before.

Well, yes I felt that you were at least getting agitated by your obvious sarcasm (as you have done in the quote above). And I felt that you were giving me the more extreme or ideal scenarios that would get me better success without addressing the fact that many companies have become successful without these ideal scenarios. If I took what you said (which all of it was true) at face value, as if there were no other options, I would shut down my campaign and shelve my product today in utter disappointment. Having hope in success without all the necessary resources at your disposal is not sugar coating things or wearing rose colored glasses. Sometimes "good" advice can actually be "bad" advice. I got to the point I am with my product with only spending $10,000. As you know, many people spend way more than that getting to the point I am now. If I had to listen to advisors who said it would take $10,000 to make my prototype and then another $5000 or more to have 100 units made, not including paying a patent attorney $1000's to write up the document, and another $10,000 to $20,000 to make the content for my kickstarter page, I would have quit long before this. But I didnt give up, I kept searching for cheaper ways to make my product and used my own skills and resourcefulness to get to the final step, which is getting on kickstarter with a company, brand and a ready-to-go product. I work a 9-5 job with very little income. I have shocked my company I work for and many others who have way more money than me who are searching for ways to form a company by what I have accomplished with so little. If you see this as sugar coating, than give me some more!

But ultimately you answered my questions in your previous responses, so thanks again for your help and taking the time with me. Have a good day.

[pkaiken]

Let's take a real deep breath guys. Let's not forgot that this is the internet and tone is hard to convey.

With that said, one of the reasons I'm skeptical that you will get kickstarter funding is because it's kickstarter (and the fickleness that comes with that). Not much of an answer but that's how I see it. Stop looking at what other people are doing and getting and start focusing on and moving toward your end goal. I can't speak for Harold, but it appears to me that you are relying on kickstarter so heavily that you are ignoring other avenues for sales.

Going back over to the product itself, what's your retail price on this?
Why are you not taking the 100 assembled items to local repair centers and hustling them for sales?
Why rely on other people (kickstarter) to fund your business?

I'm going to suggest you do the following:
1) Shave and shower
2) Put on a clean set of clothes and some comfortable running shoes
3) Hop in the car and make sure you got a full tank of fuel
4) Drive to the local repair facility and give them your sales pitch
5) Rinse and repeat with every repair facility in an ever enlarging radius of your operating location

If your product is as solid as it sounds, you shouldn't have too much trouble selling out of the trunk of your car.

A agree with you here. But how is this going to ultimately help me raise start up capital? The main part of the product (the tray) itself is $25, and each guide is $10. So if I sell 100 trays plus (lets say) 5 repair guides for each tray, that equals $7500. I need at least $20,000 to work with. I still would have to use kickstarter. Also, everyone who has contacted me through kickstarter messages or by email have said they want to buy 10 or more sets, with two people saying they want a large order for distribution. I am ready to go "door-to-door" but I just don't see how this would help me ultimately get the funding I need.

[Fulcrum]

A better question is: Why do you need the funding? Be your own funder and bootstrap this thing. I still don't see your need for Kickstarter.

Assuming each set is valued at $75, and you already have 100 sets, why not sell direct to the people who have asked for 10+ sets (let's not look at the 2 distribution lines quite yet). Sell 1 set of 10 and you have $750 cash. Use most of that new cash to build up your inventory. $500 gets you 10K (approx) printed guides of one type and $250 gets you another 100 trays. Using your previous sales, you can funnel all your profits back into growing your company without needing outside funding. 3 cycles of this and you should have the $20K your looking for as well as a partially refined marketing plan.

Now for the distributors. These companies come in many shapes and sizes. With the growth in online sales and marketing, as well as "Just In Time" and "Lean" philosophies, many of these distributors are no better than a glorified drop shipper. They want you to hold all inventory and ship direct while they collect payment from the customer and pay you when they feel like it. Only deal with them on your terms (CoD until trust is established and then no more than net 30, no buyback agreement if the product doesn't sell for them).

[pkaiken]

A better question is: Why do you need the funding? Be your own funder and bootstrap this thing. I still don't see your need for Kickstarter.

Assuming each set is valued at $75, and you already have 100 sets, why not sell direct to the people who have asked for 10+ sets (let's not look at the 2 distribution lines quite yet). Sell 1 set of 10 and you have $750 cash. Use most of that new cash to build up your inventory. $500 gets you 10K (approx) printed guides of one type and $250 gets you another 100 trays. Using your previous sales, you can funnel all your profits back into growing your company without needing outside funding. 3 cycles of this and you should have the $20K your looking for as well as a partially refined marketing plan.

Now for the distributors. These companies come in many shapes and sizes. With the growth in online sales and marketing, as well as "Just In Time" and "Lean" philosophies, many of these distributors are no better than a glorified drop shipper. They want you to hold all inventory and ship direct while they collect payment from the customer and pay you when they feel like it. Only deal with them on your terms (CoD until trust is established and then no more than net 30, no buyback agreement if the product doesn't sell for them).

This sounds like a good idea. The only issues I would have is printing out the guides. I can print out less than 10K but the cost goes up per print. But using the profit I make and then putting in back into more inventory seems like a solution to my problem. It would take longer than getting kickstarter funding but would product the same result. I ultimately want more than just $20,000 funding. If I get more promotion through social media, etc. I am hoping to get upwards of $60,000. I was thinking about making a distributor tier on my next kickstarter since a couple of people contacted me for punching more than 10 (which is my highest tier currently).

This also raises a question. How about using your plan online as a pre-sale or a limited supply early bird sale? I can just sell the current 100 units I have online and just let my website say "out of stock" or "back ordered" and keep taking pre-orders. Once I sell out of all my units I can use the money and purchase more and sell them both online and "door-to-door". Technically I could still do kickstarter alongside this, or instead use indiegogo since they don't have an "all-or-nothing" funding restriction.

Thanks Fulcrum, you have given me a great idea.

About distributors, I don't know much about dealing with them. My ultimate goal is to only deal with distributors like ScrewMat does. ScrewMat doesn't even sell their own product, they only sell to distributors around the world. Without making another thread, how would I deal with distribution of my product in the future? How would I use the same business model as ScrewMat? Thanks again.

[Fulcrum]

This sounds like a good idea. The only issues I would have is printing out the guides. I can print out less than 10K but the cost goes up per print.

Then adjust the numbers to make it work. You don't need 10K of each print. What about 100 trays and 1000 of each guide (assuming 5 guides)? Cost probably won't be too far off the 100 tray and 10K of a single guide price.


But using the profit I make and then putting in back into more inventory seems like a solution to my problem. It would take longer than getting kickstarter funding but would product the same result. I ultimately want more than just $20,000 funding. If I get more promotion through social media, etc. I am hoping to get upwards of $60,000.

Then build up to it. It seems that you want this to happen overnight but it takes time. It's taken me 4 years and some iron clad guarantees to my customers just to have them try my product (every single one of them has been burned in the past by poor quality resulting in huge $/hour losses). I had a laugh the last time I spoke to a local "overnight success" - it only took him 20 years to achieve it.



I was thinking about making a distributor tier on my next kickstarter since a couple of people contacted me for punching more than 10 (which is my highest tier currently).

This also raises a question. How about using your plan online as a pre-sale or a limited supply early bird sale? I can just sell the current 100 units I have online and just let my website say "out of stock" or "back ordered" and keep taking pre-orders. Once I sell out of all my units I can use the money and purchase more and sell them both online and "door-to-door". Technically I could still do kickstarter alongside this, or instead use indiegogo since they don't have an "all-or-nothing" funding restriction.


A better idea would be to forget crowdfunding altogether and focus your energy on generating sales. This might sound counter-productive to you, but it is a tried and true method that won't fail when worked properly.

Edit:
Can't believe I missed this. You can pre-sell, but you can't collect the money until you are ready to ship. You're not a machine shop doing highly custom work (think of the guys making your product) so you cannot demand early payments. Don't wait until you are out of stock to reorder - as soon as you have enough money to pay for resupply get it in. Out of stock and backorders will give you a bad name and drive your customers to ScrewMat.



About distributors, I don't know much about dealing with them. My ultimate goal is to only deal with distributors like ScrewMat does. ScrewMat doesn't even sell their own product, they only sell to distributors around the world. Without making another thread, how would I deal with distribution of my product in the future? How would I use the same business model as ScrewMat? Thanks again.

Distributors are the old, pre-internet method of reaching the masses. Who cares how ScrewMat sells? Guess what, they have to give up a fair amount of profit in order for the distributor to carry there line. It wouldn't surprise me if there were at least 2 levels of distribution before their product reaches retail. Learn how to market B2B and sell direct to your potential customers and keep that profit for yourself. Your margins will be cut 40-50% by dealing with distributors.

Once you're established, than think about bringing on distributors. You'll have gained some much needed experience that will help you deal with them.

Edit:
I forgot to say that you will need to leave some of the cash generated from sales to cover any taxes owing.

[Harold Mansfield]

A agree with you here. But how is this going to ultimately help me raise start up capital? The main part of the product (the tray) itself is $25, and each guide is $10. So if I sell 100 trays plus (lets say) 5 repair guides for each tray, that equals $7500. I need at least $20,000 to work with. I still would have to use kickstarter. Also, everyone who has contacted me through kickstarter messages or by email have said they want to buy 10 or more sets, with two people saying they want a large order for distribution. I am ready to go "door-to-door" but I just don't see how this would help me ultimately get the funding I need.

I know I said I'd butt out, but there's a few things here that you should be prepared for.

I know you don't want to hear this, but the odds of you raising what you need on Kickstarter are so very, very slim. 5 years ago Kickstarter was a novelty and people were throwing money at everything. Things have calmed down now and the ratio of successful Kickstarters to non successful ones that ever make it to market is heavily skewed towards most not being successful or raising enough money. It should not be your only plan.

The Kickstarters that get funding, get press. There is no way around that. Most of the advice I gave previously was about getting yourself set up to be in position to get that exposure by having the kind of presentation that others want to feature. In this market, on this platform the Presentation is everything. You have to compete. How do you know when you have it right? When you start getting press and pledges. There is no in between or good enough until the money starts happening. No pledges? Then it's not good enough and you aren't doing enough. Plain and simple.

If you could just realize that I'm telling you your product is good enough. Look how much time I'm spending to get you to understand HOW you could actually have a chance. You could do this, but you have to compete on the level of the winners and those who get noticed and funded.

The next thing is that most Kickstarters that are also promising to deliver the product if you back at a certain amount generally have a goal and a date. Sometimes that date is months away. Even the next year. If you have interest, set realistic expectations.

You also need to come up with a plan B. Not how much you need to be perfect. But what you can do to go one step at a time. When we're talking about a few thousand dollars, common wisdom is going to tell you to sell, beg, borrow and steal everything you have to get as close as possible to fund step one yourself.

You say you need at least $20k to work with and I'm sure that would make things comfortable, but most people don't have comfort. Many people here will tell you they started with nothing. They go one step at a time, make some money, reinvest and keep going.

The more you do for yourself by hook or by crook, the better position you'll be in to attract a real investor or partner.

I would really like to see you come up with a plan b and something realistic that you can do if Kickstarter doesn't work out. Surely you can take that interest that you say you're getting and figure out a way to leverage it into getting to the next small step.

Be prepared to stick and move. Be scrappy. Consider and try all options. Start smaller if you have to. Maybe think about licensing the patent. There's always more than one way.

Lastly, if getting fully funded on Kickstarter is the ONLY way that you can make this successful, then you don't really have a viable business model and it may not be the right time for you to go into business for yourself. Just being honest.