“WE DID IT!!! THANK YOU ALL!!!”
That was a post Dr. Jason Nicholas made late Wednesday when, with about three hours remaining, he reached his fundraising goal of $15,000 to self-publish two pet safety books (one about dogs, and one about cats).
“This is a fantastic feeling – thank you for making it happen!,” Jason wrote on his IndieGoGo page, one of the many posts and updates he made during the campaign.
More than 130 people contributed to the campaign over its 30 days. Donors could select various rewards for their donations at various pricing tiers. For example, a $25 donation would get you both copies of the books once they are published (this was the level of my contribution).
Videos for Kickstarter & IndieGoGo
Seven G Media also was hired by Jason, who is known as The Preventive Vet, to create the campaign video. As Kickstarter writes on its website, “A video is by far the best way to get a feel for the emotions, motivations, and character of a project. It’s a demonstration of effort and a good predictor of success. Projects with videos succeed at a much higher rate than those without (50% vs. 30%).”
Originally, the plan was for the campaign to be on Kickstarter. That changed when Kickstarter declined his project because it was healthcare based.
We took a stab at editing out the Kickstarter references, but it just didn’t work. As a result, we re-shot the video on the eve of the new campaign on IndieGoGo, going out to the Willamette Stone Heritage Site to take advantage of the quiet location and evening light.
Additionally, we shot a teaser video that Jason could use on Facebook promoting the campaign. I also requested and then edited several testimonial videos that were supplied by clients, colleagues and supporters of Dr. Jason, and which could be used during the campaign.
I also discussed strategy with Dr. Jason, knowing that the key to the campaign would be regular promotion and communications with his substantial network on Facebook, as well as on his website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumbler, YouTube, and Reddit.
Over the course of the campaign, Dr. Jason created update videos that he uploaded to Facebook and IndieGoGo. He also had a tweetup to explain the project.
Dr. Jason also enlisted his supporters to share information about the campaign with their friends and professional networks. I did this and saw that a high school classmate, with whom I have very little connection with other than being Facebook friends and who lives on the East Coast, contributed to the campaign. I saw other friends “Like” the posts, which thereby also shared that information with their networks.
As you can see, it is a CAMPAIGN to reach the fundraising goals for your project, whether on Kickstarter or IndieGoGo. Dr. Jason and I talked about his campaign strategy throughout the process. I know he also talked with several others, too.
As a contrast, someone I am connected with in the SEO world – and who has a social network that rivals the best – also has an ongoing campaign on IndieGoGo and has raised only 16 percent of her goal with eight days remaining. One reason that campaign may fail is that there have been zero updates on the IndieGoGo site, and few mentions of the campaign on her Facebook page. This is my second client who needed a web video for a Kickstarter or IndieGoGo fundraising campaign. The first client, who wanted to raise money to shoot a documentary about a walk across America, failed, in part, because she failed to enlist her network or otherwise promote the campaign after kickoff. As they say in the Navy SEALs, the only easy day was yesterday.
“I don’t know about you – but I AM EXHAUSTED!!!” wrote Dr. Jason last night.
As Dr. Jason realized, it takes a lot of work to manage a successful campaign. I am sure that is the case for even the wildly successful campaigns. Once things settle down, Dr. Jason and I plan to meet for a beer and review what worked and what didn’t during the campaign. I will share that with you when we do.
As a note, I wanted Dr. Jason to be successful and did not charge extra for re-shooting the video when the campaign got bumped from Kickstarter to IndieGoGo.
My goal at Seven G Media is for my clients to be happy with my work and successful with their goals. I am willing to go that extra mile (barring any common sense undue real hardships) for my clients.