How we made $10,000 in 13 hours on Kickstarter (Part 1 of 2)
In the first 13 hours alone we would not only make our goal of raising $10,000 but we would exceed it. The product we were raising funds for was Soapberri, an environmentally friendly and organic alternative to the shampoos you can find on the shelves of your grocery stores. Like most projects in my life curiosity and necessity led me to be part of an awesome project. I knew the product was great, that much was obvious to me but making a Kickstarter that was new territory for me, I agreed to come on board even though I had no idea what I was doing. Like most important things in life you learn by just diving in.
The moment I tried the Soapberri shampoo I was blown away. When it bubbled up in my hands it was more like washing with a frothy cup of cappuccino and not at all like my experience of washing with other shampoos which felt slippery, like dishwasher soap. It also left my skin feeling soft and rejuvenated. So, yeah the product worked and I guess you can call it a hunch but I knew right there that we were going to succeed.
I was going to be part of a great team all I had to do was not screw up on my end I would be able to be part of a successful Kickstarter project. Here’s what I learned from being part of this project.
Lesson 1: Starting With “Why”.
Shampoo is something most of us use daily and most shampoo brands make different promises, they use fancy chemicals and have alluring bottle designs and packaging, all in order to persuade you that they have the solution to your hair needs. Shampoo brands do everything they can short of jumping up at you in order to get your attention. So then why would we want to put out another shampoo product in an already saturated market? Simple we had something better to offer and it was different from what was already out. We began by going back to the basics and hand picking the ingredients that went into our product, all the extracts and botanical goodies (Aloe Vera, Chamomile, Olive Leaf, Gotu Kola, Shea Butter, Cucumber.), this gave the product it’s gentle and refreshing scrub. We decided to stand out by focusing on creating a quality product from the ground up rather than doing what’s been done before.
Lesson 2: Bring your vision as close to the final product as possible.
You may or may not have the resources to have the finished product developed before launching the campaign like Michael and Brian did with Soapberri but you do need to have a clear vision about how you’re going to bring that idea to life. Know the ins and the outs of what you’re trying to do, I was constantly reminded of this lesson when I worked on Soapberri. The team was small, only about six of us but Brian and Michael always made decisions with a bigger purpose in mind. They did everything from helping design the packaging to writing the script and marketing materials to even filming a few of the shots, they also handled all the emails and other administrative stuff, they weren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty in every department. They ate, slept and dreamt Soapberri for 6 months.
Lesson 3: Build and Audience before launching.
Find those people that would be the first to buy your product, if you have already gone ahead and made the product then you might already know who your audience is but if you don’t know who they are yet, go ahead and ask around. Asking the right questions can open up doors. Utilize social media, share your message, find your tone and ideas to rally up supporters. Use social media to increase visibility, and post consistently. Soapberri involved their audience from the early stages by engaging them in the design process on facebook and instagram, later they reached out to bloggers to help get the word out. Never underestimate the power of a connection to your audience. Allow them to be part of the process.
Pro Tip: Don’t just rely on social media, go out and meet your audience. Do whatever brings you closer to them.
Lesson 4: Create an experience around your product.
Which one resonates with you more, telling you that Soapberri has a pH level of 5.5 or showing you the reactions of people when they learn that their soap is made from a berry? It wasn’t hard creating that experience, our product had plenty of emotional appeal already and we didn’t hesitate to take advantage of that. It was simple. It was elegant. It was nature’s solution to a very human problem. There were so many strong associations attached to the shampoo it wasn’t hard for us to find inspiration for the script.It was a treasure trove for strong associations, there was the fact that the soap came directly from a berry (like most people I had no clue natural soap existed), there was also the fact that it came directly from a farm reserve in Taiwan and buying the product would benefit the reserve(fair trade) and last but not least it worked wonders for my hair and skin. All those clear benefits were translated into ideas which we developed into a script for our campaign video.
