If you have never heard about a pre-campaign, maybe this is your perfect opportunity to learn something and find out how your project can get extra attention and raise the chances of becoming successful. Some people, who have heard about this concept before, are wondering is pre-campaign already a part of crowdfunding process or does it fall into a different category. That one, and many other questions, will be answered in this text so grab a pen and paper and put your thinking cap on, it is time for some learning.
A pre-campaign is a process in which you are announcing a forthcoming crowdfunding campaign. Your focus should be on keeping your potential Backers and Supporters informed of what is about to happen and to create a certain level of excitement about it. It is not so much about your brand building as it is about setting the stage and building up expectation while on the other hand, do not forget that this is also your time of preparing the campaign itself. You will actually be doing two things simultaneously, planning your project campaign and doing a pre-campaign. If you do it right, those two things can become one.
Having a pre-campaign marketing strategy is critical to the success of your project. We are not sure that we have ever seen a project with a pre-campaign that has failed. This is because of the enrollment from family, friends and other connections. All of those branches are important and each and every person who promotes you and talks about you to his or her family and friends is spreading the word even further. This is the time that you need to think about your overall goal and specific funding goals, responsibilities, a basic plan to execute a successful campaign, social media, volunteers, collaborators, etc. All this should also be used as an excitement builder. You should be announcing to people what you are doing and constantly reminding them of the date that your campaign will be launched. Think of it as a campaign about your campaign.
When your actual campaign starts, a lot of people will be not only ready for it but eager to see it come to life. After listening about it for a while, they will be on their toes to finally see it. Create a level of expectation and excitement. End your every update on a cliff-note with people wanting to know more and leave them in a state of anticipation and suspense.
Your pre-campaign should start approximately 3 months before the actual campaign. Depending on the size of your project and all the things you need to do, that period can be longer or shorter but we do not recommend cutting it too short because this is the time where you will do most of the crucial things. One of them, THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE is creating a landing page. Your project should have a website and if you are not willing to pay for it, there are nice looking free ones that you can create and use such as Wordpress, Wix or Yola.
Landing page tips...
We know that you want the best BUT keep your initial landing page simple. People should not be able to get lost in it. Your webpage should be updated regularly so do not put it all in at once. That is the point of a pre-campaign. Have basic information about your project on the landing page and have a place where people can sign up with their email address in order to get updates. It is important that you update people often and that you get the communication flowing. Remind them to spread the word and get them as excited as you can. Promote your webpage on social media and start directing traffic to your website with some adds if you can.
Many fail and start their campaign without being prepared and organized. What they should have done in pre-campaign, they are doing during the campaign. That is not the right approach. Campaign time is about promoting your project and updating it with stuff you could not have done before. Everything that you could have done before, you should have. Here are some things that need to be done before your campaign starts:
creating a landing page
enlisting the volunteers
planning the campaign priorities, funding goals, and timeline
determining your approach towards investors
writting of the preliminary case statement
creating excitement and anticipation
During your pre-campaign time, talk about what you will do and how but do not go into too many details. You need to get peoples attention and their interest. Once you get those, be careful not to lose them so always leave them wanting for more with statements like "coming soon, stay up to date, to be continued, etc." and use call-to-action words like "Sign up here! Get the newsletter! Share it! Contact us, Don't miss out, Join today, Visit our..." etc.
