In this post I will discuss the processes you need to do to get the campaign running smoothly, before you run the campaign. Basically the things you should think about doing before you set up a campaign, and also preparing the campaign. The preparation is key to making the campaign look a lot smoother, than the way I first went about it. Which was to realise things during the campaign and modifying them, only to find they take time and also makes the campaign look a little too unprofessional, that it needs to modify as it goes along.
Now, there is no rule to how long it takes to set up and prepare a campaign. Some campaigns are those capricious events looking for quick funding for an operation or time related event, and for a small amount. Some events are asking for quite a lot of money and therefore needs to be approached in a better way.
It will also be pointed out later, that no matter how well planned the campaign, if the effort during it's duration is not at 100%, and the responses are not at 100% then this can hinder the resulting too.
With regard to my own campaign. I decided to set one month aside before I kicked off, to set things up. I did make a list of things to do, but didn't do it comprehensively enough and also didn't schedule things at the correct time. So I would recommend that you run through a list (like the one below) to then create a more comprehensive list of things that need to be done, and when they need to be done, or how long their implementation takes. So at least you have a warning threshold. An example I will quickly mention here, is that I incorporated the use of ThunderClaps in my campaign (more of that later), and they were one of the most important factors in the campaign. But the initial one was delayed by accident, which means it didn't go out on the first day of the campaign. If I had thought about that and placed it on my schedule list then it would have worked better. So, the list you need to consider is:
No, I will go through these so you are aware of the definitions of these questions, but you will notice that number three has been emboldened. I have done this to make you aware of the need for strategy in setting up a campaign. It may seem funny, but in a time of crisis that many countries are facing at the present, then spreading some wealth yo a complete stranger's campaign needs some consideration, and if it's too close to/or after Christmas, or at a time when folk spend money on holidays, then the campaign could fail as they don't have any flexible capital. So this is also a consideration. It maybe wise to look at holding a campaign to a more neutral money, or (as an example) if it means the end product could be seen as a gift, then a time approaching a major celebration, like Christmas, could be a plan to interest people in contributing. But this would require the delivery date to coincide with this event.
What constitutes a good campaign text? Well, as most things I think there is no law or guideline to state what is good, but there are things you can consider, and also the order in which you state things is key as well. My research, over the years, has shown that the propensity of people toward the internet is mainly one of immediacy and speed. Many won't look at a website for too ling, so the shorter the campaign text the better. However, saying that, the details can help people to decide. So what I would suggest is to deliver a brief 'catch/hook them' version at the start, and then reiterate the information below. Like a newspaper would do a headline to get you to ready something. Now, my initial campaign was done using Indiegogo (more of that in a different post), and even though their campaign page is flexible, it is also limited. When you write the text you are given a mini text editor that has some features, but again, these are limited in functionality. So to coin a particular adage, "the pen is mightier than the sword", consider the words carefully. Especially the one's at the start. Don't make it sound too much like a sales add, and make it a more personal thing. People like feeling part of something. I feel mine was a little too much like a company agenda, and not enough about people who like pets liking a book with pets.
With regard to time spent on the site, I set up a Google Analytical aspect, which Indiegogo offers, and it showed that the average time spent on the campaign site was 3 mins. Now this was not enough to even watch the full video, that is also helpful (more of that later). So, what you need to think about is not 'really' want you want to say, but how someone would want to hear it. One of the things I teach my students in our Creative Thinking lessons, is the one minute elevator pitch. Image you are in the same lift as the person who is willing to give you the money. He/she states, you have until the lift reaches the ground floor (assuming you are on the top), to sell this idea to him. You can practice this on an open-minded friend who is willing to tell you the truth. Say what needs to be said in a convincing way, in a short amount of time. Once they are convinced, then you can give the more detailed spiel about what it involves.
I didn't add it to the checklist, but it's an important part that I added after the campaign started, and you should have as the main part of the text you develop, is the FAQ section. On Indiegogo, for example, they have 'Flexible Funding' which means campaigns can keep the money even if they don't reach their target (more of that in another post), and so people who are thinking of contributing, want to know what is going to happen to their money if it doesn't reach the amount needed to get the job done. In my case, as I was asked several times, I stated that I will hold the money in a paypal/bank account and try a second campaign to raise the difference.
Now, this was a strange oddity to me for my campaign. As my goal was to get a book printed. I did want to make it a concern to highlight the book as one of the rewards. It came in 4 versions and I played on that in the pricing to allow some flexibility. After all, what is the point of reaching the goal if nobody ordered a book. However, again through research, it was shown that smaller perks/rewards and such help people not feel too guilty about giving small amounts. Saying that however, I found that these were not as popular as they were stated in my readings. I had more people go for the Hardback version of the book than any of the cheaper rewards. So, after some more discovery, I found that one of the best plans is, like any 'good' gift, is to personalise it. In addition to that, have gift packs. Not just single items. Find ways to combine them at a more reduced price (not to be detrimental) and that way, people feel they get more for their donation. Even a small donation think about a personalised postcard saying thanks. What this does is it makes people feel special.
I learnt this a little too late on this campaign, but in hindsight will learn from this for the next campaign, and will spend the month of preparation thinking of what personal items would be worthwhile to people.
One thing that occurred during my campaign is that the people contributing to perks, automatically thought this included the postage. Even though the description did state at the lower part that they should add a fee for postage. People were complaining when I asked them to add extra amounts to cover this saying, they thought it was covered in the price. So, my advise is, (as the fee I asked for for postage didn't really cover the full cost of postage), to add something extra to the cost, or add the postage on top of the base price of what that reward is going to cost you, and then add extra to make the reward worth offering. i.e: It's not worth offering a Softback book, (for example) if the book costs $20 to make, $20 to post, and $5 in wrapping material, at a contribution value of $45. You won't make anything on it! So it's like giving it away free. So it's advised, as part of the planning to see if there are any business postage rates you can get at your post office, the cheapest that you can get all the other extras needed to send this out. And then figure your prices.
This may sound a little silly, as stated before, but like the elevator pitch, timing is essential. Ask any comedian. Many people tend to see the way they deliver things from their perspective. "It's great and people will give money", "I'd give money." etc, but the fact is, other people will need to be convinced it's worthwhile. Now, this conviction also has common laws of effect. Do they have money to spare? If they do, why will they give it to you. If they don't is it a factor that could affect lots of people, such as a main holiday, a specific time of the year when people are simply tightening their purse strings, etc. Is there a good time to do these campaigns? If all the planning is in place, then some say December. For obvious reasons. What I was trying to avoid, as I didn't have everything together in December was the post-Christmas budget cuts. I thought February was long enough past to be a good time. However, it may have proven wrong. Many people stated they wanted to contribute, but failed to do so due to money issues. So, think about this. I would personally recommend Spring and Autumn. These are the best times when most have not got major considerations in mind.
This is one of the key factors in the internet aspect of the campaign. Making a list of known potential customers can be the difference in a good or bad start. It can also help in other aspects in the campaign that all be discussed later. Now, there are good ways and bad ways to use email lists. Effective and ineffective. So, what I have found out is, halfway through the campaign I started using a mail list application. Most people will know it; MailChimp
MailChimp is good in a lot of ways. First and most important, is it allows you to collect and collate lists. This is important, as having a written list or assuming that you will do individual mail outs is bad and time consuming. Any time you come across an email address that can be seen as being useful or directive towards some aspect of the campaign, you can simply add it to MailChimp list, or have a second list. I have a list for a Newsletter set up on MailChimp for the campaign and bi-monthly started sending out emailed Newsletters, telling of updates, news and trends regarding the project. This is also a good factor in keeping people in touch.
Now if you want to send out individual mails within the scope of a email rather than newsletter, then this can be done via mass mail applications. Luckily I have one on my Mac called MaxBulk Mailer. It's simple but great for sending out to large lists in a way that it looks like you have sent an individual email. This is great when time is of the essence. The best plan I would say is to generate a general list of emails, such as friends, family and associates, etc. Then other ones for press and ones gathered that could be more specifically targeted. It is obvious the time taken making the list is a lot less than actually making (let's say) 100 individual emails.
Parts 5 and 6 will be addressed on the next blog post as they involve quite a lot of sites and mentions of actions.
First published in 2014 from My Blog
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