5 Hot Tips For Getting Your Project Funded On Kickstarter!

5 Hot Tips For Getting Your Project Funded On Kickstarter

Kickstarter is without a doubt one of the best ways for an aspiring artist to get the funds they need to record and release an album.  Over the past few years Distrophonix has worked with a number of bands and artists that have used Kickstarter to make their musical dream a reality. 

For those of you not yet familiar with www.Kickstarter.com, it is a website that allows your family, friends, and fans to help fund your musical projects without having to give up any of your musical or creative rights.  Instead, supporters donate money to either help make a project a reality because they are a fan of your music, or they donate to win different prizes and gifts provided by you.  This could be anything from a free song to a private concert.  The choice is yours.  The best thing about Kickstarter is that it allows your supporters to donate as little as one dollar to your project. Therefore, each supporter can donate an amount that fits their budget. 

Below, you will find some proven ideas and tips that you can use to get the funding you need for your Kickstarter project: 

       1.  Provide Great Prizes

The most important thing that you need to do to make people want to donate money to your project is to make sure that you are giving away amazing prizes as a thank you for their support.  Here are a few ideas that others have used: 

-Give away a free download of your music.

-Give away a free autographed pre-release copy of the finished CD.

-Give out free tickets to your CD release show.

-Give Credit as a producer on the album.

-Give a “Thank You” in the albums liner notes.

 -Allow a supporter to attend a recording session.

-Personalized messages or recognition in a song, video, or website.

-Offer to give an exclusive private concert to your top supporters.

This is by no means a complete list.  Get creative.  The more interesting the prizes, the more likely you are to get the donations you need.  Just be careful to not give out prizes that will cost you too much money.  There is nothing worse than getting your project fully funded, and then realizing that you are going to have to spend a large amount of the budget on fulfilling your prize obligations.

2.       Get The Word Out

Dedicate time ever day to promote your project on Kickstarter.  This means contacting everyone you know and telling them about your project and asking for their support.  Yes, I mean everyone, even your Great Aunt Myrtle.  Well actually I take that back, not everyone, you might want to avoid contacting that crazy ex who bashed in your car windshield after you broke it off last Fall.

It is important to diversify how you get the word out.  It is without question that you should be using email and your social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to let people know; but don’t stop there.  Taking the time to pick up the phone or meeting someone in person and asking for their support can be a very powerful tactic to getting the donations you need. 

3.       Make Some Advertising Materials

Whenever you are playing a show, or working on your street team activities you should have some sort of flyer to hand out that outlines what your Kickstarter project is about and gives information about how they can support it.

Another great option for the traditional flyer is to hand out free music download cards to promote your project.   They are cheap; Distrophonix for example will make 1000 cards for as little as $99. These cards are a nice alternative to flyers because it allows you to get your message across while at the same time giving your potential supports a free song to check out.  Download cards are also less likely to be thrown out or discarded.

4.       Promote Your Backers

If your backers are a business, or perhaps another band or artist, do something to help them out in return as a thank you.  Consider doing a Facebook or Twitter post endorsing the company or promoting the other band/artist that offered their support to you.  This is a nice courtesy and it will pay off in the end for you.  It shows your supporters that you are a class act.  Helping someone else out will result in more attention and ultimately more donations to your project. 

5.       Ask For Referrals

Don’t be shy.  There is nothing wrong with asking your current supporters for referrals to others that may be interested in your project.  Remember, they believed in you enough to make a donation in the first place.  They are excited about your project and believe in you.  Give them a chance to help you out further. 

The key with getting referrals is to ask for them.  If you don’t ask, the chances are you will not get them.  This is not because your supporter doesn’t want to help; it is simply because most people do not think about telling their friends about you and your project.  For example, you might say something like the following: 

“I just wanted to take the time to thank you for supporting my project on Kickstarter.  This project really means a lot to me, and it is exciting that it may become a reality. As you know, I need to raise X dollars to make this project happen.  I am X dollars from meeting my goal.  If you could tell your friends that may be interested in my project I would greatly appreciate it.”

All of us here at Distrophonix want to wish you the best of luck with your project!  If we can ever help you out in any way please let us know.  We also want to hear your success stories, and any other tips that you would like to share.  To send us your successes or tips, please email info (at) Distrophonix (dot) com  We look forward to hearing from you!

Written By: Distrophonix

www.Distrophonix.com