{"id":4005,"date":"2017-03-20T15:32:29","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T22:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backerkit.com\/blog\/?page_id=4005"},"modified":"2021-04-14T14:59:26","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T21:59:26","slug":"relaunching-a-failed-campaign","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.backerkit.com\/blog\/guides\/crowdfunding-strategy-how-to-get-more-backers\/relaunching-a-failed-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 7: Relaunching a Failed Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kickstarter provides the aspiring creator with some sobering statistics<\/a> on campaign success rates. Since Kickstarter began in 2009, 334,769 projects have been launched to date, but only 118,408 successfully reached their funding goals.<\/p>\n

The success rate stands at 35.76 percent, a reminder that successfully completing a crowdfunding campaign is hardly a cakewalk. What\u2019s more, a staggering 14 percent of projects completed campaigns without receiving a single pledge. For many creators, just getting noticed can be as much of a challenge as meeting the funding goal.<\/p>\n

When it comes to crowdfunding, failure is the norm \u2014 but it doesn\u2019t spell the end of a creator\u2019s crowdfunding journey.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A post-mortem analysis might be painful but it can also prove invaluable, especially if a creator is keen to give crowdfunding another shot down the track. Identifying a campaign\u2019s mistakes and pitfalls can highlight areas for improvement and, in some cases, allow the campaign to be resurrected and successfully funded.<\/p>\n

Plenty of creators have endured setbacks and funding failures, only to rebound with vastly revamped campaigns. One example is artist and photographer Rob Decker and his National Parks Poster Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A Shaky Start<\/h2>\n

Decker\u2019s \u201830s and \u201840s-style graphic art posters encapsulate the exquisite topography, stunning landscapes, and rich history of America\u2019s national parks. They\u2019re designed to appeal to outdoor enthusiasts, nature lovers, and the broader public alike.<\/p>\n

Recently he\u2019s been on a tear: three of his crowdfunding campaigns have raised enough money to fulfill his goals of creating an exclusive art collection designed to spark the public\u2019s imagination.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Decker makes it look easy, but it\u2019s important to remember that this wasn\u2019t always the case. In fact, his first attempt at crowdfunding failed to reach its funding goal. For some, failure would be a deterrent, but it energized Decker\u2019s crowdfunding efforts. Since the first campaign attempt in 2013, Decker has created three more campaigns on Kickstarter, with each one far exceeding its initial funding goal, raising between $20,000 and $30,000 per project.<\/p>\n

What Went Wrong<\/h2>\n

Decker\u2019s first crowdfunding campaign <\/a>aimed to raise $27,000, but the goal eluded him. By the end of the campaign, 43 backers pledged a total of $5,370. Decker says there were a couple of flaws in his first crowdfunding attempt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had set my funding goals too high,\u201d he says. \u201cAlthough I got a significant number of backers, I did fall short.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A lack of outreach, compounded by a lack of social media promotion, loomed as another significant factor in the campaign\u2019s failure. \u201cI relied too heavily on my friends and family \u2014 my initial contact list \u2014 and also relied too much on what Kickstarter would bring to the mix,\u201d he says. His use of social media was minimal \u2014 he admits he \u201cdidn\u2019t really promote it\u201d on any platform.<\/p>\n

To promote his first campaign, Decker had a mailing list that comprised 1,000 or so contacts. It was a sizable number, but it wasn\u2019t ambitious enough. In retrospect,\u201d he says, \u201cit wasn\u2019t a big-enough list to generate the kind of funding I was looking for\u201d.<\/p>\n

New Campaigns, New Strategies<\/h2>\n

When it was time to relaunch his campaign<\/a>, Decker decided to correct his early mistakes. First, he lowered his funding goal from $27,000 to $4,950, which gave him greater confidence that his efforts would be successful.<\/p>\n

Then, Decker embraced social media to promote his crowdfunding efforts. He primarily used Facebook to spread the world, but also uploaded campaign videos<\/a> to YouTube and posted promotional content on his Twitter<\/a> and LinkedIn accounts, which helped to disseminate his message to a broader audience. The revitalized campaign ended up raising $23,120 from 373 backers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A fresh pair of eyes can provide new perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of a campaign. Decker enlisted the assistance of a crowdfunding consultant and a publicist to tweak the focus of his successive campaigns.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rethinking the Product<\/h2>\n

Restructuring the pledge rewards to make posters the main focus was the most important change. In the first campaign, backers had to pledge $40 to receive a National Parks poster; pledge tiers below that level offered rewards such as postcards, note cards, T-shirts and a calendar. Decker made the National Parks the core focus of the new campaign and made them available to backers at the $25 pledge tier. This decision proved immensely popular; the majority of backers chose this option in each of Decker\u2019s three successful campaigns.<\/p>\n

Decker also took the opportunity to focus his marketing copy. His first crowdfunding project was called \u2018American Icons: Our National Parks\u2019. He asked prospective backers to join him on a \u201cjourney to create iconic images for all 59 National Parks in a style reminiscent of the WPA from the 1930s and 1940s\u201d. He used a simpler, catchier title for later campaigns: \u2018The National Park Poster Project\u2019. The tagline was similarly tightened: \u201cAn exclusive graphic art collection of America\u2019s national parks \u2026 35 years in the making.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also made some small but significant changes to the copy in the project\u2019s \u2018about\u2019 section. Shortening the paragraphs and including images and infographics made the content more visually appealing.<\/p>\n

Decker notes that although the National Parks Poster Project received little media coverage, focusing on a star product and having a cogent, engaging story defined the project\u2019s appeal for backers. \u201cIt really did help shape the narrative,\u201d Decker says. \u201cIt created a more singular message that better described the campaign and the project.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kickstarter provides the aspiring creator with some sobering statistics on campaign success rates. Since Kickstarter began in 2009, 334,769 projects have been launched to date, but only 118,408 successfully reached their funding goals. The success rate stands at 35.76 percent, a reminder that successfully completing a crowdfunding campaign is hardly a cakewalk. What\u2019s more, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4008,"parent":3967,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-guide-chapter.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4005","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChapter 7: Relaunching a Failed Campaign | BackerKit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.backerkit.com\/blog\/guides\/crowdfunding-strategy-how-to-get-more-backers\/relaunching-a-failed-campaign\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Chapter 7: Relaunching a Failed Campaign | BackerKit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Kickstarter provides the aspiring creator with some sobering statistics on campaign success rates. 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