{"id":5321,"date":"2017-05-30T11:38:07","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T18:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backerkit.com\/blog\/guides\/post-campaign-guide\/chapter-7-promoting-your-pre-order-store\/"},"modified":"2021-04-15T07:13:58","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T14:13:58","slug":"chapter-7-promoting-your-pre-order-store","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.backerkit.com\/blog\/guides\/post-campaign-guide\/chapter-7-promoting-your-pre-order-store\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 7: Promoting Your Pre-Order Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many creators think the hard work is over once the crowdfunding campaign ends. But if you\u2019re selling pre-orders as part of your campaign, the marketing effort should continue. A little legwork can help you capitalize on demand for your product from late backers, as well as new audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having your pre-order store up and running once your campaign has ended is a great way to capture demand from backers who have missed the original campaign. Serial entrepreneur <\/span>Cathryn Lavery<\/span><\/a>, the creator of BestSelf.CO and Calm the Ham, says that there\u2019s likely to be plenty of demand for your product in the two-week period that Kickstarter takes to process payments.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2015, she ran a successful crowdfunding campaign for the <\/span>SELF Journal<\/span><\/a>, a daily planner that is designed to maximize productivity and goal-setting. \u201cIt was crucial to ensure we took advantage of the traffic that was still coming out way after the campaign had ended,\u201d <\/span>she writes<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the seven days after the campaign, we drove 14K in additional funding without doing any marketing.\u201d Lavery used Celery to sell the initial batch of pre-orders during this two-week period before hosting a store on BackerKit.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, most products won\u2019t sell themselves \u2013 it\u2019s up to you to spread the word once the marketing from the original campaign dissipates. Small steps can have a significant impact. Most pre-order stores are standalone sites that you can link to on your social media profiles, campaign updates, and email signatures. \u00a0If you\u2019re using Kickstarter, you can link to your store using the Kickstarter Spotlight button.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding passive links can supply a trickle of traffic, but driving significant sales requires some preparation. Ideally, a pre-order store requires a promotional marketing campaign to boost revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Use Your Mailing Lists<\/span><\/h2>\n

Chances are you built up a solid email mail list during your campaign and now you have a backer list to add to it. Emailing your contacts about your pre-order store launch will help to spread the word.<\/span><\/p>\n

How you launch your store matters. Just sending out an email, saying \u201cHey, we\u2019re open!\u201d might not be enough to get people to click through.<\/span><\/p>\n

Make sure to highlight specific products that are available for sale and consider including a promotion, such as a limited-time discount or coupon to increase the sense of urgency. <\/span><\/p>\n

Including a prominent call-to-action in the email \u2013 a \u2018 Buy Now\u2019 button, for instance \u2013 will ensure that readers have an easy way to go to the store.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sendwithus<\/span><\/a> offers plenty of tips on creating an effective email campaign. Rather than spam all of your contacts with potentially irrelevant (and annoying) promotional emails, it recommends building a separate, month-long drip campaign for the leads that have not yet converted. It also suggests using each email to \u201creinforce the value of your product and then include social proof from other pre-customers who converted\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this instance, social proof could include tweets or social media praise from excited backers, snapshots of your campaign successes, press mentions, or testimonials from those who love your product.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alex Smilansky, creator of desktop vacuum former FormBox, said that having a large signup list and continuing to nurture it was fundamental in generating sales on Kickstarter and after the campaign had ended. He says that leads generated from his mailing list converted into sales over time. His Kickstarter campaign raised $588,775, exceeding his funding goal ten times, and his pre-order sales with BackerKit totaled $192,256. His most popular pre-order item was a limited-release version of the FormBox, priced at $399.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Power of Paid Ads<\/span><\/h2>\n

Many creators use paid ads to drive traffic to their crowdfunding campaign pages, but they can also vastly increase the visibility and reach of your pre-order store. Most creators we\u2019ve spoken to say they\u2019ve had the highest conversion rates promoting BackerKit pre-orders through Facebook ads, although some have also used Google Adwords with varying degrees of success.<\/span><\/p>\n

Formbox\u2019s Smilanksy said that out of all the Formbox\u2019s pre-order store traffic, 80% to 90% of it came from Facebook advertising, while the remainder was organically driven. The company now plans to run more targeted experiments and run ads on Pinterest using the platform\u2019s Promoted Pins.<\/span><\/p>\n

When choosing a paid ad platform, it helps to consider the nature of your product.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If it addresses a need that is searchable, Google Adwords could be a promising fit. Meanwhile, Promoted Pins are well-suited to products that are visually appealing and aspirational.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of these platforms offer analytics and conversion tracking. If you\u2019re using Facebook ads, you can use the <\/span>Facebook pixel<\/span><\/a> to measure cross-device conversions, create custom audiences for your ads, optimize delivery, run dynamic product ads, and find out how people are interacting with your website.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nurture Your Brand<\/span><\/h2>\n

Ultimate Survival Tips\u2019 David Robert didn\u2019t use paid ads to promote his pre-order store. Instead, he focused his efforts on growing an existing audience base that had been cultivated over time through targeted content marketing strategies. \u201cWhen we did do promotional material for the MSK-1, it helped to fuel interest for our pre-order store,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

The MSK-1 knife raised almost as much in pre-orders ($170,455) as it did in its Kickstarter campaign ($197,693). Its most popular pre-order item is the Ultimate Survival Bundle ($519), which comprises one MSK-1 survival knife with handle survival kit, an ACS 2-in-1 sheath system (Kydex and nylon), one MSK-1 mini knife and sheath, a 1\/4\u2033 firesteel rod and holder, and a large strap-on kit pouch. Its second-most popular item is the starter package, which includes the MSK-1 survival knife with a handle survival kit and black Kydex sheath.<\/span><\/p>\n