Pre launch kickstarter

This link might have some useful info...
http://www.crowd101.com/ultimate-gui...-launch-steps/

We've not used Kickstarter ourselves, but we do promote Kickstarter topically-relevant projects that we think our users might be interested in, so I have a pretty good idea for what works -- at least with our users (other types of users may be quite different). Here are four things I've found that successful Kickstarters do. Obviously not all of them do all of them, but each of these can certainly help!

1. Those who offer something of value in return for their support. For instance, if you're creating a Christian clothing line, offer a t-shirt for a $25 contribution. Doing so you're essentially using Kickstarter as a low-risk pre-sale mechanism, which I think is much more effective than using it as a vehicle to collect donations.
2. Have a good story about what you're doing and why you're doing it. And why YOU are the person to do it. What makes what you're creating different from what everyone else is doing? For instance, as you're making a clothing line, what's so special about your clothing line? Yes, it's Christian, but no doubt there are other Christian clothing lines out there. What makes you different, special or new?
3. If you can show your project is doing some social good, that will also help. Kickstarter isn't a donation platform, but people do like to give to projects they think will be bettering society in some way. As a Christian company I think you can appeal to at least certain users on this front.
4. Promotion is key. As with anything else you can't just slap up what you think is a good idea and expect people to come to you. Reach out to organizations, bloggers, news media, etc. that might be interested in your project and see if you can create a buzz around it. It can be a slow start, but once you get momentum things can really take off.

Yes. I've purchased a number of things from Kickstarter - (I use it more like a 'shopping' platform for what might be cool in the future - although somtimes I'm still waiting for 2 years later...) I'd say I'm a small percentage of people that use it for that, maybe 5-10%.

But I'd say it's more like a "payment" platform. People "think" that magically they will get hundreds of thousands of sales by simply "having" a project on kickstarter.

No.

Kickstarter is more like a webpage for collecting payments - and you have to do the promotion to get people TO the page. *IF* it starts taking off - then kickstarter MAY give you higher ranking/exposure/etc - so people like me looking for interesting projects will contribute.

So basically this is how I would (educated estimated guess) it works. (This is based on what I've seen, plus the numerous projects I've backed).

a) You set everything up.
b) YOU do all the work PROMOTING your project.
c) *IF* it starts to get traction (i.e., let's say 25% of your goal) - THEN other people (small percentage) will start sharing it with their friends/etc saying support this project. (So you maybe get a 5-10% boost to now about 40%).
d) You KEEP promoting.
e) If KICKSTARTER notices you are getting a good amount of people (maybe 50-60%) - then THEY start doing some promotion for you. (You maybe get another 5-10% boost).
f) If it happens to be a FEATURED item - then all of the sudden you get copycat blogs/some press (i.e., discovery channel has cherry picked projects) - in which you can maybe then get another 25%+ boost in whatever if it you are dong. (I say "+" - because if it really resonates with your target audience, then you could see like a 1000% boost - but that is kind of like winning the lottery).

So bottomline - to be successful on kickstarter - you need to do ALL the work initially. If it starts taking off - THEN kickstarter will help give you more sales...

Hope that helps.

PPS - there are also a number of marketing firms that will do a bunch of work for you - for a percentage cut of whatever you make. (Don't remember the numbers, but it might be like 25%).

But they only do that if it looks like there is a VERY unique angle, revolutionary, etc that they can promote. You MIGHT be able to get some press this way if you have a good Christian hook.

Thanks everyone for the replies!

I would appreciate some feedback on my plan of goals for month 1 to make sure I am taking the right steps...

MONTH 1 GOALS:
1. Craft the Story - Make the story into a "sales page format" to use for clarity when "storytelling" when the time comes (What and why I am doing this, what makes it different, list any social benefits)
2. Discover what made other campaigns work - Research other campaigns to find tactics and set realistic crowdfunding goals.
3. Begin finding possible funders and influencers to connect with - Find organizations, bloggers, news media, etc. to later reach out to...

Thoughts guys?

Thanks for being a part of this