Worried about spamming friends while you work out how to promote a crowdfunding campaign? Build an email list before launch, join communities you already belong to, and pitch a few press targets personally.
This guide is part of our coverage of crowdfunding for creators and focuses on outreach that earns attention instead of demanding it.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Email-list conversion that counts as a good yield | 1–5% of subscribers pledging |
| Share of support from Kickstarter’s own discovery (Design and Technology projects) | Around 20–30% |
| Press targets to focus on | Ten publications |
| Average cost to acquire one email lead (PledgeBox observation) | $3 |
| Backers on launch day linked to a top popularity slot (PledgeBox) | At least 100 |
| Third-party newsletter blast (PledgeBox) | Less than $500 |
These figures come from Kickstarter’s guide to building your community and a PledgeBox post on email marketing for campaigns. They can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
Build your list before you launch
Kickstarter calls an email list one of the most effective tools for driving views and pledges to a project. Its guide describes a good yield as between one and five percent, meaning that for every 100 people on your list, between one and five may actually pledge. You can read the detail in Kickstarter’s creator guide.
That makes quality matter more than size. PledgeBox, a company that sells crowdfunding tools, puts it bluntly: a list of 5,000 tourists converts worse than 800 people who’ve clicked three times. A few warm subscribers beat a crowd who only wanted something free.
Start with the people you already have, and keep the process simple:
- Collect email addresses, social handles and other contact details in a single spreadsheet.
- Segment the list into friends, fans, family, VIPs and industry contacts, so each group gets a message that fits.
- Mark the people you know will support the project the moment it launches.
- Send people to a simple landing page with a visible email signup, using enough detail to tempt them without giving everything away.
Kickstarter’s list advice comes from a short post on building a list, which also suggests estimating what each person might pledge. That helps you judge your goal. Kickstarter’s other guide says to break the dollar amount down by the number of backers you’ll need, then plan how to reach that magic number.
Your reward prices decide that backer count, so it helps to look at some crowdfunding reward ideas before you do the sums. If you are still asking how does crowdfunding work, read that explainer first, because outreach only makes sense once you know the platform’s rules.
You can also buy leads, but the cost adds up. PledgeBox reports that the average cost to acquire one email lead is $3, and suggests charging a $1 deposit to lock a super early-bird price as a way to test whether a list is serious. The details are in its email marketing post.
Join the conversation instead of dropping links
Kickstarter notes that your strongest support will come from people already familiar with your work: friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances. So begin there, and ask for feedback before you ask for money. Its list guide suggests sharing early drafts, sketches and prototypes with relevant groups to get feedback and seed interest.
Beyond your own circle, take part in the forums and discussions your audience already uses. Kickstarter’s advice is to introduce yourself, be humble and contribute to the bigger conversations. Nobody wants to meet a stranger whose only post is a campaign link.
A few low-pressure ways to be visible before launch:
- Write about the work. The Keyboardio team shared their passion for keyboards, and their early prototypes, in blogs, according to Kickstarter’s guide.
- Show up in person. Take a table at a meetup or trade fair that fits your niche, and keep a prominent place to collect email addresses.
- Go online if you can’t travel. Join industry panels or meetups held over video.
- Run a workshop. It lets people try the thing you made.
The workshop idea has a practical payoff. The Mayku team held interactive workshops at local makerspaces to demonstrate its product, Formbox, in the months leading up to its launch, which helped spread the word and produced photos and videos for the project page. That is promotion people enjoy, because they get something out of it.
How should you pitch the press for your crowdfunding campaign?
Kickstarter says you don’t need to hire a marketing or PR agency to succeed, only pre-launch planning and strategic outreach. The key is to be selective. Aim at a short list of target publications rather than blasting every inbox you can find.
Here is a workable order of operations:
- Choose the ten publications that could have a real impact. If you need ideas, look at similar projects and see who has covered them.
- Research specific journalists at those outlets and tailor each pitch to them. Reading their work, or commenting on a piece, can build rapport before you ask for anything.
- Build a press folder with high-resolution images free of text or graphic overlays, plus video, image credits and anything else a journalist might need.
- Link that folder in your pitch emails and, if you like, on your project page.
- Offer a demo, so a reporter can understand what it is like to use your project.
The press folder is worth preparing early. Kickstarter says it is one of the first things journalists ask for once they decide to cover a launch. All of this appears in its guide to building your community.
Treat the platform’s own audience as a bonus
Backers do browse crowdfunding sites for new ideas. Kickstarter says Design and Technology projects typically receive around 20–30 percent of their support from people who find them through its homepage, collections, newsletters and search. Its guide also says most campaigns drive the majority of their pledges through their own outreach, with the platform’s community as an added bonus.
Early momentum helps with that discovery. Kickstarter says lining up backers and visitors from day one helps when its automated features choose what to show. PledgeBox, writing from a vendor’s point of view, says that at least 100 backers on launch day makes a spot on the popularity page highly likely, and notes that launches usually happen on a Tuesday morning, Eastern time. Treat that as one company’s observation, not a rule.
The practical takeaway is to stack your own outreach into the first days. Tell your list when you launch, post where you’ve been contributing, and send your press contacts the folder you prepared.
Keep your outreach respectful
Spam is mostly a matter of relevance and frequency. Before you press send, ask whether the message is new and whether the recipient will care. Kickstarter’s list guide asks exactly that.
- Pick one medium, such as email or social media, that you can keep updating regularly without burning out.
- Plan a week of content ahead and check that the cadence isn’t too taxing.
- If you email a group of supporters, bcc each recipient to keep addresses confidential.
- Use a newsletter service such as Mailchimp or Mailerlite to manage the list.
- Remove people who have already pledged, and avoid sending too many emails in a short period, as PledgeBox advises.
Paid newsletter blasts are an option, but set expectations low. PledgeBox says its team tested third-party email blast services and the results were okay, usually a few pledges, though the cost of less than $500 made them worth the credit. Rely on your own list first.
Finally, don’t be discouraged by a small audience. Kickstarter notes that, in the long term, a smaller community of deeply engaged backers may matter more to your project’s success than a big, cold one.
Frequently asked questions
How early should I start building an email list?
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As early as you can. Building a list takes time because you earn each signup one by one. PledgeBox says the prelaunch window doesn’t open when you go to Coming Soon, but months earlier.
Do I need a PR agency to promote my campaign?
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No. Kickstarter says you don’t need to hire a marketing or PR agency to succeed, just some pre-launch planning and strategic outreach to a short list of publications.
Is messaging friends and family spam?
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Not if the message is personal, relevant and sent once with a clear reason. Kickstarter says your strongest support comes from people already familiar with your work, so tell them directly and leave out the mass blast.
What if my list is small?
Show answer
A small, engaged list can still work. Kickstarter suggests working out how many backers your funding goal needs, then planning how to reach them, and notes that a smaller community of deeply engaged backers may be more valuable long term.
