成功与失败往往只有一线之差。研究发现,短短的几个字就能决定你是否能成功募得资金。
Kickstarter 在 2013 年总共募得了 4 亿 8 千万美元,但是,这并不意味着你的计划一定能分一杯羹。
乔治亚理工学院的研究人员 Tanushree Mitra 和 Eric Gilbert 决定找出成功计划的秘诀。有些计划即使拥有足够的媒体曝光率,却依然无法成功募集到资金。所以他们怀疑,也许提案的写法比计划的创造性,或是说明影片的品质更重要。
于是他们利用数据挖掘软体研究了 4 万 5 千项 Kickstarter 计划,并专注于计划内的文案书写,成功与失败的计划各半,同时也分析了 900 万句用来说服支持者的短语。
文案是一大关键
他们整理出两份清单:一份是写着较吸引支持者的前 100 个单字或是短语,另一份是 100 个绝对不要出现的单字或短语。
他们发现,与「送礼」有关的字眼最容易获得资金,就像「绿色」让人联想到「可持续发展的」,而「看不下去」(Turnoffs)等同于「缺乏信心」。
Tanushree Mitra 说与「互惠」有关联的短语能成功募得资金。不论礼物价值是高或低,只要提供礼物给支持者就能募得更多资金。举例来说,你可以赠送 T-shirts 或是这项产品的优惠卷给产品的支持者。
但是你必须要考量给支持者的诱因。在你将奖金红利加到计划价格上后(例如,从 50 美金变成 100 美金),一些没那么积极的支持者(Middle-ground Backer)就可能会放弃这个计画。
文字要充满信心
研究人员发现,负面的讯息是募集资金的大阻碍,那怕是只与「绝望」有一丝关联的字眼。
「即使一块钱」(Even a dollar)这五个字绝对不可以出现在 Kickstarter 计划中。 研究人员发现:「即使少一块钱」(Even a dollar short) 、「即使一块钱也会」(Even a dollar will)和「就算一块钱也能」(Even a dollar can)等等的短语会让计划失败,因为看起来有「卑躬屈膝的要钱」的意思,很令人倒胃口。
「绿色」这个字有很大的市场
「 绿色」这个字是一个转机,提到「绿色」的计划将会吸引 Kickstarter 上关注环保议题的支持者。
Pebble Smartwatch 是Kickstarter上筹到最多资金的计画
让研究人员感兴趣的是一款叫 Ninja Baseball(忍者棒球)的电玩游戏与 Pebble Smartwatch(Pebble 智慧型手錶)两者天差地远的命运。
拥有强大媒体曝光率的电玩游戏期望能获得一万美元,但最后只筹到了目标资金的 1/3。而在 Kickstarter,没有募集到足够资金的计划就是失败,一块钱也拿不到。
反之,及至去年 4 月,Pebble Smartwatch 是 Kickstarter 上募集最多资金的计划。他们一开始预设资金是 10 万美元,不过过最后总共筹到了一千万美元,甚至在 3 天之内就获得 260 万美元。
合理价格亦是成功的原因之一
除了文字,数字无疑在任何重头活动中都扮演着重要的角色。
据统计,科技和游戏的计划比较容易成功,资金范围都在 2 万美元至 100 万美元之间,低于这个价格的计划的品质都不佳。
预测 Kickstarter 计划是否会成功的 Vincent Etter 表示,创办人提出的价格一定要合理。失败的计划通常都要求过多的资金,不过电玩游戏是例外,成功的电玩游戏计划平均的目标资金都比较高。
如果你不确定有没有高估自己的计划,已可以寻求专家的协助。谘询公司 Dragon Innovation 曾经帮 Pebble 以及其他 Kickstarter 上计划做评估。
在 Kickstarter 集资成功的微型卫星 PocketQube 创办人 Tom Walkinshaw 说:「现在的众筹其实有点像 1995 年的网路。大家都同意它(众筹)可能真的能改变游戏规则,但没有人深入去研究为什么有些计划会成功,但其他却无法获得青睐。而这是计划创办人与众筹平台都必须去了解的。」
文章来源:TechOrange
New research finds that just a few words can make the difference between funding and failure.
Kickstarter generated $480 million in pledges in 2013, but that doesn't mean your project is guaranteed a piece of the cash flow.
Georgia Institute of Technology researchers studied hundreds of thousands of Kickstarters for hints of what made successful projects. They focused on the copy-writing inside the projects. Using data-mining software, researchers studied 45,000 Kickstarter projects and analyzed 9 million phrases, according to New Scientist. What they found: Language that evoked gift-giving was a big donation-getter, just like the word "green," as in "sustainable." Turnoffs: a lack of confidence.
Researcher Tanushree Mitra says Kickstarter phrases that offer a strong "reciprocity" led to successful funding. Offering a gift to backers generated the most funding, regardless of the value of the gift. Consider the price jump for backer incentives. You could be missing out on a lot of collective dollars from middle-ground backers by jumping from $50 to $100.
Mitra also says confidence is key. Researchers found that even the slightest hint of desperation is backer repellent. Don’t use these three words: "even a dollar." Researchers found that phrases "even a dollar short" and "even a dollar can" resulted in a failed project. They team said it reads as "groveling" for money, which is a big turnoff.
Critics also say there's a big missed opportunity in the word "green." Failing to acknowledge or include a sustainable feature could be a game changer. Any chance to get the word "green" in there will score extra points with Kickstarter’s eco-friendly crowd.
The researchers studied Pebble Smartwatch's wildly successful Kickstarter campaign against failed campaigns. Pebble made history last April when it became the most backed project on Kickstarter to date. Originally seeking $100,000, the company received more than $10 million—$2.6 million of which came in the last few days. (Statistically, technology and gaming projects have the highest amount of successfully funded campaigns in the $20,000 to $1 million range, but fall to the bottom of the barrel at any price under that.)
Aside from words, numbers obviously play a key role in any crowdfunding campaigns. Kickstarter whisperer Vincent Etter says founders need to be realistic about their asking prices. "Campaigns that fail usually ask for more money, over a longer time period—with the exception of video games, for which successful campaigns have a higher goal on average." Still not sure if you're under or over-pricing yourself?—Bring in the experts. Companies like Dragon Innovation have helped Kickstarter projects including Pebble’s campaign.
"Crowd funding at present is a bit like the internet in 1995," Tom Walkinshaw, founder of successfully funded nano satellite startup PocketQube, told New Scientist. "Everyone agrees it could be really game-changing, but there is a real lack of in-depth knowledge on why some campaigns work while others just fizzle out. This could undoubtedly be beneficial to both crowd funding hopefuls and new crowd funding platforms."
Jennifer Elias (15 Jan,2014). What Not To Say In Your Kickstarter Campaign. Retrieved from http://www.fastcolabs.com/3024977/what-not-to-say-in-your-kickstarter-campaign