Time to kickstart the marketing

Frank Sinatra to Alicia Keys - If I can make it there I'll make it anywhere

For most kickstart project owners, the toughest part of this entire process seems to be marketing. You tell countless numbers of people about it, tweet it, facebook post it, go to sleep dreaming about how many backers you might wake up to, or stalk your dashboard every hour (ok, ever minute...). It's hard work. And still, the question remains: How do you mobilize your social network to not only visit your page but to follow through and make that pledge.  After lots of research, I read about the dreaded plateau you hit (between the initial launch buzz and the last few days till project deadline) It really does happen. I'm in the middle of mine right now.  I've gone 3 days with no pledges and the fear and doubt starts to creep in. Will I make goal? Where are my friends?! Why hasn't (insert close friend here) donated yet?  I thought (insert family member here) loved me?  

I tried to lessen the blow of the plateau effect by releasing weekly eblasts or promos.  A fun tactic I'm using currently involves releasing mixtapes. It's right in line with my project mission (painting to soundtracks/mixtapes) so I figured why not use this as a marketing angle?  It allows me to generate some traction so that i'm not just saying "donate donate donate" but instead, "hey here's some free music - and by the way, i've got a kickstarter project going on - take a look."  For my eblasts - which go out to my personal network of friends, family, and contacts, I promote the mixtapes but I also try to plug the countdown of days left. I know some people are just sitting on the fence deciding whether this is a success or a fail. It's a catch 22 in a way - it would be a success if they all just would back the project but alas, that is not the case. It's a psychological thing I assume - people like to back winners.  I will do a marketing recap once the deadline has passed.

On the actual project front, I am trying to keep the mindset that this will be a winner. I've scouted materials and supplies and have already done some ordering. I'll be creating new work regardless of outcome so this is a good time to get started.  A lot of my other commitments are pretty low-key so i'm using this time to my advantage.  Will be posting some sneak peeks as I go. It's been crazy pushing work in all my creative outlets. From videos to art "installation" (pictured) to dj mixes (last summer I was practically a resident dj at the Smyth Hotel) so this project has thankfully brought me back to my tables to all-around creative work it's will be nice to look back on a productive summer.

Support my kickstarter campaign here: http://kck.st/OPjCh1