A few years ago, a Youtuber and artist, who is known as the ten hundred, reached his financing goal of 10,000 US dollars in 3 minutes.
That’s 180 seconds, you. It took longer to write this intro.
Brandon Smithwrick, Kickstarter’s then director of content and creative, told me more about this campaign, which ultimately brought in over $ 2 million.
The project? A deck with cards with his work of art.
Smithwrick shared some of ten hundred secrets (and some other hard -fought wisdom) so that they can convert their own (metaphorical) card game into (literal, 🤞🏽) millions.
Meet the master
Brandon Smithwrick
Right to fame: Brandon was selected by Forbes for his list “30 under 30” in 2024
Lesson 1: Build up your audience – before You have to monetize.
“I started content three years ago, part -time before I even saw myself as a creator,” says Smithwrick.
On the day we spoke, Smithwrick had just announced to leave Kickstarter to head his new media company. Three years Is what it needed to build an audience that could support its full -time effort.
In fact, Smithwrick had not even thought about the fact that this could be an undertaking of money earners. “I just shared my perspective and shared my thoughts about LinkedIn.” Soon the brands came to the knock -an offer of 300 US dollars here, a deal of 900 US dollars there.
“Wait,” he thought, “they can do it Money Do that? “
Smithwrick describes these early offers as “validation and evidence”, emphasizes: “It took me three years to build this basis to say that they know what is time for me to leave my full -time job.”
Lesson learned? “People don’t do enough to build hype” Smithwrick says. “This is something that I try to get a lot of people to understand. Before you start to monetize your audience – sell them, promote something – Just start building an audience. You never know when you need this in your back pocket. “
(Secret #1 from Ten Hundert Successful Kickstarter: Seriously, do not underestimate this step – Tenhundert currently has 826,000 YouTube subscribers, and he has literally worked together thousands of his fans during the design of the deck.)
Lesson 2: Don’t be afraid of making hyper-niche.
At Kickstarter, Smithwrick says: “We have found that the general content did not work as well as the hyper-Niche content worked.”
For example, “games” or “comics” are not almost specific enough to achieve an enthusiastic, committed audience. “There are tabletop games in the gaming, there are role-playing games, there are video games.”
In other words, your audience is not just “comics” – maybe it is Kewiga Manga or Graphic Novels about poodle. If you get this special, you can skip people, let people skip who could Be your customers, “but when you talk to a certain niche, feel more like a direct conversation and” only shapes your brand for the better “.
Smithwrick tells me about a conversation that he has conducted with someone who leads an influencer agency, but only for upcycling and recycling creators. (Remember this commercial in which Martha Stewart has put your pool back with old credit cards? I imagine that here.) That is The type of specificity that wins.
In addition: “It really makes it very clear to your customers about how they will meet their needs.”
(Secret #2 from Ten Hundert Successful Kickstarter: his audience was not art lovers or even EDU enthusiasts. It was the customer -specific playing card – collected community. The 10 -times fast.)
Lesson 3: Never skip the leg day.
Smithwrick speaks an unpleasant truth: “I can’t have a good product for sale. I also have to have a talent to be a creator to create a good catch.” He folds his nose and I can hear the frustration in his voice.
“If you are not good on social media, for a large majority, honest, this means that your product is not seen by the masses.”
What is the solution for overwhelmed marketers?
First recognize that “founders must be the microphone for these brand gains”. Smithwrick recognizes the inherent challenge: “If you are a founder, you will guide the company.” But can you take 30 minutes and say, take a look at all the victories that my team sent me in this e -mail – how can I transform it into content? “
It’s a muscle, says Smithwrick me. And you know what you say: never skip the leg day.
“Train this muscle. Because you don’t have to make a report to get leads. Your organic channels can be a flywheel of the lead generation – you only have to inform people about the amazing work that you do.”
In order to make the manageable, says Smithwrick, “he plans everything – it is impossible to publish and not plan this cadence.”
Apart from this consistency, he also tries to “offer my community as much value as possible”. No “action, advertising, advertising”, no “buy, buy, buy” – only worth value, consistently delivered. The model has proven three years to build this, and now he is putting his career on it.
(Secret #3 from Ten Hundert Successful Kickstarter: As a wall painter, Ten Hundert would have decided a more conventional monetarization route, such as commissions. Instead, he combined with his community to offer them something valuable. This case study.))
Questions
The question of this week
What is a marketing strategy or a trend that you believe that it will be overlooked, but currently has a high impact potential? – Lindsey Gamble, Creator Economy Consultant; Creator of the Lindsey Gamble Newsletter
The answer this week
Smithwrick: A strategy that is often overlooked in my opinion is the use of social media to control exclusive offers directly in the community you have already built. For example, if you tease a doctorate on Instagram friends, you can convey a feeling of traction before starting.
Tools like many also make it easy to only create DM offers that feel special, such as: B. “Dm Me ‘Keyword”, and we will send you our bundle pack before public sale. I even saw how brands with Instagram Broadcast channels experiment and drop discount codes for those who act first and turn advertising campaigns into a game with speed and scarcity. These approaches not only reward their most committed followers, but also create urgency and exclusivity without needing a traditional LP.
The continued question of the next week
Smithwrick asks: What is a creative, hot attitude that makes a marketer second language, how you can work with creative work?
