This Training TuneUp Interview explores how Christina Fagan, founder of Shit That I Knit, launched a such successful Kickstarter campaign when growing her business, raising over $25,000 from 260 backers in 30 days.
It's not easy starting a Kickstarter, and requires all of the muscles in your marketing body. It's all of what we preach at Tin Shingle - the outreach, the PR, the social, the emailing, the presentation. The gumption! The enthusiasm.
Momentum was building when Christina launched the business, and she needed capital to get inventory. Most of her work went into a pre-buzz campaign where she reached out to the media to pitch her business to the press, and landed placements.
This interview reveals how she did this - which will keep you going in your own drive to secure sales and success in your business. Learn how Christina got her own press in Forbes, The Boston Globe, and other publications.
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When Katharine Contag, creator and founder of the Color Clutch, a revolutionary nail polish organizer, asked submitted a press release to her fellow Tin Shingle members in the Community Boards for group workshopping, we knew we had to feature her on a TuneUp to learn more of her business story. Katharine's product was debuting on the shelves of the Container Store nation-wide, followed by Ricky's NYC, and she wanted to get the word out, fast. Katharine not only secured a wholesale account in this retail mecca, but she had raised over $16,000 of seed money during a Kickstarter campaign. Listen to this webinar to find out:
ABOUT KATHARINE CONTAG
How Katharine's background at in retail and finance helped prep her to be a creator and marketer of a revolutionary new product she designed out of necessity in a small New York City apartment where nail polish bottles had taken over her bathroom.
KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN
How did you finance the Color Clutch to design and produce it before your Kickstarter Campaign? Was it a limited run?
What did your Kickstarter campaign allow you to do with the Color Clutch?
How did you structure your Kickstarter campaign to increase backer engagement with it?
How did you work with your highest level backer, The Innovation Team?
How did you promote your Kickstarter campaign?
RETAIL SCORE! - THE CONTAINER STORE & RICKY’S NYC!
How many stores nationwide carry Color Clutch?
How did you find a contact at The Container Store, and pitch them?
How long did it take you from pitch to acceptance to get launched?
How did you build buzz before the launch in The Container Store?
THE COLOR CLUTCH WEBSITE
The website design is amazing - how did it impact your pitch to the Container Store - or did it?
Did you hire a photographer and creative director for your photo shoots, or DIY it?
How do you plan on using Bloggers and Vloggers to spread the word?
NEXT STEPS
How is the Color Clutch doing right now in the Container Store?
What are your next steps for building the business?
Anyone can watch a Tin Shingle TuneUp from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The process is different for premium members and the public.
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Stream any TuneUp Webinar anytime with your Tin Shingle membership. No need to purchase it, this TuneUp is ready to play from this page! When you are logged in, you will see a big screen. Press play and start taking notes!
NON-MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE
Once you buy a TuneUp, you own it forever. The video or audio recording will appear on the TuneUp page that you just purchased from, and all you need to do is press play!
Katie Hellmuth Martin is the Co-Founder of Tin Shingle and is committed to educating small businesses in common sense, yet sexy ways of marketing through search engines, and online branding. Small businesses from Main Street, to corporate agencies on Madison Avenue have relied on Katie for insight and forward thinking approaches to using today's technology to lock in online branding to increase sales. As lead producer and digital strategist at InHouse Design Media, Katie has developed e-commerce and content based websites, and devised SEO and social strategies for businesses of all types, including retail and service. She has managed the traffic flow and sales process for websites during features on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Daily Candy. She is also the publisher of the local media source, A Little Beacon Blog. Katie speaks and teaches SEO and online marketing, and has been featured in Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, New York Daily News, and other publications. Connect with her on Twitter via @KJPixelated and @TinShingle, on Instagram @katiejamespixelated and @TinShingle and on Google+.
Sarah Womer is the founder of Zero to Go, an education-based waste management company focused on composting and recycling. In 2015, Sarah put together an 18-day crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter that raised over $20,000 from 248 backers in order to start a food compost pickup program in Beacon, NY. The community rallied behind her and got the program launched. Sarah joined Tin Shingle co-founders Katie Hellmuth Martin and Sabina Hitchen in this TuneUp Webinar to reveal how she planned for and executed the crowdfunding campaign, from social media to videos to overall expectations.
An overview of crowdfunding, from backers to investment to rewards.
How Sarah faced her fears of failure before launching the crowdfunding campaign and even during 18 days of rallying her supporters.
A checklist for what Sarah needed to have ready before launching the campaign.
How Sarah and her team used social media to reach people and rally support.
Life beyond social media - other tactics including PR and a newsletter that Sarah used to get support from more people.
Money-raising patterns that Sarah noticed during the campaign - did money tend to come in at different times?
Whether or not video was important to the success of a crowd-sourced fundraiser, and Sarah's budget for producing it.
A look at the strategy behind creating the Rewards for different backer levels, and distribution.
Why a true community-focused mindset is critical to crowdfunding.Fundraising patterns that occurred around when money came in - what worked?
Expectations for life during the campaign, in terms of prep-time, success, and day-to-day requirements of the campaign.
Advice from Sarah to you if you are considering creating a crowdfunding campaign.
Anyone can watch a Tin Shingle TuneUp from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The process is different for Premium Members and the public.
MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE
Stream any TuneUp Webinar anytime with your Tin Shingle membership. No need to purchase it, this TuneUp is ready to play from this page! When you are logged in, you will see a big screen. Press play and start taking notes! Not a member yet? You really should be...
NON-MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE
Once you buy a TuneUp, you own it forever. The video or audio recording will appear on the TuneUp page that you just purchased from, and all you need to do is press play!
Sarah Womer founded Zero to Go to change our culture’s treatment of waste by reusing it. Sarah was most recently dubbed a “Person to Watch in 2016” by Hudson Valley Magazine, and has been featured in the Poughkeepsie Journal and has spoken at business events including the Hudson Valley Women in Business Group. Zero to Go provides an education-based approach to waste management at events, large and small throughout the New York region, directing garbage that would normally end up in a landfill to local composting and recycling facilities.
Katie Hellmuth Martin is co-founder of Tin Shingle and publisher of A Little Beacon Blog. Since 2005 when she hung her own shingle as a designer of websites and accessories, Katie has worked with businesses of all sizes to grow their digital footprints using newsletters, company blogs, user experience, social media, and a creative look at SEO performance. For Tin Shingle, she is lead designer, community membership nurturer, columnist, and director of partnerships and advertising.
Sabina Hitchen is the co-founder of Tin Shingle and the founder of Sabina Knows. She has been practicing, teaching and lecturing on all things public relations for over eight years and specializes in lifestyle public relations for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Sabina's clients have appeared everywhere from the Today Show, Good Morning America and CBS This Morning to Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc.com, O the Oprah Winfrey Magazine, People StyleWatch, E! News and more. She is a true believer that "it's PR not ER" and that every small business given the right skills and tools can excel at managing and understanding their public relations campaign.
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Katie Hellmuth Martin is the Co-Founder of 
Sarah Womer founded 
Katie Hellmuth Martin is co-founder of 
Sabina Hitchen is the co-founder of Tin Shingle and the founder of Sabina Knows. She has been practicing, teaching and lecturing on all things public relations for over eight years and specializes in lifestyle public relations for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Sabina's clients have appeared everywhere from the Today Show, Good Morning America and CBS This Morning to Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc.com, O the Oprah Winfrey Magazine, People StyleWatch, E! News and more. She is a true believer that "it's PR not ER" and that every small business given the right skills and tools can excel at managing and understanding their public relations campaign.
