MKT 410 Exam 4

7 keys to social media launch success

#1 - Create shareable tweets Make it easy for people to help you in your marketing. Write tweets that are easy to retweet. First, ensure that your tweet is written in an informal lingo. For instance, 'Hey peeps, check out our upcoming 'the-must-have' for all young ladies; instead of 'This is our upcoming product.' Next, respond to all those who retweet your tweet. A thank-you can get you many customers! Try to embed trending keywords (only if they are relevant to your tweet though) as it will increase the likelihood of your tweets appearing when trending keywords are typed into the search bar. Bonus tip: To add tweetable comments to your content, using ClicktoTweet. Here's an example from a recent Crazy Egg article: #2 - A teaser on Facebook Create intrigue and curiosity! How? With teasers that don't reveal what your product is going to be. For instance, if your product is a clothes line for men, title your teaser as "Project Men." Regularly post pictures of men with different body sizes flaunting different fashions on Facebook. This will create inquisitiveness among people and they would want to know more about "Project Men" and what exactly it is about. Begin your teaser campaign at least 20-30 days before the launch of your product. And be sure to mention your teaser tagline (here, Project Men) in every post to cement the words in your audiences' memory. A few teaser ideas are bulleted below: • Post code names. For instance, Christopher Nolan films have code names. • Post images, relevant to your product, evoking curiosity. • One-liners like 'Look at me! Look at me!' L.L. Bean sort of does this with their winter line of clothes: #3 - Get into the 'linking' habit You might miss some of your target audience if you don't integrate various platforms. Let's say you're trying to sell an ebook, and you've created a video to promote it. Put the video on YouTube. Then embed it, not only on your ebook's Facebook page, but also on community pages that relate to the genre of the book. Paste the link on Twitter as well, and so on. By placing your promotion on multiple channels you reach audiences who may only be active on one social media platform. #4 - Launch a founders list There will always be people who would like to learn more about your product. Create a way for them to get in touch with you. This would be your first step towards establishing brand loyalty for your product. As an added benefit, these people can help you with word-of-mouth advertising or crowd-sourced content. Create a mailing address on which people can contact you and get to know about the inside snippets about your launch. Place this in your page's 'about' section on Facebook. Then involve these very people in offline events. For example, your brand has an online contest which is followed by an offline event. You can ask the people in your founder's list to help you with arrangements. #5 - Get into motion with videos Videos are often more impactful than text promotions. And yes, it takes more effort to create them, but that usually pays off in dividends. (With Instagram, you are compelled to make videos with shorter duration; some effort saved!) Let's say your new product is a graphic novel. You can begin by writing a script about what you would say in the video. To make it more appealing, you can use different voices (based on the characters in your graphic novel). Music adds emotion, so get an original music score—it will definitely work. Then think bigger. Web series and extremely short, catchy videos can attract an audience, making it possible for your promotion to go viral. #6 - Use every platform to the hilt Every social media networking site has effective features. Try to use these to the fullest. For example, when on Twitter, use relevant and popular hashtags and mention relevant and popular @'s. When on Facebook, share/like and comment on others' pages to earn the same for your product's page. Endorse others on LinkedIn to get endorsed. A person who has earned several endorsements gains trust. This trust is also transferred to his/her products. Make sure that your launch is mentioned in several social media channels. Mentioning it in your Facebook cover photo, Twitter bio and in a banner ad that will appear on your blog are good options. Other channels to consider are your Google+ page, podcast and Youtube channel. And remember, you can generally get a great response if you just ask for it. Take this post from our Facebook page, for example: #7 - Contests Generally, you want to create buzz before your product launch. Contests are a good way to do this. Audiences find contests appealing and fun—and it's one of the best ways to help people remember your brand. Publicize a contest relevant to the theme/ideology of your product and publicize it on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking platform. For instance, a brand promoting health and fitness can come out with a "how much weight can you lose?" contest. This contest would have a specific time frame, and you would see contestants becoming highly involved with the brand during that time frame. This involvement within a particular time period helps reinforce the brand in your audiences' memory. The bottom line Just one tweet or a lone landing page isn't going to get the word out about your new product. Unless you leverage social media as part of your campaign, you won't see the traffic or sales you need. That said, social media should never be an after-thought. Make it part of your total campaign, and you'll see the difference in your profits.

Costs

Attorneys Fees ( $5,000 - $15,000+ depending on level of complexity) , Government filing fees( minimum of $500, based on the number of claims in the patent) , and Professional drawing expenses ( Typically at least $200- $400) Average: $8,000 - $14,000 over the course of about 4 years Issuance fee: $645 Renewal fees at 4, 8 , and 12 years Life of the patent cannot exceed 20 years

Licensing

Is tied to protection as well

What rights does a patent owner have?

A patent owner has the right to decide who may - or may not- use the patented invention for the period in which the invention is protected. The patent owner may give permission to, or license, other parties to use the invention on mutually agreed terms. The owner may also sell the right to the invention to someone else, who will then become the new owner of the patent. Once a patent expires, the protection ends, and an invention enters the Public Domain, that is, the owner no longer holds exclusive rights to the invention, which becomes available to commercial exploitation by others.

What does a patent do?

A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent. The protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years.

Keys to successful patenting

1. Circumvention of the prior art 2. Reduction to Practice 3. Good Claims

What is a patent?

A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. In order to patentable, the invention must fulfill certain conditions.

Who grants patents?

A patent is granted by a national patent office or by a regional office that does the work for a number of countries, such as the European Patent Office and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization. Under such regional systems, an applicant requests protection for the invention in one or more countries, and each country decides as to whether to offer patent protection within its borders. The WIPO- administered Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) provides for filing of a single international patent application which has the same effect as national applications filed in the designated countries. An applicant seeking protection may file one application and request protection in as many signatory states as needed.

Reduction to practice

An idea or concept should be developed to a point whereby its utility and operation can be demonstrated before it can be considered to be an invention. To develop the ideas, the first procedure is to make a drawing and description of the product . The description should enable an average person, skilled in the art, to understand and make a model from it. While it is not necessary to make a model before a patent application is filed, in the eyes of the law the invention is not reduced to practice before a working sample has been produced.

What kinds of inventions can be protected?

An invention must, in general, fulfill the following conditions to be protected by a patent: It must be of practical use, it must show an element of novelty, that is some new characteristic which is not known in the body of existing knowledge in its technical field. This body of existing knowledge is called "prior art". The invention must show an incentive step which could not be deduced by a person with average knowledge of the technical field. Finally, its subject matter must be accepted as "patentable" under law. In many countries , scientific theories, mathematical methods, plant or animal varieties, discoveries of natural substances, commercial methods, or methods for medical treatment ( as opposed to medical products) are generally not patentable.

How can a patent be obtained worldwide?

At present, no world patents or international patents exist. In general, an application for a patent must be filed, and a patent shall be granted and enforced, in each country in which you seek patent protection for your invention, in accordance with the law of that country.

Patenting and Society

Because inventions are primarily the products of mental faculty, as long as the inventor can keep his invention a secret, he has control over it. There are shortcomings to this type of monopoly, not all inventions can be kept secret because of their construction and method of assembly and operation. Someone else might invent a similar device. One of the chief purposes of acquiring a patent and having it published so that the public is aware of its construction, operation, and application is to promote the art of the particular invention. Technological progress becomes impeded without improvements in the manufacture , process, or method of making and contributing a useful product.

Red Bull Launch

Bull Marketed. The first thing Dietrich Mateschitz did before launching Red Bull was to ignore the focus groups, reports Kerry A. Dolan in Forbes (5/28/05). "People didn't believe the taste, the logo, the brand name," he says. "I'd never before experienced such a disaster." But like a true marketing hero he went ahead anyway, opened up offices just outside Salzburg, and deployed a six-person sales force to "retail outlets and bars across Australia." Today, Red Bull, redbull.com, is a raging success: "In some countries (it) commands an 80 percent market share. In the U.S., where Red Bull enjoys a 47 percent share of the energy drink market, sales are growing at a 40 percent clip. Last year it sold 700 million cans in the U.S.; this year it hopes to sell 1 billion." Yes, the brand's U.S. market share has fallen some over the years, but there's no denying that Dietrich Mateschitz created what is now a $1.7 billion category. "When we first started," Dietrich recalls, "we said there is no existing market for Red Bull ... But Red Bull would create it. And this is what finally became true." It all started when Dietrich was in Thailand, working for Blendax, a German health- and-beauty-care company. That's when he "discovered the benefits of a syrupy tonic drink sold in pharmacies as a revitalizing agent." After noticing that the tonic seemed to remedy his jet lag, he looked into things and found that "these little syrups ... did extremely well over in Asia." By sheer coincidence, it happened that a Blendax licensee "owned a tonic drink company" and the two thought -- why not introduce this stuff in the West? First they tinkered with the formulation, adding carbonation to better suit Western tastes. The drink's name -- Krating Daeng, or "red water buffalo" was changed to Red Bull. The can was re-designed too -- but Dietrich "left in place three key ingredients ... an amino acid called taurine, the caffeine, and glucuronolactone, a carbohydrate." The price is about two bucks for 8.3 ounces -- about twice what Coke gets for 12 ounces. On the media side, Dietrich "dispensed with TV ads in favor of guerilla marketing tactics -- such as "Red Bull's Flutag (flying day) contest, in which people compete ... in homemade flying machines." And rather than paying huge bucks for celebrity endorsements, Red Bull sponsors some 500 relatively obscure extreme athletes around the world. Lately, the company has been testing "an herbal tea drink called Carpe Diem" and hints at a "chain of fast food outlets" to boot. A European magazine that's all about the Red Bull life is in the works, as well. If Dietrich Mateschitz has his way, the Red Bull life will be a very long one indeed: "We have the next hundred years in front of us," he says.

Totally Absurd Patents

Bunny Syringe, Diaper Alarm , Human Car Wash, Bag Man

Step 2

Consider all the things you can protect even without a patent Copyrights Trademarks

Provisional Application for Patent

Designed to provide a lower-cost first patent filing in the United States and to give U.S. applicants parity with foreign applicants under the GATT Uruguay Round Agreements.

NASA licensing technology:

Did you know that NASA technology is available to you as part of our licensing program? Using NASA inventions, you could create new products or launch a new company. ex: A system for creating rocket fuel on Mars is putting the bubbles into beer

Firms ( Large and Small) that want to grow through product innovation have to know how to protect their inventions from unfair competition

Fact:

Overview of Patents

For most engineered goods, two basic types of patents are relevant: Design patents and Utility patents ( A third type of patent covers plants) Design patents provide the legal right to exclude someone from producing and selling a product with the identical ornamental design described by the design patent. A design patent can be thought of as a "copyright" for the ornamental design of a product. Because design patents must be limited to ornamental design, for most engineered goods, design patents are of very limited value.

The power of Patents

George Eastman and Edwin H. Land Kodak infringed on the instant-camera patents held by Polaroid Kodak was assessed a $900 million penalty By providing an incentive for creativity it promotes the advance of commerce and industry Today, most inventors are salaried lab hands working in anonymity for a large corporation The care and feeding of patents became a key element in corporate strategy. Patent Attorney Edwin J. Prindle : "Patents are the best and most effective means of controlling competition George B. Selden made a Car-like vehicle and patented it. Took advantage of other car manufacturers and was paid royalties Which led to the creation of the Association of Licensed Auto Manufacturers (ALAM) Henry Ford fought back, said the old patent concept was outdated Lost at first, then won on appeal but there were only two years left on the patent anyways Way to avoid patents: Secrecy ( Coca Cola) Eletronics companies- all products would be superseded in 5 years why spend money on a patent? Haloid/ Xerox company made big money after picking up a patent for a copying process. Today most patents are sent in by big companies , the office has grown from a handful of people to over 3200 (mostly examiners) and companies still complain the process takes too long usually takes 18 months 10 patents that changed the world: The cotton gin by Eli Whitney , Sewing machine, Barbed Wire , telephone , light bulb , machine gun , the automobile , the airplane , Xerography, The transistor

10 axioms for product launch - Apple

Here are Apple's 10 Axioms for Product Launch Mastery: 1. Creating a superior, revolutionary, market leading product, with a customer centric design and exceptional functionality, so the product becomes the 'star' in advertising and the consumer's mind. 2. Enveloping the product in secrecy so there is a mysterious element to the launch. 3. Creating drama when information is revealed to generate multiple bites of the news apple. 4. Using a high profile spokesperson sparingly so when he appears, everyone listens. 5. Establishing exclusivity through an initial high price point to attract early adopters who establish the 'cool factor.' 6. Motivating a large base of loyal brand aficionados and ambassadors who serve as an army of influencers and spread the word (and viral video) about the product. 7. Staggering product availability to give word-of-mouth about the product a chance to build while managing the supply chain so that planned releases spike increased demand and drive traffic. 8. Finding, sticking to and reinforcing brand positioning so that everything the company does illustrates the product's simplicity and coolness. 9. Developing the product with exclusive features so that others cannot copy the design and functionality, and even if they do—the original product is perceived as better. 10. Keeping the details about the product under lock and key so that even developers have no idea how it really works until the launch.

Claims

In a patent or patent application, the claims define, in technical terms, the extent, i.e. the scope, of the protection conferred by a patent, or the protection sought in a patent application. In other words, the purpose of the claims is to define which subject-matter is protected by the patent (or sought to be protected by the patent application). This is termed the "notice function" of a patent claim—to warn others of what they must not do if they are to avoid infringement liability.[1] The claims are of the utmost importance both during prosecution and litigation alike. For instance, a claim could read: "An apparatus for catching mice, said apparatus comprising a base, a spring member coupled to the base, and ..." "A chemical composition for cleaning windows, said composition substantially consisting of 10-15% ammonia, ..." "Method for computing future life expectancies, said method comprising gathering data including X, Y, Z, analyzing the data, comparing the analyzed data results..."

Protection

Is a game typically played by lawyers and engineers , but if you are going to be on product development teams ( or if you want to do product development on your own) you also have to be familiar with such Intellectual Property issues as: Copyrights Trademarks Patents and Patenting

Can I discuss the details of my invention with a potential investor before filing a patent application?

It is important to file a patent application before publicly disclosing the details of the invention. In general, any invention which is made public before an application is filed would be considered prior art ( although the definition of the term "prior art" is not unified at the international level , in many countries , it consists of any information which has been made available to the public anywhere in the world by written or oral disclosure). In countries which apply the above definition of the term "prior art", the applicant 's public disclosure of the invention prior to filing a patent application would prevent him/her from obtaining a valid patent for that invention, since such invention would not comply with the novelty requirement. Some countries, however, allow for a grace period, which provides a safeguard for applicants who disclosed their inventions before filing a patent application, and the novelty criteria may be interpreted differently depending on the applicable law. If it is inevitable to disclose your invention to, for example, a potential investor or a business partner, before filing a patent application , such a disclosure should be accompanied by a confidentiality agreement.

Step 1 in protecting yourself

Keep a detailed engineering-type logbook Use notaries and date all your "intellectual property" materials The self-addressed/ Registered package Then, you can think about working with companies

Cashing in on your product Idea - Judy Ryder

Licensing- for people who don't want the hassle of launching a full-scale business. Easiest route is to take your idea to a manufacturing company for a royalty . Sum of money for each unit sold. Factors for considering a product for licensing: Is it unique? Uniqueness- screams uniqueness, not just an improvement on a similar product Next biggest question: Can this product be patented? Lesson: The patent on a new product must be very strong or companies simply won't want to take the risk Choosing a likely company: Where does your product fit in to a company's product line? Who owns your target company? "ridiculous story about having to send flowers to the head of R&D" Sent Carter's R&D thank you cards and cards saying I miss you to get his attention Important to do your homework: Read trade publications Obtain any literature the company puts out Call the company contact for inventors, guidelines for submitting product ideas If the company is publicly owned and traded, call and ask for investor information-- and press releases Ask other industry people about companies you're thinking of contacting How to Approach companies: Need to write a proposal 4 main things reviewers will consider when evaluating your product: Marketing: Manufacturing: Legal: Research and Development: Professional and unemotional in many cases you'll be required to Sign some kind of submission form or nonconfidentiality agreement Companies need to protect themselves Act as if you know what you're doing Presenting to a company: Preparation is key Include cost estimates and focus group results show them a prototype They'll want to know "what's the cost , what's our profit margin?" Let it be known you have a patent attorney Get the names/ business cards of everyone you present to Always send a thank you letter to the person who reviews your product

Copyright

Names, familiar symbols, slogans, short phrases, methods systems, and some other types of subject matter cannot be copyrighted A copyright grants the exclusive right to reproduce, revise , distribute , display , or sell the material. Ideas are not protected. Only the precise way in which an idea is expressed can be copyrighted. Every work is automatically copyrighted when it is created or put into fixed form. However, to preserve the right all published copies must carry in an obvious place all of the following elements of a copyright notice: A copyright symbol, the word copyright, or the abbreviation Copr. The year of the first publication The author's name or a recognizable abbreviation Ex: Song lyrics to John Lennon's "Imagine" , "There are some things that money can't buy, for everything else there's______"

Trademark

Nike swoosh Merrill Lynch Bull symbol " The ultimate driving machine" Minnesota Vikings logo Dell Comics vs. Dell Computers Nike Missile vs. Nike Shoes

What kind of protection does a patent offer?

Patent protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made , used, distributed, or sold without the patent owners' consent. These patent rights are usually enforced in a court, which, in most systems, holds the authority to stop patent infringement. Conversely, a court can also declare a patent invalid upon a successful challenge by a third party.

What role do Patents play in Everyday Life?

Patented inventions have, in fact, pervaded every aspect of human life, from electric lighting ( patents held by Edison and Swan) and plastic ( patents held by Baekeland), to ballpoint pens ( patents held by Biro) and microprocessors ( patents held by Intel, for example)

Why are patents necessary?

Patents provide incentives to individuals by offering them recognition for their creativity and material reward for their marketable inventions. These incentives encourage innovation, which assures the quality of human life is continuously enhanced.

Can I obtain a patent for my software-related invention?

Procedural and substantive requirements for the grant of patents are different from one country/region to the other. In particular, practices and case law regarding the patentability pf software-related inventions vary significantly in different countries. For example, in some countries, inventions within the meaning of patent law must have a technical character and software as such is not considered a patentable invention, while in others, such requirements do not exist, so that software is generally patentable subject matter. It is therefore recommended that you consult a practicing lawyer who is specialized in intellectual property or the intellectual property offices of those countries in which you are interested to get protection. A list of URLs and a directory of national and regional intellectual property offices are available. On the other hand, computer programs may be protected under copyright. However, according to a well-established principle, copyright protection extends only to expressions, not to ideas, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such.

Trademark Story: Three Peat

Riles and Co. ( The corporate identity of Pat Riley) submitted a trademark application for the use of three peat on shirts, jackets , and hats. Riles and Co. collected royalties from sports apparel makers who licensed the phrase for use on merchandise commemorating teams who won three peats Bull won ,Yankees Won , and Lakers Won Patent was infringed by USC fan selling Three-Pete shirts ( Pete Carroll)

How can I find patent laws of various countries?

The Collection of Laws for Electronic Access (CLEA) provides easy intellectual property legislation from a wide range of countries and regions as well as to treaties on intellectual property administered by WIPO. Many national or regional patent offices provide information concerning national or regional legislation on their websites. A list of URLs of national and regional intellectual property offices are available.

Circumvention of the prior art

Upon careful examination and analysis of the various patents, products, and publications, if no prior art is found that will infringe on the inventor's product, the inventor's next step is to prepare a patent application. If any prior art is found, the inventor's next recourse is to circumvent the prior art; this is perfectly legal and permissible. The circumvention must be such that a broad claim, that cannot be circumvented by another person, can be drawn on the invention. The inventor must redesign the item, if necessary, and construct a device that is new in most respects so that it is not just a minor improvement over the existing product. Some manufacturers, when approached by the owner of a patent who wants to sell his patent outright or on a royalty basis, procure copies of the patent and distribute them among their engineering staff to analyze the patent content to determine if circumvention is possible. If the analysis results in favor of the patentee , then the manufacturer will be ready "to talk business" with the inventor. If the invention can be readily circumvented, then the inventor's offer is turned down.

Name the three characteristics of a patent

Useful, Novel, Nonobvious

How is a patent granted?

The first step is filing a patent application. The patent application generally contains the title of the invention as well as an indication of its technical field; it must include the background and a description of the invention, in clear language and enough detail that an individual with an average understanding of the field could use or reproduce the invention. Such descriptions are usually accompanied by visual materials such as drawings, plans, or diagrams to better describe the invention. the application also contains various "claims", that is, information which determines the extent of protection granted by the patent.

P& G and Align probiotic , product launch

The team was developing a probiotic pill whose daily use could alleviate the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. More than 30 million people in the United States alone are reported to have this condition. The best that most can do is to modify their lives to account for the condition. The idea was brimming with disruptive potential. A pressing problem with no adequate solutions. A potentially category-creating way to get the job done. The product had unique intellectual property, and consumers who tried it reported that their lives were changed. And, of course, it was about to get shut down. Why the disconnect? The original market forecast said that the opportunity would be relatively small. Launching a new brand is expensive, and the team hadn't yet worked out all the technological kinks. Big investment, high risk, small return is not a recipe for corporate approval. Yet, the team, under the guidance of Nancy McCarthy, persevered. We helped the team conduct scenario analysis to identify the assumptions that would have to prove true to justify a full-scale launch. Management agreed to provide a small amount of money to learn more about these assumptions. The team quietly launched the product over the Internet. It didn't spend tens of millions in advertising; rather it used its existing pharmaceutical sales force to push the product in a few cities. P&G then moved to sell the product online through websites like Walgreens.com. Finally, the product launched nationally early last year. Important insights came from this process. Instead of simply having a vial with a bunch of pills in it, the Align team created a "blister pack" with days of the week on it to remind consumers to take the pill every day. Branding changed as well. Initial packaging said Align was "from the makers of Metamucil." Today Align stands alone. As Chief Technology Officer Bruce Brown told me for a 2008 Forbes article describing Align, "The team stair-stepped to market, never investing ahead of learning." (You can also read more about Align in Chapter 6 of The Silver Lining.) Anyone who has seen me speak knows that one of my favorite quotes is Intuit founder Scott Cook's wonderfully pithy, "For every one of our failures, we had spreadsheets that looked awesome." The lesson is not to confuse an awesome spreadsheet with an awesome business. Similarly, crummy market forecasts can obscure solid business opportunities. Innovation success requires looking at the numbers critically before making investment decisions. Look for the assumptions behind the numbers and find simple, affordable ways to pressure test those numbers in as-close-to-market-conditions as possible.

Submitting an idea to 3M:

To avoid conflicts of interest, 3M has found it necessary to adopt certain ground rules for considering ideas. Stage 1: Preliminary Test- read booklet and realistically judge whether your idea could be of interest to 3M ( very low acceptance rate of outside ideas) Stage 2: Depends on if you have a patent. (3M prefers to consider ideas or inventions that are covered by a patent or copyright). If you have a patent then acquire a copy of the issued patent. If not, consult an attorney and complete 3M's Non-confidential idea submission agreement Submit your information to 3M, attention: External Ideas Administrator 3M's Evaluation ( atleast 6 weeks) 3M's written response ( interest or not interested) Stage 3: No further interaction will be sought on this idea. Thank you for considering 3M. or 3M will initiate further contact as necessary

Utility Patents

United states law allows for patenting of an invention that relates to a new process, machine, article of manufacture, composition of matter, or a new and useful improvement of one of these things. Fortunately, these categories include almost all inventions embodied by new products. Note that the inventions embodied in software are sometimes patented, but usually the invention is described as a process or machine. Useful: The patented invention must be useful to someone in some context Novel: Novel inventions are those that are not known publicly and therefore are not evident in existing products, publications, or prior patents. The definition of novelty relates to disclosures of the actual invention to be patented as well. In the United States , an invention to be patented must not have been revealed to the public more than a year before the patent is filed. Nonobvious: Patent law defines obvious inventions as those that would be clearly evident to those with "ordinary skill in the art" who faced the same problem as the inventor.

The governments and the courts take intellectual property infringement ...

Very seriously Ex: Samsung ordered to pay Apple $290 Million, Perdue chicken stealing secret, etc.

Where can I find patent information?

WIPO web-based databases or on paper, microfilms, or CD-ROMs at the national or regional patent offices.

Kickstarter

What is the best advice for launching a new product on Kickstarter? In no particular order: * Show that you have completed another project of similar magnitude, particularly in the same area. This shows that you've seen the problems that have come up and you've beat them. It also gives you credibility with people who've enjoyed your previous work. If you haven't completed anything, think about partnering with somebody else who does have this experience. Or launch a small project just to get some "Kickstarter cred". * Having samples of your product. Sample chapters, concept art, a teaser scene, photos, videos. This shows the quality of your work and that you have invested time before the Kickstarter. A potential patron knows you are serious and feels that they are more likely to get a product at the end of it. * Set your goal low and have many levels of stretch goals. People are often reluctant to fund a Kickstarter that isn't near it's goal. Make it easy to reach this level. Once you are funded, make the stretch goals easy to reach. Somebody who is interested in hitting the stretch goal will tell other people about it or raise their donation. * Communicate your progress, but don't go crazy. I know I like to hear that the creator is involved and enthusiastic. On the other hand, I've gotten three posts a day from some kickstarters and that's annoying. * Celebrity sells. Getting people that are known to your target audience involved is a good way to drive up interest. Even an endorsement helps. Even more so if its on their blog or twitter feed (see below). * Work with external blogs. Getting on the right Gawker family blog will drive up your views. A reference in BoingBoing or a popular Reddit will also work. And of course, each community has it's own favorite blogs. Written 6 Nov, 2012. Suggest Edits Upvote1 Downvote Comment Loading... Share PROMOTE ANSWER TO 100 PEOPLE 500 Credits to Promote Allen Gomberg, Co-Founder of Jiva CubesSuggest Bio 2 upvotes by Martin Velchevski and Bamert Ralf. We launched 3 Kickstarter campaigns (the 1st failed and the next 2 were successful) so hopefully I can offer some insight based on our experiences. First, I recommend doing as much research as you can, whether it be looking at other Kickstarter projects (successful AND unsuccessful) or reading as much as you can on Quora about Kickstarter. You can't just launch a Kickstarter project and expect to do well. I remember reading this post after we failed our first project: What are some tips for creating a successful Kickstarter project? Foolishly, we did not take this step seriously during the first campaign, but I think we learned more due to our failure. We just posted our project without promoting to anyone hoping Kickstarter would do all the work. Well, that didn't work out because we quickly sank to the bottom of the Food section (low visibility). Popular projects rise to the top, and unpopular get buried under all the popular projects. However, we didn't think our project was failure, but rather did not have enough exposure to be truly tested. We told the backers from the failed campaign that we were going to relaunch and if they backed us again, then they would receive an extra box of our product. We also told them to try and back us early to create the positive momentum that is necessary for meaningful exposure, and thankfully many did. This helped reach the front page and continue to stay at the top or near it. There is definitely a positive feedback mechanism at play. We leveraged our former backers in the 3rd campaign and 1/7 of the return, which was shocking to us because we delivered our product 6 months late! The most important things I would focus on are: 1) Use people you know to help support your project early so you can build momentum quickly. More people donate to projects they think are popular. It human nature to follow the herd I guess. If you don't know anyone then take the time to contact bloggers within your niche or social media personalities that might be willing to promote your project. 2) Visibility. This is why you need to build momentum early so people can see your project. If they can't find it because it's not popular then they won't back you. It's as simple as that. 3) Don't ask for too much money, unless you can't produce the product without it. People are more likely to donate to a project they think will succeed (and if you are already funded) because they know they will be getting something. There some great ideas that don't get funded because they ask for too much money. If your project doesn't demand $100,000 or $1,000,000, then don't ask for it. If it does, then you need to have a following or you might want to break the project up into smaller ones and do multiple Kickstarters. 4) Don't underestimate shipping costs ESPECIALLY INTERNATIONAL ORDERS. We did this during the second campaign and it really hurt us. 5) Be reasonable with your delivery date. If you say you will deliver in a month then you will have really excited people asking for it as soon as that month is up. 6) Don't ignore your backers. Keep them constantly updated even if you don't think it's worth mentioning or if you're scared because something went wrong. Even after 6 months of delays and issues, many of our former backers continued to support us in the next campaign because we kept them updated no matter how embarrassed we were. Yes, some people will still be upset, but most will appreciate the communication and understand that things happen. 7) Also, be very careful with the money you receive. Do not get overly ambitious because you raised much more than you expected. Many projects have issues with this so try to be very measured with your expectations. Remember, there are always things that will go wrong and unseen costs that will pop up. Always give yourself a cushion. 8) Donate to other projects before you begin your own. Kickstarter is a community so it is important to show good faith. It will also give you insight into how it feels to be on the other side. It's important to be empathetic with your backers. You also get to help great people and receive cool things! 9) Show your face and tell your story. People are investing in you as much as they are in your product. They may even back you solely on your story. People have flat out told us that they only backed us because they liked our story and gave away whatever we sent them. I hope that helps.

Chapter 7:

Working With Intellectual Property

Where to search Patents?

uspto.gov ( United States Patent and Trademark Office)