65 – Using the Power of Inspiration to Launch a Book on Kickstarter | feat. Jake Heilbrunn
Crowdfunding Uncut | Kickstarter| Indiegogo | Where Entrepreneurs Get Funded
Crowdfunding Uncut | Kickstarter| Indiegogo | Where Entrepreneurs Get Funded
65 - Using the Power of Inspiration to Launch a Book on Kickstarter | feat. Jake Heilbrunn
/

Cheat Sheet

  • Do your research! Know what to expect and plan ahead. Your campaign will likely be delayed as it is.
  • When launching, reach out to everyone you know with a personal note, not a generic “copy paste” message. The personal touch goes a long way to motivating people to help you.
  • The personal touch applies to approaching influencers as well. The people you probably want to reach likely get dozens of promotional requests per month.
  • Even with the personal touch, pitching influencers is a numbers game. Remember, you only need a couple of key endorsements out of hundreds of possibilities to get the social proof required to take your launch to the next level.
  • It is crucial that your endorsements are relevant. While a random celebrity endorsement may feel nice, you want people who have the audience you want to sell to.

 

About This Episode

Jake Heilbrunn thought college was going to be the time of his life.

That’s what we are all told, right?

“I expected I would work hard and play hard.”

But early into his first semester he developed a chronic skin condition and ultimately developed severe anxiety and depression.

Something was wrong.

What Jake discovered was that his anxiety came from pursuing the life others wanted from him and wasn’t living life for himself.

So he left school after that first semester, left his cell phone at home, and took a one-way ticket to Guatemala to teach English.

While spending four months in Guatemala, he decided he found the relief from the depression and anxiety that had plagued him that first semester at school.

He realized he wanted to help inspire other college students to pursue life for themselves as well by telling his story.

After exhaustive research, Jake chose to write a book, self-publish, and raise money on Kickstarter.

Jake planned months in advance for his launch.

He made a budget and set realistic expectations.

He recruited friends to help him with copywriting and video production.

Se started writing a blog and got email subscribers.

He wrote guest posts

He even woke up at 2am the day of the campaign launch in order to send out personalized messages to 500 people on Facebook.

He wrote those messages so quickly that Facebook thought he was a bot and almost banned his account!

And he hit his funding goal.

There are a ton of practical crowdfunding gems in this episode and a healthy dose of inspiration.

But I really want you to pay attention at the point he talks about reaching out for endorsements.

By being genuine, reaching out personally to relevant thought leaders, he was able to secure some pretty big names…

He even got the one and only Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup For The Soul fame!

That story is heartwarming and unbelievably instructive.

And Jake did it all without a professional team like I use during my launches.

Don’t be fooled by the modest raise.

Launching a book is a lot different from launching a tech product.

Jake is a future rockstar. I guarantee you will be hearing from him again in the future.

 

Resources Mentioned

Off The Beaten Trail Kickstarter Page

Off The Beaten Trail on Amazon

The Disturbing Truth About Anxiety and Depression in College

Jake’s Blog

Oregon to Patagonia by Jedidiah Jenkins Kickstarter Page

Shopify -or- Kickstarter? That is the question!

Take the quiz to find out where you should launch your first (or next) product

Take the quiz to find out where you should launch your first (or next) product