Alicia Kan

20% of startups face marketing and sales problems

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Thank goodness for the JOBS act! Now you can crowdfund the hell out of your startup!

Not so fast. Just because you post your campaign on Kickstarter and post a few pleas on Facebook doesn't mean you can watch the funds flow in as you lounge on the couch.

Starting a campaign on a crowdfunding platform is work, a lot of hard work, and it takes marketing smarts to stand out from the thousands of projects clamoring for funding. Some of the best lessons shared with the Startup Marketing Coach are below.

"Have a really good idea of who will fund you before you set up your project."

Words of wisdom from Kickstarter alumni Len Kendall, whose startup gis.to achieved 245% of its funding target.

Who would want to invest in you, how and why? Come up with a profile of your investor and pick the right crowdfunding site. There are hundreds of them -- a complete list, 1,800+ the last time we checked, is on crowdsourcing.org.

Make sure the platform, messaging and other relevant details align as much as possible with your potential investors' values, tastes and preferences.

Enlist the help of your friends. Boy, are you going to need them.

You're about to embark on 30 to 45 days of hard-core campaigning. Are you up to it?

You can be a one-man or one-woman band but here's the argument for getting help:

• Constant wheedling from you to fund your startup will get you blocked or unfollowed. Get others to relay the message for you.
• Your network exponentially expands with the addition of others' networks.
• It's dang exhausting. Someone can spot for you when you need some rest.

Ask your friends to private message the influencers in their networks to help spread the word. Find out if any of your mates know media who'd find your startup interesting. Hey if the media covers your startup, you must have something promising.

There's strength in numbers. Think of it as crowdsourcing support for your crowdfunded startup.

Don't forget to thank your investors.

This is where most crowdfunders slip up, especially after the campaign is done.

You can always send the canned reply, but follow up with a personalised thank you to your funders (this is where friends come in handy to help out).

Make your thank you heartfelt, witty and memorable. Think of it as another marketing tool. Who knows? Your funder might find it so delightful he'll pass it along to 10 other friends who'll invest in your startup.

Especially in the critical last few days of the campaign, be generous with the update-thank you's. 'Thanks to you, we're 90% closer to our goal.' The human instinct is to close the 10% gap, and you'll see a renewed burst of goodwill so you can make the home stretch.

After the project is done, don't ignore your funders. Continue updating them, referring to their largesse. 'Your contribution made this possible. [Unveil new prototype or product.]'

One great side benefit of keeping them constantly updated: You now have a focus group of sorts who can guide you in forming your MVP.

Keep your investors feeling they have a stake in your business for more than the money they put in. It's a sure way to make them your biggest evangelists.

So get funded and build your brand for free. How does it get any better than that?

It'll take more than a smart name to get that $50K being wagged about. Photo by Daniel Heaf on Flickr.

Did you hear that? It was the collective gasp across the startup world when the news broke that Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion.

What makes Instagram so valuable? Lots of complex calculations go into the science of valuing companies, something this blog won't go into.

But one thing's for sure: Instagram is hugely popular because it hit the right note, at the right moment. Here are some marketing lessons we can all learn from the photo sharing service:

Define a problem people never even knew existed

Or no one thinks is a problem; just a fact of life. Like bad hair days.

For Instagram, the problem is not all photos turn out great.

You could have the most expensive, professional camera but take thousands of ordinary-looking, even ugly snaps.

With Instagram you can a) take a meh photo with your phone and b) overlay it with an interesting retro finish so it looks cool and professional.

Would life go on without pictures that score a perfect 10 each time? Of course.

Is life better now that anyone with an iPhone (and now an Android) can take cool photos all the time? Way better.

You're in a startup because you've got a solution to someone's problem. Define that problem, and you're well on your way to crafting a compelling marketing message.

Make users look good.

Never underestimate the human desire to go up the food chain.

Whether it's looks, bank accounts or social standing, most people want to go up, not down. They want to improve, not regress.

Instagram was a solid hit because users could now add 'photographer' to their resume. The social sharing function allowed everyone to create an audience to admire their work. Portfolios could be easily built, establishing one as a tastemaker with a gifted eye.

And then there's the vanity factor. If you ever hated having your picture taken because of your less-than-supermodel looks, Instagram's sepia tints and 70s filters make your portrait artsy, not cringe-inducing.

How does your startup make your target audience look better to their friends, peers and the world?

Say it in plain language -- 'Use x to become/get/look y' -- in your marketing message.

Get others to wax lyrical about you.

Other photo sharing services exist but Instagram's fame is in another league altogether.

Their secret sauce was how its users became devotees who marketed it for free. It never had to say how great it was, because its users did it for the company.

How do you get users to gush about you?

An excellent product or service is a given. So is customer service and engagement. We all know that, Captain Obvious.

One that's rarely used is finding a universal story behind the startup that everyone can relate to.

In Instagram's case, the fact that there were only 13 people running a photo sharing service with 30 million users was extraordinary. And the reward was $1 billion after being in business for roughly two years. Great, classic American dream come true.

So instead of flicking another press release out, think about the story behind your startup.

Is it something people can identify with? Will it have them rooting for you? Can you pitch it to the right media outlet?

Tell a good story well, and others will tell it for you.

Hands up if you've ever been bored and Instagrammed your meal. Mario Testino must be shaking in his boots now because of this masterful portrait of a teacup.

Negotiating is a badly needed business skill, especially for a startup controlling its burn rate.

But gosh darn, can one do it without looking like a greedy prat? Can it be done gracefully at all?

The answers to both are yes. Here are some golden principles that will help ease you into the practice:

Those who don't ask, never get. 

Negotiating is not about being cheap. It's about finding more value in a transaction for all parties.

So be creative and ask, how can we all get more from this relationship?

Don't just ask if the price is fixed because that benefits only you.

Are the terms of payment flexible under certain conditions favourable to the other party? Can you do part-cash, part-barter? Are there add-ons that you both hadn't thought about?

People abhor asking. But what's the worst that can happen? The other party says no.

Will that kill you? Absolutely not. I assure you that you'll still be breathing.

Now what's the worst that can happen if you don't ask?

You miss an opportunity to get more bang for your buck. Now there's a tragedy. Try explaining that to your investors.

Sometimes no doesn't mean no. It's an opening for a dialogue.

The CEO of a huge Dutch conglomerate once told me this, and it stuck in my head because it's so true.

(The Dutch are legendary negotiators. They invented the Dutch treat, after all.)

The fact that you're both talking means you have common interests, i.e. getting a deal done. If you start getting negative vibes or a categorical 'no', ask for the specific objection and how you can both overcome it.

Once you remove all objections, there's no reason for the other party not to work with you.

'No' is seldom the beginning of the end in negotiating. Sometimes you'll hear several no's on the path to yes. So keep the conversation going.

Both parties must leave thinking they each got the better deal.

If only that buzzword, win-win, wasn't so vile. But it's so accurate.

Negotiating isn't browbeating the other party. It's not begging either. You're equals, with something of value to offer each other.

A good negotiator will quickly pick up what the other party considers a make-or-break detail, what they're willing to compromise on, and what they can easily give up as a favour.

Know what these are and how they compare to your own laundry list. You might find that a make-or-break detail of theirs is a non-issue on your part, so granting it to them (with dramatic reluctance) makes them feel that they won. And it ups the likelihood of them agreeing to your own make-or-break detail.

Negotiation doesn't have to be the antagonistic, shout-y, veins-bulging-in-the-forehead thing we all think it is. It can be, dare I say it, pretty enjoyable while being beneficial to your bottom line.

If you want to read up more on negotiation, subscribe to the newsletter from The Accidental Negotiator. You too can be smiling while wrestling for control. Picture by Hector Alejandro on Flickr.

That got your attention, didn't it? Free is one of the best draws on the planet.

Marketing your startup is a priority but spending wisely is the challenge. The word 'free' should be a favourite one in your lexicon. Look to invest only when the business badly needs it to scale.

Some useful free tools to help you get the work done while spending little or no dollars:

TeamLab. A great collaboration and project management platform with a brilliant CRM (customer relationship management) system. Features like identifying where you are in the sales cycle, correspondence history opportunity, colour coding, uploading of file attachments and exporting of contacts into a CSV file are all there.

Docracy. You're not in a position to hire full-time marketers yet so you're relying on a network of suppliers such as writers, freelance PR consultants and the like.

Make sure your intellectual property is protected by having suppliers sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement), especially if they have access to sensitive company information. Docracy has a free archive which you can customise.

ccMixter. You need music for your videos that's a) free and b) not lame. It exists Virginia, on this website. The creative commons license grants access to and usage of tracks for videos, podcasts and events.

Flickr. What, isn't Flickr so old school? Don't dismiss it yet: It's still a brilliant source for creative commons photos you can use for blogs, presentations and other purposes.

Be polite and let the photo owner that you're using his or her pic for your blog post. Bonus: You can backlink to your site which never hurts in search.

Clever Elements. After noticing one too many email newsletters ending up in the trash folder, it makes sense to try out Berlin-based Clever Elements. The EU has one of the most stringent data privacy laws out in the world, and CE is a member of the region's Certified Senders Alliance.

Campaigns are free for up to 500 subscribers a month with a maximum of 2,000 emails. You get free templates, tools for managing bounces and unsubscribes, segmentation and tracking.

Got any more free resources to share with fellow entrepreneurs? Jot them down in the comments -- it's always good to pay it forward.

Free pic thanks to A Ninja Monkey on Flickr. We told you it's still a fab stock library.

I bet you've read The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs.

Or at the very least you've heard of the book. Because you know giving a good presentation can make all the difference between your startup getting buzz and your startup dying in obscurity.

With Apple's stock price at $600 today, who doesn't want to be as good a pitch person as their late CEO? Even in death, Steve Jobs sells.

This post doesn't purport to be the ultimate presentation guide. But the following hard truths will help you focus and create tighter, more compelling presentations.

Presenting is performing.

There's no getting away from this.

Even if your message is the most valuable, noble or innovative one on the planet, it fails if you don't deliver it well.

Your responsibility is to lodge it in your audience's head so firmly that they'll talk about nothing else for days afterward.

You have to be more enthralling for your audience who have multiple temptations.

They're itching to check emails, duck out for another coffee or slip into a coma after too many vodka shots last night. And if you've had the luck to come after other dull speakers, your work is cut out for you.

If you don't grab their attention in the first 90 seconds, you're dead in the water. A minute and a half is an eternity in today's Twitter-driven, ADHD world.

Kick off with a story. Let your voice prepare them for the visuals, not the other way around. When their attention dips -- as it does within the first five minutes -- throw in an unexpected shot of humour.

The attention-getter that carries the highest risk but also the highest rewards is presenting without slides. That's right: Just straight-out speaking.

All you have is yourself to make the case for your idea or startup. It's you at your most naked, vulnerable -- and potentially powerful.

If you're eloquent and passionate and focused, who needs slides? You'll have the room riveted.

A few great speakers are born. Most are trained.

One of the best presenters I know would prepare for upcoming events like a boxing match.

He'd start outlining his thoughts weeks ahead, toss and shed ideas and pick the anecdotes that transition one idea to the next. He wouldn't emerge from his office for days while he was preparing. He'd rehearse, endlessly.

People thought this man came by his presentation skills naturally. Not many know that in his younger days, he had trained with a television newscaster.

There is much to learn from someone whose daily challenges include stretching or cutting short an interview, segueing smoothly into a commercial, dealing with a breaking news item with no other information other than it was a developing event. Talk about pressure.

Nobody wakes up one day and finds himself or herself a great speaker. A lot of learning and training goes on behind the scenes.

Those brilliant, off-the-cuff speeches you hear? They're all prepared, all rehearsed. The magic is in making it seem they weren't.

You want to go for that effect.

Nobody can be Steve Jobs. But you can be your best self.

You'll be studying the presentation styles of great speakers and trying out one or two of their techniques.

Make sure you don't ape them completely.

An audience will make its conclusion of you right away based on your verbal and visual cues. If there is the slightest hint of inauthenticity about your appearance, voice and mannerisms, they'll tune out immediately.

It's trite, this know-yourself business. You've heard it all before. 'Be genuine' sounds so touchy-feely.

But it isn't when every presenter I know is bothered with Things That Are Bothersome About Themselves.

Like accents they've tried all their lives to soften. High-pitched voices they've worked on but to them still sound like a chipmunk on helium. Stage fright bordering on stage paranoia. Audiences who are posh and more knowledgeable and can challenge them during Q & A. The list goes on.

My advice is to mention them when it's appropriate, or even make a joke at your expense when the timing and context are right.

You may find that what you find bothersome is actually endearing.

To laugh is to be human, and the ability to laugh at yourself -- and allow your audience to laugh with you -- wins them over. You'll feel the room relax and the mood lighten, like a bar after the first round of drinks. People are more receptive to your message when their defences are down.

So read The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, with the view of adapting what works only for one person: You.

The photo above is of US troops in Korea laughing at -- and with -- Bob Hope. May all your audiences be this engaged. See more photos at Expert Infantry's gallery on Flickr.

"What do you mean I shouldn't advertise?"

Direct-response advertising asks for a specific action: Open an account and get three months free. Download our white paper. Register for our conference before this date and qualify for an early bird discount.

You can then use the leads captured to build a database of prospects and conduct face-to-face meetings if applicable.

I will admit here that for startup marketing, I'm not a huge fan of advertising.

A. Advertising is just part of a bigger marketing picture. Most startups don't have the luxury of time to wait around while advertising takes root in the public consciousness (I'm talking about brand advertising here).

B. Direct-response is brisker but again there are steps after that to build your sales pipeline. More on that in another post.

C. Did I mention advertising is expensive? Not unless you can wangle a barter.

D. Page views don't necessarily translate to sales.

For startup marketing, I still believe speaking or panel opportunities at targeted events deliver more return for your limited marketing dollars and time.

Please note I said 'targeted': It's easy to get distracted and speak at an event swarming with 95% competitors and 5% clients. The latter will feel that they're being attacked by a swarm of piranhas.

Most conferences and events need good speakers and topics to attract delegates, so do take a chance and pitch your idea to the organisers. They'll openly say whether it's a pay-for-play opportunity, meaning you have to pay for sponsorship of some sort in order to speak.

The upside is that if you do your research properly, you'll be in front of your target audience and can subtly push your startup. Don't do a sales pitch, it's not classy.

The beauty of all this is that lists of industry events are available, with a little digging. For example, here's a great calendar of digital marketing conferences for 2012 from PR 20/20. It's updated every month and can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet.

Don't wait too long though to pitch your speaking idea or panel. Agendas get locked in pretty quickly, especially for the more popular events.

Picture courtesy of all the Mad Men freaks out there, of which we are one. Season V starts March 25th. Yay!