How do you build and engage a loyal community around your reward-based project before and after launch?

1 Identify your audience

Before you start planning your campaign, you need to know who your potential backers are. What are their interests, needs, problems, and motivations? How can your project solve them or add value to their lives? Where do they hang out online and offline? How do they communicate and consume information? Researching your audience will help you craft a compelling story, design attractive rewards, and choose the right channels and strategies to reach them.

2 Create a landing page

A landing page is a simple website that showcases your project and collects email addresses from interested visitors. It's a great way to build your email list, which is one of the most effective tools to communicate with your community and drive traffic to your campaign page. Your landing page should have a catchy headline, a clear value proposition, a captivating video or image, a call to action, and some social proof. You can use tools like Mailchimp, Squarespace, or Unbounce to create and host your landing page.

4 Start a conversation

One of the best ways to engage your community is to start a conversation with them. You can ask them questions, solicit feedback, invite suggestions, conduct polls, or run contests. You can also join existing conversations on relevant forums, groups, or platforms where your audience is active. The key is to be genuine, respectful, and helpful, and to listen to what your community has to say. Conversations will help you understand your audience better, validate your assumptions, generate ideas, and create buzz around your project.

6 Keep the engagement going

After you launch your campaign, you need to keep the engagement going with your community. You need to update them regularly on your project's status, milestones, challenges, and achievements. You need to thank them for their support, answer their questions, address their concerns, and ask for their help. You need to reward them with exclusive perks, bonuses, or surprises. You need to make them feel valued, appreciated, and involved in your project's success. Engagement will help you retain your backers, increase your conversions, and create loyal advocates for your project.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?