June 8, 2011 · Tips & Insights

Dissecting a Great Pitch: Art Monastery Summer Programming

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Art monastery summer program

Art Monastery Summer Programming has several elements of a really great pitch and we wanted to share them here with you so you can apply their smarts to your own campaigns. (Plus, it's a really great program! Check it out here.)

A pitch video that gets right to the point.

Betsy McCall, AMSP's Co-Founder & CEO, makes a direct appeal in this 4-minute video. In the first 10 seconds she introduces herself and the program, then tells you why the program needs your help. 

A great written introduction.

There's no elaborate introduction or half-page of updates starting out this campaign page. Any potential contributor gets the skinny off the bat:

The Art Monastery Project is an international community of artists dedicated to applying monastic principles to art-making and the creative process. We are conducting an experiment: What happens if you put a group of interesting, creative people together in a beautiful, ancient building to live a life of art, spirituality, and integrity?

It works well if you make this introductory sentence your mission statement so anyone visiting your pitch page — from potential contributors to journalists — immediately knows who you are and what you do. Don't make them search for it.

"But we need your help."

Every pitch should contain this very important sentence or a version of it. It's the sentence that grabs the audience and tells them where they come in.

Amsp perks


Branded perks.

AMSP's perk names have something to do with the organization and are easy to understand, gradually increasing per your level of commitment. And the rewards are things you can't get anywhere else. 


Links to follow campaign on social media.

Not everyone uses your IndieGoGo page and your IndieGoGo page alone to get information about your campaign. Let people know how else they can find you in the most ways possible.

AMSP has links to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and their website.

Participation by all the major players in the organization.

Amsp roster

We always encourage everyone with a stake in your campaign to participate in managing it.

AMSP has a roster of four individuals, each with their organizational titles, contributing to the project. This gives people the confidence that the right people connected with the organization support the campaign.

"Three ways to help."

There's nothing easier than giving your audience a numbered list of methods by which they can contribute to your success. AMSP asks followers to contribute in one or all of three ways:

1 – By contributing $50.

2 – Donating airline miles.

3 – Spreading the word.

Giving your audience a similar list helps them categorize themselves into giving categories and, essentially, plug their potential into your need for help.

These well-thought-out efforts already have Art Monastery Summer Programmng well on their way to reaching their $5,000 goal by the end of the month.