Kick-Finishing: The Next Big Thing in Promotion

It’s no surprise that artists and entrepreneurs alike frequently turn to crowdfunding — it works.

Crowdfunding campaigns raised more than $60,000 every hour in March. That’s a huge network recognizing and supporting individual projects and careers.

But it’s not just the initiation stage of a project that can benefit from a crowdfunding network. By using crowdfunding to spread the word after you’ve completed your project, you can turn your fans and partners into a massive marketing team and drastically increase the reach of your brand. This tactic is called kick-finishing, and it’s exactly what my musician friend Brent Bourgeois is doing with his new album.

Brent Bourgeois and the Origins of Kick-Finishing

Brent is a rock musician based in the San Francisco Bay Area with an extensive career in performing, songwriting, and producing. In the ’80s, he was a founding member of a fantastic band called Bourgeois Tagg and has since collaborated with numerous other talented artists.

It was then that I met Brent in San Francisco, when Bourgeois Tagg shared the bill with Full Moon Tan, a local band I championed back then. Brent only released two albums with the band, but they became two of my favorite records of all time. I’ve closely followed his subsequent collaborations and solo projects with fascination and admiration.

After taking a 20-year hiatus from releasing solo music, Brent was discouraged by the current practices of the music industry. He worried that people were losing interest in his songs and knew he needed to try something new. So Brent decided to experiment by releasing his next few singles to his fans through his Facebook Page.

The tracks received an enthusiastic response, so I and several other supporters suggested that he package them into a new CD. The result is his newest album entitled “Don’t Look Back,” released in early June.

In the spirit of experimentation that Brent has become known for, he’s turning to his fans for help. But he’s not using a crowdfunding campaign to kick-start the project. Instead, he’s asking fans to help kick-finish the album by becoming his promotional team and spreading the word about “Don’t Look Back.” So far, the results have been overwhelmingly positive.

How Kick-Finishing Works

Acting as a grassroots marketing team, fans are paid when they share and promote Brent’s new album. Additionally, they’re given the option of donating a portion of the proceeds from these sales to the White Feather Foundation — a charity that helps provide clean water in African countries.

The White Feather Foundation is Julian Lennon’s philanthropic endeavor. Julian, another of my all-time favorite artists — and a friend and colleague of Brent’s — collaborated with Brent on “High Road,” what I feel is one of the strongest tracks on the new album. More than 95 percent of Brent’s fans have chosen to donate to Julian’s foundation, spreading the kick-finishing benefits far beyond the music industry. Although Brent is the central figure leading the project, his relationships and connections have transformed the album into a global effort.

Connections Are Key

These kinds of trusted, long-term relationships are the secret to my success as a super-connector. Anything is possible with a rock solid network of people you support in a meaningful, authentic way. It’s never about “getting something” from someone; it’s all about establishing trust and genuinely caring about others. Brent’s project is an example of the power of long-standing trusted relationships, where there’s support and reciprocity in play to create win-wins.

Brent’s case study can be replicated by anyone with a strong network if he cultivates his relationships with care over time. By involving and integrating your fans, friends, colleagues, and collaborators into the promotion process, you can turn them into marketers and extend your brand into areas you never thought possible.

Anyone in the creative arts — from musicians to filmmakers to authors to game developers — can use kick-finishing to promote their endeavors, especially if they already have an engaged community of fans and collaborators. With a brand and a loyal, collaborative network, you can increase your promotional power exponentially. Brent has built his career on this support and the power of his music; it’s a formidable combination that others can emulate.

Kick-finishing is set to become the next big thing in promotion, not simply in the music industry, but across the arts and beyond. By involving your fans and weaving your collaborators into your promotions team, your network can start working for you.

Photo Credit: No Cover Tulsa

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A highly sought-after consultant, super-connector, trusted advisor, celebrity wrangler and thought leader, Kelli Richards is the CEO of The All Access Group LLC. She facilitates strategic business opportunities in digital distribution between innovative technology companies, talent & media companies, and brands in order to foster new revenue streams and deliver compelling consumer experiences. As a trusted advisor, she transforms the quality of people’s lives. Kelli is also the author of the bestselling e-book, “The Magic & Moxie of Apple – An Insider’s View.”