by constructaquote - 5 January 2018
The figure is startling, but we don’t want it to put you off. Crowdfunding is difficult because you’re asking people to part with their money, and that’s always been a hard thing to get people to do, but with the right ingredients and a bit of perseverance, you can most certainly make it work for you.
Here are our top tips for creating a great crowdfunding campaign.
You really need to be asking for money to fund something that lots of people care about or something that would benefit a large market. The more people your project appeals to the easier it will be to convince people to give their money to you.
You need to be very clear about what it is you’re offering and why it is that people should pledge their money to you. Crowdfunding is still a relatively new concept. Not everyone who pledges to you will be familiar with this type of funding. There is no room for ambiguity. If potential funders are not clear on where their money will go and what they’ll get in return, they won’t give it to you.
You need to have a great back story, a high-quality video and eye-catching imagery. These are essential promotional elements for any crowdfunding campaign.
It is not enough to launch a crowdfunding campaign and hope it will find its way to the right people. The best campaigns are promoted before launch.You should be networking, making relevant connections and gathering a social following before you set your campaign live.
There are dozens of crowdfunding platforms out there now. Some of them are specifically for charities, others work better for businesses. Visit them all and make your decision based on which of them will work best for your campaign.
Most of your donations will probably come from your friends and family. After that, donations are likely to come from the friends of your friends and family. It is extremely difficult to get the public to donate to a stranger for a cause they are not involved in. To do that, you’ll need to…
The best performing campaigns are usually those that are promoted across multiple platforms. If you’re crowdfunding for something that is totally original or inspirational, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get the media interested in it or get it picked up on social media where it can be shared and seen by thousands, hopefully, millions. Here are some great ways to help you get press attention for your crowdfunding campaign.
It’s really important that you don’t just launch your campaign and then disappear. There may be people out there who have seen what you are doing but haven’t decided if they’ll pledge yet. Putting yourself in front of them over and over again, especially if you have great content to show them, might sway them in your favour. Plus you only need to put yourself in front of one social influencer who cares about your cause to potentially bring on an influx of funding, so make sure you are consistently promoting your campaign.
There may be people who are interested in your project but need clarification or journalists who want to speak to you directly before they write a piece about your work. Make sure that you are very easy to contact throughout your campaign. Display your contact details prominently in everything you issue to the press and across your crowdfunding campaign page, too.
If you aren’t sincere or clear, people will pick up on that very quickly. It’s really important that you are honest about what it is you are trying to achieve and what you need to do it. Don’t promise the Earth or overstretch the truth – you’ll most certainly be found out, and it takes a really long time to fix a ruined reputation. Tell people the whole truth, and you’ll always be fine.
Now check out our blog on ‘How To Attract Investors To My Start-Up’ here…
by Charlotte Houghton - 7 October 2020
by constructaquote - 6 October 2020
by Charlotte Houghton - 29 September 2020
by Charlotte Houghton - 24 September 2020
