Crowdfunding Campaign Essentials

What you Need to Launch a CrowdFunding Campaign?

As an entrepreneur, have you ever had an idea turn into reality only to watch it fail and take you back to square one again? Perhaps it was because you lacked the proper planning mechanism, or proper management tools; but for most entrepreneurs the reason behind their failed business is lack of capital which can lead to the inability to attract investors. Lack of capital is an alarming sign. It shows that a business might not be able to pay its bills, loan, and other financial commitments.

Today you can avoid plummeting into financial ruin by launching a crowdfunding campaign. Crowdfunding is the practice of raising a small amount of funds from a large number of people through an online platform to help support a cause, initiative, project, non-profit, or start-up.

Gone are those days when aspiring entrepreneurs sacrificed their dreams due to the lack of funds. Crowdfunding platforms have opened the door of success for the business owners. Nowadays, raising funds is not a big deal if you can properly execute an effective crowdfunding marketing strategy.

Outline of an Effective Marketing Strategy

Things to keep in mind when trying to achieve an effective marketing strategy: first, you will need to choose your audience (who is your target?). Second, pick the right crowdfunding platform; the most popular platforms are Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, Facebook and LaunchGood. Third, launch a website or a social media page; this is where you will compile all your business or product information and it will help you keep track of your supporters.   

A successful strategy begins before you launch your campaign, ideally 1-2 weeks before going live. When working on your campaign it’s best to keep your team small, the ideal team size being 3 to 5 people maximum; also, it’s crucial that you remain persistent in your efforts to gain supporters: don’t be afraid to bombard people, including friends, family and coworkers, NGOs and business executives, with emails, phone calls and text messages – you can always thank them later by sending personalized thank you notes via email, e-card, or even with small gifts to show your appreciation for their support.

By now it’s clear you need to develop well-drafted content for your email, blog posts and social media pages. Picture your campaign as your own personal story. When writing out your campaign you will need to keep the title short, simple, and catchy. The tagline, should you wish to add one, allows you to sum up your entire campaign in a single sentence. Adding photos will make your campaign seem realistic and credible, thus increasing the number of supporters. Finally, set a fundraising goal, but be realistic about how much funds you need: do not ask for more or less than what it will cost to manufacture, sell, and ship the product.  

Next comes the pitch and video pitch. The pitch is your chance to tell people what you are doing and why it matters. There are 3 keys to a successful pitch: 1) Emotion. Show that there is a person behind the campaign. 2) Legitimacy. Be transparent; get personal. 3) Include images and headers to make it easier for people to skim through your campaign.   

During the video pitch you would want to focus on building a special connection with your viewers and supporters. Introduce yourself and your campaign. Talk about why this campaign means so much to you and what it is you wish to achieve with this idea/product. The video should be short: under 2 minutes; the first 10 seconds are critical.

Once your campaign is looking good, go ahead and launch it using a platform of your choice. The duration of your campaign should not last more than 30 days. Make sure you work extra hard during the final 2-3 days of the campaign because that is usually when crowd-funders usually gather the most supporters.

Facebook pages help people connect with your business and they offer a great solution to showcase your products/services. So, how can you get the most out of FB ads?

1. Polish your campaign: make sure your campaign is catchy and inviting to potential donors who will be more encouraged to support your campaign.
2. Get traction: you want to be at least 20% funded before running any ads and have at least 50 donors for best results.
3. Spend money to get money: don’t be afraid to invest money into ads as doing so can mean a huge boost to your campaign.
4. Get likes: make sure to like the page yourself and get others to do so as well.
5. Engage: keep an eye out for any comments on the post, be sure to reply to these comments and encourage people to donate.
6. Ad sets: who is your target group? Where will the ad be seen?
7. Actual content: images, links, videos.

Placements: the best placements tend to be Facebook and Instagram feeds and stories.

Now that you are equipped with the necessary tools and guidelines for launching a successful campaign, what are you waiting for? Seize this moment to create a successful online campaign to kickstart your project and get it back on its feet. New fundraising platforms are being created every day, so choose which one is the best for you and continue working on turning your failure into a newly found success.