1. Audience
Who would want to donate towards your cause? This is important to identify from the beginning and will form your entire campaign. You would want to reach out to those who will also benefit most and are willing to help you to fund.
2. Investors
Have a base number of people who to start your campaign with, whether they’re your friends, family or social acquaintances. You would want to make sure there is a guarantee amount of donors lined up before you launch your campaign. If possible, have them write a testimonial!
3. Set Realistic Goals
When setting an amount for your campaign, you want to be realistic. Be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. Typically for a crowdfunding event, the goal is usually targeted towards 50-500 people to begin with in a timeframe of 30-45 days.
4. Team
If you have others working with this project with you, ensure they help you with your campaign. Make sure they are involved in every possible way including garnering support and extending invites to everyone they know who will be interested in your campaign!
5. Video
This is possible the most important best practises for crowdfunding and should be considered mandatory. Your audience would like to see who and what you’re supporting and all the details. Have a stellar title, catchy tunes and vibrant images that capture people’s attention. You have to make a statement and sell the “why” to capture people’s attention. Create a 2 minute video describing what you’re doing and why! You’re passionate about this campaign so tell them the story behind your campaign. Walk them through the process. It’s been statistically proven that campaigns with videos perform better than those without so take that extra time in developing something and showing your authenticity!
6. Social Media
The power of social media is one of the strongest assets in a crowdfunding campaign! Crowdfunding is a social endeavor and when taking on a campaign you have take advantage of other social media in spreading the word out while staying personable. Create an account and get connected on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus so people who are interested can follow your updates as well as the website your campaign is on.
7. Be Active & Have a Game Plan
If you are asking people to support your campaign, your audience would want to see that you are actively participating. Set up an game plan where your sending your updates via social network, answer questions, comments and provide feedback in letting your donors know what is happening to their money. Crowdfunding is smart work with an active engaging process. Follow these steps:
The Game Plan:
- Commit
- Win First Followers
- Build Dialogue
- Spiral Out: Keep the conversation going, will be easier to garner momentum
- Tell the story
- Listen: Feedback is great mechanism
- Meet the press: each press have interesting stories
- Finish Strong
8. The End Result
Many have said the number one takeaway after an event is the awareness that has been garnered. From this, you achieve this extra sense of momentum and achievement than before.
9. Have a Game Plan
- Commit
- Win First Followers
- Build Dialogue
- Spiral Out: Keep the conversation going, will be easier to garner momentum
- Tell the story
- Listen: Feedback is great mechanism
- Meet the press: each press have interesting stories
- Finish Strong
Sources:
Viller, M. (2013, April 9). “Best Practises in Crowdfunding: Top 10 Steps to Success.”TEKKEK- STOP DREAMING. TAKE ACTION. http://tekkek.com/business/crowdfunding/2013/04/best-practices-in-crowdfunding-top-10-steps-to-success/
Meece, Brian (2013). “The Crowdfunding Success Pattern – MaRS Best Practises.” MaRS.