5 tips for success from the most victorious crowdfunding campaigns

Now and then, every organization needs to raise funds, whether as a startup or existing business. When reaching out to investors and donors, they need to see your goals and visions clearly. Thus before you reach out to them, you need to have a well laid out plan. This plan, along with other tips, will guide you towards a successful crowdfunding campaign. Statistics show that successful crowdfunding campaigns can raise $28,656 on average.

In this article, I’ve put together five crowdfunding tips you will find useful for your campaign.

1. Outline funding goals and objectives

The first crucial step towards successful crowdfunding is to outline your funding goals and objectives clearly. Besides showing your investors the bigger picture, it also helps to keep you on track. Your outlined goals and objectives should address issues such as:

• The exact details on who you are and the reason for the crowdfund

• Who are the people behind the project and their roles?

• What problem are you trying to solve?

• What are your best solutions to the problem?

• Give some details on how your product or service will work. Also, show examples with visuals

• What role does the investor play, and what do they stand to gain?

• Fundamental analysis of your target market

• List your competitors and show what edge you have over them

• Clearly map out your timeline and deadlines

• Detail the amount of funding you need and include a budget

2. Find your crowd

Without a crowd, you cannot have successful crowdfunding. But first, you need to identify who is interested in your product. Then you can reach out to them with the right content and through the right channel. There are likewise tips that will help guide you through your search. For example;

• Referrals: Investors are usually more willing to listen to your pitch when recommended by someone they know. Thus, it helps to have contact with people that can get you great referrals. You can get referrals through your mentors, industry leaders, influencers, peers, and contacts who have worked the turf when it comes to crowdfunding.
• Go online: With the aid of modern technology, a few clicks on the internet can lead you to information on crowdfunding opportunities and ready investors and donors.

If you don’t have a crowd, it is advisable not to launch your crowdfunding campaign just yet.

3. Tell a compelling story

The time it takes to make a strong impression on your investors is only a few seconds. Thus storytelling is another crowdfunding tip that gets the attention of an investor. Your story should be easy to understand at first glance or listen without any ambiguity. It should be compelling and point to the reasons you need to raise funds. Try to break up lengthy and wordy stories with captivating visuals. It helps to keep your investors more engaged. Other things to consider when telling your story include:

• Start your story with an introduction. A simple one is the best way to go.
• State the challenges and proffer the solutions. Let them know why it’s crucial to solve the problem and how it benefits others.
• Give specific and relatable examples. It will help if you try to give examples that are as personal as possible to convey the message.
• Your story should be short and concise.
• End the story with a call-to-action.

4. Create a video

The use of videos is one of the best ways to crowdfund. Several studies have shown that people process visual information much faster than text. So, ensure that you include an engaging video to your crowdfunding campaign. It will help get the attention of potential investors that prefer video over text. The video quality should be very sharp. And the content should likewise be short, informative, and relevant to your campaign.

These videos can also be uploaded to your blog or social media pages. They can help generate more traffic to your website and give you additional exposure. More so, they have the potential to go viral, which can translate to more investors and donors.

5. Follow up individually. DO NOT relent

Successful crowdfunding campaigns do not just happen off the bat of making your pitch. You might want things to start happening almost immediately. Sometimes it does, but not always. However, it requires you to follow up diligently and patiently. Please don’t wait for the investor to reach out to you first, because they might not.

You can keep the conversation going with emails, texts, or calls. Another excellent tip to reaching out to your investors is to have a good understanding of your investors. With this, you know what the best way and time to contact them is. It will likely guarantee you a quicker response. Follow up needs to be consistent and well-timed so that the odds of raising funds you need increases.

Conclusion

In all, crowdfunding often turns out to be an excellent channel to raise money. It could be for a project, a worthy cause, or for your startup seed money. Whatever the reason might be, the crowdfunding tips mentioned in this article can help you create an effective crowdfunding campaign.

Best of luck!

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(Featured image by John Schnobrich via Unsplash)

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