9 Steps To A Killer Crowdfunding Campaign

• Author: Jeffrey Simmons
• Posted: 2024-04-21

Crowdfunding has become an enormously successful way to raise money for everything from school trips to surgeries to business start-up capital to artistic endeavors. It has become so popular that even major corporations are using it as a tool to gauge interest in certain products or services. Major celebrities like Ellen DeGenerous and Shaquille O'Neill have even jumped on the crowdfunding bandwagon to raise money for everything from charitable causes to individuals in need.

In the business world, resources raised from crowdfunding actually surpassed that of VC funding for the first time in 2016. The World Bank Report estimated that by 2025 a total of $93 Billion in capital will have been raised through crowdfunding. This makes it somewhat unsurprising that droves of people from solopreneurs to major businesses are drifting towards crowdfunding as a much more viable alternative to many more traditional means of funding.

Just because you have a great product, service or idea, however, does not mean you will necessarily be able to run a successful crowdfunding campaign. Running a successful crowdfunding campaign is an art in and of itself. Here are 9 steps to help you run a killer crowdfunding campaign.

1. Start early

Long before your campaign goes live, you need to start lining up donors. Keep in mind, the campaign itself may only be a week or 10 days so you don't want to start contacting people after your campaign goes live. Up to 3 months ahead of time, you should be contacting family, friends, relatives and any other potential donors to "prime the pump" and have them ready to roll as soon as your campaign goes live.

2. Encourage early giving

While hopefully your friends, family and other potential donors that you already know will not need much in the way of incentive, you want to encourage people to give earlier rather than later. Many people will wait until they feel like you are definitely going to reach your goal to give, but if you have too many people waiting, you will never reach that critical tipping point where everyone wants to help you get over the mark. Incentivizing early giving with discounts, bonuses or a speedier delivery time will help get your campaign up and running quickly and incentivize "waiters" to give more quickly as well.

3. Manage expectations

Do not be fooled into believing that the majority of your donations are going to come from complete strangers. They are not. The majority of donations are going to come from people you already know or they are not going to come at all. This is why it is so important to "prime the pump" long before your campaign goes live.

4. Test, Practice and Listen

Before you start a live, public campaign, run a small, private campaign. Test your materials on those family and friends you are communicating with and then listen to their feedback. Their advice will help you tailor a campaign that will connect well with those strangers you need to help pitch in and fund your campaign.

5. Use the 40/72 Rule

Your campaign will be ready to go live when you have reached the 40/72 point, which means you already have enough advance commitments to reach 40% of your goal within the first 72 hours. Remember, many people will wait until they feel certain your campaign is going to be successful before giving. Reaching 40% of your goal within the first 72 hours is exactly the kind of measurable progress they are looking for.

6. Set aside full-time hours to run your campaign

Running a campaign doesn't involve setting your campaign live and then sitting back to watch the dollars roll in. It's more like an election, where you need to be working the phones, pressing the flesh and working hard to bring in those dollars. As long as your campaign is live, it should be your full-time job.

7. Remember that your digital campaign still needs a face-to-face element

People don't generally give to campaigns, they give to people. That's why you will be the most important element in a successful campaign. They don't want to read about your product, service or idea, they want to hear from you. Personal contact and engagement is of utmost importance.

8. Get ready to rumble

Running a successful crowdfunding campaign is like riding a roller coaster. Get ready for the lows and the highs, the lulls, the dead stand-stills and the sudden rushes.

9. Follow up

Whether your campaign is a success or a bust, be sure and follow up with each and ever donor or contributor and thank them for their support. You never know, this may not be the last time you need their support. But even if it is, always express gratitude.