How To Prep Your Crowdfunding Campaign For Success

Crowdfunding has the power to bring dreams and ideas to life…which has led to an increase in crowdfunding popularity among creative and innovative minds. It may seem overwhelming to throw your hat into the ring since it is awash with so many other campaigns, but with some key planning, you can set yourself up for success.

Do Your Prep Work

Although this seems obvious in preparing for your campaign, we want to stress how critical it is to success. Many of the factors that will make or break your campaign should be complete before going live, such as accumulating an engaged audience, creating a target list for PR, and coordinating with influencers.

LaunchPad Co-Founder and President, Sean Angus says, “You’ve got to have an integrated approach with your social capital, social advertising, PR, influencers, and email marketing all working together to really launch with an explosion.” 

On launch day, you should already have an eager audience waiting for you, as well as press (and influencers if you chose to go that route) who already have your release and all the info or product they need to write about your campaign.

Choose the Right Crowdfunding Website

The best crowdfunding site for you can vary depending on the nature of your campaign. 

Our recent blog, Kickstarter vs. Indiegogo, detailed the differences between the two top crowdfunding platforms. Depending on your product and funding goal, one may be a better option for your campaign than the other. 

For example, to be listed on Kickstarter, you must feature a fully functional prototype and show that it works via video. Kickstarter is also more focused on innovative products these days, so it’s challenging to get any support from them. Indiegogo, on the other hand, supports their campaigners, their rules are more relaxed, and they are also easier to work with for international companies. The award-winning global platform will accept conceptual ideas or working prototypes, unlike Kickstarter. 

And you aren’t able to launch any product that you want to. If you aren’t bringing a new innovative product that is different from what’s currently on the market, then crowdfunding isn’t the right choice for you. 

 Set A Realistic Funding Goal

A common error in crowdfunding is setting a funding goal that’s too high. You’ll want to make sure you hit key funding milestones early on to up the campaign’s excitement. People are much more likely to back a campaign that’s already doing well, so set yourself up to meet those milestones earlier.

“Set the campaign goal to ensure you can reasonably hit 30% of the funding goal in the first day or two. My advice, don’t set it too high! Make sure that you can attain it easily with the strength of your social capital because the worst thing you can do is launch and not go anywhere,” Sean said. 

Make Sure Your Materials Look Good

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that rings true in crowdfunding as well. Quality images and video content is what your backers want to see! According to Statista, studies show that 85% of users in the US view video content. Get professional photography and videos created that offer the functionality and highlight all the benefits of your product. Feel free to get creative and set a tone or mood that is appropriate for your product. You’ll be using this content not only for the campaign page itself but also for advertising and more, so It can really make the difference between failure and success. 

An engaging video that shows how your product works and why it “solves the problem” of your target audience is instrumental in getting backers excited and ready to make their order. It’s also a great way to set the tone or share a little bit of your company culture, which goes a long way into humanizing your story and showcasing the people behind the product. Be sure to communicate your most important points in the first 30 seconds of the video as studies show that time frame maximizes opportunity with viewers. 

Connect Your Target Audience With Your Campaign

Now that you’ve launched, it’s time to get your campaign to the right people. That includes using that email list you’ve built up, as well as engaging your audiences on social media. But the work doesn’t stop there. You’ve also got to run social ads to promote your campaign and connect with your target audiences. 

Since you’ve already done the leg work for building up your social capital, you should also have a good idea as to what audience responds best to your product. This will be important when choosing your audiences for online ads. As you go along, see what content is working and what isn’t, and don’t be afraid to make adjustments as you go ahead to optimize your ads. 

Advertising is the biggest driver of funding for campaigns in 2020

Facebook and Instagram have proven to be top platforms to advertise on while increasing customer engagement, ultimately driving product sales. According to Statista, Facebook had more than 2.6 billion users worldwide as of July 2020. A focused e-commerce program is essential towards establishing brand awareness, developing positive word-of-mouth, and giving you the power to crush your goals. 

We recommend allocating 10% of the funds you want to raise to be assigned to your ad budget. So social ads really play a big part in your campaign’s success. Make sure you have the proper budget ready and don’t be afraid to spend (as long as you are getting a good ROAS). It takes money to make money these days.

For inspiration on social ad campaign designs that worked, click here.

Involve Friends And Family 

Lack of social capital is the number 1 reason why most campaigns fail. It is critical to hit the key milestone of reaching at least 30% of your funding goal in the first 48 hours, so don’t be afraid to enlist friends and family to buy perks/rewards, especially at that crucial time at the beginning of the campaign. Make sure you communicate when they should place their orders, and you can even get commitments as to what they plan on contributing. 

Keep Backers in the Loop

Posting frequent updates on your campaign will keep your backers and new visitors well informed about your crowdfunding campaign, allowing them to feel confident in their decision to back you. Interacting with your supporters through commenting in campaigns is another way to keep backers informed and provide public information for potential customers. 

Not only that, but comments can be used as a public question and answer section where you can answer interesting queries raised by your visitors. It will allow you to build trust with your community. Comment sections can also be used to hear complaints, meaningful feedback, and improvement suggestions about your product that you may need to consider. 

Be sure also to keep your community updated throughout your campaign through emails and social media platforms. 

While crowdfunding has become a competitive space, it is still a fantastic opportunity to bring your ideas to life. Our experts are here to help if you need more help preparing and implementing a strategic plan for your campaign. 

Like what you’re reading? Check out 90% of New Product Launches Fail. Learn These Tricks to Catapult you to Success. 

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December 18, 2020 - By:

Sean AngusPresident and Co-Founder of The LaunchPad Agency

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