A successful planning strategy that helps you reach your financial goals is crucial for running a crowdfunding campaign. But sometimes there are things that happen during the campaign that you didn't anticipate. That's when it's easy to feel deflated that your campaign isn't going to be a success. Crowdfunders who want to build a saleable platform need to stay focused with the right campaign goals.
To build the right momentum, read on for six important questions to ask yourself before and during the campaign.
Who is this campaign for?
Have you heard the term "target audience?" Basically, it's an umbrella term to describe who you are targeting. By establishing an audience, (and to know who that audience is) you reduce uncertainty.
Are you broadening your reach?
While it's highly recommended to enlist support from your family and friends, first tier relationships aren't enough. You need to continually broaden your network. Think list-serves, professional groups and organizations. The more you broaden your reach, the easier it will be to share your project, create a buzz, and gain support.
Why should your crowdfunders care?
First things first. Your potential crowdfunders wouldn't care if they weren't interested in your story, product or service. But they'll want to know why you are doing this campaign. What's in it for you?
One way to raise the "care level" is by personalizing your page with video. Content marketing experts say that video is a highly effective tool for branding and marketing.
Another way to help make your supporters care is by creating enticing rewards. Keep them fun and you'll engage your peeps.
A third way is to tell your peeps directly why your project is near and dear to you. As Barbara Corcoran said of the Emmy award winning series Shark Tank, "you can't fake passion."
Does any work need to be done ahead of time?
Those running a crowdfunding campaign may think it's enough to post the campaign page on their Facebook wall or insert tweets in their Twitter feeds. But the truth is, that's not enough.
•You need to plan out the campaign page including the rewards levels.
•Know who you are approaching. Print out lists of your networks and categorize them in terms of 1st, 2nd, 3rd level tiers. Make a plan for approaching them.
•Write blog posts that touch upon any aspect of the campaign. Ask guest bloggers to post for you.
Planning a campaign is just a first step. You need to also activate your network.
Can I really make that extra effort?
To really have a successful crowdfunding campaign, you need several things:
•a compelling product, service or book.
•a supportive network
•a positive attitude
•a plan that details how you're going to reach out to your peeps via email and what you're going to say to them.
Let's talk about point #3. Let's face it. You'll be faced with all kinds of rejection. There'll be those who you thought would come in through and didn't. There'll be those who don't respond to your emails. There'll be those who don't get the crowdfunding thing at all.
It's hard to know what's happening on the other side of the screen. Just let those people and their reactions go. Keep working hard for those kinds of people who believe passionately in your campaign. Read their comments to remind yourself of their support.
How will I promote my campaign?
This is another biggie. Just like you're planning out your content, you need to plan your promotion. Early promotion helps get the word out about your campaign. Ideally, you'll want to get the word out about your campaign days before the launch to help build some suspense. Other forms of promotions include:
•Getting the word out via an ezine or a newsletter
•Guest posting
As you can see, running a crowdfunding campaign takes a ton of work! It's not for the faint hearted so do some mental preparation before you start sending all those emails and creating videos. This mental preparation also includes detaching from outcomes.