A Few Pointers To Successfully Crowdfunding Your Project
Traditionally, any business venture had to look for venture capitalists or financiers for funding, but technology has revolutionized the very idea of the financing in recent years. Today one can quickly look to crowdfund their business project of virtually any size and get going without much ado. It is an excellent alternative for entrepreneurs who have a hard time finding favour with venture capital firms, financial institutions or other individual financiers.
Crowdfunding can help meet the needs of a project in terms of funding and be a great way to garner widespread interest in the initiative. Crowdfunding basically works by getting a large number of investors to contribute small amounts of capital towards funding a venture. Interested individuals can easily invest as little as $10 to fund the project.
Contributing minuscule amounts naturally reduces the amount of risk shared by potential investors to a great extent. This is precisely the reason why relatively bold and ambitious initiatives have a greater chance of finding success with crowdfunding. However, it does not mean that crowdfunding is supposed to be a cakewalk. Here are a few pointers to get you started.
Where You Need To Begin?
You need to work hard at getting across your message to potential investors and getting the basics right to create a roadmap to transform your idea into reality. It is also imperative to present your concept correctly to be able to generate enough interest in the first place.
It’s all the more reason to get your act right and develop your project to the point where you can reach without the need for any funding to showcase your strengths and how much you believe in your idea which is vital to attract potential investors. At times, you might feel like giving up but to keep working at it is way better than being forced to look for 100% guaranteed loans later if you choose to quit.
Connect, Communicate and Do A Little More To Get People Interested
Your campaign needs to strategically employ your social media presence to optimize your fanbase or potential backers. However, you might need to go beyond social media instead of relying on your Facebook and Instagram page to find support from among followers and a more comprehensive network of connections.
It is essential to have a dedicated page, to begin with, and a full-fledged website with detailed presentations on your business idea or dream project. This shows you are working on your vision. You can also create interest by appealingly telling your project’s story and what you intend to achieve with practical glimpses of work you might already be doing on the ground.
Lend A Personal Touch To Your Campaign
Brainstorm to develop ideas to help people relate with your project and become involved at a more personal level. The best way is to slip into the shoes of a potential small investor who can choose from thousands of projects but is looking for that something special that gets him or her hooked to an idea.
You could introduce your team to your supporters to let them get a glimpse of the more human side of your project. As they say, the devil is in the details, and the more detailed and personal is your engagement, the greater the chance of your crowdfunding initiative taking off successfully.
A touch of humour or lighthearted banter can go a long way to get people interested in your campaign and shows how comfortable you are in your skin. It just might require lesser work than looking for loans at home and trying to convince potential lenders why they should extend a line of credit considering a poor credit score.
Make It A Rewarding Experience for Investors
It might sound like such an obvious trick in the book, but it is not. The million-dollar question is what kind of conventional rewards you can afford to give small investors without exhausting your available resources and making things appealing. For instance, ‘A House for Lions’ used IgnitionDeck, one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms to fund their debut album. The rewards for investors included input on the track listing and surfing lessons from the band.
It is not necessary to give physical rewards that you may not be able to afford for all investors’ size. Instead, you could offer things like early access to your product or access to an exclusive part of your offering. You can also provide credits to investors which work quite well. The rewards can also be based on the size of funds contributed by investors which make perfect sense.
Conclusion:
Your crowdfunding journey is part of your journey, and if you are successful at making your potential investors ‘feel’ like a part of that journey, you might already be way ahead of others to reach your destination. It takes meticulous planning, a good amount of effort, a bit of daydreaming and a lot of hard work to translate at least a part of that dream into reality and tell that story to your potential investors. It just might do wonders for you and your project and help kickstart things in no time.