One of the biggest mistakes crowdfunding users make is expecting visitors to automatically visit their crowdfunding page once it’s created. At the conclusion of the afternoon, crowdfunding platforms simply create the infrastructure necessary for effective online fundraising; it’s still your responsibility to promote your crowdfunding campaign among your existing network to mobilize donors.
So, how do you market someone crowdfunding page to maximize fundraising results? I outline ten techniques for getting the absolute most out of your crowdfunding experience.
1. Tell a Story
Everybody enjoys an excellent story, helping to make an excellent story valuable. Don’t just tell donors why you will need funding. Tell them the story behind what led you to start your endeavor. Consider making a blog to expand your story beyond what donors can see on your own crowdfunding page. This is especially relevant if you have photos of past experiences that relate with your cause, or documentation of ongoing fundraising activities and events.
2. Push Social Media Outreach
Generally, Twitter and Facebook are the most effective social networking platforms to push your fundraising page. Creating fundraising graphics for the organization and your supporters to fairly share on social networking is specially effective. The longer these graphics are on display, and the greater the quantity of individuals who display them, the more impact they will have (setting the graphics as profile photos or cover photos is a great idea).
Additionally, creating Facebook groups or events to publicize individual crowdfunding campaigns is really a common practice. If you select to go this route, including a certain monetary goal in the name of your event (Help Joe raise $1000 for Disaster Relief) encourages people to help you reach a certain goal. Be sure to include the web link to your crowdfunding campaign in every social networking posts, in addition to in any graphics that your organization creates. Lastly, don’t just post once and expect huge results, communicate with potential supporters frequently and regularly!
3. Launch a $1.00 Campaign
In today’s social networking age, each member of your organization has hundreds, or even thousands, of contacts that they can access instantly. Imagine the impact it will make if all of them donated only $1 to your campaign. An instant and effective fundraising strategy could be exactly that: asking each member of your organization to reach out to say, ten contacts, for a minor donation amount. Usually, individuals are a whole lot more receptive to a request for a tiny and specific donation rather than a general request for an unnamed sum.
4. Offer Incentives
Whether you’re a college student or an established business, it’s easy to supply donors some type of reward for achieving a particular donation level. This can be theatre tickets, gift baskets, etc., but the most effective rewards will soon be strongly related your fundraising cause. Incentives do certainly not need to be expensive, something as simple as a signed thank you photograph can serve as your own and cost-effective gift.
5. Interact With Your Donors
It’s an easy task to attribute all your fundraising efforts to the web world, but don’t count out your face-to-face interactions along with your family, friends, and peers. Before going out the entranceway every day, put some cards along with your crowdfunding page link written on it. Like that, whenever you find yourself talking about your cause (which is hopefully often), it’ll be easy to create up your fundraising efforts and slip the individual a card. StartEngine Review
6. Film a Video
Videos are one of the best methods to showcase your cause and bring donors on board. Many individuals are defer by this idea because they think shooting a movie is time and budget intensive, especially if they’re conducting individual crowdfunding campaigns with limited organizational resources. However, new apps for phones and tablets have simplified the video creation process immensely. Those people who are uncomfortable with the filming process can check out apps for stop motion videos (for example, iMotion HD), which is a quick and simple way to create a professional looking video. Whatever route you decide to take, remember to add the web link to your crowdfunding page in the video, preferably at both the beginning and the end.
7. Obtain Press Coverage
Local newspapers and student publications on university campuses are often ready to accept featuring articles about individuals and/or organizations that are building a positive impact, or trying to attain an objective for an excellent cause. In case a publication is willing to feature your cause, be sure you provide the backdrop story behind your fundraising efforts, in addition to a request for readers to join in throughout your crowdfunding page. Don’t know how to start? An instant Google search of local publications and their contact information is a great way to begin. Many publications also have submission information for interested guest contributors on the websites.
8. Mobilize Your Network’s Networks
Odds are, someone you or your organization knows owns their own website, blog, or an online presence. Some may even have usage of the web sites of other organizations they are a component of. Learn who these people are and inquire further if they’d be willing to feature your crowdfunding campaign on the site. This strategy has the greatest chance of success if you learn people with site content that is strongly related your cause.
9. Set a Quantitative Deadline
This strategy is especially effective at the conclusion of your fundraising campaign. When you’re nearing your goal, it’s time to make one last big push. Let your supporters know just how close you are to your goal, and how a number of days there are left to make it happen (“Only $50 from our $1500 goal, and 4 days to go!’). With the pressure of an impending deadline, supporters are more likely to pitch in the last bit and pull you through the house stretch.
10. Follow Up
Once your fundraising campaign ends, it’s important to follow up with all your donors and thank them for contributing to your cause. This not just lets them know they are appreciated, but encourages them to aid you again in your future crowdfunding efforts. For small donor bases, your own thank you card is better; for large donor bases, thank you emails may be more practical. Lastly, it’s good practice to let your donors understand how the initiative that they supported went (photos are a plus), so that they can see what their money made possible.