Crowdfunding has become an attractive alternative funding option for entrepreneurs, with platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
The free media (internet and social media) has allowed anyone and everyone reach out to a large group of people to raise money for their cause, products or services – regardless of the nature of their business – in recent year.
However, with many inspiring ideas out there, the battle for pledges and funding are becoming increasingly competitive even in Malaysia. So how do you ensure success for your crowdfunding campaign? These are some of the strategies we’ve identified
Solve a real problem
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It is as simple as that. People are not likely to support a project or product that’s not going to work or solve something. It’s almost like a social responsibility for you to produce a solution to a problem if you are crowdfunding.
You’ll need to be able to tell people right away about the essence of your product and how it is going to solve a related issue in a sentence or two. If you can’t, you’re not going to attract significant interest from backers. Use personal experiences to identify a problem to solve. Once the problem is identified, design a solid solution, there’s no reason why your campaign will not bring you success.
Be realistic
Image by Survival for Small Business
It’ll be good to ask for more money, right? No. When it comes to crowdfunding, asking for too much money can leave you disappointed with the overtly-targeted budget that was beyond reach in the first place. Try not asking for everything at once. Break down your crowdfunding requests to specific segments of your business or certain phases of development.
This way, it tells your crowd that you are rational with your budget planning and are not just coming up with a huge number simply for the sake of profit. If the response is less outstanding than you initially expected, look on the positive side: you could at least reach your minimum goal. Be prepared for the next round, and use your early success to prove to backers that a second round is worth their investment.
You cannot please everyone
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That’s the reality. So, don’t try to win over everyone’s heart with your campaign. Focus on winning over the people who matter most to your product or service. Look into crowdfunding demographic to see who exactly your ideal customer is. Factors such as gender, age, education and income play essential roles in reaching out to the audiences you need.
According to Clay Hebert, the founder of Crowdfunding Hacks, most successful crowdfunding campaigns have fewer than 1,000 backers, so you don’t necessarily need to impress everyone. All you need to have is a persistent and convincing attitude so that when your first round of crowdfunding fails to reach your intended goal, you can always rise again with improved and thorough plans.
