8 Crowdfunding Tips

The crowdfunding campaign for The Bow of Destiny began this week on Indiegogo. This led me to some tips I wanted to share since this blog is largely about my ongoing growth as an author. So here’s some of what I’ve learned so far. Please read and visit the campaign site to provide your support!

1. Make sure you are ready to receive funds.

In my case I created a new PayPal account but did not complete setting it up. Likewise, Indiegogo had requirements for campaigns that I didn’t know about. Both of these issues delayed me some and it’s possible limits what I can receive (which I am confirming and working out on both sides). Read carefully about the instructions and explore the site.

2. Make affordable funding levels.

I received a lot of views and referrals the first day but no contributions. Now this may be due to some PayPal-Indiegogo issues but I added a few funding levels that are low impact on wallets which is important these days.

3. Continue growing your social media platform.

Don’t let the number of your followers become stagnant. If anything you need to be more aggressive in pursuing followers to increase your reach. Always encourage others to share your campaign with their followers too.

4. Have some automated social media messages ready.

You don’t want to be writing social media messages all the time and you need to get your message out often because on busy feeds people just miss your announcements without knowing it. Use an automation service since you may be busy with any number of inquiries, changes or problems that may arise – and you want to do something else sometimes.

5. Don’t panic if it starts slowly.

See above – there may be problems so just keep on moving in the same direction and if anything tweak your overall message, keep growing your following and keep getting the message out.

6. Keep posting updates regularly.

The more you get your message out the more likely you are to be featured. Include services like Indiegogo in your tweets and other posts because they track these types of activity in addition to your funding level. Everything helps and if your are featured that means more reach for your campaign.

7. If receiving private messages to offer resources & services check them out well.

When receiving offers of service, interviews or other offers of assistance check them out. They may be legit and they may not but some due diligence will go a long way to avoiding any trouble or overspending your budget. Make sure you know the terms of anything and don’t give out private information thinking that someone is helping when they may not be. Someone may take advantage of any initial euphoria from conributions or from desperation over no contributions. Think clearly and remember to keep going ahead.

8. Don’t hover & don’t walk away.

You cannot just stay in front of the screen watching – it will drive you crazy. You get excited and wonder what will happen or nothing happens and you watch and wait for anything. If nothing is happening don’t abandon hope, keep working, be willing to be fluid in your approach – just don’t sit watching the paint dry. Do not give up and stop all work. Stay in it to the end – bitter or sweet.

Do you have tips or comments regarding crowdfunding? Do you have questions about the subject? Please leave comments below and see my campaign and help make my project a success with your support.

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Thanks for reading!

PHS