Joanna Marie, Negosentro | f you want to start a business but don’t have the capital to do it, one way to raise the money is to set up a crowdfunding campaign. Although it’s easy to do this right away, it’s not so easy to do it well, and if you rush or make mistakes, you’re unlikely to get many investors interested enough to put up any of their cash. Here are some tips on how to start a good crowdfunding campaign.
Which Site?
There are many different crowdfunding sites to choose from now, and each one is perfect for a specific kind of campaign. For more creative ideas, IndieGoGo or Kickstarter can work wonders. If you have a business idea that has a social angle to it, try 33needs or Buzzbnk. Non-profit ideas even have their own space at FirstGiving or CauseVox. For a business in a more traditional niche, there is Peerbackers. Once you have settled on your crowdfunding site, stick with it, and only use one. You don’t want to spread your ideas too thin and end up with all the money you need but spread over a range of different sites.
Who Is Your Target Audience?
Working out your target audience is essential; it is from these people that you will be raising your money. People probably aren’t going to invest in something that they, themselves, wouldn’t use, so you need the people who would want you to work for them to see the value in what you’re doing. It can take a while to carry out the market research needed to find your target audience, but it is an essential part of running a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Know The Details
Just like when you want any other kind of funding, you will need to know exactly what that money is going to be spent on. If you can’t give a detailed account, your investors may not be convinced that their cash will be spent wisely, or that you’ll make a successful business at all. Knowing the figures for everything is essential, so if you want to buy pumps from PumpBiz for your plumbing business, paint for your home renovation business or fuel for your hire car business, you’ll need to be able to account for every dollar spent.
Be Passionate
As well as knowing your business inside out, you need to be passionate about your project. If you can get excited about it and use that excitement to pitch to your potential investors, they will be able to see why their money could help. Make your excitement infectious, and you should reach – or even smash – your target in no time. It’s important to stand out from all the other pitches on the site too, so try something different; think of a compelling name, write a carefully worded description, and add a video if you can because it really could make the difference between a successful campaign and an almost successful one.
