After planning and launching a couple of crowdfunding campaigns like the latest one for Pocket Sky you start to see common misconceptions connected to crowdfunding.
If you’re planning to launch a crowdfunding campaign soon, make sure you’re avoiding these five major mistakes 🧨
Crowdfunding Mistake #1: Only relying on the platform’s community
I have a great product, I set up a beautiful campaign page, even made a nice video, and then I launched …. but nothing happened! 🤷
A lot of creators purely rely on the community of a crowdfunding platform. Let’s take for example Kickstarter with its more than 17 Mio supporters… yes 17 Mio! That sounds massive, doesn’t it? Nevertheless only 20% of technology projects are successfully funded, while raising on average less than $10,000.
With great numbers comes great competition! It’s not only you who is launching but on average there are about 400 other projects online in the tech-space alone. So how can you stand out?
To benefit from the platform’s community, you first have to build up your own community – before launching! So once you launch you already have your first supporters queued up. This first push is very important! It helps you to get a decent ranking on the platform, which gives you visibility to the community! Now you can start benefiting from the platform’s community.
Crowdfunding Mistake #2: Not telling people that you’re launching
Unfortunately, a lot of creators literally forget about the most obvious thing: to make sure everyone knows that their campaign has started and that they need their support now.
Be prepared! Make a list of all the people (that includes family and friends) that showed interest. I recommend adding the likelihood of them supporting, so at the end you have a reliable number of first supporters. Once you launch make sure every single one of them knows that you’re live!
Don’t forget to post it on your social media channels or other relevant channels, and to send out a newsletter in case you were collecting email addresses upfront.
Crowdfunding Mistake #3: Not getting feedback before you launch
On the majority of platforms, you get a preview link of your campaign once you start setting it up. Use this link to gather feedback before you launch. Make sure you send it to people who are not yet aware of your product and ask them for feedback: Is it clear what you are doing? Is any information missing? What needs improvement? Is the video grabbing attention?
I can guarantee you, there will be valuable feedback, which will help you make your campaign ever better.
Crowdfunding Mistake #4: Not submitting your campaign early enough
Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter need to approve your project before you launch. Make sure to submit your project at least one week before your planned and communicated launch. Normally they approve or get back to you within 2-3 days. In case you need to adjust something, you have some buffer days.
Crowdfunding Mistake #5: Ignoring seasons
Launching a solar BBQ 🍖 ❄️ in winter or Skis in summer 🎿🌴- does that sound like a good idea? Starting in the wrong season can kill your campaign. Two main reasons: First of all, most supporters don’t care about BBQ in winter or Skis in summer. Secondly the media doesn’t care about it either. Hence it will be really difficult for you to get press coverage. Keep in mind your products “main season” if there is one and launch in that time frame.
Keep these 5 mistakes in mind, and never forget: preparation is key to success!
Happy launching!
