One great thing I’ve noticed about crowdfunding is how platforms are driven to support the creators who use their service. They do these things in a bunch of small ways, like helping creators learn how to run their projects well with guides or tutorials, hosting different events meant to promote the arts, and even go so far as to helping successful creators figure out what comes next after they’ve successfully raised money on the platform.
Popular platforms like Indiegogo and Kickstarter also release statistics on the projects launched on their platforms. They share these stats through their blogs in a way that is easy to understand. This helps creators learn what works and what doesn’t.
Last month Indiegogo’s CEO sat down with TechCrunch to discuss some of the data they have collected and gave suggestions to creators based on what they’ve found. Over the course of the interview, Rubin said that the three most important things to focus on are 1) your pitch, 2) being proactive, and 3) finding an audience:
Your Pitch
1. According to Indiegogo’s data, your campaign will raise 114% more funds if you include a video. People tend to be lazy and want to get information as quickly and hassle-free as possible. Including a short pitch video that tells them what is great and important about your campaign can encourage them to spend a few more minutes of their busy day checking it out (and maybe even pledging!). For help with this check out my recent article on how to make a Kickstarter video.
2. Don’t offer too few or too many rewards – about 3 to 8 is good. One reason for this is because you want it to be easy for backers to tell what reward suits them best. Offering too many options can lead to confusion, and too few may not give backers enough choices.
3. On average people pledge around $70. You may start with a range of reward levels and find that certain ones aren’t attracting much interest but you can always make adjustments as you go. Your pricing will depend on the nature of your campaign, but keeping this trend in mind can help you set reward levels that seem affordable and attractive to potential supporters.
4. You’ll raise 70% more with 4+ people on your team as opposed to just you. There’s nothing wrong with going solo, and working in a team can sometimes have its drawbacks but teams tend to do better. Why? It could be because of the different experience and skills that each person brings. For complicated projects, backers may think that having that diversity would increase the chances of a project succeeding. Maybe performing all of the different tasks during a crowdfunding project alone is a bit much for most people.
Being Proactive
5. Creators who update their fans every 5 days or less raise 4x more than those who update every 20 days or more. Staying in communication with backers is great for a few reasons: it helps build trust, keeps them excited about your project, and can lead to more shares and media coverage. If you post frequent updates it will show people that you are engaged and if problems come along they may feel like you are less likely to avoid them or give up.
6. Most backers on Indiegogo are reached through email, Facebook, and Twitter. Social media is an important part of any crowdfunding promotion. Though there are tons of different websites you can use to promote your campaign, these three tend to be the ones where most pledges come from. Emailing is useful because it is more personal and most people still check their email regularly. Facebook and Twitter can help you reach new audiences and keep old ones updated, but always be careful about your approach. Spamming and begging for pledges will turn people off not win them over.
7. If you reach 25% or more of your goal in the first week you are 5x more likely to succeed. This is because people want to back projects that they think will reach their goals and come through on their promises. As Rubin notes in the interview, “If your own mother, your own friends, your own network is not funding you, why should I?” Be sure you contact people who might be willing to support you before you launch to try and built up these early pledges.
Finding an Audience
8. Generally, if you can attract 1/3 of your goal from backers and 1/3 from family and friends, Indiegogo will bring in the other 1/3. It is a myth that you can post a crowdfunding campaign on a site like Kickstarter or Indiegogo and reach your goals from just the traffic those sites generate. Even though they may have a lot of traffic, unless you are featured, it may be hard for people to come across your campaign. The best way to get around this is to get all the people you know excited and sharing your project with friends. You can also reach new audiences through social media, getting your campaign covered in the media, interacting on forums like KickstarterForum.org or CrowdfundingForum.com, guest posting on blogs, etc.
9. It is recommended that you have English as a language in your campaign to encourage pledges internationally, but if you have a local focus you can include another language. Some people have wondered whether campaigns should be in English or not, but as long as your translations are clear and the page doesn’t look overwhelmed with text including a second language shouldn’t be a disadvantage.
Conclusion
Even though all of these tips come from statistics collected from Indiegogo campaigns, these are still just general guidelines. They may not necessarily apply to all projects, categories, and platforms but they can help you get an idea of the things that successful campaigns have in common.
If you need more guidance on setting up different elements of your campaign check out this crowdfunding campaign checklist on CrowdCrux!
Was this post helpful? Leave any questions or comments below!
