RocketHub is a crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise funds for social, science, business, and art projects. They have an Alexa website ranking of 87,728 (global). This compares with platforms like Indiegogo at 1,392 (global) and Kickstarter at 511 (global). Like platforms such as GoFundMe or Indiegogo, creators receive the funds raised even if the project is unsuccessful; they charge a 4% credit card processing fee, 4% if the project succeeds, and 8% if it doesn’t.
In our experience, Rockethub is a good platform for people focused on reaching out mostly to their personal networks. It is important to remember that even if you don’t reach your goal, you still need to afford the cost of shipping out the rewards promised to backers.
Here are a few places where you can promote your RocketHub campaign:
Social Media
Some social media sites that are used frequently for crowdfunding projects include:
Facebook – Facebook is often a first stop for people using social media to promote their crowdfunding campaigns. It makes it easy to reach your own social networks, share updates, and message people directly. You should create a page or group specifically for your campaign, and you have the option to buy Facebook ads if you have the room in your budget.
1. RocketHubs’s Facebook Page.
2. Crowd Funding & Crowd Sourcing Group.
3. Crowdfunding: Making IDEAS turn into REALITY Group.
4. My Crowdfunding Pitch Group.
5. Crowdfunding: Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and other Fundraising projects group.
Twitter – Twitter is another go-to platform for people looking to promote their crowdfunding projects for a few reasons: 1) The things you share aren’t limited to your friends list; if your posts are effective they can reach surprising amount of people through retweets. 2) You can use hashtags to target your messages to different interest groups. Notable users that you can tweet to:
8. Platform: @RocketHub.
9. Crowdfunding Tips: @CrowdCrux.
10. Crowd Funding Forum – @CrowdFundingBB.
You can check out a more extensive list here.
LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a good social media platform for promoting crowdfunding projects, especially if you are looking to expand on your professional network. They have a useful advanced search option for finding potential backers and influencers, as well as interest groups that you can search to find people who might be willing to support your campaign.
11. Crowdfunding and Crowdsourcing Projects: Click here.
12. Crowdfunding: Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and more.
13. Crowdfunding: Click here.
For a longer list, take a look at this article.
Reddit – Reddit allows you to use tags such as /r/crowdfunding or /r/crowdfundingprojects to share news, projects, and updates on crowdfunding campaigns. In the past they have also offered free adspace to deserving non-profits, small business, and crowdfunding campaigns.
YouTube – Cross-posting a pitch video for your crowdfunding project on YouTube can increase your exposure, making it easy for people to share a quick, interesting introduction to your campaign on other social media sites. Be mindful of the keywords you are using in your title and description.
Of course, there are others like Pinterest and Instagram that do work well for some projects – the important thing is finding out where your audience is and what platform will make it easiest to reach them. Keep in mind there are now a lot of services available that can help you plan and manage your social media posts and also find influencers in your industry (Followerwonk, HootSuite, or Klout for example).
Crowdspeaking Platforms
14. Thunderclap – Thunderclap is the first big crowdspeaking platform. It allows you to decide on a message and set a goal for how many people you want to get to share that message. Once you reach your goal the message is posted on those people’s social networks automatically, which can create a wave of attention for your project. There are paid and free services to choose from.
15. HeadTalker – Headtalker is a newer crowdspeaking platform which is Thunderclap’s first real competition. This platform offers the same features as Thunderclap for free and has faster campaign approval (24 hours instead of 3 days).
For more info on these platforms, take a look at this CrowdfundingPR post, which compares the two.
Blogs
Blogs can be a great spot for promoting a RocketHub campaign, especially if you find one that has a strong following and covers topics specific to your project. Make sure pitches to blogs are written specifically for that person (not too impersonal), and that you are providing them with information that is interesting or newsworthy.
To find blogs that focus on crowdfunding and also bloggers in specific industries check out CrowdfundingPR’s Press List.
One thing I would keep in mind is that bloggers hate spammy or generic emails. It’s best to combine social media outreach with commenting to first get a blogger’s attention and to begin to build a relationship. Always be mindful of the types of topic the blogger likes to cover and the content their audience likes. Try to craft your story so that it will fit into this niche.
Forums
16. CrowdFundingForum.com – CrowdFundingForum.com is a place where people who are passionate about crowdfunding can gather to give or receive advice, promote projects, as well as check out crowdfunding industry news and interviews with successful creators.
17. Google+ Groups – ‘Crowdfunding’ is a group that has grown to include over 5,000 members. You can also check out this other crowdfunding group and this one entitled “Crowdfunding Hub.”
While fairly old-school, email is often a good place to start when promoting your project. Simply compile a list of your team’s contacts who might be interested in supporting your project. You can use templates for your introduction but remember to tweak them by adding a personal touch for each person so they don’t feel like they’re just part of a chain of emails being sent out to everyone.
Include the option to subscribe to your email list on your website. You can also export your Facebook friend’s list (see how) and your LinkedIn contacts. Plan out major updates that you will want to send and fun things you would like to share ahead to save a bit of time in the long run. Services like Aweber and MailChimp can help you use email in better, more effective ways.
Conclusion
As crowdfunding becomes more popular, many different blogs, forums, and interest groups are popping up that make it easier to find groups of people who are interested in the crowdfunding industry and projects. Social media and blogs can help target more specific audiences who might find your campaign relevant to their interests. A CrowdFunding Forum post by iceScreen offers reviews of services they tried and shows how some tactics work better than others.
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