I contribute to business crowdfunding campaigns - black-owned businesses only thus far. There are a few that have been successful in meeting or exceeding their goals and a couple that were not. There are also a few glaring differences in their campaigns.
If you are considering a crowdfunding campaign or you’re reviewing your recent campaign and planning a relaunch in the future, take a look at these areas and increase your chance of success – this time or the next.
Some of the reasons you may not reach your goals, in no particular order, are:
You Didn’t Create a Solid Campaign Timeline
You can’t just start a campaign. You have to prepare ahead of time. Create a timeline of events and get your content ready. You can add in elements as you go and leave room for intuition, trends that apply and fun additions as you get closer to your goal, but have your strategy and main elements ready to go!
You can use an app like Asana, Trello, Monday, Notion or even Google Sheets.
You Didn’t Have an Integrated Marketing Strategy
In your timeline, you also have a plan for marketing your campaign. Pay attention to your platform’s best practices and implement as many as you can in your plan.
Frequent and strategic use of various marketing channels will increase your chances of reaching your goal. Include email marketing, social media marketing ads, brand ambassadors and micro influencers, friends and family network and public relations into your campaign strategy.
And stay in front of your audience! Don’t let up. People forget, they wait or they may not even see it. You are less likely to reach your goal if you don’t stay top of mind!
Your Goal was Unrealistically High
Make your goal as high as you want and need. Don’t limit yourself, right? But remember your why and focus on that. Ask some questions like: How much do you need to do what you want? How much backing do you already have? Do you have some pledges already? Realistically, how long will it take to get to your first milestone?
You must try to get a lot of buy-in so your campaign can start to ride the wave of contributors. Getting most of your contributions early in the campaign are ideal, but you can definitely have jumps in contributions as your campaign gains traction.
Get help setting your goal or make sure you have a strong message along with some great rewards.
Your Content and Messages Didn’t Inspire
Strong messaging and creative content will inspire your audience to help you reach your goal. Everybody loves to rally behind a cause they believe in.
Make us believe. Tell us your story in different ways. Show up on video and talk to people so they can feel your passion. Or hire a professional to help you.
You Didn’t Invest in Your Own Campaign
If you don’t have the skillset to do it yourself, invest in hiring professional writers and strategists to be a part of your team. Do a lot of your own research, so you know what questions to ask, but hand over the heavy lifting to someone else, so you can focus on business development and networking.
Set your crowdfunding campaign up for success. You determine that success, not anyone else. Have your tested and viable product, set your goals for your campaign, prepare your timeline of events and marketing collateral, have a strong and inspiring message and integrate that message across multiple marketing channels.
Remember to communicate frequently and include targeted ad buys in your budget.
And have fun!
Do you have more questions or want to start your campaign the right way? Book a 1.5-hour Marketing Strategy Session to get the elements you need to gain confidence to move to the next step. Or, if you the budget, I can create the strategy for you!
Comments