Crowdfunding projects are only limited by your imagination and your commitment and enthusiasm to promote it. Below are four advantageous tips that can lead to crowdfunding success.Art of the Pitch. If you want any chance of success at crowdfunding your startup you need to present a worthwhile pitch. Funders looking at crowdfunding startups are looking for a worthy venture to place funds but more importantly they are asking the fundamental question of “what’s in it for me?” Most entrepreneurs that post on Startup Addictthink their idea is brilliant and Funders should be privileged to invest in their startup. Unfortunately this is not the case and crafting a great pitch is essential.
The first step should be giving some credible background about yourself and a personalized story about your startup. Everyone needs a good story and a sense of purpose. Be sure to include pictures, videos and supplemental documents. Be as open and transparent as possible, Funders need to believe you have the business savvy and startup chops to pull your venture off especially as crowdfunding is becoming more equity based and not just rewards based.Affordable Investment Tiers.This is probably the most common point of failure for startups in the crowdfunding space. The idea behind crowdfunding is to bring the power of the crowd to your startup via micro-finance or accessible investment tiers like $5 and $10 dollars. Startups are not as likely to achieve funding at a $250 and $500 funding point. You are more likely to get 10 people at $25 than 1 person at $250. This is not to say someone will not fund at a $250 dollar price point but the reward should be commensurate with the dollar amount.
Rewards, Rewards, Rewards. This is one of the most important areas to pay attention to for crowdfunding success. If you expect to get multiple investors and achieve 100% funding in a 30, 60 or 90 day timeline then unique, amazing and even wacky rewards are the way to go. A Funder must get something in return of unique value other than just a warm tingling feeling in his/her heart for just funding your startup. A great example of unique rewards are in short film projects where a startup will name a character after a real funder on a higher priced investment tier such as $100 dollars. The sweet spot on Startup Addict has been $10 and $25 dollar funding increments.
Rewards, Rewards, Rewards. This is one of the most important areas to pay attention to for crowdfunding success. If you expect to get multiple investors and achieve 100% funding in a 30, 60 or 90 day timeline then unique, amazing and even wacky rewards are the way to go. A Funder must get something in return of unique value other than just a warm tingling feeling in his/her heart for just funding your startup. A great example of unique rewards are in short film projects where a startup will name a character after a real funder on a higher priced investment tier such as $100 dollars. The sweet spot on Startup Addict has been $10 and $25 dollar funding increments.
Drive Traffic. Once your startup is posted on Startup Addict don’t rely on the overall traffic of the site itself. Be fast and furious with social media, posting to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube and email signatures. If you can get just 20% of your project funded by your circle of influence and social following you will be well on your way to success from the crowd.
I hope these crowdfunding success tips are useful on your next startup venture. Best of Luck!
