5 things you need to know before crowdfunding

So you’ve had a great idea and you know that it’s going to have an incredible impact on those around you and your community, but now you need the funds to make that idea happen – and word on the street is that crowdfunding can do just that.

It’s true. Crowdfunding is an excellent way of raising the funds needed to transform an idea, and can bring with it many other benefits such as raising awareness of your brand/organisation, gaining validation from the Crowd that they think your idea is a great one too and, once your project has successfully closed, you’ll have your very own Crowd of supporters joining in on your journey with you.

The thing is however, that not all ideas are suited to crowdfunding – perhaps because the idea needs some development before it can be launched into the world, or you simply haven’t told anyone about it yet (and you need people to support your project!) In fact, the most common question that we get asked by new projects is, ‘Will my project successfully crowdfund?’

The team have put their heads together, and we think that it really comes down to these five things.

1. Can you reach enough people?

It is really important to have your own Crowd to get the ball rolling. What we mean by this is an engaged audience – whether this be via social media, an email database, or through conversation.

• Facebook: Having a thriving Facebook page or group is a big step in the right direction for anyone looking to crowdfund. If you’re looking to raise over £2,000, we would really expect to see a Facebook page with a following of 500+ who are really engaging with your posts.
• Email: Having a group of people that you can email (find out more about GDPR here) is a fantastic way to reach lots of people and spread the word. To raise over £2,000, a list of over 500 people is a good starting point.
• Real world: Although crowdfunding is online, the best way to ask someone to pledge is either face to face or on the phone. Holding events, like a launch party for example, is a great way to get people in a room and tell them all about your project, as well as being an opportunity to answer any questions.

2. Is your idea good enough?

Ideas have the unique potential to change the world, but it’s a good idea to test the idea out with some people first and find out if they would back your project. If so, how much would they be willing to pledge?

The answers that you get back from people can really help you to sculpt your project description and video, as well as give you an idea about whether your target is realistic.

3. Do I need to add rewards?

There are lots of different types of crowdfunding, but Crowdfunder is a rewards and donations based crowdfunding platform. Therefore, yes! Add rewards to your project. Rewards are a great way of increasing the amount of money a supporter will pledge and it’s a great way for generating excitement around your project.

More often than not, a potential supporter will have an amount they want to give in their head before they even land on your project page, and good rewards (exclusive and good value for money) can help them to make that decision to pledge more.

When planning your rewards, make sure that you cover all types of budget by having rewards starting from as little as £10 – give everyone a chance to get involved.

4. How much can you raise?

Whilst there is no limit to the amount you can raise, we recommend crowdfunding for a realistic target that will enable you to make your idea happen. The amount that you can raise will come down to how big your current Crowd is and how popular your idea is with new supporters.

The average pledge made on a Crowdfunder project (on All Or Nothing) is £50. Therefore, a project looking to raise £2,000 will need around 40 people to make a pledge.

It’s important to keep in mind that not everyone who sees your project will make a pledge, so you should be looking to get over 800 people (on average, 1 in 20 people make a pledge) to the page to achieve a target of £2,000.

5. Make sure that you get off to a good start

No one wants to be the first to arrive to a party, and its just the same with crowdfunding – nobody wants to be the first to pledge! Make sure that you line up the first 10 supporters (friends and family) to pledge when you go live.

It’s a good idea to hold back on promoting your project on social media and in emails until you have 10% already pledged on your project page; it makes it much more appealing for potential supporters if they can already see others getting behind your great idea.

• Feeling ready to get started with your Crowdfunder project? Start crowdfunding here.