The art of successful crowdfunding involves attracting as many viewers as you can towards your campaign – and then inspiring them to stay long enough to become a supporter and contributor.
Of course, not all who view your campaign will back it. The key is to boost your viewers-to-backers conversion rate, regularly and effectively, until your campaign is fully funded.
One of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to do this is via email marketing. In fact, some even tout it to be the best outreach channel to boost crowdfunding revenue. Used well, email marketing for crowdfunding campaigns has the capacity to inform, educate and engage with each of your subscribers.
Here’s how to use email marketing to build your mailing list of potential backers for your crowdfunding campaign.
Make the most of your existing contacts 
The foundations of your campaign’s mailing list will be the people you already know who may be interested in your project.
Make a list of all your contacts, such as those from LinkedIn, Facebook, business cards or collected email addresses, before categorising each according to your relationship with them.
For those on this list you barely know, establish initial contact by sharing information about you and your campaign. Keep it short and sweet at first, as longer emails may not hold their initial interest as well. You will be able to gradually learn their needs and goals through an ongoing conversation, and how these may fit with those of your campaign. Eventually you will be able to build a rapport whereby it is appropriate to promote your campaign and they are more open to becoming a contributor.
Build a targeted mailing list
Having established your existing network, now is the time to extend your reach further into your target audience.
Begin by setting up an email marketing platform for your project, such as on Mailchimp, and creating a landing page that connects with this platform. This landing page should be as interesting and engaging as your main campaign page, so include here any eye-catching information about your project as well as a clear Call to Action (CTA) to sign up to your mailing list.
Promote your subscriber landing page via all your selected social media channels and to your established contacts, to keep your mailing list updated and ever-growing, even before your campaign has launched.
Enhance your email strategy
Be sure to develop your email action plan as part of your overall campaign strategy, with your long-term goal being to build an accurate list of recurring contributors to your project.
Your email strategy should include reaching out to each subscriber with a personal message of thanks that will boost your continued engagement. It is vital to consider each person on your mailing list not just as a one-off interaction, but rather as a long-term potential sponsor of this and other future projects. Also, engaged recipients are more likely to back your campaign and share it with their friends, family and network.
Keep them invested in you and your story by regularly sending informative and interesting updates about your project and its crowdfunding campaign. Visual stimuli such as a campaign video or quality images are more compelling than just text. And don’t forget to include a clear – preferably clickable – CTA that makes it quick and easy for each backer to share your project via social media.