You’ve had a stellar idea which you think could be crowdfunded, and are itching to upload the campaign onto ZAAR in the hope that funds will immediately start rolling in.
To give your project the best chance of hitting its funding target and beyond, however, it pays to pause, plan, and prepare before you hit that ‘publish’ button. Taking the time to research your project in advance could help set you on your way to long-term crowdfunding success. Here’s how to get started:
Strengthen Your Story
* Be relatable. Having a relatable story is essential if you want to attract – and keep – the valuable attention of your backers.
* Your story is your pitch. It explains why you are asking people to part with their hard-earned cash to make your idea a reality. Your story needs to highlight what you and your project stand for, what it means to you and how it can be beneficial to your backers.
* Being creative and concise is a must. Consider making a video to ensure your story is visually interesting and more interactive.
Do Your Research
*Research is key. It is the first and most important item on your crowdfunding to-do list.
*Explore every avenue. The more you find out in advance about all possible links to your project’s field, including any communities, groups, influencers, websites, companies and so on, the easier and faster it will be to focus your efforts once the campaign goes live.
*Seek guidance. Learn from the successes and failures of similar projects, and explore the vast knowledge base of articles, videos and podcasts available online that will guide you through the art of crowdfunding.
*Know your audience. All the information you gather about your target audience will be especially useful when deciding what incentives and rewards you should add to your campaign in order to attract them.
Create an Online Presence
*Social Media is crowdfunding’s best friend. Since your ‘crowd’ is likely to regularly interact online via social media, it is essential that your project features there to connect directly with them.
*You meet your audience, and they meet you. Going online pre-launch gives you the chance to get to know your target audience, and gives your audience the opportunity to become familiar with you and your project, without yet having to donate funds.
*Build your brand to build momentum. Since promotion is the key to your project’s success once launched, creating a ‘brand’ out of your idea or product, and building awareness of it online, is time well spent if you hope to gain momentum beforehand.
Choose the Right Platform
*Make sure to enhance, not inhibit your project. With the huge number of crowdfunding platforms available, the one you choose must be the right one for you and your project.
*Check that the platform works for each stage of the process. Keep in mind vital elements such as your funding goal, target audience, project timeline and location when selecting your platform.
*Consider ZAAR for local crowdfunding expertise. As Malta’s only rewards-based crowdfunding platform, ZAAR is uniquely able to offer visibility for local projects, by providing location-specific professional advice and feedback prior to launch and throughout the campaign.
*ZAAR also helps with promotion. Another advantage of selecting ZAAR is that our team will promote your campaign via our online channels, will source free media support, help with public relations, and assist with using the platform’s web infrastructure.