Social Media Marketing is Essential to Crowdfunding Success!
So you’ve got the greatest idea for starting a business or creating a product of all time? How exciting… but how to fund your project? Among all the possible alternatives such as hitting up relatives, taking out a bank loan, or finding partners with deep pockets to invest, there is a new funding kid on the block. You’ve probably already heard of it — it’s called crowdfunding.
Already so far into our culture that it has its own page on Wikipedia, crowdfunding refers to the collective effort of people who network and offer their resources to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations… and it usually happens on the Internet.
The most popular and well known crowdfunding website is Kickstarter.com. Since the site’s launch in 2009, more than 28,000 projects have been successfully funded, collecting somewhere around $275 million in total.
Originally Kickstarter was mainly for art projects, such as indie rockers looking for a few grand to get into the studio, or other creative projects. But not any more.
Entrepreneurs are posting all different kinds of projects that need funding on Kickstarter, and so far 11 projects have passed the million-dollar threshold. An example is a “next-generation” video-gaming console that managed to raise a staggering $8.6 million from more than 63,000 individuals who saw merit in the idea and wanted in on it.
How Kickstarter Works:
- Submit your project to Kickstarter. They will vet it to make sure it meets their company guidelines.
- If your project is accepted, you will upload videos, photos and other information telling the public about your idea and set a goal for the amount of funds you’d like to raise.
- You also need a time frame, anywhere from one day to 60 days. You will be able to keep the pledged donations only if you reach your stated fundraising amount within the time period you have specified. If you don’t reach your goal, all the pledges become void.
Why would anyone pledge money for your idea? What’s in it for them? This is where you need to be a savvy marketer, and make the project uber-enticing. If your project is to create a new product, would you offer your “backers” a free product once it goes into production? If it’s a book, how about offering a free copy? Or a t-shirt with your project’s logo?
If you are thinking about crowdfunding, check out at least a dozen different types of projects on Kickstarter to find out how other entrepreneurs are enticing and rewarding their investors.
And don’t just depend on Kickstarter’s audience to fund your project. Make sure you are blogging about it, tweeting about it, posting on FB about it, and yes, telling all your friends and relatives about it. Getting as many people involved in your project as possible is the way to crowdfunding success. Here’s where you get to show off your social media savvy, and put it to good use.
Not sure Kickstarter is right for your project? Here’s a list of 50 other funding sites, one of which might offer a better fit. http://www.similarsitesearch.com/alternatives-to/kickstarter.com
By the way, once you get those millions in funding and your business is safely off the ground, you’ll still need to market, market, market. If you need expert help with internet marketing or social media marketing, why not contact our office today!
Heather Lutze
Author, internet marketing speaker, trainer and consultant
Heather is the acclaimed speaker, trainer, and consultant who literally wrote the book on search engine marketing. Two books, in fact—The Findability Formula: The Easy, Non-Technical Approach to Search Engine Marketing and Thumbonomics: The Essential Business Roadmap for Social Media & Mobile Marketing. Her writing and in-demand keynotes are delivered with the same witty, “no-geek-speak” style that has managed to demystify internet marketing for countless business owners. Breaking free of corporate “cubicle” jobs over ten years ago with nothing more than a dream of entrepreneurship and a computer in the basement, Heather built her business, The Findability Group, into a multimillion dollar company. Today she leads a dedicated and slightly obsessed team of search marketing pros—their mission—to connect clients with their perfect customers online.