DONOR CAMPAIGN CONSTRUCTION
LeeAnne Wonnacot Weltsch presents a step by step action plan of crowdfunding tips and tricks designed to support your future success!
Understanding what you are trying to accomplish
Sometimes people get stuck trying to figure out which way to go. Sometimes there are too many options and overwhelm sets in. Sometimes your mind is just a blank slate.
To get a good idea on how to start up a GoFundMe, login to Reddit.com and search on GoFundMe. Read through those request and start designing yours.
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Try These Crowdfunding Secrets!
Seed Money
Raise your first money/funds from other small projects, odd jobs, and personal savings. Don't max out your credit cards as you may need those in the future. It takes money to make money so empty your piggy bank and raid the dollars under your mattress.
How Much Money
Identify your dollar amount for fundraising. Enough to cover manufacturing and shipping/delivery costs would be a good place to start. List out all your medical bills or student loans and add those up. Get a bottom line. Divide it out by week and month so you have targets.
Solve a Problem
You will build a product or provide a service that solves a problem. You will describe how your funds will be used to lessen a burden, pay a bill, or provide payment for medical services. Punch in a sense of urgency to your description. Prepare to generate emotional responses.
Research Upfront
Do your research upfront. Work on creating a flexible e-commerce site for any early sales. Scout out where you want the warehousing of your inventory. Logon to the Internet and study successful crowdfunding campaigns. Amount of the goal. Length of campaign. Content of the videos.
Describe the Vision
Your story and message should paint a picture and define a vision about what you want to do. If you are running a team, each member should tell part of the story and describe how they are vested into the results. When you make your crowdfunding personable, contributors get to meet the people behind the project/service and that brings a personal touch.
Attention to Detail
Be conscious of the side benefits surrounding crowdfunding. Feedback from donors, backers, and users can generate new products and supplemental services. Ask everyone to share the news and updates with their networks to spread your message farther. People will not support a project that is not going to work so listen to the feedback.
Devote Your Time
Bring your entire focus to the crowdfunding campaign. It can be a full-time job answering emails, responding to inquiries, and surveying backers. Don't run off to a 10-day Maui vacation in the middle of a crowdfunding campaign.
A Helping Hand
Hire a virtual assistant to cover all your social media presence. Be sure to customize your promotion for each platform. Keep separate folders for each one recording the usernames and passwords. Set up three hashtags that can make the reach wider.
Produce Video Clips
Make 5 video clips. Even if you have to hire someone on Fiverr or Upwork, find the person who will take your promotional content and build a better idea about your product or service. Be prepared with your own text and images that will support a video.
One-page Website Starter
Startup your dedicated website on WordPress. Upload brochures, question-and-answser sheets, and at least a dozen images of your product/service. Understand that journalists and bloggers will download materials and write about the benefits. Design a media page for further information.
Get Their Feedback
Ask for feedback, constructive criticism, and prayers! Your enthusiasm can be infectious and people will want to get on that support wagon. Be sure to be explicit so donors know they can pledge/commit as little or as much as they prefer. Take the good comments with the bad and count to ten before you respond. Be gracious.
Your Contact Lists
Start making your contact lists now. Family, friends, acquaintences, school/class mates, and co-workers. Membership in fraternal organization? Get the members list and contact everyone. If you do not have a community to contact, consider working up a list of Internet influencers who might be interested in your product/service.
Mind the Calendar
Set up a calendar to update the crowdfunding page twice each week. Regular updates go a long way to keeping donors up to speed on your product/service. If you have had a setback and it has forced you to go in another direction, describe what happened and how you will overcome it. Don't limit your communications to just good news.
The Donor Rewards
Consider a reward scenario for donors and backers. A free product or service for donations over a dollar amount. A personal session or training event for the first dozen donors. If the majority of funds come from those dollar donations, give them something that says you are paying special attention. You can also stress the limited quantity of sessions to make it more exclusive.