Jayden Coleman
When it comes to raising funds online, crowdfunding definitely seems to lead the way in terms of ease and efficiency. It is rapidly changing how everything from personal loans to start up investment is getting financed.
It is important to engage your donors with the investment plan and the way you are going to go about the project. Make them feel like partners in your cause. Nobody wants to spend in something where they don’t have an idea where the money goes. It is important to keep your donors in the loop throughout and to let them know about the progress and how you are going to reach your goal.
Crowdfunding sites generally allow the users to update whenever they dim fit. But many crowdfunding sites use traffic and early success as indicators of which project to feature and give an impetus to. We generally tend to engage more when things are brand new or when we are about to hit the deadline. It is really important to make an impact or make a splash from the word go. But it is equally important to not slack in the middle, until one is through. One can gauge how it is going and based on that, give an extra push to your campaign, if necessary as it draws to a close.
It is important to be clear about the focus of your project i.e. what does the campaign reflect and who/ how/ when / where/ what benefit is it going to bring to the people that it is targeting.
Potential donors who would be reading about your cause for the first time would be wondering if there is enough in your pitch for them to be putting their hard earned dollars. So it is really important to plug in all the relevant information in an efficient manner before presenting your pitch to the donors.
Many donors go for a project because they could associate with the cause and feel passionately about it. But at the same time there would be some donors who would be donating because they would want to lower their tax burden by getting a tax receipt. Then, there would be those who would want to be a part of the community because they would relate with the project leader. It is important to identify these differing motivations of the donors and base your project pitch keeping these things in mind. Taking cues from some successful crowdfunding campaigns before making your pitch won’t be a bad idea.
