Yes, i have managed to raise 4000$ in 60 days using the crowd funding platform IndieGoGo. I would like to share my mantra with you. There are tons of sites teaching you how to go make a successful campaign. I’m not going to give teach you anything. I’m just going to tell you how i got about my campaign and made it work.
Research.
yes, take time to do that. See what others have done. I aimed more specifically after campaigns that looks a lot like what is was planning to do.
The Pitch
A video pitch with a pretty girl narrating will sell, but when you are selling to your friends, you better be honest. As mentioned in the crowd funding-tutorials, i made an honest pitch fronting myself in a video. I chose YOUTUBE over VIMEO, as all that HD matters only to you. Youtube plays on anything on any bandwidth.
Setting target amount
I set it at 4000$ because i felt that any amount lesser than that would look less serious. I was ready to call it a success even if i managed to just pull half the target amount. But i kept that thought to myself and sold it like the target sum mattered. A friend of mine asked me if the target amount was too ambitious, but i have learnt that ambitiousness is a brand that sells.
Setting the length of the campaign
I chose to run the campaign for 60 days knowing that it will cover two salary seasons. I chose to start the campaign in the mid of the month, so i could give me and my contributors time to ease in and out of their decisions.
The perks and promises
The perks and promises to which you sell are of very less importance unless you are handing over private autographed photos of Tom Cruise, You know what i mean? People contribute to you because they like what you do. They contribute of pure good will. People who knows you closely, tend to contribute more than the others. But remember to treat all equally, every drop counts.
Sorting your network
I divided my network into 3 sections. 1) Closest friends 2) Acquaintances 3) People with Money and willing
Making the move
Even before i opened the campaign to the public, i sent my first set of VERY PERSONAL mails, WRITTEN INDIVIDUALLY to the first bunch, the closest friends. They will now jumpstart the campaign. They pushed the slider a quarter way in just a week.
With the slider quarter full and the campaign breathing life, i publish the campaign to public on social media. The news will spread to the second bunch, the acquaintances and the ones missing out on the first bunch.
After the first “harvest“, i let the campaign lay low and rest, while occasionally updating stuff on the page for variety. And meanwhile, campaigning (keeping it alive) the PROJECT on social media.
Just in time for the second salary season, i send personal mails to all who has not funded yet and the third bunch as well. By this time (40th day), i had already surpassed the mid-target mark. The campaign is already a success as far as i am concerned.
Time to seal the deal. The final bunch of contributors are reminded, and they do what they do best – make things a success.
