Crowdfunding Now!

With crowdfunding gaining traction, I thought I would revisit and update our crowdfunding tips. 1. Review other crowdfunding campaigns for best practices As one blogger noted, "Before you start your crowdfunding campaign,  study others who have done it well." There will be many  examples of how to do crowdfunding right. Watch our Twitter feed (@Blackcrowdfund)  2. Hustle Develop a " strategic approach." Who are you trying to get support from? Why would they support you? What are the long term benefits to your supporters? Are you going to hit them up again? How many times?  Create a m edia list. Get "ambassadors," people who will speak on your behalf. "Plan ahead  as much as possible. This means contacting your supporters before you  launch to firm up their promotion and participation, and also  developing a thorough marketing plan." Above all, get going! 3. Adapt quickly As one crowdfunder put it, things may not go as planned. You wi...

From a recent article, 7 Key Elements of a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign. My comments are in bold text below: 1. "Tell your story. As the old adage goes: facts tell, stories sell. When it comes to eliciting customer engagement, a campaign with a good story is an unparalleled strategy . Did you experience some kind of obstacle on your path to entrepreneurship? Did a major life event influence your career choice or business decisions? Tell your story in your crowdfunding pitch to make a connection with backers and encourage engagement.If you don’t have a personal story to share with your audience, share facts and highlights about your startup, product or vision instead. Describe the problem (and severity of the problem) your product will solve, or discuss the vision for your startup . Keep your tone and messaging personal to make backers feel closely connected to you and your project." Agree wholeheartedly. Telling your story is key 2. "Provide value for value. Crowd...

Crowdfunding News  Jan 4, 2013 IndieGoGo's 2012 In Crowdfunding : Campaigns Raised 20% More Than In 2011 ... TechCrunch Crowdfunding site Indiegogo shared some exclusive details regarding their past year with TechCrunch, and the stats essentially back up what Matt Burns said about 2012: In many ways, this was the year of crowdfunding . Campaigns raised more money in ... See all stories on this topic » Crowdfunded Pebble watch ready to drop San Francisco Business Times (blog) Seven months after raising $10.18 million through online " crowdfunding " from people who want one of its cellphone-linked " smartwatches ," Pebble Technology says it finally has a product to put into people's hands. The Palo Alto startup's public ... See all stories on this topic » GarageGames launches crowdfunding campaign to make everyone a game ... VentureBeat GarageGames has been around since 2000 making tools for professional developers. But...