So you’ve spent months preparing to launch your crowdfunding campaign and now it’s live. Congratulations! But launching is just the beginning. Now comes the hard part – getting eyeballs on your campaign and raising money. Promoting a crowdfunding campaign can seem daunting. We will share some of the best growth hacks for promoting your crowdfunding campaign without going broke. Let’s dive in!
Build Your Crowdfunding Campaign Page
To have a successful crowdfunding campaign, you need to build an eye-catching campaign page. This is your digital storefront, so make it inviting!
- Focus on visuals. Use engaging photos, graphics, and videos to bring your campaign to life. Show your product or project in action. Help people visualize what they’re backing.
- Share your story. Set a realistic funding goal. Do your research to determine a target amount that will allow you to complete your project. If you exceed your goal, even better! But set one you can achieve.
- Offer great rewards. Give people incentives at various backing levels. Provide a mix of tangible rewards as well as experiences. The more creative and unique, the better.
- Build trust and credibility. Share your relevant experience, accomplishments, and partnerships. Have friends, family, and previous backers leave public testimonials on your page.
- Keep your page active. Post frequent updates, share progress photos and videos, answer questions, and respond to comments. Engage with your backers and keep the momentum going.
- Review and revise. Get feedback from friends and family. See if certain sections need clarification or if any important information is missing. Make improvements before launching your campaign.
Create a Killer Campaign Video for Crowdfunding
A killer campaign video is essential to promoting your crowdfunding campaign. Here are some tips to create a video that converts viewers into backers:
- Keep it short. Aim for under 2 minutes. Grab attention quickly and get right to the key highlights of your campaign. Leave viewers wanting more rather than risking them getting bored and tuning out.
- Show and tell. Combine footage or images of your product or initiative with your storytelling. Let people see what they’re backing and bring your words to life. Visuals are highly engaging and help strengthen your message.
- Share the impact. Discuss the positive changes that will come from funding your campaign. Whether it’s helping people, communities, or the environment, share the meaningful impact to inspire support.
- Offer rewards. Highlight some of the rewards you’re offering at different funding levels. This gives people specific ways they can get involved and support your efforts.
- Be genuine. Speak directly to the camera to make a personal connection. Smile, make eye contact, and be enthusiastic. Viewers will feel your passion and authenticity, making them much more likely to back your campaign.
Start Emailing Your Close Contacts
Now that your campaign is live, it’s time to start spreading the word to people who already know and support you. Your close contacts—friends, family, professional network—are the perfect place to start.
Email Your Inner Circle
Email the people closest to you and let them know about your campaign. Explain what you’re raising funds for, and how they can contribute, and share the campaign to help spread awareness. Make it personal by sharing why this campaign and their support mean a lot to you.
- Send a heartfelt email to friends and family. Explain your campaign and ask them to donate and share the news.
- Reach out to old colleagues and your professional network. Remind them of your work together and ask for their support in promoting your campaign.
- Don’t be afraid to follow up. Send a quick reminder email closer to the end of your campaign to encourage last-minute contributions and shares.
Thank Your Supporters
Show your appreciation for everyone who donates or helps promote your campaign. Send a personal thank you email or message, and give public shoutouts on social media. Your close contacts will appreciate your gratitude and be more inclined to support you for future campaigns and projects.
Crowdfunding campaigns rely heavily on word-of-mouth promotion to reach new potential backers. Start with the people who already know and support you, provide them with ways to spread the word quickly, and show them you’re grateful for their help. With their support, you’ll gain momentum and exposure to turn your campaign into a success.
Tap Into Your Social Crowdfunding Networks
When promoting your crowdfunding campaign, your social networks are a gold mine. Tap into them and you’ll gain exposure without going into debt.
Tell Friends and Family
First, tell your close connections about your campaign. Send a personal email explaining your project and ask them to spread the word to their networks. Even if they don’t pledge, they may share it with others who do.
Post on Social Media
- Use eye-catching visuals and captions to grab attention—post at optimal times for maximum views.
- Join relevant Facebook Groups and Subreddits to post about your campaign. Follow their rules and be an active part of the community.
- Run social media contests and giveaways to increase the buzz. Offer rewards like shoutouts, merch, or a chance to win an extraordinary pledge level.
Build Your Email List for Crowdfunding
Start building an email list of fans and supporters as soon as you launch. Offer a lead magnet like a free resource, video, or report in exchange for people signing up. You can then email them campaign updates and calls to action to pledge and share.
Reach Out to Influencers
Research bloggers, podcasters, and social media influencers in your niche. Reach out and ask if they’d be willing to help spread the word about your campaign to their followers. Let them know what’s in it for their audience. Some may do it for free or in exchange for a reward. Even one influencer shoutout can result in a surge of new backers.
Read Also: Best Crowdfunding Marketing Services Agencies
Promoting a crowdfunding campaign is challenging, but with some hustle and the help of your social circles, you can gain massive exposure without spending a fortune. Keep putting in the effort to spread the word, build buzz, and ask supporters to share, pledge and get others to do the same. Before you know it, you’ll reach your funding goal and then some, all through the power of people.
Run Contests and Giveaways
Run Contests and Giveaways
Contests and giveaways are an excellent way to increase visibility and drive traffic to your campaign page. The more people that discover your campaign, the more potential backers you’ll gain. Here are a few ways to run effective crowdfunding contests:
- Offer a prize related to your product or service. For example, if you’re raising funds for a new board game, offer a limited edition version or expansion pack as the prize. Backers will be excited at the chance to get their hands on it first.
- Partner with influencers in your niche to promote the contest to their followers. In exchange, you can offer the influencer a free product sample or service trial. Their promotion will expose your campaign to new potential backers.
- Require contest entrants to like, share or comment on your campaign page to enter. This kind of social engagement will boost your visibility in the newsfeeds of your friends and family. More eyes on your page means more potential contributions.
- Offer non-monetary prizes like behind-the-scenes access, an in-person meeting or a shoutout on your social media channels. For some backers, recognition and experiencing something exclusive is appealing.
- Keep the entry mechanism simple, like liking a post or commenting with a particular hashtag. The easier it is to enter, the more entrants you’ll get.
- Promote your contest across all your marketing channels, including email newsletters, social media platforms, and your campaign page. Repeat the details frequently to raise maximum awareness.
Get Press Coverage
Pitch the Media
One of the most effective ways to spread the word about your campaign without spending a dime is to get press coverage. Journalists and media outlets are always looking for stories, so pitch them on why your campaign is newsworthy. Emphasize what makes your campaign unique, innovative or impactful.
- Create a list of relevant media contacts. Focus on journalists who cover crowdfunding, startups, technology or your campaign’s specific industry. Search online for their emails or contact information.
- Draft a compelling pitch email. Explain your campaign in 1 to 2 short paragraphs. Discuss your mission, key features and target funding goal. Mention any key milestones or recent achievements to demonstrate momentum. Close by suggesting an interview. Keep your pitch short, friendly and enthusiastic.
- Follow up persistently but politely. It can take several follow-up emails or calls before a journalist responds. If they pass, ask if they have any colleagues who might be interested. Don’t get discouraged. With each follow-up, reiterate why your campaign is newsworthy.
- Be prepared for interviews. If a journalist expresses interest, be ready to speak knowledgeably about your campaign’s key details. Come equipped with photos, videos, statistics and personal stories that bring your campaign to life.
- Share the coverage. Once published, the coverage will significantly boost your campaign’s visibility and credibility. Share the articles, news clips, and interviews across your social media channels and email lists. Update your campaign page to feature the press coverage prominently. The added exposure can lead to a surge of new backers and pledges.
Start Guest Blogging
Find Crowdfunding Guest Blogging Opportunities
One of the most effective ways to spread the word about your campaign without a huge budget is to start guest blogging on other sites. Reach out to blogs and websites in your niche and pitch the opportunity to contribute a blog post. In exchange for providing useful content to their readers, ask if they’ll include a short bio with a link back to your campaign page.
Look for sites getting at least 5,000 to 10,000 visitors per month to make the biggest impact. Do some research to find blogs actively publishing guest content. Focus on sites with an audience interested in topics like crowdfunding, startups, technology, design, or whatever your campaign is about.
When pitching the editors, express your enthusiasm for their site and outline a few possible article ideas you have in mind that would be valuable to their readers. Mention the campaign you’re promoting and how the content will be helpful, not just self-promotional. For example, you might offer a “10 Tips for Running a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign” or “The Biggest Crowdfunding Mistakes to Avoid.”
SAGIPL: Crowdfunding Experts
Getting decent funding is no joke. It is a very complex task. So it’s beneficial to hire crowdfunding experts to help you with your campaigns. SAGIPL is a blockchain marketing company that has years of experience in raising funds for projects. For more information call them today.
