by Charles Luzar, Crowfund Insider
For most, crowdfunding success isn’t as easy as posting an offering and sharing it on a favorite social network. A successful offering takes careful planning and active management both during and after the campaign. In this crowdfunding how to guide, I’ll outline the process and share tips and tricks according to the executives of IPO Village and ProHatch, two leading crowdfunding web sites.
Crowdfunding How To: Is This Right For Me?
Any self-respecting crowdfunding how to guide should admit that crowdfunding isn’t right for everyone. Whether it is right for you is a hard question to answer and just depends on what you’re seeking funding for. Consider the following when assessing your approach:
Elizabeth Smith Kulik, ProHatch: “Before social and business entrepreneurs consider crowdfunding as a means of sourcing capital, they must learn what crowdfunding means to the future of their enterprise, because along with the funding comes a large number of stakeholders. This is particularly important to explore when raising funds for your enterprise is not a one-time event and the consequences of crowdfunding will influence future financings.”
Simon Erblich, IPO Village:
- Decide on the type of crowdfunding you need to pursue… Donation, Debt or Equity crowdfunding.
- Determine if your own personal network is strong enough to serve as a foundation for your crowdfunding campaign
- Ensure that you can articulate your pitch and value proposition in a 2-3 minute video and a couple of concise paragraphs
Crowdfunding How To: Choosing a Platform
Here are some truisms about crowdfunding platforms:
- There are hundreds of crowdfunding platforms and the number is constantly growing
- Their practices, costs, approaches, etc. vary greatly
Kickstarter is an awesome platform with a well-established networks of willing contributors, but they may not be the right choice for your specific project. Indiegogo has a “flexible funding” option that allows you to keep any funds you raise even if you don’t hit your goal. Fundable offers one-on-one support. MedStartr specializes in the medical industry. ProHatch allows raising money in phases instead of one fell swoop. IPO Village deals only with companies selling public stock. Selfstarter can be installed on your own web server and has no royalty fees. Others allow you to white-label their platform and design your own campaign web page without having to host it yourself.
Get the point?
The good news is you have options. It helps to know your options and pick the one that makes the most sense for your campaign. If you want extra guidance or need a niche investor to succeed, the big platforms may not be your best bet.
To get up to speed on these options quickly, I’d definitely suggest following the #crowdfunding hashtag on Twitter. You can also visit our crowdfunding website directory which can help sift through these sites to find listings specific to a certain region or industry, or visit our crowdfunding website news category for the latest news.
Crowdfunding PR, Social Media & Marketing Campaigns 
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