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Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites in the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and other Global Markets in 2015

3 Apr

Seeking New Crowdfunding Sites on a Worldwide Basis to Be Ranked for the Upcoming June 2015 Top Crowdfunding Sites in the United States and the Rest of the World

 By Robert Hoskins

[Click to Tweet this Top 100 List to Your Friends]

United States – We are currently updating our List of the Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites for 2015 in the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and other global markets.  

Clicking on the website traffic links below will take readers to one of the most insightful resources of information that details each website’s traffic ranking; the number of unique visitors per month; the average time spent on each site per visit; and the number of pages viewed per each visit.

Of more interest to crowdfunding campaign managers will be the precise ratio of social media, content marketing, search engine marketing, email marketing and display advertising that is being utilized by each crowdfunding site’s marketing campaigns to drive readers and investors to their crowdfunding profiles.

GoFundMe vs Kickstarter SimilarWeb Stats

GoFundMe vs Kickstarter SimilarWeb Stats

Even though these numbers reflect the aggregation of all of a given portal’s crowdfunding campaigns marketing efforts, they offer direct evidence of what is working and what is not.  Note the difference on how much social media and display advertising is being used by the Top 10 Crowdfunding Sites compared the lower 90 crowdfunding sites. 

This information can be used by crowdfunding sites as well as their crowdfunders to get a thorough understanding on how to plan future marketing campaigns that will have a higher than average success rate.

Want to know how GoFundMe just bypassed Kickstarter as the #1 crowdfunding platform on the planet? Click on the links below and use the comparison tool to show side-by-side comparisons of SEO keywords, link referrals, and social media usage. See the bottom of the page for more crowdfunding marketing tips.

[Click Here to Tweet this Top 100 List of Crowdfunding Sites]

Rank © Front Page PR   Global Rank
#1 (2014: #2) www.gofundme.com    1,318
#2 (2014: #1) www.kickstarter.com    1,373
#3 (2014: #3) www.angel.co    2,010
#4 (2014: #6) www.indiegogo.com    2,277
#5 (2014: #4) www.lendingclub.com    7,545
#6 (2014: #9) www.justgiving.com    8,558
#7 (2014: #8) www.youcaring.com   13,563
#8 (2014: #12) www.kiva.org     15,111
#9 (2014: #23) www.ulule.com   16,099
#10 (2014: #15) www.donorschoose.org    21,617
#11 (2014: #17) www.pledgemusic.com   24,461
#12 (2014: #13) www.crowdrise.com   26,906
#13 (2014: #18) www.tilt.com    29,512
#14 (2014: #10) www.giveforward.com    32,576
#15 (2014: #38) www.crowdcube.com    34,262
#16 (2014: #5) www.fundingcircle.com    34,307
#17 (2014: #14) www.razoo.com    44,329
#18 (2014: #16) www.fundly.com    48,132
#19 (2014: #36) www.pozible.com   48,898
#20 (2014: #19) www.firstgiving.com    58,401
#21 (2014: #20) www.fundrazr.com    64,163
#22 (2014: #27) www.circleup.com   68,095
#23 (2014: #25) www.fundable.com   73,430
#24 (2014: #new) www.kickante.com.br    75,510
#25 (2014: #26) www.crowdfunder.com    77,551
#26 (2014: #34) www.equitynet.com   88,181
#27 (2014: #new) www.zeczec.com   90,296
#28 (2014: #35) www.gogetfunding.com   97,023
#29 (2014: #29) www.fundrise.com 112,206
#30 (2014: #55) www.fundedbyme.com 116,409
#31 (2014: #new) www.experiment.com 133,573
#32 (2014: #22) www.realtymogul.com 134,519
#33 (2014: #61) www.geldvoorelkaar.nl 146,963
#34 (2014: #new) www.onevest.com 149,343
#35 (2014: #24) www.rockethub.com 149,430
#36 (2014: #33) www.wefunder.com 169,021
#37 (2014: #32) www.offbeatr.com 174,673
#38 (2014: #30) www.seedinvest.com 184,226
#39 (2014: #37) www.slated.com 210,555
#40 (2014: #new) www.patchofland.com 220,267
#41 (2014: #43) www.givezooks.com 234,356
#42 (2014: #58) www.pledgie.com 241,865
#43 (2014: #new) www.microventures.com  241,967
#44 (2014: #28) www.fundanything.com 248,200
#45 (2014: #46) www.ourcrowd.com 248,635
#46 (2014: #44) www.pave.com 268,856
#47 (2014: #68) www.growvc.com 285,285
#48 (2014: #62) www.ppl.com.pt 297,874
#49 (2014: #48) www.dragoninnovation.com 306,056
#50 (2014: #54) hwww.seedandspark.com 319,789
#51 (2014: #47) www.pubslush.com 336,465
#52 (2014: #41) www.opportunity.org 354,764
#53 (2014: #45) www.peerform.com 376,044
#54 (2014: #60) www.bolstr.com 388,543
#55 (2014: #new) www.investx.com 403,141
#56 (2014: #11) www.uinvest.com.ua 417,925
#57 (2014: #new) www.plumfund.com  421,110
#58 (2014: #40) www.fundraise.com 433,539
#59 (2014: #new) www.earlyshares.com 442,508
#60 (2014: #new) www.barnraiser.us 482,296
#61 (2014: #new) www.flashfunders.com 485,226
#62 (2014: #new) www.trucrowd.com 485,665
#63 (2014: #57) www.piggybackr.com 518,504
#64 (2014: #67) www.symbid.com 558,247
#65 (2014: #new) www.crowdstreet.com 704,602
#66 (2014: #39) www.assetavenue.com 742,849
#67 (2014: #51) www.microgiving.com 834,667
#68 (2014: #new) pitchfunder.asufoundation.org 861,826
#69 (2014: #77) www.artistshare.com 928,003
#70 (2014: #new) www.nextseed.com 992,563
#71 (2014: #76) www.appsfunder.com 1,047,453
#72 (2014: #42) www.assob.com.au 1,049,032
#73 (2014: #79) www.foodstart.com 1,080,478
#74 (2014: #new) www.loquidity.com  1,087,691
#75 (2014: #70) www.faithlauncher.com 1,089,032
#76 (2014: #80) www.solarmosaic.com 1,108,499
#77 (2014: #new) www.crowdfundingpays.com 1,256,560
#78 (2014: #new) www.dreamfunded.com 1,267,585
#79 (2014: #82) www.propellr.com 1,350,583
#80 (2014: #75) www.pledgecents.com 1,363,715
#81 (2014: #new) www.massventure.com 1,388,521
#82 (2014: #new) www.crowd2fund.com 1,494,834
#83 (2014: #96) www.ipledg.com 1,567,232
#84 (2014: #new) www.texasenetworks.com 1,721,280
#85 (2014: #63) www.icrowd.com 1,769,510
#86 (2014: #65) www.banktothefuture.com 1,836,932
#87 (2014: #new) www.acquirerealestate.com 2,169,205
#88 (2014: #056) www.sterlingfunder.com 2,533,134
#89 (2014: #new) www.realtywealth.com 2,647,893
#90 (2014: #85) www.massivemov.com 2,826,166
#91 (2014: #89) www.venturehealth.com 3,931,192
New www.offerboard.com 4,112,781
#92 (2014: #31) www.rockthepost.com 4,505,534
#93 (2014: #84) www.funderhut.com 5,182,841
#94 (2014: #83) www.fundafeast.com 5,325,919
#95 (2014: #71) www.crowdit.com 5,535,187
#96 (2014: #88) www.crowdhelps.com 5,892,083
#97 (2014: #95) www.crowdfundingbank.com 6,503,461
#98 (2014: #98) www.startacure.com 8,281,014
#99 (2014: #78) www.cMEcompete.com 9,332,644
#100 (2014: #87) www.endlesscrowds.com 12,934,557

Source: Feb 2015 SimilarWeb Website Statistics

Crowdfunding PR’s goal is simple. We want to make it possible for crowdfunders to shop for  crowdfunding platforms in a similar manner to the way media planners/buyers used to analyze ABC and BPA audit statements to buy advertisements in the business-to-business trade publication industry, where important media buying decisions were based on straight mathematics, not popularity or random guessing.

For example, would you rather run a crowdfunding campaign on a site where visitors are looking at 2-3 pages in around 3 minute’s time or a site where buyers are spending 6 to 11 minutes reviewing 6 to 10 pages?

This is the difference between shoppers who are visiting a site to see a particular crowdfunding campaign based on a marketing campaign versus people who are visiting a site to explore and actually shop around to find good deals to buy or invest their money.

This is why launching a campaign on Kickstarter or GoFundMe does not guarantee success. While GoFundMe or Kickstarter may be the largest sites in the world, people are only spending enough time to shop through more than 2 to 3 crowdfunding profiles before they exit. While other sites like Razoo.com, DonorsChoose.org, and FundingCircle.com have visitors that stay more than 6 to 11 minutes and view 6 to 10 pages.

When researching, planning and executing successful marketing programs for both crowdfunding platforms as well as their individual crowdfunding customer profiles, it is extremely important to see what is driving the most traffic to any given crowdfunding site.  Success is usually determined not only by what site the crowdfunding campaign is being hosted on, but also the marketing programs being harnessed to drive potential donors/investors to a specific crowdfunding profile.

Clicking on each link above will allow media planners/buyers to understand what role direct traffic (content marketing), search engines (SEO, PPC Advertising), social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, Quora), email marketing and display advertising (Google Display, Outbrain, AppNexus) are having on the success of crowdfunding campaigns.

For example, when planning a social media strategy, one of the most popular questions we get asked is – what social media networks are driving the most visitor traffic? Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Quora, Reddit, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram? The links above will make this answer crystal clear.

Not satisfied with your position on the list? Front Page PR’s team of crowdfunding PR, social media and marketing experts can help crowdfunding sites and crowdfunding campaigns plan the perfect mix of integrated marketing programs to significantly improve the amount of website traffic being driven to any given fundraising campaign or crowdfunding platform.

Feel free to call (512) 627-6622 with questions or request help to improve your website statistics before June.

# # #

If you’d like to add your site to the Top 100 list, please fill out the form below.

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Crowdfunding PR Offers Texas Co-Working Space, Incubator and Accelerator Members a 50% Discount on Media Lists, Press Releases, PR and Media Relations Pitching Services

22 Feb

Texas Entrepreneurs and Startups Located Anywhere in Texas are Encouraged to Take Advantage of Front Page PR’s Free 30-Minute Crowdfunding Consultations to Learn How to Raise $1 Million per Year from More than 20 Million Texas Crowdfunding Investors

  By Robert Hoskins

Company Details:

Front Page PR is one of the leading Crowdfunding PR firms in America

Front Page Public Relations

Front Page Public Relations has been helping startups, mid-sized companies and Fortune 500 corporations develop corporate communications programs for more than 25 years. Our fields of expertise include building websites, generating persuasive content, developing corporate message maps, and planning integrated marketing communications programs that include advertising, media relations, PR and social media management.

Nothing is more important than the story you tell investors and your future customers. Gaining traction during startup mode is one of the toughest challenges bootstrapped entrepreneurs need to master.  Front Page PR specializes in helping young startups develop interesting, polished and persuasive marketing communications messages that will convince new customers to buy your products and services and persuade angel investors to invest in your business. 

For most entrepreneurs, removing the fear, uncertainty and doubt from the sales equation is a critical 1st step in the business development process.  Let us help you gain some marketplace momentum and start building a loyal customer base.  

Below are some very cost-effective ways to start generating some positive publicity for your business. A typical press release generates around 100 stories on leading blogs, magazines, TV stations and other types of media outlets, not just in the United States, but on a worldwide basis.

Offer Details:

For entrepreneurs of co-working spaces, incubators and accelerators, Front Page PR will offer a 50% discount on the following services: 

  1. Building Press/Media Contact Lists

Front Page PR will build a targeted list of media contacts in the United States that cover your product or service category. Front Page PR will spend up to 4 hours @ $150 per hour to build and clean a reporter/media contact list. 

Click here to purchase a Press List at the 50% discounted rate of $300.

  1. Writing/Issuing Press Releases

Front Page PR will spend up to 4 hours @ $150 per hour performing a competitive analysis of your top three competitors as well as research how leading publications are covering their stories. Based on this research we will write a 400-word, highly targeted and SEO’ed press release and issue it over Marketwired.com, the #1 news wire service in the United States.

Each release comes with an analytics report that shows how many media outlets picked up the release, how many people read the release as well as the geographical click-through rate for people who visited the company’s website.

This price does not include external wire service costs, which range around $250 for a 400-word release released in Texas that includes one logo. Extra photos and video attachments range from $75 to $125. Large city releases such LA and NY cost around $390.

Click here to purchase a Press Release at the 50% discounted rate of $300.

  1. Media Relations Campaign

Front Page PR will spend up to 25 hours @ $200 per hour each month calling, emailing and texting tailored media pitches to a precise list of the top 50 reporters that cover your companies products. The goal of this program is build relationships between your executive management team and the media. It is a very labor-intensive process for your execs who will need to develop a message with our help and scheduling time to prepare for interviews and then spending time speaking with the press. It is a process that does not happen overnight and will grow slowly over a 12-month period and may involve press tours and travel. This option requires signing a 12-month contract.

Click here to purchase a Media Relations PR Campaign at the 50% discounted rate of $2,500.

# # #

Contact:
Robert Hoskins

Front Page PR
(512) 627-6622
www.linkedin.com/in/roberthoskins
rhoskins[at]frontpagepr.com
@Crowdfunding_PR (fastest response)
@FrontPage_PR
@Crowdfunding TX

 

 

CrowdRabbit Launches National Crowdfunding Search Engine that Sources, Tracks and Monitors Multiple Fundraising Platforms

11 Dec

 Investors Can Search, Receive Listing Notifications and Improve Deal Flow Based on Personal Investing Criteria

By Robert Hoskins

Charlotte, NC – Built by a team of commercial real estate, financial services and entrepreneurship experts, CrowdRabbit is the first comprehensive searchable directory that pulls crowdfunding projects from multiple platforms in every space. In addition to the directory, investors seeking equity-based investments will have access to CrowdRabbit’s resource center.

First time investors, as well as veteran investors, can find help with choosing an investment, managing risk, learning rules and regulations, reviewing crowdfunding term glossaries and more. 

CrowdRabbit Launches National Search Engine that Sources, Tracks and Monitors Multiple Crowdfunding Platforms

CrowdRabbit Launches National Search Engine that Sources, Tracks and Monitors Multiple Crowdfunding Platforms

With the growth of crowdfunding and the limitless platforms and sites available, it can be difficult for funders and investors to find the appropriate listings they’re seeking quickly and easily. CrowdRabbit’s mission is to provide one platform where users can find the exact listings they are looking for in all crowdfunding spaces including rewards, donations, equity, real estate, venture capital, debt and more.

“As crowdfunding becomes more and more popular, we’ve seen the need for better tools for all parties involved, including investors, project creators and others, who frequently take to the Internet to source or promote investment opportunities,” said Rob Finlay, Chief Executive Officer of CrowdRabbit. “We knew we wanted to create a solution that would bridge the gap between investors and entrepreneurs. CrowdRabbit accomplishes this goal.”

CrowdRabbit’s unique functionality allows users to easily filter through projects by category, location, desired investment amount, number of investors and more. Whether searching for a rewards-based campaign or an equity-based investment opportunity, users have the ability to find the exact projects that fit their needs.

Users are encouraged to sign up for email updates about CrowdRabbit’s latest products and investment opportunities, as well as added platform functionality. As a newly launched platform, CrowdRabbit’s functionality will be enhanced over the coming months, which will include options for saved searches, watched listings and more.

“Our goal is to become the leading directory for all who are enthusiastic about the future that crowdfunding has to offer us as entrepreneurs, investors and innovators,” said Finlay. “We’re bringing a powerful tool to the crowdfunding community, and we can’t wait to see people benefit from CrowdRabbit’s unique features.”

CrowdRabbit, which is a subsidiary of QuietStream Financial, is a crowdfunding directory established in 2014 with the goal of providing a comprehensive pool of listings from all spaces including rewards, donations, equity, real estate, venture capital, debt, and more.

# # #

Raising Awareness for the Crowdfunding Industry through Free Online Crowdfunding Training Programs

4 Aug

Please help us spread the basic concepts of the crowdfunding campaigns with the masses by sharing the following free training class links with your social media networks

By Robert Hoskins

Austin, Texas – It amazes me to discover at business networking events the number of people that that have never heard of crowdfunding.  And while crowdfunding may still be under the radar for general population, based on the number of calls we receive each week, the crowdfunding industry is definitely experiencing hockey growth rates.

Our team at Front Page PR used to spend a tremendous amount of time on the phone educating future crowdfunding campaign managers one person, which was extremely time consuming.

Over the past 6 months, the demand for crowdfunding knowledge became overwhelming, so we decided to create the crowdfunding industry’s first free source of crowdfunding training classes.  The goal was to make it as easy as possible for anyone to learn more about crowdfunding by providing the basic crowdfunding training materials listed at the bottom of them page.  If you like the reading materials and find them useful, please help us spread the word about using crowdfunding as a small business finance tool to your social media networks.

“Just click to tweet. It is very easy!”

If you have a marketing background and would like to start a crowdfunding training class in your city or town, please give us a call (512) 627-6622.  We have several printed books that combined with the crowdfunding training materials listed below can help  any get a basic understanding of what it takes to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Crowdfunding Training Class Links:

  1. Introduction to Launching a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign

     [Click to Tweet]

  2. How to Conduct a Competitive Analysis for Crowdfunding Campaigns

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-F [Click to Tweet]

  3. How to Shoot a Persuasive Video for Crowdfunding Campaigns

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-1r [Click to Tweet]

  4. How to Write an Effective Crowdfunding Profile that Converts Donors

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-S [Click to Tweet]

  5. How to Write Copy with Language that Encourage People to Donate

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-P [Click to Tweet]

  6. How to Offer the Right Perks/Rewards with Good Calls to Action

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-1n [Click to Tweet]

  7. How to Utilize Perks/Rewards to Conduct Marketplace Research

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-P [Click to Tweet]

  8. How to Set Realistic and Achievable Crowdfunding & Fundraising Goals

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-1a [Click to Tweet]

  9. How to Do a Great Job of  Explaining How Crowdfunding Funds will be Spent

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-1e [Click to Tweet]

  10. How to Raise the First 30% of Crowdfunding Funds from Family and Friends

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-17 [Click to Tweet]

  11. How to Build a Great Crowdfunding Management Team to Enhance Success

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-1i [Click to Tweet]

  12. How to Build a Press Room for Crowdfunding Campaign to Achieve Success with the Press

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-1x [Click to Tweet]

  13. How to Build a Press Kit with the Materials Reporters Need to Write a Story

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-1z [Click to Tweet]

  14. How to Write SEO’ed Press Releases to Promote Crowdfunding Campaigns

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-1B [Click to Tweet]

  15. How to Create an Informational Crowdfunding Campaign FAQ Sheet

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-14 [Click to Tweet]

  16. How to Develop a Crowdfunding Timeline Complete with Milestones

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-2y [Click to Tweet]

  17. How to Plan an Effective Advertising Campaign to Promote Crowdfunding Campaigns

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-g [Click to Tweet]

  18. How to Use Content Marketing to Promote Crowdfunding Campaigns

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-u [Click to Tweet]

  19. How to Calculate Average Crowdfunding Conversion Rates by Industry

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-M [Click to Tweet]

  20. How to Use Email Marketing to Reach and Convert More Crowdfunding Buyers

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-12 [Click to Tweet]

  21. How to Conduct Media Relations to Generate Publicity for Crowdfunding Campaigns

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-1l [Click to Tweet]

  22. How to Find the Best Social Media Tools to Promote Crowdfunding Campaigns

    http://wp.me/P4r9U5-1M [Click to Tweet]

# # #

Top 10 Crowdfunding Sites Increase by an Average of 524% based on the United States Fastest Growing Internet Traffic Research Report

16 Jun

Over the past 12 months the top 10 crowdfunding sites have experienced exponential growth. Click here to research their website statistics to see what type of advertising, content marketing, email marketing, geographic locations, mobile wireless apps,  search engine results (SEO), social media, and referral partners are driving the world’s fastest growing crowdfunding rewards and equity investment websites

The Top 10 Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites in the United States Increase Internet Traffic by an Average of 524%

The Top 10 Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites in the United States Increase Internet Traffic by an Average of 524%


By 
Robert Hoskins


Austin, Texas
– Want to know who the Top 100 Fastest Growing Crowdfunding sites  in the world are? The graph above shows the top 10 crowdfunding sites based on their website’s internet traffic. From a competitive analysis standpoint it might make you wonder how these companies are growing at such a phenomenal rate.

What type of marketing campaigns are they running to achieve this success?  Advertising? Email Marketing? Affiliate Marketing? Referral Partners? Direct Traffic?  Search Engine Results?  Alexa provides a little bit of information, Compete has even less, but SimilarWeb is building a great business by providing a ton of competitive information that up and coming crowdfunding sites and crowdfunding campaign managers can use to improve their marketing efforts.

Want to see the competitive analysis marketing report for each of the sites below? Simply click the % link for each one and you’ll be able to see what type of marketing campaigns are driving these sites’ traffic, where that traffic is coming from, where their visitors are going next, plus a whole lot more.

For examples, scroll down to the bottom of this page to see what types of marketing programs are driving the top 10 crowdfunding site’s rapid acceleration of website traffic.

If you would like to receive an Excel Spreadsheet that has last year’s statistics, this year’s stats, as well as the list of the Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites sorted by overall global ranking, fastest growing and biggest losses in website traffic, then follow these instructions to receive a free copy:

     1st Follow @Crowdfunding PRclick here to send a Connect Request via Linkedin, or do both.

     2nd  Tweet us a message that says, “Please send me a copy of the #Top100CrowdfundingSites”

     3rd We’ll follow you back and send a Direct Message for your email address

    4th Want to improve your crowdfunding site’s results/ranking? Call us at (512) 627-6622. Front Page PR will put together an aggressive marketing program to improve your competitive position!

Overall Rank Top 10 Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Websites Past 12 Months
  #5 FundingCircle 1946%
  #3 Angel List 760%
  #8 YouCaring 597%
  #4 LendingClub 440%
#13 Crowdrise 429%
  #2 GoFundMe 360%
#10 GiveForward 355%
  #7 Quirky 222%
  #9 JustGiving 82%
#12 Kiva 52%

 

1st Place = FundingCircle

FundingCircle Top 10 Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

FundingCircle makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites

2nd Place = Angel List

Angel List Top 10 Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

Angel List makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites

3rd Place = YouCaring

YouCaring Top 10 Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

YouCaring makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites

4th Place = LendingClub

LendingClub Top 10 Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

LendingClub makes Top 10 List of the Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites

5th Place = Crowdrise

Crowdrise makes Top 10 List of the Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

Crowdrise makes Top 10 List of the Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites

6th Place = GoFundMe

GoFundMe makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

GoFundMe makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites

7th Place = GiveForward

GiveForward makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

GiveForward makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites

8th Place = Quirky

Quirky makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

Quirky makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

9th Place = JustGiving

JustGiving makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

JustGiving makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites

10th Place = Kiva

Kiva makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

Kiva makes Top 10 List of Fastest Growing Crowdfunding Sites Worldwide

 

Top 10 Marketing Programs that Every Crowdfunding Platform, Portal or Fundraising Website Needs to Attract Potential Investors and Fundraising Profile Managers

24 Apr

Crowdfunding Research Reports Predict Crowdfunding Industry to Grow into a $150 Billion Industry by the End of 2015

By Robert Hoskins, Front Page PR

According to a leading crowdfunding industry research report by massolution, the crowdfunding industry in the United States grew by approximately 105% in 2012 and represents the largest crowdfunding marketplace in the world.  And, according to a recent TABB Group crowdfunding research study, the alternative financing industry is expected to grow into a $150 billion powerhouse by the end of 2015.

Top 10 Value-Added Business Marketing Programs that Every Crowdfund Platform, Portal or Fundraising Website Needs to Attract Potential Investors and Fundraising Profile Managers

Top 10 Value-Added Marketing Programs that Every Crowdfunding Platform, Portal or Fundraising Website Needs to Attract Potential Investors and Profile Managers

What is really impressive is the fact that the nascent crowdfunding industry is just getting started. But once media outlets, national associations, chambers of commerce, ecommerce centers, vertical business-to-business industry portals and/or franchising sites with several hundred thousand readers, subscribers or followers realize they have what it takes to launch a crowdfunding platform website, they will do so in droves.

As soon as these players begin crunching the numbers and learn how much they can collect at 4% of the total amount of crowdfunding raised, a multitude of new websites will join the 500 or so crowdfunding pioneers that are already making it possible to launch all kinds of new businesses.

Many entrepreneurs like the idea of crowdfunding because they do not have to surrender any control to outside venture capital investors.

For example, a successful $50,000 crowdfunding campaign would pay the crowdfunding platform owner a 4% commission of $2,000.   A small website managing 100 successful  crowdfunding campaigns per month at $50,000 each could earn up to $200,000 a month or $2,400,000 over twelve months.  This will be a very lucrative business for platforms that understand how to generate a steady stream of crowdfunding profiles and investors to fund them.

Many argue that there are too many crowdfunding platforms already in existence, but trust us when we say that 2012 was just the tip of the iceberg for what is to come over the next five years.  The biggest challenge that many early adopters in the crowdfunding industry will face is the need for strategic marketing programs.  Like many small technology companies, however, many crowdfunding platform invest everything they have in the underlying technology and/or cloud-based systems needed to create a crowdfunding platform, but invest very little in the marketing programs needed to make their platform successful.

We talk to lots of new crowdfunding platforms on a daily basis and are surprised at how many do not have formal marketing programs. In the beginning stages of building a crowdfunding website is to amass a large following.  Without a high volume of potential investors and plenty of crowdfunding campaign profiles to browse through crowdfunding platforms will generate very little, if any revenue to sustain their operations.

A secondary challenge that crowdfunding platforms are facing is how to offer a portfolio of value-added business services to help their campaign managers launch successful marketing programs necessary to plan and execute a successful fundraising campaign.

The reason that Kickstarter currently rules the roost is because they have figured out how to make sure that their crowdfunding campaign managers have access to very cost-effective marketing programs. Instead of spending a lot of money on its own marketing programs, Kickstarter provides subsidized marketing programs that make it easy and very affordable for their crowdfunding campaign managers to get the professional help they need to develop great crowdfunding profiles and then generate free publicity by utilizing strategic public relations (PR) and media relations services.

The result is that instead of Kickstarter spending a lot of money on its own publicity campaigns, they have hundreds of crowdfunding clients generating publicity for their individual Kickstarter fundraising campaigns.  The result is widespread news stories that generates a significant amount of interest in Kickstarter’s platform from funding raising campaign managers and donors/investors who are looking for the best crowdfunding website to do business with.

Using Google Analytics and other website measurement services such as Alexa, it is fairly easy to do Kickstarter vs. Indiegogo comparison to see which site is generating the most traffic.   performing a

Thus, Kickstarter has become the 800-pound gorilla.  But at one time, only a few years ago, they were in the same spot as most small crowdfunding platform are today – small, hungry and hoping they will succeed.

The key to success are successful advertising, marketing, PR and media relations programs.  A good example to reflect on was the competition between IBM’s OS/2 operating system versus Microsoft’s Windows operating system in the 1990’s.  Technology experts agreed that IBM had a superior product, but IBM lost the battle because they under estimated Microsoft superior marketing, business development and channel marketing programs that effectively build worldwide distribution channels.

Another good example of superior marketing was the Intel Inside marketing program was very successful.  Intel would pay for 50% of all costs for computer manufacturer’s advertising campaigns as long as the Intel logo was featured prominently in leading trade publication advertisements.  This allowed both Intel and computer manufacturers such as Texas Instruments, Dell, Gateway and others to double the power of their marketing budgets.

So what type of marketing programs does it take to make a crowdfunding platform successful?  It would be wise for every crowdfunding site, regardless of industry, to add a menu tab to their crowdfunding websites offer the following value-added crowdfunding support services:

  1. Social Media Campaigns
  2. PR/Media Relations Campaigns
  3. Press Room with News Story Building Blocks
  4. Crowdfunding Video Production
  5. Donor Email/Newsletter Marketing Campaigns
  6. Google Advertising Campaigns
  7. Google Analytics Conversion Tracking
  8. Event Marketing Campaigns
  9. Perks-Based Fulfillment Companies
  10. Affiliate Marketing Programs

It is very simple for every crowdfunding platform to build a directory of service providers for each category of value-added services.  Providing a list of qualified service providers makes it easy for crowdfunding campaign managers to shop for the best deal on copy writing, video production, PR,  perks fulfillment and other types of crowdfunding services they need to help them launch fundraising campaigns.

As platforms mature, the more sophisticated crowdfunding platforms will soon allow crowdfunding campaign managers to request bids for these types of services when they create their initial crowdfunding profile.  This will enable crowdfunders to subscribe to important marketing services before the campaign begins versus half-way through the campaign when they are in fear of failure.  Creating professional profiles supported with well-thought out marketing campaigns, which will raise the visibility of the both the crowdfunders as well crowdfunding websites and will ultimately lead to an overall crowdfunding success rate due to increased web site traffic and and higher donation/investement conversion rates.

Building a rock solid database of potential donors/investors with a known-propensity to support various crowdfunding campaigns along with a high conversion rate for vertical financial marketing programs will be extremely valuable in the future of the booming crowdfunding industry.

A general rule of thumb is that crowdfunding platform founders/CEOs should dedicate a minimum 4% of their total budget to marketing programs.  And should they decide to invest their marketing dollars in setting up co-operative marketing programs for their crowdfunding clients it will allow them to double down and significantly increase the reach and frequency of every marketing dollar spent.

Even crowdfunding platforms on a shoe string budget should consider matching marketing funds for their most promising crowdfunding accounts.  In most cases, investing wisely in marketing programs will lead to higher commissions received due to the higher amount of funds that will be raised.  Collecting 4% of $50,000 is much more lucrative than 4% of $5,000 and the extra revenue should cover almost 100% of the initial marketing investment.

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Click here to learn more about launching a Crowdfunding Campaign!

Related crowdfunding new articles

Want to generate news for your Crowdfunding PR campaign?  Select one of the following categories and post your press release:  Business CitiesCommunitiesCrowdfunding PlatformsEducationFilmMusicEntertainmentGamesVideosSocial GoodSolarRenewable EnergySoftwareHardware, and Technology Gadgets.   Don’t see your category listed? Tell us to add it and we will.

Both Crowdfunding platform owners and Crowdfunding campaign managers and PR staff can post their news and press releases into these free discussion forums to promote maximum social media exposure.

Kickstarter vs. IndieGoGo: Which is the Best Crowdfunding Site and Why?

17 Feb

How to Pick the Best Crowdfunding Sites for Successful Fundraising Campaigns

By Robert Hoskins

In the booming Crowdfunding indsutry, the most important question that every Crowdfunding campaign manager (Crowdfunder) asks themselves is, “which Crowdfunding site is the best platform to launch my fundraising campaign?

Which Crowdfunding platform such as IndieGoGo.com vs. Kickstarter will offer the best chance of success?  Is it better to risk an “all or nothing” strategy with a Kickstarter campaign and hope that it funds 100%, and then pay a commission of 5-percent?  Or is it better to go with an IndieGoGo campaign, where Crowdfunders will be allowed to keep all the money regardless of whether they reach their Crowdfunding goal or not, and then pay a higher 9% commission fee?

These may seem like simple questions, but they will get complicated quick when trying to make a wise, sound financial decision on which Crowdfunding website is best for a given campaign, especially when the there are 900 different platforms from which to chose. And when Title II, Reg. D Equity Crowdfunding becomes legal, they will get even more complex, but we will save that topic for another article.

Here are a few simple questions to help analyze a Crowdfunding portal’s performance to find out which one offers Crowdfunders the best chance of success. Selecting the best Crowdfunding site to launch a fundraising campaign can be boiled to a few simple questions:

1. How much web traffic does a Crowdfunding portal generate?

2. What is the composition of the site’s  target audience demographics?

3. What is the site’s industry reputation?

4. Does the site provide any analytic information on its vertical segment landing pages?

5. Does the site provide any type of audit statement on how many investors the site has registered and the propensity for them to donate or invest a particular industry, product or service?

In the future, all Crowdfunding websites need to provide an industry-standardized Crowdfunding Audit Statement.  Using Google Analytics or other types website traffic analysis tools, all portals know exactly how much web traffic their entire website receives; what landing pages are receiving the most traffic; what search engine keywords are delivering the most donors/investors; and what external websites are referring the most visitors.

This chart is from Alexa.com:

What is the Best Crowdfunding Site? Kickstarter vs. IndieGogo

What is the Best Crowdfunding Site? Kickstarter vs. IndieGogo

This chart is from Google Trends.

What is Best Crowdfunding Website? Kickstarter vs. IndieGoGo Google Trends Statistics

What is Best Crowdfunding Website? Kickstarter vs. IndieGoGo Google Trends Statistics

IndieGogo Crowdfunding Website Statistics Ranking:

IndieGoGo Crowdfunding Website Ranking

IndieGoGo Crowdfunding Website Ranking Statistics

Kickstarter Crowdfunding Website Statistics Ranking:

Kickstarter Crowdfunding Website Ranking Statistics

Kickstarter Crowdfunding Website Ranking Statistics

Kickstarter has a global ranking of all websites on the internet at a ranking of #830 compared to IndieGoGo’s global ranking of #2,422.  In the United States, the largest Crowdfunding donation market in the world, Kickstarter has a ranking of #399 compare to IndieGoGo’s ranking of #1,140.

Another important statistic to review is the number of websites that have links to pointing to Crowdfunding websites, which helps their search engine optimization and places them higher in the search engine results.  Kickstarter has twice as many link backs at 84,130 compared to IndieGoGo’s link backs of 40,720.

Based on the information above, it is easy to see that Kickstarter’s numbers exceed IndieGoGo’s by a large margin.

Last, but not least, we are going to discuss how Crowdfunding sites at the top of pack got to their current position and why every successful business development strategy includes a wide variety of marketing campaigns that are designed to build a profitable sales and distribution channel for the company’s products and services.

If you do a Google search on “Kickstarter,” the search will turn up 25.7 million results.  A search on IndieGoGo yields a 5.5 million search results. How did Kickstarter amass 5 times more coverage and the resulting link backs to their website?    The simple answer is marketing.  The Kickstarter Handbook guides Crowdfunders through a step-by-step process on how to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign.

One of the most important things the book covers is how to use public relations to write a press release and issue it over a professional news wire service such as Businesswire.com, Marketwire.com or PRNewswire.com.   The purpose of a press release is to feed news to a group of reporters on a news circuit or beat.  Every day reporters scan these news wires for potential stories to cover.  Issuing a press release with the word “Crowdfunding” in it will cause a press release to automatically hit every reporters inbox with a Google alert set on the keyword.

All Crowdfunding sites should work with the major news wire services to make it as affordable for their Crowdfunders to issue as many press releases as possible.  Marketwire allows a Crowdfunder to add two URL links to any website related to the press release and each press release is usually picked up by 75 to 100 news outlets.  At 200 link backs per press release issued, it should be easy for any SEO expert to understand why press releases are so important.

A well-written press release combined with an intelligent PR agency that has developed media relations with the 450+ reporters that cover the Crowdfunding beat usually results in several news articles, which provides credibility for the Crowdfunding campaign and a significantly higher rankings for the Crowdfunding portal hosting the campaign.

Kickstarter has done a tremendous job of teaching its customers how to successfully market their Crowdfunding campaigns.  It will be interesting to watch new Crowdfunding platforms as they come on line to see if they can match the marketing prowess of Kickstarter.  All Crowdfunding sites should should offer a Crowdfunding Business Partner program that offer Crowdfunders both an affordable price on issuing press releases as well as a list of PR firms that are willing to help their Crowdfunders launch cost-effecting PR and social media campaigns.

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