How to Properly Run a Crowdfunding Campaign

Use this checklist to help create your crowdfunding campaign the best it can be!

Improve Your Chances By Planning Ahead

When it comes to running a crowdfunding campaign, failing to plan is planning to fail. Crowdfunding can be a lucrative way to support your creative endeavors, however, without a game plan, you will be increasing your chances of failure. The goal of this article is to improve your chances of success when it comes to running your campaign from before you click “Launch” until you’re funded! Having a crowdfunding checklist can drastically improve those chances. If you like this article, be sure to share it with other creators that you believe it can help!

The 21 Step Crowdfunding Checklist

1. Do You Have a Following?

If not, please…please get a following before undertaking this!

When it comes to crowdfunding, don’t see it as a chance to grow your following (although it can help). See it as an opportunity to find your true fans amongst your followers. Senior Maverick for Wired, Kevin Kelly, wrote an incredible article declaring, “If you have roughly a thousand of true fans like this (also known as super fans), you can make a living.” He discusses the idea that if you have 1,000 true fans and can sell each of them $100 worth of product/services a year, then you can earn a living doing what you love to do.

So if you have a fan base on Instagram of only 100 people, you’re not even at the minimum for earning a living. Only a small percentage of them will even go to your Kickstarter page, even if you individually DM (Direct Message) them. Knowing this, let’s start with a minimum of 1,000 followers. Once you’ve accomplished this feat, carry on.

2. Make Sure Your Campaign Has a Direct Focal Point!

The worst thing you can do in your campaign is to have it all over the place. Make sure you keep focus on the goal at hand.

When our company first started out in 2017, we had some audacious goals. We wanted to create several comics, develop a video game, attend comic cons, and print enough material to bring to these comic conventions. Even crazier, we believed we could run a Kickstarter to fund the entire thing… we were wrong. Very wrong.

When you run a crowdfunding campaign—especially a successful one—many of your donations will come from current fans/followers. However, some of your donations will come from strangers who stumble across your campaign through the discover page, emails from Kickstarter, or even Word-of-Mouth. When these people land on your page, they want to learn what you’re about. Don’t create a campaign that will confuse these passersby. Instead, be specific on how the money you raise will support your cause.

3. Figure Out Your Reward Tiers.

Figure out how your backers will be rewarded. Don’t add more than 10 rewards.

Work on creating reward tiers that inspire larger donations and accommodate smaller donations. Some donors just want to show their support, so there’s the easy option of adding a “Tip Jar” for $1 where anyone can donate. However, some donors want to feel like a part of the community. For these donors, the goal is to make reward tiers that inspire larger donations.

4. Make It Fun!

Use your personality and express yourself! Don’t just learn all the rules and copy-paste. Instead, figure out how to capture your personality and display it to the world. If you struggle with this, we recommend finding a partner to help with your writing and video creation. Or optionally, hire a writer, a voice actor, etc. for improving the quality of your content.

Regardless of how you add personality to your campaign, be sure to enjoy the process. Don’t stress over a campaign, have some fun!.

5. Create a Video!

This gives you an 80% better chance to be funded.

According to Kickstarter, “80% of successful projects have a video.” Knowing this, we absolutely recommend you make a video for your crowdfunding campaign. You don’t need to blow thousands of dollars on a highly-edited video, however, you do need to spend time ensuring quality in the content.

A few simple tips are:

These are just some basic rules and every rule can be broken. However, in order to properly break a rule for your benefit, you must learn what rules there are and why they exist. So if you’re not sure what you’re doing, stick to these rules.

6. Build Anticipation!

When it comes to marketing, excitement is a powerful tool. If you want your fan base to be telling their friends and family

7. Build Urgency with Anticipation.

This can mix with step 6 honestly. You can do this by sending 1-4 emails to your email list, and use social media EVERY DAY.

8. Post the Time and Date in Advance.

Do this on every social media platform and including your newsletter and website you’re a part of!

9. Create an Exciting Story for Your Campaign.

After you are done, take your preview link and share it with fellow creators. This will help you hugely!

10. Proofread Your Entire Campaign.

This can be done with the help of others by sharing the preview. If you’d like us to proofread it, send an email to seernovacomics@gmail.com.

11. Figure Out How Many Days Your Campaign Will Be.

According to Kickstarter, 20-30 days is usual. Keep in mind having shorter campaigns is another way to have urgency.

12. Make Sure You Have Pieces of Artwork/Comic Pages in Your Story.

Not everything, but like 5 pages.

13. Figure out the Math for Your Funding Goal.

You could add a few hundred dollars for wiggle room, but make sure shipping costs, crowdfunding fees, and anything else you are looking to use if funded are calculated.

14. Create a Funding Timeline Graphic for Funding Milestones.

15. Advise Your Bank That a Lot of Money Will Be Coming in, If Funded.

16. Be Attentive to Your Backers

When you launch, be sure to answer any questions and concerns of backers. Also, it’s important to message the first 5 backers and thank them for their support.

17. Create a Press Release.

Create a press release for your campaign and ask blogs if they could share your press release.

18. Reach Out to Podcasts

Get on every podcast and show you can before and during your campaign to bring awareness.

19. Put Your Campaign Link Everywhere.

Oh, is your campaign link in EVERY bio link on your social media? NO? Do it now!

20. Okay, You’ve Launched, Now What?

Now open EVERY social media platform you are a part of. This is what will bring in the backers. Every few minutes Tweet about your campaign. Every campaign is different, but after every other donation Tweet about it. DON’T FORGET TO THANK YOUR BACKERS AND THOSE THAT HAVE SHARED THE CAMPAIGN!

21. Keep It Exciting!

Keep it exciting throughout the campaign and don’t forget to have fun!