When you start a small business, it's not easy to get credit from traditional sources, so you've got to think creatively when it comes to raising capital. Crowdfunding has become a popular fundraising route for new or growing businesses. Even getting a line of credit can be a daunting chore. So, if you're thinking about crowdfunding, don't forget to have a marketing plan in place, to ensure your campaign reaches the audience you need. It's one thing to have a great idea, but if nobody knows about it, you're setting yourself up for a flop. In order to develop the right kind of marketing plan for your crowdfunding campaign, you should consider these six strategies.
1. A Captivating Video
Video is a hugely compelling selling tool. You should tell your campaign story on camera and include it on your crowdfunding platform, as well as on YouTube. Your video should be two minutes or less, and should tell a story. Remember, you are selling yourself as much as your product or service. You should also record a 30- to 60-second direct appeal that you push out through email.
2. Email
Thirty percent of your initial donations will come from people you know. That is why it's critical to have a strong network before you launch your crowdfunding campaign. Your goal should be to have an email list of at least 2,000 contacts before you launch. You should also line up five to ten people with email lists at least that large, who would be willing to share your campaign with their contacts.
3. "Friend-Raise" on Social Media
Social media is an incredibly powerful component of a crowdfunding campaign. In order to attract people to your campaign, you must already be part of the social media community. If you're not, you will come off as disingenuous and no one will support you. Social media success is all about giving to get. Remember that you want to promote your campaign, but you still need to share other relevant content that is not your own. A good guideline to follow is: for every four updates you post, only one should directly promote your product or service.
4. Information Should be Shareable
If you want people to share your information via email or social media, create pre-written messages that contacts can simply cut and paste into their platforms. Make it as simple as possible for people to help you market your campaign.
5. Pay-Per-Click Advertising
The average crowdfunding campaign raises less than $10,000. If you have a significant goal, buy pay-per-click ads to drive traffic to your campaign website. Facebook ads are a great option if your campaign is targeting consumers, and the social network allows you to really target your best prospects using geography, gender and other socio-graphics.
6. Don't Forget Bloggers
Three months prior to your crowdfunding launch, build a list of 15 to 25 bloggers who are dominant with your target audience. Then engage them through PR pitches. Offer a pre-written blog post, similar to what you are doing with the sample tweets and Facebook posts. Make sure you offer a benefit to the bloggers. Sponsoring a blog post or providing free product to try is a nice way to reciprocate the marketing ask.
Raising money via crowdfunding is a great way for small businesses to build capital for a new or growing venture, but an additional upside is the marketing platform you develop when you take the time to plan a successful strategy.
This article was originally published under the title How to Market Your Crowdfunding Campaign at www.succeedasyourownboss.com
Melinda F. Emerson, SmallBizLady is America's #1 small business expert. She is an author, speaker and small business coach whose areas of expertise include small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. She writes a weekly column for the New York Times, publishes a resource blog, www.succeedasyourownboss.com which is syndicated through The Huffington Post. She also hosts a weekly talk show on Twitter called #SmallBizChat for small business owners. As a brand, she reaches 1.5 million entrepreneurs a week on the internet. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. Forbes Magazine named Melinda Emerson one of the #1 Woman for Entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. Melinda has been featured on MSNBC, Fox News, NBC Nightly News and in Fortune, The Washington Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Black Enterprise. She is the bestselling author of "Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works," and the ebook How to Become a Social Media Ninja; 101 Ways to Dominate Your Competition Online.