Not every crowdfunding campaign is going to break records. Many of them aren’t even able to achieve their overall funding goals. There are several reasons why a campaign might not be as successful as anticipated, but there are ways to fix this problem. By knowing why your campaign failed, you can fix the problem and try again. Coolest failed at first and then raised $13 million. You can do that too. Here are the mistakes you need to avoid.
1. You’re Not Offering Backers A New Idea
Many crowdfunding campaigns fail because the ideas being promoted are too similar to other ideas that have already been funded. Your campaign will always be compared with other campaigns. Without ideas that are highly differentiated, the lack of variety will make potential backers yawn and look for something that is a bit more compelling and creative.
Here’s the fix: By researching your ideas before bring a crowdfunding campaign live, you’ll know how different and unique your idea happens to be. If there are campaigns already active with ideas that are similar, you’re better off going back to the drawing board to find more creativity.
2. You’ve Been Unclear About Your Purpose
Although the average crowdfunding campaign targets the average person who isn’t an accredited backer, it doesn’t mean that these folks don’t care about how their money is being spent. Campaigns that are unclear or ambiguous about how crowdfunding money is going to be spend are much less likely to be funded.
Here’s the fix: Be very clear about how funds will be spend. Include all specifics that you have. Be sure to include the benefits of an investment as well to encourage more backers to hop on board.
3. You Have An Undefined Operating Structure
If all you’re doing is throwing up a crowdfunding campaign without any business plan behind it, then backers are going to be leery of even the greatest ideas. You need to have a team of people that is ready to act whether the campaign is fully funded or not. A clear chain of command needs to be established and that everyone is on the same page.
Here’s the fix: Prove that your team has the experience to deliver through demonstrations of your prototypes. Get your team on video discussing the pros and cons of your product. Be willing to adjust to feedback as it comes in.
4. You Aren’t Showing Your Passion
If you aren’t 100% committed to your crowdfunding campaign, then how can you expect backers to be 100% committed?
Here’s the fix: Don’t bring ideas to the market that you’re not passionate about. If you don’t live and breathe your proposed crowdfunding idea every moment of every day, then you’ve failed before you’ve even begun.
5. You’ve Underestimated Your Social Presence
Having a strong amount of social capital can be the difference between a successful crowdfunding campaign and an unsuccessful one. How your followers and fans interact with each other, encouraging each other to get involved, will affect the final outcome of every campaign.
Here’s the fix: Invest in building up your social capital before you start building up awareness of your crowdfunding campaign. Having thousands of followers isn’t good enough. You also need to be engaging with your followers on a regular basis.
The best way to make sure a crowdfunding campaign succeeds is to avoid the traps of past mistakes. Even if you have failed in the past, however, the identification and proactive fixing of each issue can lead a business to future crowdfunding success.
Strong proponent of individual liberty and free speech. My goal is to present information that expands our awareness of crucial issues and exposes the manufactured illusion of freedom that we are sold in America. Question everything because nothing is what it seems.
