You have a great idea! You really believe everyone else thinks it's a great idea! So you put it out to the public. This then defines the audience...or does it? What crowdfunding has done has enabled people to extend the audience to normally unforeseen potential buyers/supporters. But, like most things, there is a down side. It's not really just a case of planting something on the web, and then finding that everyone flocks to your site, or the campaign site and supports it. There are many things to consider to get this to work. The crowd funding sites are there basically to help create a platform. They are not the marketeers, promoters or agents of your ideas. They are simply placing your idea in a shop window. You need to bring the people to that window. So how can this be done?
After spending two exhausting months trying to get my project funded, I have learnt a lot and also become very cautious when thinking of starting the next one. These posts are here to help guide anyone who has a mind to explore the possibilities in crowdfunding. However, it must be stated before you plan to read further; it is not a cushy number. People don't throw money at your simply because you ask. And I hope these little excursions into my experience will help folks see that.
The web is a big and sometimes treacherous ocean of opportunity and deceit. Many of the things that seem to give the idea of reward, may also make your projects fall short, become bad product and loose value to the audience you aim to attract. So, one blog posting will cover these aspects of the campaign; after all it is a product on the web and the tools on the web can help, as much as hurt. There are tips and tricks you can employ that will help all the aspects required in getting more people to look at your site and to hopefully convert to supporting it.
What are the costs involved in all this. The funny thing I have found, is a great deal of it is not simply money based. Cost in time, effort, and physical aspects is also an effect that has to be taken into consideration. Getting money out of people can also cost you, and you have to weigh up the risks involved in spending next to getting money back. What is the point in cutting deals if you end up with nothing in the budget to make your project work. In some respects, crowdfunding is a full-time job. And if you are not prepared to see it as that before you begin, then you will in fact possibly fail.
You need to be of strong character and strong mind when there is an edge of doubt that this product is not going to be a smash hit; but then again, how do you know if it's going to be a smash hit? We are not all businessmen, market oriented or know anything about selling, but we stand at the crowd funding precipice eager to fly or fall in our attempt to get this idea off the ground.
So, without further ado, I will base this whole 101 on the experience (or first part experiences) of my own crowdfunding challenge. This being the production and development of the 'Creative Pet Project'. Now at this point, and I am sure with all good intent and purpose, I have had amazing response to the idea. People jumping up and down asking where to buy the book, a constant stream of requests from artists to join the book, numbers rising in likes and comments, etc. However, first word of warning. Don't really use this as a marker to possible funding tallies. If I received a single $1 from everyone who liked and or followed any of the aspects that I have created as social awareness, then I would be writing a whole heartedly wild success story, and I would in fact have money left over for the second book I am putting together. However, it don't work like that.
This happened two years ago. When talking to a fellow artist friend, about artists having pets, and it inspiring them. It slowly (to cut a long story short) turned to become, the now, Creative Pet Project. Which is both a book concept and community development idea that I hope will continue. The one good aspect about this, is it is based on my fanatical love of animals and my love for my own rescue dog, Honey. Who I in fact promised to do this book for. So, I really don't want to let her down.
I must point out that it hasn't taken two years regarding the crowdfunding, only the past three months has been set aside for that. The two years was spent looking for and gathering all the information for the actual first book. This was not as straight forward as first thought, and it took time working with 111 international artists to collate everything to the final stage. However, I got there and the spreads of the book came together. That in it's self is another story (and I am seriously thinking of making a short book based on all this). So, it got to October 2013 and I asked the collected artists, what should we do? This was based on all agents and publishers falling through, which at the time was a bad thing, but in fact has turned out to be quite good, but more of that later.
They all said Crowdfund it!! So, this is where the plan started.
Where to begin though? Looking back in hindsight, which is always a good reflective angle to take. Especially if you are going to attempt the process again. There were many aspects which I would have chosen differently at the 'sorting out' stage of the project campaign. But, I would say, there is a need to get a plan in action. To write down all the things you need to do, and most important of all, how long these things will take to prepare. There is nothing worse than knowing an important aspect of promoting needs to be achieved only to find that this can only happen two days before the finish. It is also wise and good to schedule everything, as if like myself you have a day job and need to do that, instead of taking the time off to be 24hrs on the campaign, then time is super valuable.
The next blog post will look at the aspects involved in setting up the campaign to be as good as possible. Believe it or not, but maybe not as hard to understand (as the web is named that for a reason) that there are a lot of tangled paths to resolve to get to the best result.
First published in 2014 from My Blog
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