Your new product is certain to be a huge hit once the public learns about it. Following this four-step strategy to develop a crowdfunding campaign will ensure that your efforts – and your product – are a success.
1. Know your product
Crowdfunding is an excellent research tool to discover what your consumer base is – and is not – willing to pay for. While you may believe that your item can’t be improved, your potential backers will happily tell you the improvements they’d like to see or explain what your product is missing and why that has put them off. Use that data to make any changes that will improve the attractiveness of your product.
Also, most crowdfunding backers can see the benefits of your product by watching how your prototype performs. Make sure it works flawlessly and that your crowdfunding video demonstrates its full range of capacities.
2. Identify your financial goal
The goal you set for your crowdfunding campaign should reflect both the costs of production and distribution as well as the expenses incurred in those processes. Many people forget to include shipping and postage, or marketing and administrative costs in their project budget; others don’t fully consider the cost of rewards for backers.
Keep in mind, too, that you’ll need to accurately track costs and establish appropriate margins over those costs to ensure your campaign makes money.
When evaluating what your budget should be, be certain to include funding for these critical functions:
- Pre-launch production costs, including scriptwriting and video production costs
- Marketing and advertising campaign costs
- Equipment and materials purchases or rentals
- Fulfillment costs for incentives and eventual orders
- Administrative costs for oversight and management activities
In the end, you should know the cost and margin of the total number of sales you need to make to achieve your financial goal.
3. Gather your team
Often, crowdfunding success rests as much with the team behind the launch as it does on the quality of the product. For the campaign itself, assemble a group of people who are as passionate about the product as you are, and who each bring a unique set of skills to the process. To fully engage today’s digital community, you’ll need people versed in the public relations, marketing and social media skills required to navigate the digital universe.
4. Set your calendar
Data shows that successful crowdfunding campaigns are usually less than 60 days long, and most are completed within 30 days. No matter how long you choose to run your campaign, choose a launch date that coincides with your product; offer your summer-themed products in Spring and plan to launch your Winter products in the Fall.
Plan out your production services, too, so you can accurately inform your funders when they can expect your product to be delivered. For this purpose, identify and confirm your manufacturer before wading into the crowdfunding campaign pool.
The goal is for your product to meet the goals of both your funders and your eventual customers. Take the time needed to create the best product presentation possible to increase your odds of achieving a successful crowdfunding campaign.
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