Ultra-Successful Crowdfunding: A Step by Step Guide

An exploration into the strategies and techniques that tend to separate the successful campaigns from the ultra-successful campaigns.

his module will cover all the different components that go into a crowdfunding profile page… Probably the most important tool of your entire campaign.

In this module we'll show you how best to explore the world of crowdfunding as you search for your crowdfunding hero; a virtual mentor you can look up to as you're building out your own campaign.

The process of selecting your crowdfunding portal is a big step. This module explores how best to research your options, including factors you need to keep in mind as you make your final decision.

This module focuses on defining the actual project you are trying to get funded. It is an important step in being able to articulate to backers what it is you're trying to do as clearly as possible.

Build trust with backers starts with communicating effectively on things backers care about; like when they're going to actually receive their rewards. Establishing an accurate timeline is an important step in this process.

Running out of money in the middle of a project really stinks. In this module we'll go over how to calculate the true project cost and show you techniques of overestimation to ensure you don't get left needing more money at a critical stage of your project.

Rewards of the lifeblood of the entire crowdfunding experience and are considered a primary conversion mechanism for getting people to back your campaign. In this module we'll run through things to keep in mind, how to structure reward levels, and brainstorming creative reward ideas.

A mistake a ton of creators make is not to properly incorporate the true cost of running a crowdfunding campaign into their stated goal amount. This includes considering the cost of delivering rewards and paying portal fees along with estimating the distribution of high cost and low cost rewards chosen by backers.

This module will run through all the steps of estimating this cost accurately along with a tool to make the calculation part easy.

The whole point of this module is to convince you to choose a 30 day campaign duration. That's it.

Your campaign title will be one of the most viewed pieces of text from your entire campaign. It will appear in search results, on social media, in articles about you, and across the top of your campaign page. Taking the time do create a brilliant campaign title is what this module is all about. It's an important one!

Similar to your project title, your tease phrase is a clip of text that will get a lot of run. This module covers tips on getting the most out of this snippet of text.

Your campaign photo is more than just a representation of your campaign, it is click bait for the thousands of people who'll come across your campaign on social media and through your portal search results. Choosing a picture that stands out and begs to be clicked is critical. This module runs through how to go about choosing the right photo for you.

Your creator biography is an important element that usually gets overlooked by a lot of creators. But it presents a unique opportunity to give additional insight into you; the person behind this amazing campaign. The more you give of yourself, the more opportunities backers have to relate to you and your story.

Your project description will be read and evaluated by your backers before they make the decision to give you money. It should contain additional insights and detail beyond what you have in your campaign video. It should also be structured in a way that makes it easy to scan and extract certain pieces of important information. In this module we'll run through that structure and how to put together an effective project description.

Time to put all your hard work so far onto your crowdfunding campaign page… But don't set it live just yet!

Your website is a critical tool for generating momentum for your campaign. Your tribe and members of the press will look to your website for information, validation, and indicators of success. This module breaks down why websites are so important for crowdfunding and how you'll use yours as your launch date approaches.

This module is designed specifically for creators who need to build a new website from scratch. We outline all the steps and provide links to affordable resources online to help you get it all done. It is a lot easier than you think!

Email will be a big part of mobilizing your tribe to take action in promoting your campaign. And since your tribe will only grow larger and larger as your campaign moves forward, you need an email marketing service to handle the large volume of emails you'll be sending so that you don't get labeled as a spammer.

You want to use the real estate at the top of your homepage to communicate to visitors that you're doing a crowdfunding campaign and to inform them of the dates it will launch. This module outlines how to layout and build a homepage announcement that does just that.

Some visitors skip your home page and go straight to a page like a blog post, a product page, or your about page. To make sure these visitors also get the message that you're doing a crowdfunding campaign, add a delayed pop down notification above your header. This module shows you what we mean and how to set one up.

In the time leading up to your campaign launch, you're going to be involved in a lot of communications to your tribe and to the press about your upcoming campaign. Rather than sending them to your crowdfunding portal to view an unpublished preview of your campaign, we instead recommend you re-create a duplicate version of your campaign page on your own website.

This allows users to remain on your site instead of getting distracted by other campaigns. It also lets you have more quality interactions with your visitors, like collecting their email, directing them to your Facebook page, or soliciting feedback.

This module shows you how to lay out your campaign preview page.

Getting the most out of your tribe is a function of communication and making it as easy as possible for people to help you. Your tribe resource page does exactly that by outlining the specific steps you want people to take in promoting your campaign.

This module outlines everything that needs to go on your tribe resource page and the role it will play as your campaign launch date approaches.

You're not going to become a blogger, but publishing a blog post here and there will be a part of your communication strategy leading up to and during your campaign. This module is about preparing your blog so that you don't have to do it later.

Because the press can make such a dramatic, positive impact on your campaign success, you want to cater to them as much as possible. Your press page does exactly that by laying out everything they're looking for in one place.

Facebook and Twitter are the two main social media platforms we recommend for promoting your campaign. In this module we'll be going over how to setup pages and configure your account settings to maximize exposure and make sure you're making a good first impression on your followers.

Getting press coverage is a process; not a singular action. This module outlines the mechanisms of press coverage that will govern how to get journalists to pay attention to your campaign.

A press kit is a multi-page document that outlines everything a journalists might need to know in order to write a story about you and your campaign. They are a standard practice of companies that are active with their media relationships; so journalists have come to expect seeing them from companies who know what the hell they are doing.

By having a press kit of your own, you're telling journalists that you're for real. It will get their attention and compel them to take a closer look at your campaign and your story.

In this module we walk through a ready-to-go press kit template one page at a time. The goal is to make creating a professional press kit as easy as possible.

Making a formal announcement to the press about the launch of your campaign sends a signal to writers, bloggers, reports, editors, etc that your campaign is for real.

In this module we'll run through the perfect press release template one paragraph at a time.

Members of the press are not out searching for you. Instead you'll need to prepare to go searching for them. The first step is identifying the best candidates out there who are likely to cover your story.

Your launch day is a big day. Everything you've done up to this point has been preparing for you to have a successful opening day.

This module outlines the parameters we'll use to define a successful launch day.

Understanding what's going to happen next is an important part of planning. In this module we'll take a look at everything that's going to happen between now and your campaign launch, including daily routines, promotion, communication with your tribe, and contacting members of the press.

Choosing an actual launch date is a big step. Once it is set, a series of tasks will unfold based off of that date.

This module will explore the factors you need to consider in choosing your campaign launch date.

Your blog will play a critical role in communicating wins and deadlines to the world.

But don't worry, you're not going to turn into a 'blogger' if you don't want to.

This module will run through how to easily create blog entries that will support your campaign and paint a narrative of success for your tribe and the press.

This module is a step by step guide to establishing a relationship with individual members of the press.

It all starts with reading their work, following them on social media, and interacting with the content they produce and share.

The passion that comes from your mouth when you talk about your project is what journalists need to hear in order to get hooked on your story. This can only be accomplished on the phone.

This module outlines what you need to do to get these guys on the phone, and how you need to prepare for each call.

After successfully getting a journalist on the phone, the first thing you do afterwards is email them.

This module dives into what your emails to journalists should say and include.

Before you can mobilize your tribe, you first need to figure out who they are. This module is about inventorying everyone who can potentially become a member of your tribe.

Because email will be your primary communication method with individual members of your tribe, you need to take the time to confirm that you have their best email address.

Communication is key to mobilizing your tribe. In this module we outline the specific communications you should have with each member of your tribe leading up to your launch.

As you continue to communicate with your tribe, a handful of people are going to reach back to you offering encouragement, asking questions, or giving offers to help. The way you manage these replies is critical to getting traction with these individuals.

There's a lot going on in your local community, including a ton of people who would love to help you if they only knew who you are and what you're doing.

In this module we'll cover everything that needs to happen on launch day so that nothing falls through the cracks.

This modules outlines how to get your press release onto the wire and into the hands of journalists.

This module will discuss the process of notifying the specific members of the press that you've been building relationships with over the past 30 days.

Once your campaign is live, your relationship with the press will intensify. You'll need to continue to work your existing press contacts, but also identify new ones to target before it's too late.

As your campaign continues moving forward, you must continue to seek participation and excitement from your tribe. This module will discuss maintaining that momentum and using wins to project the eminent success of your campaign.

As good things happen to you and your campaign, you need to document them and broadcast them through your blog, social media, and emails to your tribe.

This module breaks down the specifics of communicating wins the right way.

The final week of your campaign is critical because of the time-snap effect and the frenzy it creates with backers get fear of missing out.

This module details how best to take advantage of this unique time of your campaign to generate a late push to the closing of your campaign.

That's it for the workshop. Below are all the links to all the worksheets, downloads, templates, and everything else we've covered so that you don't have to go digging around looking for everything.

Thank you for participating!