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10 Ways to Boost Your Startup Crowdfunding Campaign

Crowdfunding is no easy feat, but you can create a successful fundraising campaign if you apply these 10 tips.

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  1. Design your crowdfunding campaign page.

    Crowdfunding portals have great tools you can use to design your campaign page. Don’t take this exercise lightly, because your fundraising potential often hinges on how well you make your business case—and a web page is part of that seduction tactic.

  2. Choose a memorable URL.

    In the Internet’s era, things like URL, landing page and web page ergonomics have become salient. Your campaign’s URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the web address that potential investors must type to see your campaign. So make it easy for them, and choose an easy-to-remember URL. The more memorable your campaign page’s address, the easier it is for financiers to find it and the easier it is for them to spread the word and share your campaign information with their contacts or other investors. Editorial Note: If you are using a third-party platform, redirect your domain name to the crowdfunding campaign while it is active. Then once your company website is complete you can benefit from the traffic derived from your crowdfunding launch.

  3. Formulate a S.M.A.R.T. marketing plan.

    When it comes to launching an effective crowdfunding campaign, sometimes it’s all about marketing, marketing and marketing. Do you want to spread the word around your campaign? I bet the answer is “yes.” So formulate a S.M.A.R.T. plan and make it as sharp as possible. A S.M.A.R.T. crowdfunding campaign is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. The bottom line is, you want to show potential investors that you’ve thought about everything and know exactly what you want, where you’re going, which obstacles you may have to face, and how you’ll judge operational success down the road.

  4. Keep the crowd updated.

    The crowd has entrusted you with their money, right? Now, it’s time you show them that you care. So, update investors as frequently as possible. Tell them how excited you are about the campaign, progress you’ve made in the last few weeks or months, and things you foresee in the upcoming months. The trick is to update your backers, even if there’s nothing meaningful to report. Why? Well, you want to stay in your investors’ minds as clearly as possible.

  5. Show your gratitude.

    Gratitude is a win-win virtue: the person showing it is happy, while the one receiving it is even more elated. Tell your investors how much you appreciate their monetary involvement in your project. Send “Thank you” notes occasionally, and tell the public that your campaign wouldn’t be possible without their support. Sounds like something basic, but it always feels good to hear words of gratitude.

Crowdfunding is no easy feat, but you can create a successful fundraising campaign if you do your homework in advance, cultivate the right relationships, and apply a few tips. These include defining a clear goal; explaining how funds will be used; keeping investors updated; and embedding snappy material in your campaign.

 

Dr. Emad Rahim is an award winning author, educator, community leader and entrepreneur. He co-founded two startups, a consulting firm and a nonprofit trade association in Upstate NY. He is the appointed Endowed Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Oklahoma State University and serves as a MFP Management Fellow at the University of Chicago. He is also the CLO of Global i365 LLC and previously served as the Business Dean at Colorado Technical University. He lives in Chicago, loves coffee, considers himself to be a foodie and is passionate with this thing called entrepreneurship.

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