Avoiding Pitfalls: Traps to Avoid for Your Crowdfunding Campaign

Discover key tips to avoid crowdfunding pitfalls and ensure a successful campaign for your project. Maximize your chances of funding success.

Tom Wu

July 17, 2023

Most accomplished project creators adhere to their own set of rules, which elevates their campaigns to extraordinary levels. Today, we'll share a few of these aspects that can prove immensely useful for crowdfunding beginners. By embracing it, your project stands a good chance of performing remarkably well. While many factors contribute to a thriving campaign, avoiding these traps increases the likelihood of your project finding success too

Too Grandiose Thinking

To succeed, take a sensible approach. Avoid making promises you can't keep, and thoroughly research the actual costs involved. Find a reliable manufacturer and estimate production expenses accurately. Ensure the manufacturer can handle production and meet deadlines, especially if you've committed to delivering before a specific date like Christmas. Analyze shipping costs and identify efficient shipping methods. Focus on what is achievable rather than what you wish to achieve. Under-promising and over-delivering is the way to go, not the other way around.

Expect the Community Building Itself

The Crowdfunding community is vast and accessible. Engage with potential users by presenting your campaign in Facebook groups and gathering feedback while attracting followers to your project. Start promoting your project early on to gain credibility within the community. Stay engaged with potential backers, respond to comments, and listen to their suggestions. Building a strong community around your campaign is crucial.

In addition to organic promotion on social media, consider investing in paid advertisements. Plan a strategic marketing approach or enlist the help of experienced professionals. Calculate the return on investment (ROI) to ensure your marketing campaign remains cost-effective. This advice is primarily applicable during the crowdfunding phase.

Backers would ignore your update

Backers want to be involved in the shared project. Respond to their feedback promptly and consistently provide updates on the campaign's progress. Transparency is essential, so openly discuss any issues, delays, or challenges you face during development. Keeping backers informed and involved will build trust and loyalty within the community.

Not Having Adequate Proof

The first thing you need to do when thinking about how to crowdfund a startup is to make sure you can prove your idea to potential investors. Of course, if someone’s going to put their money behind your idea, they want to see proof that you’re actively working on it. For example, if you’re creating a physical product, you may want to create a prototype that you can show off to potential backers.

Backers would trust anything you said

Backers often rely on reviews to make decisions. Allow influencers to review your campaign when it's ready. Positive reviews will expand your reach and provide valuable insights into your campaign's strengths and weaknesses. Incorporate review videos and quotes on your campaign page to build credibility. If independent reviews are not feasible, create a playthrough video yourself—it's better than not showcasing the campaign at all.

Rushing in Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a lengthy process, and each stage requires time, sometimes even years. So, why rush the launch? Utilize this time to prepare thoroughly by building a community and conducting extensive research. Allow your project to gain traction because launching it too quickly may prevent it from getting lost among other projects. There is no definitive answer to when to launch, but it is generally advisable to have the preview page live for at least a couple of weeks.

These examples touch upon only a few specific aspects, and many more factors should be taken into consideration. However, by harnessing the strength of the community and captivating audiences with engaging visual presentations and effective marketing strategies, you significantly enhance the chances of successfully funding your campaign. Additionally, leveraging our newsletter service, which reaches over 400,000 returning backers, can elevate your campaign's influence to the next level, providing a substantial advantage.