How to explain your crowdfunding campaign to first-time supporters.
Originally published by Pozible Team Mar 19, 2019 — Updated March 2021
Welcome to the Pozible Blog for any new followers and thanks to all our Pozible community for being here supporting each other!
While most of you here are well-versed in the crowdfunding world, having run successful campaigns and supported plenty of amazing things, there are a lot of first-time supporters that might need a bit of a crash course.
If you’re looking to start a crowdfunding campaign, it’s important that you know how to explain what crowdfunding is to your supporters so they feel as comfortable as possible when making a pledge.
“A pledge is a commitment from a supporter to pay a specific amount in return for a reward if the campaign reaches a pre-determined target within their timeframe.”
We think you should be able to clearly explain crowdfunding and outline how a campaign (and in particular, your campaign!) will work, including setting your supporters expectations right from the very beginning.
This is where we come in! I mean, if anyone can break down crowdfunding it should be us, right? Check out our tips and tricks below 👇
It may feel like complete overkill but breaking crowdfunding down to its bare bones can be super helpful. A good place to start is the simple definition of crowdfunding:
“Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people who each contribute a relatively small amount, via a platform that facilitates the payments.”
From here, the next step would be to outline the type of crowdfunding you’re doing. There are four main types of crowdfunding:
1. Reward
2. Debt
3. Charity
4. Equity
We’ve broken these down a little in this fun infographic:
Another important thing to clarify is the funding type i.e. flexible vs all-or-nothing.
Flexible Funding means that whilst you still set a target, you get to keep all funds raised even if this target is not met. This funding type is most used on charity-based platforms where any amount of fundraising helps.
All-or-Nothing refers to campaigns that have to reach their set target in order to receive any funds. This funding type is common on reward and equity-based platforms like Pozible & Birchal.
Extra tip*
If your campaign is all-or-nothing, make sure to stress this when explaining crowdfunding and regularly in your marketing activities. This helps to light a fire under any stragglers that are putting off making a contribution.
This tends to be where some supporters can get a tad confused.
How does someone give money? What if a supporter doesn’t want a reward in return? When are supporter’s funds taken out? These are all really common questions from supporters that will most likely get thrown your way so it’s important that you, as a creator, understand the process of the platform you are using.
The pledging process on Pozible goes a little something like this:
- Supporter is linked to the individual campaign page
- Supporter chooses the reward they would like
- Supporter creates a Pozible account or checks out as a guest
- Supporter enters details including payment, shipping & any other custom info the creator
needs - Pre-authorisation is made and funds are only captured once the campaign’s minimum target is hit
- Campaign ends, rewards are delivered in the timeframe the creator specified at the beginning
- Joy follows. Smiles all around.
The pre-authorisation step is why we use the term ‘pledge’ rather than donate. Since creators must hit their target within their timeframe to receive their funds so when someone pledges, they’re pledging that they are happy for X amount to be captured once the campaign’s target has been met.
If a campaign doesn’t hit its target, no funds are taken which means there are no unnecessary refunds to be made! This means that those giving the ‘I’ll wait till payday’ run around don’t really have anything to hide behind if the campaign has yet to be successful.
In the current digital landscape of ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ services like AfterPay or Zip, there is a lot of understanding from most online shoppers about how services like this operate. As a crowdfunding creator, you can communicate this to your supporters in a creative and unique way.
There are a number of crowdfunding platforms out there, all with their own idiosyncrasies. Below is a little blurb we recommend for creators who are using Pozible as their platform:
Pozible is an Australian crowdfunding platform, providing a space for creators to present their ideas, raise funds and connect with their community, as a way to grow and fulfil projects. We are a rewards-based platform, which means creators offer different types of rewards in return for monetary pledges from supporters.
This helps to legitimise the platform and provide some credibility for the campaign, by showing that it is backed by a crowdfunding platform with plenty of experience in running similar campaigns.
It’s also a good idea to refer back to some resources or help guides the platform has created to give your supporters the tools to further educate themselves about any other aspects of crowdfunding.
Before you start your campaign, it’s definitely a good idea to make contact with someone from the crowdfunding platform that will be able to provide you with any additional support you may need.
This will come in handy if there are any questions you think of in the middle of the night or you need a hand with your campaign — having the ability to contact them directly is really helpful and can prevent incorrect information from being given.
Plus, it’s always nice to build your network, receive any expert feedback or advice and have someone to refer back to for future campaigns.
Feel free to hit up our head honcho of campaigns at any time — he’s always happy to be your crowdfunding contact!
Email at ned@pozible.com
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