How To Sell Anything With Crowdfunding

Republished By Plato

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Learn our tips and tricks for offering your supporters unique rewards.

Rewards are everything when it comes to crowdfunding campaigns!

Preselling rewards is a great way to secure funds, test the waters by introducing a new product or project, whilst also giving back to your community. Not only are they a way to thank your supporters for their valuable contribution, but they are also a key way to make people feel more involved in your project.

So we’ve put together some tips and rounded up some of the great rewards we’ve seen on Pozible over the years for inspiration!

How many rewards should I have?

First up, let’s talk about finding the perfect balance. Too many rewards- people will feel overwhelmed. Too little and people will feel lost as to why they should support your campaign. You know when you go to a cafe and there’s too much on the menu and you can’t decide whether you want the pizza, the curry or the cake — well it’s similar with rewards too. Keep it to 5–8 rewards on your campaign to keep it simple for you and your supporters.

$50, $25, and $100 are the most popular amounts people pledge on Pozible and in that order, so make sure you include these values. When setting your $50 reward make sure it appeals to the widest demographic.

Another point to consider is keeping a theme when showcasing your rewards, as this will further help your supporters understand what the project is all about. This can be displayed in the aesthetic components, as well as the subject matter. You will also need to provide some form of reward to your supporters, which may seem fairly self-explanatory. But thinking of what rewards to offer can be a daunting task, not to mention fulfilling them all once you’ve completed your successful campaign.

Also factor in logistics such as postage and time spent creating rewards when thinking about what prices you want to offer them for.

‘Priceless and Worthless’

It’s important to think outside the box and minimise costs where possible by offering what we call ‘priceless and worthless’ rewards.

What we mean by priceless and worthless rewards are that, while they don’t cost you much, they make supporters feel extra special.

Keep in mind that the more creative your rewards, the more people will want to share them with their friends — so think strategically and plan how you might get further reach.

So what are the types of rewards you can offer?

There are different types of rewards you can offer on Pozible and you should offer a selection of each. The three main types of rewards we see are Recognition, Experience, Tangible/ Physical.

Types of rewards

So what the heck are they, I hear you ask? Well let’s give a few examples:

Recognition

Recognition sounds pretty self-explanatory, right? Well yes. This is where you can use your networking and social media skills for the greater good! By providing:

Social media shout-out (tagging supporters on Instagram stories, recognition in a video update, or access to a private group chat).
Public recognition via your website or regular email newsletter or physical plaque on the wall at your establishment.
Credit in the final published work (executive producer credit, thanks in the foreword of your newly-published book!).

Giving a Voice to Menopause

This can be witnessed in the Giving a Voice to Menopause campaign. As the She Listens Collective set rewards that featured website and social media shoutouts for their loyal followers. By doing this, this campaign managed to gain over 131 supporters, with 68 pledges made from these two rewards alone to raise funds for their latest film and project launch.

Repost of the Female Voices Rock Film Festival- via @givingvoicetomenopause Instagram page

Dawn

Another example is Donna McRae who used thank you and end-credit based rewards in her film ‘Dawn’ to secure the campaign’s target goals! By creating community-inclusive rewards she was able to reach an impressive $26,016 from 133 pledgers, whilst also giving recognition to her loyal supporters.

Experience

online masterclass or community event (music lessons via zoom, dinner with a special guest, or an invitation to a supporters-only Livestream party)
a ticket or voucher for a physical event or service (once restrictions ease, of course) such as a tour of your studio, a private concert or the chance to be an extra in your film!)
Experience-based rewards are great for supporters who want to get more involved in the project. It’s also a great way to gather a community of like-minded people together by offering rewards including tickets to events, workshops, tours, dinners, parties and picnics for example.
In the past, we’ve even seen people offer volunteering as an experience-based reward — which, technically is the supporter giving their time. It’s about bringing people together and offering them access to something unique and special that they can’t experience elsewhere.

Jeff Martin

Jeff Martin’s — ‘The Seven Sin’ is a stellar example of great campaign rewards in so many ways. His consistency and uniquely aesthetic-dominant approach, matched with once in a lifetime reward opportunities proved to gain the attraction of over 263 supporters. Raising a massive $58,070! Including many sold-out rewards!

⁠‏‏‏‎ ‎‎

The Bellarine School of Art

The Bellarine School of Art is another campaign that highlights the successes of providing experience-based rewards. Employing a tiered based rewards structure for a variety of virtual and in-person art workshops-created interest and excitement for their 22 supporters to pledge $8,670. In addition to this, the Bellarine School of Art also provided one-off, launch party experiences– such as a Gala Dinner reward which was highly sorted after.

Tangible/ Physical

⁠‏‏‏This is the most obvious type of reward to offer. Tangible rewards are essentially anything you can hold. Creators can pre-sell their yet-to-be-made products to supporters, artists can offer their artworks and musicians their albums.

This is where you can show off your brand-new product! (bottle of gin, your hardcover book, a pressing of your beautiful new vinyl album, or a print/artwork from your collection).
Something you can hand-make, on-demand for supporters once the campaign finishes (handmade artwork, jewellery, baked goods, t-shirts or even an original song dedicated to a special supporter).
A reward from a campaign sponsor (if you don’t have products to offer yourself, see if you can get any aligned businesses or creative friends to offer some of their unique gifts!).

For not-for-profits and those with no budget, it’s important to see what resources and networks you have on hand for tangible rewards. Do you have a friend that is a photographer and could offer prints? Does your neighbour make delicious cupcakes you could offer? Perhaps a like-minded company will sponsor your campaign with rewards? Tangible rewards don’t have to be directly connected to the campaign idea, and it’s great to bring someone on board who can help you build your project.

These types of campaign rewards are best suited to musicians, artists, filmmakers, publishers, authors, distillers, breweries, venues, small businesses, clothing labels, photographers, designers, entrepreneurs or anyone with a creative idea!

Gomi Boys Ramen

https://medium.com/media/3dcb188e361d4c076b593898873e51ba/href

Ben Reardon and Ryan Maher’s campaign Gomi Ramen Shop knocked it right out of the ball-park when it came to their selection of physical rewards. Their rewards perfectly reflected their theme of modern Melbourne meets- a Japanese, inspired Ramen bar. By working collaboratively with local artist Brendan Coghlan they offered a multitude of merch-combo packs, including stickers, pins, t-shirts, and hand-made chopsticks. As a result, they obtained an impressive $15,710, from 136 supporters.

Wuggs — the eco-friendly boot

https://medium.com/media/0bdb23d8a64a765019fd086a0c5bc54b/href

The creators of Wuggs, John and Katrina Kelly and Sally Bruen, took ‘unique’ rewards to another level! Their selection of physical rewards are some of the most favourably niche we’ve ever seen in crowdfunding history. Due to this, they were able to succeed beyond their target goal of $51,443. These rewards included a Wallaby fur stubby holder, socks, rugs and Ugg boots. A true example of — “creativity goes a long way”!

There are a whole range of rewards you can offer as part of your campaign, so get brainstorming now or check out our Success Stories for more inspiration!

Want to discuss your reward ideas? Book in a chat with one of our team today.

How To Sell Anything with Crowdfunding was originally published in The Pozible Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Time Stamp: February 14, 2022