Last Updated on December 8, 2017 by Tim
Crowdfunding has dramatically risen in popularity over the last few years. And there’s really no secret as to why! The internet makes it easy for startups, artists, and small business owners to reach like-minded individuals, creating a larger pool of potential clients who would have a vested interest in the sort of product they offer.
There are several incredibly popular websites which allow companies to crowdfund. Kickstarter, GoFundMe, Fundable, and IndieGoGo are all among the most popular options. But almost all of these take a small cut of how much you crowdfund, meaning that you have to promote your campaign just that much harder in order to make your funding goals. These might include flat fees, or fees of anywhere from 5 to 15 percent. If you’re like many others, you might be wondering… why not just start a crowdfunding campaign on my own website?
The good news is, you can!
Building a Crowdfunding Campaign On Your Website
If you don’t have a website for your company or product yet, consider picking a platform which can easily add a crowdfunding plugin! Hard-coding a crowdfunding aggregator can be quite difficult, and using a framework or website builder can save a lot of valuable time, while also offering secure checkout options for your donations! You can use the best 10 Website Builder comparison website to see which cheap or free website builders offer crowdfunding options, or research the dozens of WordPress plugins which help websites run crowdfunding campaigns.
Whether your website is built on a top website builder, a WordPress framework, or even hard-coded, it should be relatively simple to integrate a crowdfunding page. But before slapping a crowdfunding tool on your website, there are some basics that you need to consider.
Setting Your Crowdfunding Goals & Payment Options
How much money are you wanting to raise with your crowdfunding goals? Five hundred dollars? Five thousand? Zero in on the dollar amount which you need to accomplish your goals. The lower this number is, the more likely it will be successfully funded.
Often having ‘quick-donate’ amounts suggested can make it easier for visitors to donate. On your campaign page, consider having 3 to 5 different quick payment amounts suggested, in round numbers. You could break this down into $10, $50, $100, $150, and $200 segments, with an option for visitors to plug in a custom amount.
Assessing Your Current Traffic
How much traffic do you get to your website currently? Often, crowdfunding campaigns need to reach hundreds or thousands of potential investors to make their minimum desired benchmark. If your website does not already see this amount of traffic, then you have a potential problem on your hands!
The general rule of thumb is that 10% or less of your campaign’s traffic will actually donate. So If you need to raise $5,000, and your minimum payment is $10, presume that you need 500 visitors to donate $10 each. But since only 10% of visitors are likely to donate, you need to get at least 5,000 visitors to your campaign’s page.
There are many options for getting traffic to your crowdfunding campaign’s page! You can use PPC options on google and social media websites, or take out ads on websites or magazines which would be seen by potential clients. You can also invest in SEO for your website, and engage in viral social-sharing campaigns. Promoting your campaign is often the hardest part of crowdfunding!
Assess Demand for Your Product
But before you go live with your crowdfunding campaign, you might want to assess demand for the product or service you’re trying to crowdfund for. Is it really something people will want to invest in? Where possible, beta-test the interest of potential clients by using forms and surveys. Gauge how likely strangers might be to invest in your campaign, and how much they’d be willing to donate.
And be willing to listen to the data. If your research indicates that your product might not be viable, consider re-evaluating your process and idea. It might be that it just needs a few tweaks to be successful and more appealing!
