People are often happy to donate to charity, but are more reluctant to give money to those who are not in dire need or in poverty. Therefore, in order to be successful when crowdfunding here are some tips to help you on your way.
1.Have a good story
If you want to get people on board, you need to have a great story that will motivate people and encourage them to give to your project. A great story showing how your business will work, how it could benefit others and how much profit you could make from it will inspire others to be generous with regards to your business.
2.Have a good personality
Your personality isn’t something that you can completely change, but it will help if you have a winning personality. Everybody warms to someone with a friendly and ambitious personality, so if you’re going to be promoting yourself and making videos to send to potential benefactors, you should make sure that you appear to be a good business person who is worthy of having money invested in their ideas.
3.Be clear
You should be clear about what the money is needed for and how it will be used. People like to know where their money will be going if they do decide to be generous and give to your business. It’s worth drawing up a simple plan or a bar chart so people can actually see what you need to spend the money on. You should also answer questions very clearly if people ask you, since you don’t want to sound like you just want money for the sake of it.
4.Promote it
Like anything, nobody will help to fund your business if they don’t know about it, and in order for them to know about it, you have to promote it effectively and in as many different places as possible. Get your friends to help you as well, since the more people who know about it, the more people will fund your project. You can use Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites to help promote the business, and don’t forget to create profiles on site such as LinkedIn, Instagram and Google Plus.
5.Keep up the hard work!
Whatever happens, don’t let your enthusiasm slack, or people will give up hope and start to feel like you’re not very hopeful and ambitious about your business plans. Keep going and communicate and engage with those who are funding your business. You could send personal letters or emails to all those who do give generously, and keep them updated about the project. Give them the option to receive a monthly newsletter from you, and you could promise them a special mention somewhere in the business magazine or newsletter if they have donated above a certain amount.