Starting A Crowdfunding After COVID-19 For Your Business, How?

It’s safe to say that crowdfunding can be an extremely challenging endeavour, even when conditions are at their best. According to researchers in this particular field, only around 23% of all crowdfunding projects managed to achieve their objectives from 2014 to the present day. When combined with the ruthless social and economic realities brought forth by COVID-19, it will become clear to you that the headwinds faced by businesses of today while attempting to raise funds now are enough to capsize their venture vessel. Then again, it doesn’t mean crowdfunding has become an impossible undertaking. You only need to explore the list of projects of any well-renowned crowdfunding site, and you’ll see how numerous campaigns achieved success during the recent months, regardless of the unfavourable circumstances. It will be difficult, but not unachievable, provided you know what you must do. In that regard, this write-up will come in handy. Here you’ll find a few guidelines that you must follow to increase your chances of meeting your goals.

1. Keep it local:

 Staying within a limited geographical area for crowdfunding is now more important than ever. Of course, for this strategy to work, you need a locally-operating business that’s struggling to keep up with the pandemic-ridden situation. Through your crowdfunding campaign, you have to highlight that struggle. Acquire testimonials from individuals in your locality who will suffer the consequences if you have to wrap up your business. Above everything else, you must focus only on your region. Now is the time for communities to come together and support any business that can help those communities survive and thrive.

2. Backers need to know:

The COVID-19 pandemic took out numerous meticulously-conceived plans and turned them into scrap. If you’re one of those business owners that had to put up with virus-related issues, you mustn’t hide the challenges you’re dealing with. Inform people about your timeline for completion on every aspect of every project you undertook recently. You should also try to convince your backers that they will get the rewards you have to offer as soon as you get back up on your feet. Don’t forget that the pandemic is a global disaster. Naturally, you can expect your backers to experience the same perils. They will be much more forgiving and understanding if you inform them about your condition upfront and honestly. Additionally, if you communicate with backers on social media publicly, it will inform the general public that you’re doing everything you can within your power while maintaining transparency.

3. Try equity crowdfunding:

Not every project is suitable for equity crowdfunding. After all, investors want to see the potential for an unprecedented expansion in the future. However, if you’re willing and ready to handle the complications associated with the equity crowdfunding strategy, you should try it. Now, you may argue that this suggestion isn’t worthwhile in a pandemic-induced economic crisis. You aren’t the only one, though. However, if you take a look at the largest and most renowned portal of equity crowdfunding, you’ll find that it experienced a massive increase in investor volume, which culminates in a new investment record of $2 million per day. Nobody knows the reason behind this sudden love for equity crowdfunding among commoners, but it does elucidate the fact that most investors want to spend on equity crowdfunding ventures, even during times like these.
 

4. Release success videos:

Videos can affect potential backers positively, and everyone knows how visuals work better than every other mode of communication. You should make a pitch video and show it to your backers, but you must also keep in mind that this video will serve as the campaign’s banner. So, don’t hesitate to invest as much as possible into the production of this video. Consider it as an investment in the future successes of your business. When you tout your project’s potential, you shouldn’t forget to mention the rewards you will offering to your backers. Videos are exceptionally useful in keeping everyone within the loop. In reality, you must try to post videos regularly to keep your followers informed about your progress throughout the campaign.

5. Platform selection:

During your search for crowdfunding platforms, you’ll find more than enough. However, you should never make the mistake of believing that every platform is alike. You must research thoroughly and choose a platform that allows you to choose and run the kind of campaign you prefer. For instance, Indiegogo lets you work on a campaign with which you get to keep whatever you raise. Even if your campaign ends without you reaching your funding goal, you will be able to retain what you gather. Kickstarter, on the other hand, is perfect for tech projects. It’s one of the only platforms that pre-screen campaigns before allowing them to raise funds. Understandably, you must have a backup choice up your sleeve. Finally, if your project needs you to raise money on an ongoing basis, you need a platform where your backers purchase memberships to gain access to unique content.

6. Find your match:

There have to be other crowdfunding projects going on out there that match your campaign’s credentials. Besides, you’ll also find archives on older campaigns on crowdfunding websites. These things will show you how effective your campaign can be, and you can probably guess that it’s a handy resource for everyone aspiring to attract crowdfunding investors. By researching old projects, you can differentiate between everything that works and everything that doesn’t. In the end, it will allow you to tailor your campaign specifically so that you get a taste of success.

One last tip

Here’s one last tip for you – try to secure your backers’ commitments before you launch anything. Speak to your investors and try to convince them that your project will fly if it gets the wings it needs. Garnering support as early as possible is the key to lending campaign credibility. Potential backers usually avoid being the very first to uplift a campaign, especially if they don’t know the business owner personally. With all these strategies, you can tailor your crowdfunding campaign to handle the circumstances introduced to the world by COVID-19. It’s also worth mentioning here that these strategies will work during a pandemic-ridden situation, as well as after it.