Crowdfunding campaigns can take quite different forms depending on the project, the people and even the platform involved. Yet there are also similarities across the board that can be taken into account when planning your music crowdfunding campaign. Indiegogo's "Field Guide for Campaign Owners" is a free download that's useful for planning campaigns no matter what form those differences take.
Indiegogo's Field Guide for Campaign Owners does make plenty of specific references to their platform but even those often relate to features of other crowdfunding platforms. For example, Indiegogo offers the option of either take-whatever-you-can-get or all-or-nothing campaigns, which they call Flexible and Fixed Funding, approaches that often differentiate other platforms.
Field Guide for Campaign Owners: Table of Contents
Before Launching Your Campaign
- Building Your Campaign
- Spreading the Word - Planning and Building Buzz
The First Half of Your Campaign
- Creating Early Momentum
- Spreading the Word
The Second Half of Your Campaign
- Keeping Momentum and Making the Final Push
- Spreading the Word - Time is Running Out!
After Your Campaign Ends
- Managing Campaign Logistics
- Spreading the Word - Take a Bow!
The biggest mistakes you can make are to underestimate the amount of work involved in a crowdfunding campaign, to fail to plan ahead in a thorough manner and to fail to succesfully market the campaign aka spread the word.
You'll notice that every stage described in the above guide includes "Spreading the Word" as a key element. If you cringe at the term "marketing," think of it as spreading the word and get to work. There's no way around it.
In fact, I'm watching a current campaign become an embarassing failure by someone who has what he says is a successful cassette label. However, he also didn't see the value in taking the time away from his afternoons spent hanging out with his friends at a local coffeehouse to talk to me for a Hypebot piece that would have featured his label and his views on the cassette phenomenon.
At the time I framed his refusal in a positive light but I'm not surprised his campaign's failing despite the fact that he's a really smart guy, a solid musician and puts out some great music on his label. If you're that clueless about marketing, getting people to give you money is going to be tough.
So do yourself a favor. Even if you're not planning a campaing anytime soon, download this guide and use it to get a better picture of what goes into a successful campaign. It will make your life easier when that day comes.
More:
- 15 Top Tips For Successful Music Crowdfunding And Fan Funding Campaigns
- Music Crowdfunding News: Kevin Wortis, Radio Crowdfund, Detour London, Protest The Hero
- 2012: The Year Music Crowdfunding Broke
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch & @crowdfundingm) also blogs at All World Dance: Videos and maintains Music Biz Blogs. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
