Presented first in person on March 13th, 2015 at Grand Valley State University's 2nd Annual Entrepreneurial Women's Symposium.
Crowdfunding growth continues doubling year over year and will only keep growing.
Finding customers through "rewards", seeking small equity investments, micro-loans and donations have all be labeled as part of "crowdfunding".
This presentation helps orient entrepreneurs to the best practices and principles they need to understand crowdfunding for "reward" and product campaigns and charitable donations.
Social media and the critical role it plays in crowdfunding is covered. I also cover the importance of your story, video and endorsements, preparation and your transparency to your success with the "crowd".
4. I’ve
worked
in
&
with:
§ Web
design
&
so=ware
integra8on
§ Display
adver8sing
&
tracking
§ Search
&
email
marke8ng
§ Social
media
marke8ng
§ ACribu8on
&
analy8cs
§ Crowdfunding
(2
campaigns
in
development)
My
Background
Kent ISD
5. My
Background
20
years
in
Digital
Marke:ng
&
Opera:ons:
§ Desktop
publisher
§ Founder
of
a
web
design
firm
§ Project
manager
§ Account
manager
§ Internet
Strategist
§ COO
of
Search
Marke8ng
Agency
(acquired)
§ Director
Account
Services
§ Director
of
Digital
Marke8ng
&
Social
Media
Strategy
(for
a
$48
billion
dollar
non-‐profit)
§ Author
&
Co-‐founder
of
Publishing
Company
§ and
now…
7. My
Background
I
fix
broken
digital
businesses
&
improve
successful
ones.
8. What
is
Crowdfunding?
crowd·∙fund·∙ing
/ˈkroudˌfəndiNG/
noun
noun:
crowdfunding;
noun:
crowd-‐funding
the
prac8ce
of
funding
a
project
or
venture
by
raising
many
small
amounts
of
money
from
a
large
number
of
people,
typically
via
the
Internet.
13. Some
Film
with
Actresses
Kickstarter
Page
This
aspiring
writer’s
dreams…
deflated
by
“The
Crowd”.
Words
of
Wisdom
14. Four
Types
of
Crowdfunding
§ Customers
&
“Rewards”
§ Equity
§ Peer
to
Peer
loans
§ Dona8ons
§ Today’s
focus
Reward
&
DonaQon
campaigns
15. Types
of
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding
Customers
§ You
get
the
money
raised
if
you
reach
your
goal…
§ Customers
pre-‐pay
for
your
product
before
it
comes
to
market
§ Companies
using
it
for
launching,
marke8ng,
tes8ng
product
feasibility,
and
more
§ Funding
windows
typically
from
7
to
45
days
§ Inherent
risk
you
won’t
deliver
16. Types
of
Crowdfunding
Crowd-‐Funding
Equity
§ Michigan
one
of
the
first
states
w/The
MILE
Act
— Michigan
Invests
Locally
Exemp8on
— Sweet
spot
is
small,
local
businesses
§ Can
raise
up
to
$11k
annually
from
investors
with
less
than
$1.5
million
in
assets
§ Funds
must
stay
in
Michigan
and
create
jobs
here
§ Plajorms
are
available
to
help
with
investor
screening,
inves8ng,
etc.
(RECOMMENDED)
§ Contact
me
if
you
need
more
info,
I
can
help
connect
you
to
the
right
resources
17. Types
of
Crowdfunding
§ Peer
to
Peer
Loans
— GoFundMe
–
personal
funding
campaigns
— Kiva
-‐
microinvestment
§ DonaQons
— Online
giving
for
non-‐profits
§ American
Heart
Associa8on
Jump-‐a-‐thon
§ Girl
Scout
Cookie’s
§ ALS
Ice
Bucket
Challenge
18. Stories
Sell
the
Crowd
§ Focus
&
refine
your
story
— Some
campaigns
have
been
in
development
for
a
year
or
longer
— Seek
feedback
&
demonstrate
you’ve
listened
— Study
similar
campaigns
with
vigor
§ Your
ask
should
inspire
&
be
realisQc
§ A
compelling
video
is
REQUIRED
— Hit
highpoints
by
30
seconds
— 3
to
5
minutes
is
ideal
— Show
your
personality
and
BE
HONEST!
— Experts
and
outsiders
sharing
opinions
help
validate
for
the
crowd
20. AcQvate
Your
Network
for
Success
§ Preview
with
them
–
work
the
circle
out
by
8me
— micro,
small,
large,
larger,
etc.
§ Take
their
feedback
§ Can
you
get
an
expert
endorsement?
§ Give
your
audience
something
worth
sharing.
— What
does
it
say
about
them?
§ Prepare
a
markeQng
blitz
— PR,
shareable
bits,
news
&
influencers
§ Ask
them
to
support
&
spread
at
launch
§ Keep
them
enthused
&
communicate
o=en
— Weekly
updates
at
minimum
during
campaign
— Collect
email
addresses
separately
21. Gebng
Coverage
§ Research
the
plajorms
you’re
considering
§ Who
covered
previous
campaigns?
— Blogs
§ Iden8fy
the
influencers
— Who
do
you
read?
— Who
do
your
poten8al
customers
trust?
— Forums
§ Can
be
most
acQve
community
§ Be
an
ambassador
and
observer
pre-‐funding
ask
— Google
Image
Search
— Events
— Trade
Magazines
§ Make
the
pitch
personal
23. When
it
works…
Flow
Beehive
for
Honey
Collec8on
§ Funded
$70k
Goal
in
8
minutes
§ End
of
day
one
$3.2
million
§ Currently
just
under
$5.9
million
§ Days
remaining
24
25. Transparency
Rules
§ Honesty
is
everything
with
the
Crowd
§ Detail
the
Risks
&
Challenges
— Challenges
post-‐funding
are
real
and
happen
everyday
§ Everything
said
lives
on
§ Conversa8ons
will
spread
§ Be
prepared
to
engage
26. Timing
§ Layout
project
8ming
as
far
out
as
you
can
§ Include
con8ngency
8me
up
front
§ If
things
change,
share
it
immediately
§ Prepare
for
fulfillment
27. Rewards
&
Perks
§ Tiers
of
support
— Giving
“Thank
you’s”
for
limited
support
— Custom
gi=s
for
high-‐end
backers
— Offer
as
many
8ers
that
make
sense
for
you
— Think
of
NPR
style
contribu8on
levels
28. Support
Levels
§ Almost
all
have
a
$1
–
10
“Thank
You”
pledge
§ Accelerated
Delivery
or
Early
Bird
Pricing
— First
backers
pay
less
(limited
number)
— First
backers
get
first
deliveries
§ Combo’s
or
Mul8ples
§ Behind
the
scenes
tours
30. Web
&
Email
§ Have
a
presence
before
you
start
— Look
professional
and
be
ready
to
update
§ Build
an
email
list
as
soon
as
possible
— Work
with
a
provider
like
MailChimp
or
Constant
Contact
— Update
when
needed,
you
must
engage
31. Social
Networks
§ Facebook
is
a
must
at
minimum
§ See
the
Tim
Ferriss
blog
post
at
the
end
on
how
to
value
your
network
§ YouTube
&
Video
updates
§ Specialized
networks
like
Instagram,
Vine
or
others
depending
on
the
product
§ Give
your
crowd
something
worth
sharing
§ Make
sharing
easy
32. Updates
&
Engagement
§ Let
the
crowd
know
things
as
you
do
§ Ask
the
crowd
to
spread
your
word
§ Behind
the
scenes
material
can
go
a
long
way
§ When
you
update,
update
everywhere
§ Send
reminders
§ If
you
add
new
goals,
support
levels,
rewards,
etc.
do
another
round
of
marke8ng
to
blogs,
forums
and
any
other
trade
related
sources
33. Project
I
backed
that
funded
Day
One
The
Melty
Misfits
“Garbage
Pail
Kid”
Parody
Cards
35. Giving
Goes
Social
§ ALS
Ice
Bucket
Challenge
— Over
$115
Million
raised
to
date
— Tripled
their
research
budget
— Hard
to
replicate
(right
as
FB
video
launched)
— Drew
cri8cism
for
how
it
skewed
“giving”
§ Social
is
the
layer
to
amplify
any
org’s
message
§ There
has
to
be
something
in
it
for
people
to
share
— What
does
it
say
about
them
or
their
POV?
— How
does
your
story
fit
theirs?
36. Not
Funded,
Keep
Working!
§ Keep
your
audience
engaged
§ Use
your
email
list
to
solicit
feedback
— What
could
have
been
beCer?
— What
are
they
looking
for?
§ Dust
off
and
come
back,
improvement
and
persistence
will
pay
off
§ The
3rd
8me’s
a
charm…
38. Funded,
Now
What?
§ Prepare
for
the
bumps,
there
will
be
a
few
§ Keep
the
crowd
informed
as
milestones
met
§ Solicit
feedback
from
backers
§ Deliver
an
excep8onal
product
or
service
§ Ask
for
honest
reviews,
never
a
good
review
§ You
have
a
track
record
now,
what’s
next?
41. 10
Tips
for
Crowdfunding
Success
1. Your
story
is
cri8cal
2. Seek
feedback
early
3. Collect
email
addresses
4. Put
thought
and
value
into
your
Rewards/Perks
5. Transparency
rules
6. Be
prepared
&
realis8c,
do
your
homework
7. Your
video
can
make
or
break
you
8. AcQvate
your
network
9. Have
marke8ng
&
PR
ready
to
go
10. Communicate
regularly
&
keep
audience
engaged
45. AddiQonal
Resources
§ Crowdfunding.com
(provided
by
GoFundMe)
Top
10
Plajorm
by
traffic,
Alexa
rank
&
funds
§ Tim
Ferriss’
Blog
Post
(including
templates)
Raising
100k
in
10
days
§ MILE
Act
overview
Downloadable
PDF
§ Top
10
Crowdfunding
Sites
Good
background,
overview
&
fee
info
46. Q
&
A
QuesQons
today?
This
deck
will
be
posted
online
at:
hCp://www.slideshare.net/keithboswell
QuesQons
later?
§ Web:
hCp://percep8nt.com
§ My
eBooks:
hCp://www.master-‐succeed.com
§ Email:
keith@percep8nt.com
§ Follow
me
on
TwiCer:
@keithboswell
Notas del editor
How many of you have backed a crowdfunding campaign?
How many of you are thinking about doing a crowdfunding campaign
Expect to see a book on crowdfunding in the next 3 to 4 months – want to write from personal experience and case studies along with what I’ll show you today.
Large is relative to the size of your business
Could this be your business? Do you just need $5k to jump start a dream? It’s still going to take some hard work – so let’s talk about what it will take.
Many layers under each
Focus for today - crowdfunding customers & donations
Contact me afterwards if you’re looking for more info on crowdfunding equity or loans