What does it take to create a great crowdfunding campaign?

A successful crowdfunding project can help you get the capital you need to produce your product. Crowdfunding campaigns are spectacular, but the most important thing is how things work over the long term. If you run a successful crowdfunding campaign, you can demonstrate market demand, connect with active supporters, and earn the money to start a real business. Think of it as a wedding. Don't overtake your eyes when building a business that lasts.

The platform that you choose matters. Choose a platform, create an email list, pool your video and creative resources, and pre-select committed donors. Take the time to really research which crowdfunding platforms (Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Crowdrise, etc.) are the best for your project. Each platform, no matter how large their backer list is, has its own specific niche(s) that is mostly used for. For example, GoFundMe is probably the best place to go to for supporting a humanitarian cause, while Crowdfunder would be most suited for equity campaigns in the health industry. Failing to understand the specifications of the platform you choose and going just with the most popular one will simply expose your own project to the wrong audience who, in return, will show a low interest to your project.

Interact and seek advice. Go ahead and talk to the teams who have run similar campaigns as yours, interact with the people who are running crowdfunding campaigns on these platforms. This will help to learn first hand what works, what doesn't, what mistakes to avoid, what best practices to adopt for yourself.

Tell your story honestly and engage your followers. Supporters of crowdfunding campaigns tend to be fanatical communities that love what crowdfunding platforms have enabled. If a company is crowdfunding, it needs to be careful about how it presents itself. Telling your story in a convincing way that shows what has led you to your product or idea and why it must exist in the world is a proven and true practice that is common to all.

It is crucial to build momentum in the first 24 hours of a crowdfunding campaign to achieve your funding goal. Platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo will often highlight projects that achieve their goals within a day or two. It is what they promote as "projects we love" and those get the most of attention from the untapped list of backers that you couldn't reach out to otherwise. Most of the successful projects have a rate of success split between their own followers (gathered during the pre-campaign period) and new backers gained during the campaign duration. While your own followers will help you achieve your goal in the first 24hrs, it is the new backers found on the platform you selected that will truly boost your campaign success. Trying to stand out from the other campaigns competing for people's attention and dollars can be intimidating, but a start-up can shine with the right crowdfunding strategy.

Be active: When you start a campaign, spread the word to your family and friends. A few extra weeks to develop a plan and build excitement for your campaign can help you reach your crowdfunding goal. Use a short video to explain your product always helps.

A key component of many successful campaigns is the use of professionally made videos. Professionally made videos are often used as a standard way to introduce your business or project to the world. If you market your video through different online channels, videos are a great way for you to direct people to your Kickstarter page. They will be the first thing people see when they land on your Kickstarter page, and they will also be one of the most important aspects of your campaign.

Do not underestimate how your campaign page looks and feels. A professionally written copy of your campaign makes the difference between a successful and an easy to ignore the campaign. It is still an investment pitch that you are putting in front of the world, no matter how large or small your project really is.

Know your numbers would be my last key point. How much do you really need to be able to start producing your idea should determine your funding goal, and not how much would you ideally like to gather? What is the cost of production, shipping, transportation? What can go wrong and how will you cover for that? More importantly, can you cover all the costs involved if your project gets MORE successful than you planned for?

A famous unfortunate example of a wildly successful campaign that went horribly wrong, is one of a man who lost his house and all his savings because his Kickstarter project was... TOO SUCCESSFUL. Why? Simply because he didn't know his numbers upfront. So, knowing your numbers for both worse case AND best-case scenarios can really make a difference for your campaign.