5 Ways to Learn the Nuts and Bolts of #Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a $60 billion worldwide industry that continues to disrupt the traditional world of corporate finance, as well as change the way products go to market. Companies new and old, small and large, are now incorporating both rewards crowdfunding and equity crowdfunding. The capital raising playbooks have changed. The interest in how to use crowdfunding effectively is reaching new heights every day.

It’s no surprise that a lot of good information is already out there about how crowdfunding works. Unfortunately, though, a lot of bad information is also rampant on the internet. In my crowdfunding law practice, I field questions every day as someone who “quarterbacks” equity crowdfunding campaigns for companies raising millions of dollars of new capital.

These questions make it clear that most people still do not truly understand how crowdfunding works, or what it takes to raise capital successfully using these amazing tools. Clearly, more education is desperately needed.

My latest Entrepreneur article on the topic is linked here. But for excerpts and a quick guide, check out these 5 tips:

1. Look at successful crowdfunding campaigns.

Take the time to study and see how a successful crowdfunding campaign worked. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Looks at crowdfunding home runs like Pebble Time and Coolest Cooler that both raised millions of dollars with rewards crowdfunding campaigns.

2. Look at unsuccessful crowdfunding campaigns and see what went wrong.

Crowdfunding platforms are filled with failures you can learn from. Did they make a bad video? Did they not explain their campaign well? Did they have bad rewards or perks? Look up these companies online and on their social media and see what they did to market their campaign. In most cases, you will see that they did not market at all, the biggest mistake a crowdfunding campaign can make.

3. Learn from marketing experts.

Crowdfunding is all about marketing. Getting the word out, driving traffic and messaging correctly are the keys to every successful crowdfunding campaign. If you know how to market your business or your product, you know how to drive traffic to a crowdfunding campaign. If you are a marketing novice, read books by marketing gurus and watch their online videos. A crowdfunding campaign with poor marketing will be a failed crowdfunding campaign.

4. Attend a crowdfunding conference.

To do a deep dive and learn about both rewards and equity crowdfunding, one of the best methods is to attend a crowdfunding conference. One such event is The Global Crowdfunding Convention in Las Vegas run by Ruth Hedges, who Forbes just called “The Queen of Crowdfunding.” Ruth puts on a multi-day event that covers all aspects of the crowdfunding world. To illustrate how far crowdfunding has come in a short time, this year’s Global Crowdfunding Convention, held at Planet Hollywood on October 23–24, 2017, is sponsored by Microsoft.

5. Learn how to make a compelling video.

A great crowdfunding video enhances your chances of success. A terrible video practically guarantees failure. In addition to watching videos from successful campaigns and seeing what they did right, learn a little about video production yourself. Things like basic lighting and decent audio — that make a huge difference in what your crowdfunding video will ultimately look and sound like.

To read more on the topic, check out my latest Entrepreneur.com article: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/296366#