The Basics of Delivering On a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
Crowdfunding an idea is an exhilarating exercise — it’s the moment when things get real, and your idea goes from concept to a very real product.
And while successfully raising money can be incredibly satisfying — it can also be an overwhelming moment, as many campaign creators can attest to. Once you’ve got the money it becomes important to start delivering on your promises. But you can’t start preparing for delivery after you’ve achieved success; you need a plan for delivery before you embark on a campaign.
Let’s take a look at what you should know before you start
- How to create a delivery plan
- Manage the creation of your product
- How to scale your plan if the campaign is more successful than you ever imagined (an excellent, if a bit scary, problem to have).
Pay Attention to Details
Before you get started, take a close look at both your idea and the platform you’ll be using.
Many people forget to look up platform taxes (Kickstarter and Indiegogo, for example, both have a couple of options), or account for local or state sales taxes. You’ll want to make sure you understand how your rewards structure will or won’t be taxed.
These can have a dramatic effect on both the price points for your rewards, as well as things like shipping, and the whens and wheres of production (getting something produced locally can sometimes be cheaper than even outsourcing out of country).
And there’s also the problem of shipping — if you’re building a fairly big item you may need to account for international shipping, or simply decide not to offer physical rewards internationally for the first run of products in a successful campaign.
Make a Plan with Ownership and Due Dates
Having a plan for delivering on a successful campaign is critical — the instant your campaign hits the goal mark, you should shift into delivery mode.
The key here is to figure out who has ownership over which parts of delivery — who will communicate with customers? Who will manage the production? Who will be in charge of shipping?
Clearly defining who is responsible for each area and what the deadlines are will go a long way to keeping your customers and backers happy, and lessen your stress, too.
Be Realistic (and Honest) About What You Can Deliver
Be clear about exactly what you intend to do with the money from the start, and then give updates as you go along. It’s always a good idea to provide a specific breakdown of donation spending. This is particularly important when you’re creating something that is fairly unique, as you’re likely to run into problems that you didn’t anticipate.
If things go off track, be honest with your backers and customers. It’s ok to wait until you have enough details, but if you know you aren’t going to deliver something as originally intended it’s important to be up front.
Which leads to a last, and critical, point…
No Matter What, Keep Communicating
People are forgiving. Remember that they took a chance on a new product or idea, most understand there could be some risk involved and it might not happen exactly as described.
But you also have to keep in mind you are building a community. In fact, for many inventors or product creators it’s the very first community they’ve ever built. And a foundational rule of building a community is to be consistent in your communication. Being proactive about sharing updates and asking for feedback can help you avoid any potential upset customers, and is likely to build advocates for your product for the future.
Of course a lot goes into a successful crowdfunding campaign, but if you get these basics right you’ll have a much easier time of it reaching your goal.
WeGreenlight.com is a platform to help you validate your ideas, get feedback, and launch with early adopters. Join us and let’s help you launch your idea successfully.
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