Cracking The Crowdfunding Game — How We Got Funded In Under A Week With Zero Press

There has never been an easier time to raise money for your idea than today. Crowdfunding has changed the fundraising game, but like other sources of capital there are several guiding principles that can increase your chances of success.

On March 1st, we launched a month-long crowdfunding campaign to fund the costs of manufacturing our third product in a suite of mental health products and services. In under a week we’d reached our target without the help of any press.

We often hear about the overnight success stories on crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo after being picked up by a viral media organization.

The truth is, 99% of us who choose to crowdfund our idea won’t get the luxury of press, however brilliant our idea is.

There are thousands of published articles about how to succeed in the crowdfunding arena, but the majority spend most of their time trying to explain the elusive art of ‘going viral.’

While you don’t need press to succeed, by following the steps below you can increase your chances of getting funded while also making it more likely your idea will pick up press anyway.

The most important part of any campaign is the idea itself. To test it, try pitching to people both inside and outside your circles to gauge their reaction. If people respond positively to it then it’s a good sign your idea is worth crowdfunding.

Here are the 3 steps we took that got us funded without press in under a week:

1. Close Circles are Everything

This rule cannot be stressed enough. Instead of wasting time amending that generic press email you’re sending out to hundreds of journalists, spend that time reaching out personally to everyone in your network.

And I mean everyone. Begin with your closest circles: immediate family members and close friends, then distant family members. It’s important to show them how passionate you are about your idea, since they will most likely be your biggest champions when you launch.

Next, reach out to individual friends. Unlike that template email you were going to mass-send, write a personalized note.

Pro Tip: Try not to make it sound like your idea is the only reason you’re reaching out to them. Friends are far more likely to respond to your idea if you ask about them first.

Your best bet is to first reach out to everyone at least several weeks before you launch, then again on Day 1 when you can include the link to your campaign. Following up should become a habit, especially with those who don’t respond the first time. Salesforce, or customer relationship management (CRM), is your friend here.

Building a community around your idea is crucial. 50% of our initial backers came from our mailing list. By starting a mailing list with your close circles and then expanding outwards, you’re creating your own dedicated community.

Don’t get me wrong — building outside relationships is key and cold-emailing can work, but your best bet is to stick to your surefire supporters first.

Once your page is finalized and everyone in your network has heard about your awesome idea, you’re ready to launch — it’s time for step 2.

2. Rig the System

The great thing about crowdfunding is that there are completely acceptable ways to game the system, and the platforms themselves even show you how.

This isn’t as bizarre as it sounds; crowdfunding sites want you to succeed because the more money you make, the more money they make.

They want you to be featured on their homepage. They want you to be trending on their platform. And, most importantly for you, they want you to be in their newsletter sent to millions of people.

Just 4 days into our campaign we landed a slot in the platform’s newsletter. Here’s what we did to trigger that all-important algorithm to get featured:

• We focused on early momentum (aim for >30% of your goal in 3 days).
• We posted regular updates.
• We added multiple new perks.
• We posted new media such as short clips or GIFs.
• We had multiple active team members listed on the page.

If you’re able to secure that early momentum and follow up with regular updates, new perks and added media, you’ll get on the platform’s radar.

You may even get an email from someone who works at the crowdfunding site. Chances are they want to help you get featured.

3. Consistency is Key

30 days in the crowdfunding world can feel like a lifetime. Don’t burn yourself out. Some people are happy to just reach their target and no more, others aim higher. Neither is definitively better or worse, but what is crucial to both cases is consistency.

This is as true for social media as it is for your campaign page. Most people believe that the more noise you create on social media the more likely you’ll get noticed. However, what matters most is the quality and consistency of the content you post.

Determine which social media platform is best catered to your target audience and then plan to post several times per day. The best times to post tend to be when people commute, so ~9am and ~5pm.

Pro Tip: Create an account on Hootsuite so you can schedule multiple posts for the future. The time you save by lining up posts on Hootsuite the day before can then be put towards working on getting featured — two birds with one stone.

A messy, disjointed social media presence reflects a disorganized brand. Pick one style (e.g. memes, short clips, quotes) and stick with it.

Being disruptive doesn’t come from just being really noisy on social media. It comes from quality products that change the game, which is arguably all that needs to be relayed on social media for you to succeed.

Finally, turn your backers into champions of your product. The best way to do this early is to reach out to thank backers personally. These first customers are and will continue to be the reason your awesome idea succeeds.

For our project we didn’t necessarily need to go over 100%, but by sticking to this 3-step plan we inadvertently attracted press, and by the middle of week 1 we had been announced as the debut beverage at a major scientific conference this summer.

By focusing on perfecting what really matters you set yourself up for success that can ultimately lead to press — a true win-win situation for you and your crowdfunding campaign.

In summary:

• Concentrate on achieving early momentum by securing your close network.
• Focus on the actions that are most likely to get you featured (and funded) quickly.
• Build consistent, quality content on your social media along a regular posting schedule.

Callum Alexander is a co-founder at Nerv.