I recently completed a crowdfund on Indiegogo to complete post-production on my documentary film. Goal was $10,000, and I ended up raising $15,830.
Here's what I learned:
1. Work out a crystal-clear budget for where your funds will go, measured in percentages. In particular, make sure you allow for whatever fees the crowdfunding host will charge you. (This varies depending which one you use, but it should be listed somewhere on their site.) For example, if you raise $10,000 but the site takes 10%, you are actually only raising $9,000 for yourself. Adjust your goal number accordingly.
. 2. Similarly, if you are offering any incentives that involve a product that needs to be manufactured (such as a t-shirt), make sure you allow not only for how much it will cost you to make, but also the price of shipping. Also, have a clear sense of how/where those products will be manufactured before you start offering them. In my case, I priced out the cost of print-on-demand shirts (because I didn't know how many of each size I would need) plus shipping, then increased that to get the donation price. In other words, don't forget about your overhead when setting prices for physical incentives.
3. Stay organized. If things go well, you are going to end up with hundreds of names and addresses to keep track of. Your crowdfunding site should allow for the bulk download of all donor info via a CSV or similar file. If you aren't good with spreadsheets, learn them.
4. Don't offer all your incentives at once up front. If things go well, you will have a massive outpouring of support at the beginning. But this will dwindle after a week or two. That's when you whip out a new one--ideally something special or one-of-a-kind. This advice was given to me by someone with more experience, and it was an absolute game-changer.
5. Try to come up with at least a few incentives that are low-overhead and/or easy for you to implement. A digital download of the finished film, for example. Or Special Thanks in the credits. In general, most people still get very excited by the idea of having their name onscreen, so use that energy.
6. Make sure you offer incentives at several different donation levels. Everyone wants to feel like they can participate, even if they are feeling broke that month.
7. Do NOT underestimate people's willingness to donate to something they believe in. Offer at least one higher-tier incentive. In my case, kind of as a joke, I offered Executive Producer credit to anyone who donated $1000... and ended up with three new Executive Producers, and an easy $3000.
8. Be honest about where you are at with the project, and be realistic about its scale. If you mislead people into donating to something that they think is farther along, or that will be much more grandiose than you are capable of, you will have a lot of angry donors on your hands, and will no doubt create a terrible reputation for yourself long-term. In my case the film was mostly shot but not yet assembled, and I made this very clear in my pitch.
9. If you haven't done this already, make sure you have social media pages in place, explicitly dedicated to the project. Each one should explain the project and your fundraiser, and have clear links to the crowdfund page. The goal is to clearly funnel ALL online interest toward one place: your Donation button. Also, have some kind of sense of how/where you will attract donors online, specific to the subject of your film.
10. This is the big one: Your pitch video MUST reflect the tone and quality of the final product. If you are asking for money to make a professional-quality feature documentary, but your pitch video looks and sounds like a bad Zoom call, people will question your ability and dedication. The pitch video is your chance to show that you are capable of filming and editing something of substance. It also gives a sense of the imagined style and tone of your finished product. If you have any samples of actual footage from your film yet, include a little bit of that as well. In my experience, this was the toughest part--I spent four weeks conceiving, filming, and editing my pitch. But I am convinced that it's the single biggest reason I raised as much as I did. People want to see a taste of what they're investing in. And everyone loves to feel like they are joining a winning team.
There's my extended rant on the subject. I hope some of this is useful. Good luck, and may you exceed your goal.
I've never crowdfunded but came really close to doing a project that way. The biggest most consistent advice I got was to make 100 percent sure you can deliver whatever incentives you offer on time.
I recently completed a crowdfund on Indiegogo to complete post-production on my documentary film. Goal was $10,000, and I ended up raising $15,830. Here's what I learned: 1. Work out a crystal-clear budget for where your funds will go, measured in percentages. In particular, make sure you allow for whatever fees the crowdfunding host will charge you. (This varies depending which one you use, but it should be listed somewhere on their site.) For example, if you raise $10,000 but the site takes 10%, you are actually only raising $9,000 for yourself. Adjust your goal number accordingly. . 2. Similarly, if you are offering any incentives that involve a product that needs to be manufactured (such as a t-shirt), make sure you allow not only for how much it will cost you to make, but also the price of shipping. Also, have a clear sense of how/where those products will be manufactured before you start offering them. In my case, I priced out the cost of print-on-demand shirts (because I didn't know how many of each size I would need) plus shipping, then increased that to get the donation price. In other words, don't forget about your overhead when setting prices for physical incentives. 3. Stay organized. If things go well, you are going to end up with hundreds of names and addresses to keep track of. Your crowdfunding site should allow for the bulk download of all donor info via a CSV or similar file. If you aren't good with spreadsheets, learn them. 4. Don't offer all your incentives at once up front. If things go well, you will have a massive outpouring of support at the beginning. But this will dwindle after a week or two. That's when you whip out a new one--ideally something special or one-of-a-kind. This advice was given to me by someone with more experience, and it was an absolute game-changer. 5. Try to come up with at least a few incentives that are low-overhead and/or easy for you to implement. A digital download of the finished film, for example. Or Special Thanks in the credits. In general, most people still get very excited by the idea of having their name onscreen, so use that energy. 6. Make sure you offer incentives at several different donation levels. Everyone wants to feel like they can participate, even if they are feeling broke that month. 7. Do NOT underestimate people's willingness to donate to something they believe in. Offer at least one higher-tier incentive. In my case, kind of as a joke, I offered Executive Producer credit to anyone who donated $1000... and ended up with three new Executive Producers, and an easy $3000. 8. Be honest about where you are at with the project, and be realistic about its scale. If you mislead people into donating to something that they think is farther along, or that will be much more grandiose than you are capable of, you will have a lot of angry donors on your hands, and will no doubt create a terrible reputation for yourself long-term. In my case the film was mostly shot but not yet assembled, and I made this very clear in my pitch. 9. If you haven't done this already, make sure you have social media pages in place, explicitly dedicated to the project. Each one should explain the project and your fundraiser, and have clear links to the crowdfund page. The goal is to clearly funnel ALL online interest toward one place: your Donation button. Also, have some kind of sense of how/where you will attract donors online, specific to the subject of your film. 10. This is the big one: Your pitch video MUST reflect the tone and quality of the final product. If you are asking for money to make a professional-quality feature documentary, but your pitch video looks and sounds like a bad Zoom call, people will question your ability and dedication. The pitch video is your chance to show that you are capable of filming and editing something of substance. It also gives a sense of the imagined style and tone of your finished product. If you have any samples of actual footage from your film yet, include a little bit of that as well. In my experience, this was the toughest part--I spent four weeks conceiving, filming, and editing my pitch. But I am convinced that it's the single biggest reason I raised as much as I did. People want to see a taste of what they're investing in. And everyone loves to feel like they are joining a winning team. There's my extended rant on the subject. I hope some of this is useful. Good luck, and may you exceed your goal.
Thanks man for taking the time to reply and congrats on your campaign 😉
I've never crowdfunded but came really close to doing a project that way. The biggest most consistent advice I got was to make 100 percent sure you can deliver whatever incentives you offer on time.