“… feel free to illustrate what went wrong on [OUR] campaign. The example may help others.
I certainly learned a lot.’
I would rather my failure on that piece help others. It certainly motivated the stuffing out of me.”
– Dana T. Wendt, Founder, jouzge
When was the last time you worked on what seemed like an insurmountable challenge and said either of the following to yourself, “I should have listened to him from the start”, “She was right all along, if only had I taken her advice instead of trying to do everything by myself”?
I met Dana T. Wendt through a mastermind group. She joined the group to help her plan her Kickstarter campaign for a wonderful product designed to help teen girls build their self-esteem. The group leader invited me to give a presentation and a Q&A about my experience. But Dana didn’t listen to many of the key points that were advised, and her campaign failed.
One of the reasons I decided to share my experience with you is because there are other Danas out there and I’ve spoken to several of them. Often they’ve come to me a bit too late in the process because they’ve already launched their campaigns and are sinking… badly.
Crowdfunding campaigns, particularly on platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, are a huge undertaking. They require detailed knowledge and planning. But you don’t have to do it alone. There are lots of resources and people who have been through it that can help you. The important thing is that if you consult with people who have worked on successful campaigns, you need to listen to their advice about what not to do.
It’s time to take a deep breath and learn what not to do if you want your crowdfunding campaign to be a success. Here are the most common mistakes:
- Not having a plan
- Not having 30% of your funding accounted for before launch
- Not building an engaged community in advance
- Not having a Facebook page or Twitter account to support your campaign
- Not having at least some of your content written
- Not being prepared to be all hands on deck 24/7 for the duration of your campaign
- Not being prepared to be flexible and shift gears if needed
- Refusing any media coverage
- Not pre-identifying your influencers and having an outreach campaign in place
- Not being able to produce and create product as planned
- Not having a support team in place for launch
- Not investing in other campaigns – at least five – on your crowdfunding platform in advance
- Spamming your email list
- Enlisting a snake oil salesperson
- Not having a post-campaign plan in place (ecommerce capabilities, production, shipping, marketing, communications, etc.)
I want you to promise me you won’t make ANY of these mistakes.
And to help you along, I want to let you in on a secret. I can show you how, step-by-step, in the ULTIMATE CROWDFUNDING MASTERCLASS.
Grab your seat now to my Ulitimate Crowdfunding Masterclass Course – there’s still time to register and I’d love to see you there.
Have any questions? Please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to provide some help.
