Fueladream : How to prepare for your campaign? | The Crowdfunding platform in India | Best Online Fundraising website

Planning your crowdfunding campaign

The ideal preparation time for your crowdfunding campaign depends on the kind of project you have. That said it should take you 2 to 3 months to put your crowdfunding campaign together and plan out the strategy you're going to use to get your message to the crowd, be it in India or across the world. There a number of things you have to consider at this stage such as the funding goal, expertise of your team, your reach through social networks and your funder acquisition plan of action. Planning ahead will give you time to begin building relationships with individuals and organizations that may be interested in funding you.

Defining objectives & setting your targets

Setting your target and funding model are important.

Once you launch your crowdfunding campaign, these cannot be changed.

You need to ensure that your target is realistic and can be at least 30-40% funded through your own network of friends and family. A potential funder who happens to come across your campaign on Fueladream must be able to see some traction (E.g. 25% already funded in the first 72 hours) to be interested in funding you. People want to be a part of campaigns that look like they could be successful or have received funding already. This means smaller targets that can be easily funded. If you have a larger project, you might want to consider splitting them into smaller projects with smaller targets to attract more funders. This does not mean that smaller projects can be expected to raise more than the target money.

When setting the target amount, make sure you have taken into consideration the fees of the crowdfunding platform, the cost of running the campaign, cost of the rewards and their distribution, etc.

It is important that you understand the difference between the two funding models - Fixed Funding & Flexible Funding.

Flexible Funding- KWYG "Keep what you get": You get to keep the funds you raised whether you meet the target goal or not, by the end date of the campaign.

Fixed Funding- AON "All or Nothing" - You get to keep the funds you raised ONLY if you achieve or exceed your target amount, by the end date of the campaign.

Setting your benchmarks

For example, let's assume that your project runs for 60 days.

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Day 1

Week 1

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You should aim to receive at least 10-20 % of your target amount on the 1st day of your crowdfunding campaign�s launch. By the end of the 1st quarter of your campaign period, the aim is to raise at least 50% of your target (i.e. if your campaign is for 60 days then aim to raise at least 50% of your goal by DAY 15). Most successful campaigns raise 30-40% of their funding goal in the first 1 week after the project has been launched. Funding tends to slow down in the middle of the campaign, which is why it is important to gain momentum right at the start.

Deciding your campaign duration

"Short and sweet". It has been observed globally and in India that most of the successful crowdfunded campaigns have an average duration of about 45 days. Longer campaigns do not necessarily mean you will raise more money. Short campaigns ensure that you maintain the momentum of the project contributions with a sense of urgency.
Note: You need to give yourself at least 2 weeks after the campaign ends to receive funds.

Define your crowd

Find out who your crowd is, who your funders are, what kind of charities (NGOs), social causes, products, ideas, events they would be interested in funding. Apart from your inner circle of friends and family, make sure you go through other individuals and organizations that may be interested in your crowdfunding cause. Prepare the email list of all your contacts to mobilize their participation. Make sure they are also connected to you over Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc). If you have any other online presence, like your own websites or blogs, make sure they carry the campaign message, with the same link to your campaign page

For IDEAS and individual CAUSES

Friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues & organizations
Communities and groups, which may have a passion to support your project.
Focus on friends with large social networks, those who are influencers etc.
Ensure that they do not JUST fund you but also SHARE the fact that they funded you on their social networks. E.g.: if you're publishing a book, you could find groups on FB for book lovers where you could post your campaign for a greater outreach. Plan this in advance and become part of these groups.
They can help you to reach say 30-40% of your target amount, immediately after launch. Campaigns that get such a good start increase their chances of attracting more interest from the crowd, and hence, reach their target faster!

For CHARITIES/ Non Profit Organisations

Existing donors (these could be individuals, corporates, friends, family) will be your key supporters and should ideally contribute 40% of your funding goal in the first week.
In addition to them, look for groups and communities that are aligned to social causes, leverage your database, to reach out to a larger audience.
Tell corporates who have supported you to communicate your crowdfunding campaign initiative to their employees and partners
Get large donors to MATCH individual donors and become advocates of your charity.

Sponsor /Alliance partners

Get matching funders on-board, ideally before the campaign starts. Matching funders can be individuals or organisations that are as passionate about your idea/ cause and who are ready to join your crowdfunding campaign.

Setting your rewards

Setting your rewards carefully is crucial to your crowdfunding campaign. You want to set unique rewards that can attract funders to fund your campaign.

There can be many types of rewards that you can offer. Here are some thought starters:

Physical rewards (which you will be able to ship across to Funders, at your cost):

An innovatively designed item, like a badge or cap or a T-shirt
Stuff that Funders can't easily find elsewhere, like handicrafts/ paintings by an artisan tribe
DVD copy of the film you're crowdfunding for, autographed by the entire cast

Digital rewards (which you can use the internet, as the channel, to fulfil)

A unique 'thank you' on a picture/ poster that you can email across to Funders
A sneak peek to one of the tracks in your music album, as a link, before the album is released
A short Skype call with your founder/ celebrity patron, that Funders could cherish

Experiential rewards (enable access to a one-of-its-kind experience)

VIP passes to the premiere show of the movie you're raising funds for OR a 5-min behind-the-stage meeting with the artists/ bands performing at the concert
A 2-day stay at your organization's premises for the top Funders, to immerse themselves with your team & your activities
A dinner with one of your celebrity patrons/ supporters

It is important to be INNOVATIVE with your rewards.

If you wanted ₹8 Lakhs to fund your music album, some rewards could include having the funder's name printed as one of the Producers on the album cover or even put the funder's name in the lyrics of the song etc.
If an NGO needs ₹20 Lakhs to build a new building, a reward for a funder donating ₹5 Lakhs could be having the building named after him/her, with a plaque.
If you're getting a book crowdfunded for ₹5 Lakhs, the reward for ₹1Lakh donation could be "We will put your name and photograph at the end of the book OR we can name a character in the book after you! Now how is that for a reward!

As you see, the kind of rewards you can offer is limited only by imagination & capability.

Decide the contribution levels at which you wish to offer rewards - the higher the contribution, the rewards need to be more unique/ memorable. You can request us to increase the no. of rewards you have to give at a certain level, even after your crowdfunding campaign has launched, if you see it becoming popular.