Is Kickstarter Crowdfunding Right for Your Growing Business?

Posted August 26, 2020

Crowdfunding is a very popular way to showcase your prototype product to a wider audience. Crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter are at the top of their niche market.

No doubt, there have been numerous success stories related to crowdfunding. But is it right for you? This is a crucial question that needs introspection before you join the crowdfunding bandwagon. You may be surprised to know that most crowdfunding campaigns aren’t properly planned for, while some others aren’t properly supported.

Here are some crowdfunding questions that you might want to answer in order to learn if it is the right choice for your brand.

1. What is your plan? Do you have a Backup Plan too?

Examine your product and business plan to see if you have the right approach to move forward. What do you plan to do when the money is in your hands? Is there some tangible prototype to prove that your idea is more likely to succeed? You cannot expect crowdfunding dollars if your idea isn’t a legitimate one.

Create a business plan to ensure that you have the right approach to pursue things. Of course, you don’t want to draw up all your financial goals and then end up hitting a miss for lack of planning.

Before launching a crowdfunding campaign, you need a financial target so as to show prospective contributors where their donations would be heading to. How much money is required to transform your idea into reality? Do your due diligence and research to find it out.

After all of the above, make a backup plan!

2. What is the offer or reward for funding you?

What would be my reward in return for crowdfunding your campaign? This is one crowdfunding question that most people want to know right off the bat. What do you plan to offer your users for investing in your campaign? It is a good idea to warrant their contributions. So get creative and create multiple contribution levels. Make them very enticing, but don’t just give stuff away for low funding levels. Your funding must show the worth of your product.

3. Will your target audience go for it?

Without understanding your target market, you cannot convince them to fund your campaign. Find out what their wants and expectations are? Do spend some time introspecting what you are giving back in return for their contributions, because they would be keen to know more about the incentive. Is the incentive enough for them to support your brand and your product?

4. Is your plan ready to go Live?

Ideally crowdfunding campaigns have a tight deadline, requesting funding completion within a few weeks or months. This requires you to be on your toes all the time. Do you have an existing audience that might be interested to contribute? It would help if some of them can spread the word about it. This cannot be done overnight and requires prep work. Have your website designed and social media engagement plan ready. It would even help if you have a blog and a social media fan following to support your crowdfunding campaign page. Better to start the hype first, build up a following, then launch your crowdfunding project!

Bottom Line

Kickstarter crowdfunding may look simple, but it has its challenges. Kickstarter is cautious and will only dispense earned funds to starters when they have achieved their financial target. Make sure you understand the implications of crowdfunding on your company’s management before stepping into it. Don’t forget your backup plan!

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