Crowdfunding 101

Nobody’s going to stare at your picture for 2 hours. Hell, no one even stares at the Mona Lisa that long! But, start a livestream and you’ll have their attention for way longer than 2 hours!

It’s no longer a question of whether livestreaming is effective; it’s a question of why you aren’t doing it! Afterall, 80% of people would rather watch live video created by a brand than read a blog. And if there’s one group of entrepreneurs who could use live video more than the rest, it’s those with crowdfunding campaigns.

While the power of live video to build a loyal community remains unrivaled, it’s not the potential value of live streaming that stumps most entrepreneurs. It’s the lack of ideas. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:

Live Crowdfunding Campaign Launch

One idea is to do a live launch of the crowdfunding campaign. Create a live streaming event that starts when your crowdfunding campaign starts, and use it to show off the product prototype, answer potential questions, and thank early backers!

You could set up alerts/labels for each backer, giving them a shoutout and thanks when they contribute towards your crowdfunding campaign! This can help to create a “backer train” where backers see others claiming rewards and decide to do so for themselves. If done right, it can quickly snowball into a wildly successful launch day.

Prototype Showcase

Another great option for live content is to create a prototype showcase. This can be done either before the campaign launch or after, making it a versatile option for live video content. Try to do it when you’ve created a new prototype or have new features to showcase, that way it has the highest impact..

Answer viewer questions, show off the features they want to see, and be personal!

Q&A With the Team

Another versatile idea for a live stream is to do a team Q&A. Get all team members together and run a stream with them all on cam. Then, let the viewers ask questions and get to know the team! If questions are coming in slowly, you can use dead time to talk about funny stories from the early days of product development, the team’s history with each other, or how the idea came to be.

Behind the Scenes Look

Another great option for live video is to do a behind the scenes look at product development. Take viewers through your office and show them how the team members work, what everyone’s doing, and what the company culture is like. Even something like a “lunch with the team” stream could be a huge hit for viewers wanting to get to know the team they’re pledging support and money to.

You can also use this to provide a sneak peak at future features and ideas too! When showing what someone’s doing, you could “accidentally” reveal a new feature that’ll be given as a stretch goal.

Live Content is Powerful, Don’t Miss Out

There’s no denying that live streaming is a powerful tool for reaching, engaging, and even selling to your audience. Currently, it’s a tool that isn’t used by many entrepreneurs and marketers, making it even more effective. As more brands begin to live stream, it’ll be harder and harder to cut through the competition, so get ahead of the crowd and be sure to use it before it becomes common practice!

Crowdfunding backers have helped many entrepreneurs successfully launch their business idea, generating in excess of $34 Billion total funds. The power of the crowdfunding platform makes it a consideration for all entrepreneurs looking to launch a product.

But, because nearly every entrepreneur is considering crowdfunding, the competition is more fierce than ever. To be successful today, you’ll need to know several key metrics. Lucky you, we’ve analyzed over 10,000 backers and $10 Million worth of pledges to bring you these key metrics:

Key Metrics You Need to Know to Gain Crowdfunding Backers:

Pledge Rewards and Donations:

• The average backer pledges $403.18.
• The optimal place to center your rewards is in the $200-$450 range.
• Large donations are also common.
• 21% of donations are between $51 and $100.
• 14% of donations are between $101 and $500.
• 49% of donations are between $11 and $50.

Marketing Focus:

• Males far outnumber females in the crowdfunding world, with an 85% to 15% split.
• 30% of supporters are between the ages 18–29.
• 27% of supporters are between the ages 30–49.
• Desktop browsers still account for 62% of traffic.
• 55% of traffic from mobile devices is from iOS.
• 45% of traffic from mobile devices is from Android.

Traffic Sources:

• 65% of audiences are from the U.S.
• Highly funded campaigns have seen between 3,200 and 15,000+ visitors.
• 5,000 to 8,000 unique daily visitors is standard for successful campaigns.
• 15,000 visitors indicates good reception of your campaign.
• The most effective tactics for keeping a large number of visitors include email campaigns, public relations, influencer marketing, social media, and organic outreach.

In less than 20 years, crowdfunding backers have greatly changed the entrepreneurial landscape, offering a new, highly successful way of launching and funding an idea. But, as we said before, competition is heating up — so be sure to use the data above to help your campaign get a leg up on the competition.