Lessons
Class Introduction
07:56 2What is Crowdfunding?
32:23 3Is Crowdfunding Right for Me & My Project?
21:22 4How to Build & Manage a Team
12:23 5Choose a Crowdfunding Platform
11:44 6Create the Campaign Page
12:49 7Campaign Page Examples That Work
29:44 8Set the Campaign Timeline
08:18Determine the Perk Strategy
12:04 10Campaign Goal & Referral Strategy
11:31 11Produce a Campaign Video
02:23 12Campaign Videos That Work
46:59 13Pre-Campaign: Build Email List & Buzz
41:50 14Pre-Campaign: Social Media Strategy & PR
08:36 15Launch Your Campaign
07:57 16Live Campaign: PPC & Facebook Ads
12:08 17Live Campaign: Email Updates & Adjust Goals
18:32 18Post-Campaign: Workflow & Delivering Your Product
23:47 19Post Campaign: Obstacles & Backer Communication
07:01 20Your Crowdfunding Future
02:22Lesson Info
Launch Your Campaign
So here we are the launching your campaign moment the big moment we've all been waiting for your super excited you've got your beautifully iterated variant tested video and campaign pays you've got a big email list that's ready to go and all systems are go there's no indications that it's time to stop and it's time to launch your campaign before you launch go we've got our checklist and this is one of the spp bonuses have you done all the things that you need to do to get ready and this is something that you're filling out as you're going along and building these things and especially it's a planning tool at the very outset of we'll hear all the pieces that are gonna need to make sure I have handled before I go on my campaign so it's like I've got my email list I've got my campaign page have you know like course things but this little list will help you make sure you've covered all your bases before you hit go and then it's it's the moment of truth you're sitting there your computer an...
d you've got all your information entered and like this is nothing left to do except hit enter and we see what happens so first thing I do like I said I hit enter and then I go into the campaign and I back it myself just tow seed the thing and then it's like everyone I know everyone in the office let's back to campaign, everyone I know, and then we'd like to have, like, a little launch party, I'll get to that in the next page, but the goal is you want to get that thirty five percent in the first two days for every day past two day, two days, it takes you to get thirty five percent for every day your chances of funding go down by, like ten to fifteen percent, so if you get out to, like, day ten and you're not at thirty five percent, you've got, like, a zero percent chance of funding. So it's a thirty day campaign, but actually it's like a five day campaign, and if you haven't hit like fifty percent or better in five days, chances are you're not going to ever get there. And really, my goal is to have fifty percent in two days because even thirty five percent as time goes on, it's getting tougher and tougher as more and more people are jumping and honestly, fifty percent in two days, and I want to see one hundred percent in five days. Now, sometimes the campaigns really get to one hundred percent like on the last day, but the campaign people like pushing to get across the line. And that's way more likely if you've hit that fifty percent in a couple days, but really you want to have it set up because of the committed, verbally committed people from your personal network combined with the size your list and conservative forecast that you know you're going to hit it. Otherwise, everything you've done has been a waste of time all the time. Money and energy you put into your video into your campaign page into building your list all that was a waste of time if it wasn't enough, so get prepared don't hit the launch button unless you're very sure it's not going to blow up on the launch pad because when it blows up on the launch pad, people die, you know, so like take the time to do it right and be ready. I don't know exactly how kickstarter does it. They're more big about it and you go talks about the gogo factor. Go go factor is a combination of the number of people backing at the amount of backing in the number of eyeballs who come to it, plus, like overall interest in the product, as measured by a combination of variables which caused you to rise up the ranks now in kickstarter, you consort by popularity. I'm going to go go it's like trending and the more gogo fact you have the higher you go up in the page as the higher you go up on the page the more people see you organically in the more people organically back your campaign the higher you go open the page it's what we call a virtuous cycle the opposite can happen if you don't launch powerfully then people don't see it you don't get there again and kids and you dropped lower and lower until you disappear that's why the early momento first is so important because it gives you that boosted the beginning which gets you up into the area where people see you we start to get organic it's and then you stay there up in the top couple pages because because you're in the top couple pages that early punch is what keeps you there for the whole rest of the campaign and which is why so also algorithmic lee you're driven to the newsletter we get that next big punch which drives you to the very top typically you know maybe even to the front page of the website which then creates like tons and tons of backers which keeps you at the very top and drives you to the biggest campaigns based on organic now you also want to be driving stuff during the campaign if you can get an efficient ad spend using facebook and we'll talk about that and the next segment, but right now you just got to really think about driving that huge first day blast off point that gets you high gogo factor that could soon the newsletter and then you win and I kick started there's some equivalent of that where you have a very strong opening that carries you through the rest of your campaign. And so specifically, also on that day, what we do is a launch party where were you know? So we're hitting the e mails we get to go, but now we're sending up that email everyone in the office with typically like pizza and beer, and sit around and make phone calls like call your friends, call your family, make the contributions now. Now, as an agency, we're doing this, you know, for our own products, and we're also doing it for other people, but there's a limit to how much you can do on behalf of other people. So even as an agency is like, the person who is the champion of the campaign has to activate their network and they can't be starting on the day of the campaign, they have to be building up to it leading up to it so that on that day, people are prepared and ready to take action. And then you're just like calling people wanted a time calling them, texting them, emailing them direct messaging them facebook messaging them, hitting facebook post every doing facebook prozac and when you're doing it, you're not just posting you're saying here's the thing support me by sharing it, backing and sharing it and don't just share but share it with a message not just like post you know, sharing now publicly but actually write a post were saying, hey, this is my brother help a brother out back to campaign because you want what he's offering as well as the fact that it's something you know to support me and then if you can get a street team together of people so it's not just you in just a few people but you actually build a team of people who are dedicated to supporting you and that may look like bribes it may look like free things it may look like a party it may look like all kinds of things, but you really want to pull out all the stops now if you're doing a lot to campaigns who might have a different strategy but for the vast majority of the people who are running crowdfunding campaigns, is there one big shot at their dream? So if it's your one big shot at your dream that there's that like eminem song don't screw around make account like do everything you can to make it work because this is your shot and you don't want to like leave anything on the table I don't want to leave anything on the table because it can work and you can make a little key that you thought was gonna raise five thousand dollars raise two hundred twenty thousand dollars and we did that because I was so afraid of it not working that we went crazy and then it like wildly exceeded our expectations because I was like, terrified of a failure and then we got this huge success and that's not like because I was special or bet extra better connected it was because I cared enough to do the job right and we put one hundred ten percent into what it was we were doing so that's like a recipe for success in life, by the way, not just in crowdfunding. If you put one hundred ten percent into it and treat it like it matters and treated like it's not dress rehearsal, this is your shot and you're going to take it and you're gonna give it all then you can get the result and so the launch is your moment and then hit the launch button and then watch a rocket go up into space it will be very exciting and so that's it for getting your product you're campaign ready to go and launched
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Dyan deNapoli
Really helpful class for anyone planning to launch a crowdfunding campaign! Christopher was a great presenter (very comfortable and relaxed), and he clearly knew the topic extremely well. His presentation was very thorough and well thought out. One thing I would've like to have seen is more questions taken from the virtual audience. There were quite a few on the thread, but the moderator only passed along a few of them to Christopher to answer. Another thing that would have been very helpful is advice about creating successful crowdfunding campaigns that are for projects or experiences or ideas, rather than for physical products (which this class was focused on). Maybe Christopher can do a short crowdfunding part II class?? But I still give this class an A+!
Elizabeth Best
This was very helpful. I feel like it answered so many of my questions. It made me realize what a huge commitment crowdfunding is! As an entrepreneur I can see how this video saves trident a lot of time on calls and emails explaining what needs to be done. Great idea! I am amazed at how much technology is involved and online or social media marketing. I better develop a stronger team with millennials who know how to make it happen. Thank you.
a Creativelive Student
I was fortunate to be part of the live audience for this course. It was truly amazing! Chris does a great job of providing tactical and strategic insight behind crowdfunding campaigns. One of my favorite tools was the spreadsheet he has developed to determine crowdfunding goals. I also think Chris is a very humble, knowledgeable guy who genuinely wants you to succeed in your crowdfunding efforts. I highly recommend this course of anyone who is serious about crowdfunding.