My answer to this question is always a set of five important questions. I’ll elaborate on them in a while, but before you read the rest of the article, try writing down the answers to these questions.

1. Is your idea good enough for people to support?
2. Do you have the support of a large network of backers (before going public?)
3. Do you have clear and transparent milestones?
4. Do you have enough knowledge of the crowdfunding platform you want to use?
5. Do you have strong knowledge of how crowdfunding works?

Tough questions eh?

Don’t worry. I’ll elaborate on each of the questions above to help you find your answer.

Idea:

Crowdfunding is tough.

You’re asking the public to financially support your project. What is the one thing that would attract people to invest in your project?

The idea. The product. The end result.

The public will only help if your idea or your product is innovative and exciting.

But we all know, having an idea is not enough. You need to build your reputation. You need to build a list of people who want to support you. You need backers to make crowdfunding work.

This leads to our next question – do you have backers?

Backers:

Statistics of 2019 show that 16.01 million backers had supported 439,891 projects on Kickstarter.

There are millions of people out there ready to back your project. Getting their attention and their support though is one of the most difficult challenges of crowdfunding.

The only way you can get backers is when you have an audience of supporters from your local community. Friends, acquaintances, colleagues, etc play a critical role in helping you build your brand.

If you don’t have local supporters, you can try connecting with influencers and people in the industry who can support your project.

To kickstart your project, you should ideally have 100 people willing to contribute. Say, each person contributes $20, 100 people would mean $2,000. Once you achieve this on the platform, other people would be interested to support you further.

Backers are also your first customers, your beta testers and much more. Convince them, win their trust and they will continue to support you!

Milestones:

Any project that opens itself for public funding must have clear milestones.

An unspoken rule of crowdfunding is transparency. Keep your supporters updated about your milestones, your setbacks and your progress. You need to win their trust if you want their support for long-term.

This is why, it’s particularly important to breakdown your project deliverables in achievable milestones (these are displayed in a separate tab on the platform). Each milestone is assigned a funding goal, so if you have your numbers ready, you’ll have greater success in meeting your goals.

Platform:

Choosing the right crowdfunding platform is important.

Depending on the type of crowdfunding model you’re using (link to crowdfunding model article), you need to know about how the particular platform works.

For rewards-based funding, Kickstarter and Indiegogo (link to Kickstarter vs Indiegogo article) are the top platforms, but they are also quite different from each other.

If you’re opting for rewards-based funding, it’s necessary to know how these two platforms operate and what are their distinctive features.

Crowdfunding:

The premise of crowdfunding is simple – get the crowd to fund your projects.

The execution is tough.

The first step to crowdfunding is research. Conduct in-depth research of your industry and the platform that best suits it.

Also try to research on similar projects. Comb through top projects and study every detail. The more knowledge you gather, the better your chances of running a successful campaign.

Crowdfunding is one of the most innovative methods to earn capital without having to visit banks, lenders or investors. But it requires work. It requires a significant investment of time, planning and smart marketing.

You May Also Like to Read:

5 Challenges of Crowdfunding You Need to Know Before You Take the Plunge
How Much Does it Cost to Run a Crowdfunding Campaign on Kickstarter and Indiegogo?

If you have a great product, all you need is a solid strategy and crowdfunding can work wonders for you.

Want to know if your project is the right fit for crowdfunding? Let’s talk! SAMIT PATEL crowdfunding marketing agency.

The post Is Crowdfunding the Right Choice for You? Here are Five Questions to Help You Decide appeared first on samitpatel.

Both Indiegogo and Kickstarter are leading crowdfunding platforms with thousands of businesses raising millions in funding, however, they have key differences that set them apart from each other.

To truly have an effective crowdfunding experience on either of these platforms, it is essential for you to know important differences because it could significantly affect your campaign goals, budget, and eventual outcome.

Here are top differences between Indiegogo and Kickstarter to watch out for:

Campaign Review Process & Rules

Kickstarter has a reputation for being stringent with campaign reviews. They take two to three days to review your project to make sure that it falls into one of the 15 categories and that it meets the platform’s rules.

Kickstarter claims to accept 80% of all projects that are submitted on their platform. Important rules to follow are:

• Projects must be honest and clearly presented
• Projects can’t raise funds for charity
• Projects can’t include prohibited items like Contests, coupons, gambling, and raffles and a whole list of other things.

Make sure you read all the rules of the campaign before you submit to Kickstarter. Indiegogo, on the other hand, is more relaxed. They do not review campaigns and leave it up to backer to make a sensible decision.

Funding Statistics & Success Ratio

Perhaps one of the most defining differences between the two campaigns is the funding success rate. Kickstarter has a better reputation than Indiegogo and has been known to have a successful funding rate of 35.72%.

To date, Kickstarter has $4,295,731,140 pledged with 16,276,544 total backers and 5,328,242 repeat backers.

Indiegogo does not have public funding rates available, however, news report claim that around $1.3billion has been raised as of 2018.

Kickstarter is comparatively harder to get funding, but when a project hits popularity then funding figures can rise significantly.

The difference in Funding Types

One of the key difference between the two platforms is the way they fund projects. On Kickstarter, you’ll have to raise the complete amount you pledged before you can take the money away. Also known as, ‘All or Nothing,’ this is pretty helpful for businesses that want a lump sum amount.

Indiegogo has two funding options with the first one being the traditional option while the second one is flexible. In the second option, you can avail money as your project progresses without waiting until the end.

While this flexible option by Indiegogo sounds good, it comes with a catch – you will have to pay a 9% fee and be charged for payment fees too.

Generally, experts recommend using the fixed-funding option because the risks are lower and you will need a capital amount to work on your project.

Fee Structure of the Two Platforms

There is no difference in terms of percentage fees; both charge 5% of the total amount raised. The difference, however, is that Kickstarter will not charge the fee until you’ve met your goal. Indiegogo will charge on the amount raised regardless of whether you’ve reached your goal or not.

Indiegogo has 3% plus 30¢ per credit card transaction along with 3-5% for PayPal transactions. Prices differ region wise, so do make sure to check your region costs before making a campaign.

Types of Projects Accepted

Kickstarter has only 15 categories that you can use to register your project. It’s very specific in nature and is ideal for creative projects and requires a working prototype in case you want to launch a product.

Indiegogo is pretty laid back with three main categories (tech, creative, community) that are further broken down into sub-categories. Indiegogo is an open marketplace for anyone interested in crowdfunding.

You May Also Like to Read:

Indiegogo vs Kickstarter 2019/2020 – A Deeper Perspective (UPDATED)
Kickstarter vs Indiegogo: The Best Crowdfunding Platform in 2020

The difference between the two Kickstarter vs Indiegogo is dependent on your project and your personal preference. Do you want an open marketplace or you’re more comfortable with a well-vetted campaign? Do you want fixed or flexible funding? All of these are questions you’ll have to analyze before submitting your project.

Need help deciding on the perfect crowdfunding platform? Get in touch!

The post Five Important Differences between Indiegogo and Kickstarter appeared first on samitpatel.