nomlinz wrote:Working with a crowdfunding agency is not for everyone. However, if you want to and have saved enough dough to work with a crowdfunding agency, it can provide a positive ROI for your campaign.
Know that when you're signing up to work with an agency, you're buying into a lot of things. You're buying into their industry knowledge, you're buying into their systems, you're buying into their platforms, and you're buying into their connections.
At this point, if you’re about ready to engage with a crowdfunding agency, I’m sure they’ve sent over information about their successful campaigns, generic steps they’ll take to bring your project to life and glowing testimonials.
After having worked at a crowdfunding agency myself, there are three critical things I’d look for as a potential customer:
- What kind of projects they are currently working with. The agency will not be able to give you specific names, but should be able to provide general industry verticals and a loose budget. Why is this important? Well if the agency is partnered with another one that is within their niche specialty or is partnered with one that has a large working budget, it’s quite likely that they’ll be spending most of their resources on the other project. You want to make sure that you’re working with an agency that will put effort into your project.
- What communication will be like throughout the working relationship. Some companies treat creators like partners where a lot of things are recommended and then discussed. On the other hand, others take a more “dictatorial” approach where it’s “their way or the highway”. You probably can figure out what communication is like between the two extremes. There are crowdfunding companies that are on each side and all along the spectrum. As a creator, determine what you’re comfortable with. Be sure to ask probing questions about this.
- What the agency does when projects they’re working with do not meet the ideal goals initially set out. It’s what agencies do in times of “crisis” that really matters. Some agencies collect their retainer (or their upfront fee) and leave you high and dry if your project doesn’t take off as planned. It’s really in their best interest to do so since putting resources into a dying project typically does not make the best business sense. However, the truly classy agencies will stand by their client and do what needs to be done. Maybe it’s revisiting the marketing channels after collecting preliminary data. Maybe it’s revisiting the type of creative to better work with the audience. Maybe it’s revisiting the positioning of the project itself to become more relevant.
Also, when you’re vetting different agencies also make sure they’re on-time, prepared for meetings and generally seem trustworthy. You can usually tell a lot about how working with an agency will be during the preliminary stages of conversation.
Now onto the more specific questions:
- Jellop: yes, definitely better than Funded.Today - they treat you better as a client, don't need the upfront fee and actually work to make your project "work" if you pass their strict vetting process.
- Hyperstarter: have never worked with them so can't speak to that
- Backercamp: no. Have tried multiple times and has always been a waste of money. Use that money for other promotional channels.
- ad specialists: definitely a hit or miss. I've worked with duds and superstars from UpWork. Be sure to include in your job description that you need someone with previous crowdfunding background. Ask for explicit case studies, what they did exactly for the campaign, their strategy, their thinking about the audience, etc. Going through that will get you at least a halfway decent one.
- how to launch with a tight budget: I consult for crowdfunding a lot and always tell people they need to have their MAP.
Money: know how much money you need to bring your project to life. Don't make a goal too low or too high.
Audience: do you have an audience? Launching into the void is a guaranteed project failure. With a tight budget, start small. Weeks and months before your campaign actually launches, start connecting with people and building your community. Put your idea out there and ask for feedback. If people are interested, kindly ask for their email or ask them to join your online group so that you can let them know when you are ready to launch the project. Rinse and repeat this everywhere - forums, Facebook groups, Meetups, a networking event, etc.
Plan: crowdfunding is a long and arduous road. You need a plan every step of the way for your community, your communication, etc.
Best of luck and go out to crush it with your campaign!
I absolutely agree that we can be too subjective with our own ideasBigSamoz wrote: ↑Mon Jan 18, 2021 8:43 pm I think you should choose the second option, but anyway I can not tell for sure. When I think about an investment project it seems so good and safe, but at the same time, we must acknowledge that it is not as good as we see it. In order to avoid making stupid investments because of being too subjective, I found a company that helped me to make a concept testing. Now I can predict how the business will evolve, what will be the demand for the product I am about to sell, and a lot of other details. For me, it is more than just important to make a marketing campaign.
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