Raising capital can be a challenge for any business, but with a good strategy, you can discover an audience that’s willing to help you grow. Businesses no longer need the help of one large financial backer or a giant loan. Instead, crowdfunding has helped many people get their grounding and start a successful business in recent years. Follow our tips to help you find the funds you need to help your business achieve its goals:
Use a Crowdfunding Website:
There are plenty of platforms that offer individual creators, as well as small businesses the opportunity to set up capital raising ventures. Depending on your goals, one may be better suited for your business.
Kickstarter
Having earned a reputation helping tech entrepreneurs, Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing platform. This means that you don’t get your funds unless you reach your campaign goal. This can help you cultivate trust with your backers as their funds won’t go to a half-baked business venture, if you do fail, their credit cards won’t be charged.
Indiegogo
Similar to Kickstarter, Indiegogo offers you two options for funding: fixed and flexible. Fixed funding is similar to the Kickstarter, all or nothing platform, whereas flexible funding allows you to receive partial funding in the event that you don’t reach your goal.
Patreon
Patreon is popular among content creators like YouTubers, podcasters, and bloggers. Providing a better platform for creators to form relationships with their fans, they can even deliver exclusive content to their subscribers. With a subscription model, funders regularly contribute a set fee every month that they can cancel at their own discretion.
Gofundme
GoFundMe can be used by individuals and businesses alike, and without the all-or-nothing pay model. You keep all the funds you receive. You often see this platform used for more than just capital raise ventures, as people receive donations to emergency funds, charities, and more.
Share Your Story
People want to fund campaigns that they feel like they can support. Identify the reason behind your campaign. Differentiate your product or service from competitors by highlighting your main value points. And be more than a business chasing revenue. Everyone wants to be profitable. Instead, share a story that fosters connection, communicates your passion, and aligns investors with your brand’s mission.
Offer Perks
What’s in it for your investors? Why should they help you achieve your business goals? How do you make their investments worth it? Different crowdfunding ventures reward their investors in different ways. You don’t have to make a giant gesture, but some businesses go as far as giving investors a free product, stocks, and other incentives to invest in their business.
Promote Your Campaign
It’ll be hard to acquire crowdfunding if no one has ever heard of your business so you’ll need to promote your campaign. Focus on creating content that tells your story and spurs action. If you don’t have a marketing budget, take advantage of social media, friends, blogs, and news sources that may be interested in sharing your work.
Listen to Feedback
Implementing feedback is an important part of growth for any organization. If you don’t adapt to the needs of your target market or listen to their complaints, someone else will. In the initial stages of crowdfunding, survey your investors, host focus groups, and look to identify ways you can improve your offering.
Acquiring the funds to achieve your business’s goals can be a daunting task, but with an educated approach, getting in front of the right people is much more attainable. Schedule a free consultation with our team of experts to discover how you can raise funds for your business. Contact us today.
CEO | Brand Champion
Michael Doyle has been changing the face of Brand Marketing for over two decades. He built a tech-based advertising agency, DNA Advertising, into a multi-million dollar company. Michael sold the company as part of a national IPO in 2000. Michael founded Brand Iron in 2002 and has since lent his expertise to hundreds of other businesses in dozens of industries around the world.
