Have you thought about starting your own passion project but feel like it isn’t possible because of limited resources?
Maybe it’s time you look into crowdfunding and how it can turn your project into reality by having the support of like-minded people. A successful crowdfunding campaign is all about community and how well you communicate your story to get people behind your cause. Through crowdfunding, I was able to raise funds and attend StartingBloc Institute where young adults from all over the world get together to tackle world’s challenges.
Ready to dive into the possibilities of crowdfunding?
Not so fast my friend!
Before you get started on your campaign, here are five things most people forget that truly make a successful crowdfunding campaign:
1. Nurture relationships with people who refuse to see you fail
Working on projects alone sucks….
Last year I realized I didn’t have a network full of passionate people and I felt stuck doing things I wasn’t passionate about so I decided to travel and cultivate those relationships that made me come alive. Throughout my travels over the last year, I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many incredible people that have had a positive impact in my life and have inspired me to keep pushing myself outside my comfort zone.
People make all the difference in life.
Nurturing relationships with a positive intention is the best way to get passionate people on your side. Put all these crazy people together and suddenly everyone’s doing the impossible. One example of this is reaching 100% of my crowdfunding campaign to attend StartingBloc Conference project and how a community of passionate people helped me reach my goal and made attending this conference a reality.
I couldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for the support of a like-minded community. Don’t wait until last minute to cultivate relationships with passionate people. The world is run off of personal relationships. They fuel our passion and make the unthinkable possible. Changemaking projects like a crowdfunding campaign can only happen by surrounding yourself with people who believe insane things can be done.
The right people will hold you accountable to higher standards.
Go out and make friends with them!
2. Be crystal clear about your WHY
Simon Sinek in his book Start with Why explains that great leaders inspire action by having a clear message about WHY they do what they do. When I reached out to my colleagues for their help, instead of asking for money for some cause, I told them that by helping me fulfill my StartingBloc duties, they would directly impact social change and be living a more conscious courageous life. I appealed to them on an emotional level, not just out of financial need. If I had said in my communications that the purpose of raising the money was for me to go to StartingBloc to enhance my personal and professional skills, how many people do you think would have contributed? Probably not that many because I would have been focusing on results instead of a common belief and purpose.
People support others that believe what they believe. What you do and how you do it are simply proofs of your beliefs.
All the people that contributed to this campaign and all of those that continue to support me on this journey are doing it because they believe in living a more conscious life and doing meaningful work.
3. How do you make people feel when they are around you? Be specific and personal to every person you reach out to
I see this happen very frequently where people send out mass emails or mass social media updates about their crowdfunding campaign only to receive little favorable response or sometimes no response at all. This is a very lazy way to reach out to people and if you are really passionate about getting positive results then you need to build rapport with people first and get very specific with every single person you reach out to.
Rapport is all about establishing a connection with people and letting them know that you have a common bond. The more you know about someone – including background, attitudes and values – the more points you have for establishing a connection. Whether is phone, email, social media, face-to-face, say something specific about the relationship so people know that you are not spamming or taking advantage of them. If you are reaching to someone you haven’t talked to in a while, do some research first and find out what’s going on in their lives and mention this in your communications. You will get much better results and it’s guaranteed to build much needed rapport.
4. Make it easy for people to contribute and include a link to your crowdfunding campaign in your communications
The main goal when reaching out for help with a crowdfunding campaign is to have people contribute to your cause and it’s critical that in your communications you have a clear call to action with a direct link to the crowdfunding campaign because it makes it easier for people to contribute instead of having them figure out exactly what it is you need from them or how to access your campaign.
5. Always end your communications with a gratitude and Thank You!
Gratitude goes a long way especially when you express it to other people because they want to feel recognized for their contributions and know that you appreciate their time and effort. People have a lot going on- let them know that you appreciate their time and that you won’t take too much of it.
