There are many great marketing approaches when it comes to executing a Crowdfunding campaign. There have been many concepts adapted for a particular use case over the years of online Crowdfunding. In this article, we will cover a customized Crowdfunding technique using an exclusive approach.
The product
Anyone can create a Crowdfunding campaign, but not anyone can create a successful campaign, especially when it comes to Crowdfunding for a new product. The methods mentioned in this article will not work for all types of niches and products. It is recommended to conduct a substantial amount of research to decide on the right approach when it comes to Crowdfunding. The approach, as explained here, could be used for Software campaigns (which you do not normally see in Crowdfunding), new technology, and new products. This funding technique may not suite charity or donations based campaigns because the strategy is only going to utilize exclusive members rather than marketing to the public. This concept will be using a community that you have already build or acquired.
The concept
This concept can be utilized with email marketing. If you are already running a business, and are looking to release a new product, you can use your existing community that you have for the Crowdfunding campaign. In general, you will be offering the Crowdfunding campaign to your community but only those who receive the exclusive email will have the ability to donate to the campaign. The exclusive email allows access to the campaign which can be accessed from a password-protected website. In addition, when using this technique, rewards need to be apparent so that the offer is as exclusive as can be. That is the essential approach to this Crowdfunding concept. And has been used successfully in the past. It uses a scarcity tactic that can seem more intriguing to the potential backers.
The process
Below is a step by step process for the technique:
1. Create a website: You can use any CMS as preferred, or hand-coded, does not matter. It is really easy in today’s day and age to create a decent website using a CMS such as WordPress.
2. Choose the Crowdfunding technology: There are several options to choose from when adding a Crowdfunding component to your website. If your campaign is going to be highly customized, you can use a paid Atlas plan and customize the Crowdfunding campaign to your site without worrying about any transaction fees. You can also use the Reach platform where you have access to add your campaign on to your website using the Sedra widget. Once you have a campaign on your site, you need to add authentication to the site/campaign. This may be custom developed, or it can also be enabled if using an Atlas plan.
3. Generate the email list: Once your site is running, and fully tested, you can begin to create the email marketing list and template. Be sure to use all of your contacts, and try to make the email read as personalized as possible when contacting the potential backer.
4. Launch the campaign: Once you have completed the 3 steps above, you can launch your campaign, and offer exclusive access to your product/service.
The rest is up to your own research and capabilities. As mentioned previously, this may not work for every campaign out there but can serve as a good tactic for particular use cases.