A workshop on crowdfunding projects through the website Indiegogo, an international crowdfunding website that allows people to solicit funds for an idea, charity, or start-up business. The session was led by Joel Hughes, a member of the UK and Europe Outreach Team for Indiegogo. The session covered the basics of how to utilise Indiegogo to gain the required funding and audience reach for a project, whether it's a new product, an artistic endeavour, or a life experience:
The most effective form of crowdfunding available through Indiegogo is the Reward System, which allows individuals to pledge money to fund a project and also receive a range of exclusive rewards in return for supporting the campaign. This system is generally used to validate an idea and seek out what kind of audience (age, gender, location) might make use of the product or service. Rewards should be exclusive to the people who donate money, as exclusivity is a key motivator for large donations, and the rewards don't even have to be costly to the project, for example an invite to an existing launch of the product will not cost the campaign but ensures that backers are involved directly with the project.
In order to effectively crowd fund a project it is important to package the idea correctly in order to target a specific audience. Using Indiegogo, you can create a campaign page to display information, a campaign video, progress updates and rewards. Correctly packaging an idea is the key to success as capturing an audiences attention makes the difference between backing or not backing a project. On average, internet users decide within 3 seconds whether or not to stay on a web page, and when watching a video decide within the first 30 seconds. Therefore, a project that is succinct and streamlined in the relay of information will have a higher chance of success.
Considerations into the funding of a project are also crucial. In setting a limit for funding it is important to consider all costs of design, production, advertising, postage, travel etc. It is also recommended to factor in a buffer to accomodate for unforeseen costs, alterations or extensions. However, predicted funding should not be overestimated, and instead should be set as low as possible in order to continue to appeal to the audience and sustain it's success. Indiegogo advises that in order for a project to reach full funding, the campaign must reach 30% of it's target funding in the first few days. If so, statistically the project has a 90% chance of reaching completion.
To reach the required audience it is important to tap into the many different available networks. Friends and family are usually the closest circle who volunteer to donate money, then the local community and then the general public. There are many ways to reach an audience, including word of mouth, but the most effective method has been proved to be through social media - over 50% of Indiegogo's traffic comes from social media sites (facebook, twitter, instagram etc). In terms of funding however, email is the effective and has been shown to bring in 20% more funding than other sources, leading to contributions that are 34% higher.