When you start a crowdfunding campaign, there’s one piece of advice you’ll hear over and over again: line up some early donors so that you hit the ground running when you launch your campaign.
Campaigns that get their first donations within three days of being launched are said to have a better chance of hitting their goal. Why? Understanding what creates a crowd can be as simple as looking at your own behaviour.
Let’s say you’re visiting a city you’ve never been to before. It’s lunch time and you’re walking down the street wondering where to eat. You pass a restaurant and stop to read the menu posted in the window. Sometimes that’s all it takes to give that restaurant a try.
Chances are, though, that you need a bit more persuading. The menu might look good, but will the food live up to its promise?
And so you peak inside.
There are only two people, sitting quietly at the back of the restaurant. The rest of the tables are empty. Hmm.... If the local residents don’t seem to be supporting the restaurant, does that mean it’s not very good? Besides, who wants to be the only diners?
You decide to keep walking. At the next restaurant, the menu is roughly the same but when you look through the window, you see a bustling, energetic room, with lots of people enjoying themselves. They obviously like the restaurant; therefore, it must be good.
Apply that same sense of judgement to a crowdfunding campaign. People find out about your campaign, feel motivated by your story and then scroll down to see who has donated. If there aren’t many donors, they may doubt whether they should make a donation. If the friends and family of the person who launched the campaign — or that charity’s supporters — are not making donations, do they know something that you don’t? By the same token, if there are lots of donations, then it really must be a good cause that’s worth supporting.
What should you do to create a good impression for the potential donor looking through the window at your campaign? Before you launch your campaign, tell some of your closest friends and family what you’re up to and encourage them to make a donation as soon as you tell them it’s live. As well, have the first email message about your campaign ready, as well as your lists of contacts, so that you’re off to a quick start.
