Crowdfunding’s Not About You
I peruse a lot of crowdfunding campaigns in the course of a single day. Some of them catch my attention immediately. Not only that, but they hold onto it and occasionally make me reach into my pocket, pull out my debit card, and tap in the 16 digits it takes to become a proud contributor.
Other campaigns barely linger longer than a blip on my crowd radar. And why? Though some campaigns have eye-catching titles that hook contributors, they fall behind in the description department.
More important than a title or tagline is story. The story of your project is what's going to make someone support or skip out. Crowdfunding platforms like Indiegogo and Kickstarter have designated areas on your campaign's homepage where you can and should include a succinct synopsis or summary of your project.
I stumbled on one campaign called Transhumanity, an intriguing title for sure, but when I read the description, I was left in the dark as to what exactly this film project is about:
TRANSHUMANITY IS A VISIONARY SCI-FI INDEPENDENT FEATURE FILM. THE SCRIPT HAS WON BEST SCREENPLAY IN MORE THAN 46 FILM FESTIVALS WORLDWIDE AND COUNTING...
It's impressive that the script won awards at more than 46 festivals worldwide, but that won't leave as lasting an impression as knowing the story Transhumanity wants to tell but needs our help to tell it. It simply shows that the creative team has talent, which is a bonus, yes, but crowdfunding isn't about them or the CEOs behind startups, it's about the particular project that needs the funding. As a project owner, tell us about the project you want to make happen first; later on you can delve into all those awards you've won and other laurels of your past achievements.
First and foremost, story drives people to click the "contribute" button. A campaign like "Bottle Buildings and Bamboo Bicycles in Guatemala" understands what's important to include in a description: "Help build a completely self-sustaining 'Earthship' home for Romeo and his family." Right away, we know our money will go to pay for an environmentalist's home. Even something as simple as the four-word description of the film campaign for Friggin' Aliens –– "Friendship. True Love. Aliens" –– taps into what makes us human. It's these types of descriptions that will ultimately play into our desire to become contributors to not only your current campaign, but your future ones, as well.