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Twenty Tips for Crowdfunding
Success Howard J. LeonhardtOctober 15th, 2014 General Assembly
Santa Monica, California - TECH COAST VENTURE NETWORK
EVENT.
O“Crowdfunding is human will expressed in pure form. A person with a vision becomes a dream funded on a mission. It is the explosive combination of democracy and free market capitalism. It’s democracy and capitalism in action: think you have a great idea? Convince enough people and you can make it a reality. If not, back to the drawing board.”
OWe are about to experience the grandest expression of human creativity and economic growth ever seen in the history of human civilization.
OInnovative breakthroughs that took years to create & bring to market will now take mere months.
ONew ideas will be free market tested earlier in their cycle and discarded or funded at a faster rate.
OTry a lot of stuff and keep what works will be applied at hyper speed rates.
O
Tip 1
OPeople buy with emotion and justify with fact.
Tip 2OA crowdfunding campaign is hard work. Prepare to make 1000+ calls. Prepare to hold hundreds of in-person meetings. Putting up a cute video on a portal is NOT enough.
Tip 3 OIt is all about applying peer pressure in a timely manner. Right after someone watches your emotional video …
OCALL THEM! OAsk for their support.
Tip 4 OGet Positive Press! Content marketing. PR Hacking.
OGET IN THE NEWS!ONothing beats big time news coverage!
Tip 5 OGet opinion leader support! First thing you do is make a list of the top 50 opinion leaders in your field and one by one execute on gaining their positive support vote.
Tip 6OYou are leading a movement an uprising!
OThis is much bigger than just a product.
OYou are changing the world for the better!
Tip 7
OK.I.S.S. – Keep it Simple Silly
Tip 8 ODominate your launch trade shows!
O Banner over the entry escalator!O Ads in bathrooms.O Your flyers everywhere.O Emotional opening side seminar.O Take an ad in the trade show periodical day one.O Let your opinion leader friends in on the
campaign.O Get opinion leaders as they come off the
podium.
Tip 9
OMany events in lots of locations!
Tip 10
OGet in every pitch contest you can get in!
Tip 11OGet your first 50, 100, 150 supporters to each go out and get 3 crowdfunders. Hold them accountable. Call them > > OFTEN. Help them feel they are truly PART OF THE MOVEMENT.
Tip 12O Remember you are selling an experience. An opportunity for someone to be included in something special. Not just a product or service.
Tip 13OTap into what people already believe in and care about. Craft message to fit in their world not yours.
Tip 14OInstead of just being focused on selling, focus on creating connected, engaged, sharing networks of people that believe in a cause that you happen to be supporting.
Tip 15
OSuccessful campaigns learn to stop talking about themselves and their products and to JOIN IN A CONVERSATION with others co-leading a movement for change.
Tip 16
OTell stories that people can connect and identify with.
OIn our information-saturated age, business leaders “won’t be heard unless they’re telling stories,” says Nick Morgan, author of Power Cues
Why tell stories?O “Facts and figures and all the rational things that we think are important in the business world actually don’t stick in our minds at all,” he says. But stories create “sticky” memories by attaching emotions to things that happen. That means leaders who can create and share good stories have a powerful advantage over others.
O
O“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou
Tip 17
OGet the top bloggers behind you. Work it. Work at it hard.
How to get blog support.
O Write something worth linking to and tell me about it
O If you want a blogger to link you, the best way to do that is to link them first.
O Email the blogger directly.O When you’re racing at high speeds, like with
cars or cycling, there’s wind resistance that slows you down. However, you can eliminate that resistance by drafting, which is a fancy word for aligning in formation behind the person ahead of you. Draft in a bloggers linkstream
Tip 18OKeep it personal. Crowdfunding is a hand to hand combat sport. O Most substantial investment still comes in from one
on one personal meetings not from Linkedin posts or crowdfunding portal video views alone. The portal might help in getting that meeting, and closing a deal quickly after a meeting with convenience, but the commitment comes through personal meeting.
Tip 19 OPREACH TO THE CHOIR! Keep your core supporters jazzed! Provide a continuous good news feed! Newsletters help.
Tip 20OInvestors like to follow smart money. Get some smart money behind you early if you can. Then add that to your pitch.
Summary Take Home Messages
O 1. Building a movement of engaged people and joining as an ally in the conversation.
O 2. Get big time news coverage, PR and buzz.O 3. 1000+ phone calls and 100+ meetings.O 4. Telling really good relevant emotional stories.O 5. Applying peer pressure for ACTION at precisely
the right time, not too early and not too late. Keep it personal.
O 6. Keep it simple. Make it easy and quick. O 7. Get smart money, opinion leaders and bloggers.O 8. Get your core supporters to get 3 more. Hold
accountable. O 9. Dominate trade shows. Don’t just participate.O 10. Remember it is about them. Their experience.
Plugs
O Crowdfunder – www.crowdfunder.comO WhenYouWish – www.whenyouwish.comO CrowfundingPlanning –
www.crowdfundingplanning.com O Crowdfunding Roadmap –
www.crowdfundingroadmap.com - Oct. 23O Crowdfund Insider –
www.crowdfundinsider.com O Crowdfund Beat – www.crowdfundbeat.com O DeliverTheCrowd –
www.deliverthecrowd.com O InvestedIn – www.investedin.com
1st U.S. Social Good Impact Stock Exchange www.calstockexchange.com
5 Year Business Accelerator www.calxstars.com
Focus = cardio and social good
LABioHub www.labiohub.org
Final Crowdfunding Tip – Along as there is wine everything will
be fine
Available at All Trader Joe’s
