Recently, I’ve been approached by a lot of creators asking me if it’s okay to run multiple crowdfunding campaigns, one after another. Some even have asked if it’s okay to run multiple crowdfunding campaigns simultaneously, one on Kickstarter and one on Indiegogo. Here’s what I think:
Running Two or More Crowdfunding Campaigns Simultaneously = Disaster
As you’ll know if you’ve read my ebook or some of the interviews I’ve conducted of successful creators, running a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign is a full-time job and requires focused attention over an extended duration.
In the span of a month, you need to put all of your energy into one endeavor. Hopefully, the traffic you drive and the hard work you’ve done leading up to the campaign will give the project enough fuel to reach critical mass and take off!
If you’re attention and outreach is divided between two projects on different platforms, it makes it twice as difficult to reach that critical tipping point for the following reasons:
1. If you get interest from a journalist or a blogger, which campaign link will you give them? It’s unlikely they will include the link to both campaigns.
2. Which campaign will you direct your family, friends and professional connections to? Remember, getting to the 30% mark within the first week is crucial!
3. How will you decide which link to tweet out or share on social media? If you’re trying to promote two crowdfunding campaigns at the same time, your social media feed will quickly become spammy and it will appear like you are only doing self-promotion rather than combining your own links and thoughts with other useful resources, quotes, and tips for your audience.
4. You will spread yourself thin. There are only 24 hours in a day. Let’s say you have a full-time job that eats up 8 hours of your day. You sleep 8 hours. You’re down to 8 hours. Allot 2 hours for commuting/travel and 2 hours for food consumption and misc. At best, you have 5 hours to devote to another endeavor, assuming you’re not going to the gym or watching TV. Unless you have a team of individuals, dividing that time between two projects will decrease your chances of crowdfunding success.
5. The crowdfunding community is big, but not as big as you might think. I’ve already written about the size of the Kickstarter community and ways reaching the Indiegogo community. While there is a crowdfunding community, I think that the rationale for most people thinking of running two campaigns at once is that they can get exposure from the community surrounding multiple platforms.
What I think most people miss is that you need to work at getting exposure and really need to take advantage of that critical period (first 3 days) and raise as much as possible in the first week. It’s hard to do that with two campaigns unless you have a massive social network.
Running Successive Crowdfunding Campaigns = Good Idea If Done Right
When done right, I do think that running successive crowdfunding campaigns is a good idea. Think about it, when you prove that you can
1: Create a compelling project pitch
2: Market it effectively
3: Listen to your backers
4: Deliver their rewards in a timely manner, that reputation is a great platform for launching a second fundraising effort for a new project.
On Kickstarter, creators and backers can “follow” each other so that when you publish your next campaign, your followers will know about it! In addition, you likely have the contact information of your previous backers and, if the new campaign is related to your previous, you can ask for backer testimonials, which will go a long way when trying to develop rapport with new potential supporters.
However, there are a few checklist items to keep in mind if you plan on running multiple crowdfunding campaigns:
1. Don’t raise money just for the sake of it. Put some real thought into why you are raising money and brainstorm unique rewards that you can offer some of your most hardcore supporters. It should be a unique and interesting project that involves bakers in the creation process. Don’t just use the project as a commercial to pre-sell product.
2. Don’t let your first success go to your head. You still need to hustle and follow the nuts and bolts fundraising techniques that you implemented in your first campaign. Remember that business is not about who you are and what you have done. It’s about the product, what need or problem it solves for your backers, and how good of a fit your reward tiers are for your target audience.
3. Leverage existing relationships. You worked hard in your first campaign to build new relationships with journalists, online communities, influencers, and backers. Don’t forget to invest in those relationships during the time between your first and second campaign, and then leverage them in your new endeavor. You can now ask for introductions to people that you may have not been able to reach previously.
4. Give your fans a sneak peak! Now that you have an established base of fans, you can involve them earlier in the fundraising process and crowdsource feedback, get their thoughts on your rewards, and tailor the campaign to their needs. It’s a great way to make sure you are on the right track with your second campaign and also makes them feel special/involved!
Serial Kickstarter entrepreneurs are a growing breed. Elena and I wrote an article covering two of them and some of their tips/advice to budding creators that I think is worth checking out. If you’re planning to run multiple crowdfunding campaigns or have run one successful campaign and are looking to run another, drop me a line in the comments section or via email. Would love to hear about it!
Alternatives to Running Multiple Crowdfunding Campaigns.
If you really want to run multiple crowdfunding campaigns simultaneously, I think a better option would be to run a Kickstarter or Indiegogo, and then include a paypal donate button on your website, have a self-hosted crowdfunding campaign link on your website for people that want to pledge after your campaign is finished, or have a pre-order list signup on your website.
If you want to run many successive crowdfunding campaigns, you might consider a platform that is more catered to ongoing fundraising like Patreon (See: Kickstarter vs. Patreon).
What do you think?
I’d love to hear what you think about these points in a comment below. Do you disagree with me? Agree? Be sure to share!
