Since crowdfunding is such a young industry that has only gained nationwide attention in the last few years, I have struggled to find authoritative sources that give some insight into how the industry has changed and developed over time. In addition, aside from guides provided by crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter, I have not found many resources to steer project owners in the right direction when creating a newfundraising campaign.
I came across Scott Steinberg’s book, The Crowdfunding Bible,when I read an article he wrote in RollingStone magazine about the crowdfunding industry. It can be purchased on Amazon
or you can download a free pdf here.
Overall, I would recommend this book to individuals interested in project crowdfunding. It does not delve into equity crowdfunding, mainly because the Jobs Act was still in its infancy during the time of publication. For entrepreneurs, this book covers a lot that you have already learned in terms of crafting a compelling pitch, using social media to market your idea, and continually selling to your target audience. For non-entrepreneurs, there are some great bits of information that will help you assess, understand, and ultimately engage the target audience for your product.
More than anything, this book makes you stop to think about the dynamics of your crowdfunding campaign and whether or not it can be improved. One of the things I found most helpful was how Steinberg highlighted multiple specific projects and examined the factors that played into their success. Many of these projects are the successes that brought crowdfunding to the forefront of media attention. Some of these include: Wasteland 2, Shadowrun Returns, and the Pebble E-Paper Watch.
If for no other reason, I recommend this book be read for the sections regarding what project owners should do once the campaign has been successful. Think about it. You have spent the last few months putting all your energy into attracting an audience that is excited about your product to the point where they are willing to preorder it. These are your word of mouth customers. However, what do you do once you have met your fundraising goal and fulfilled the promised rewards? How do you maintain that audience to sustain a viable repeat business?
The last item of interest I’d like to mention is the trend that Steinberg highlights regarding fundraising success. It appears that many of the wildly successful campaigns have been able to secure an industry-related celebrity as a member of the team or have been a project proposed by an organization that has a track record or a healthy audience of fans. The best example of this is Wasteland 2.
This leads to the conclusion that there is a huge potential for crowdfunding to replace tradition routes that established companies go through in order to finance research and development expenditures for new products.
At the moment, companies in the gaming, music, or interactive entertainment industry would most likely be the first to adopt this model, but it’s foreseeable that other companies could hop on the bandwagon in the near future.
By using project crowdfunding, companies could asses industry demand for their product, potentially secure the funds to develop it, and at the end of the day maintain the ownership rights. It seems too good to be true!
