Do you want to have someone manage your entire crowdfunding campaign for you?
I’m talking about running it, marketing it, putting it together… all that!
When I first started writing about crowdfunding, there wasn’t much in the way of “campaign managers” because they didn’t exist yet.
Crowdfunding was a new concept. Something that most talking heads thought would be a fad and disappear within a year.
But, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and online fundraising has persisted throughout the years and now, there is an established base of professionals that will actually set up, manage, and run your crowdfunding campaign.
Wild, huh?
With this article, I want to get into the tips that I have for any entrepreneur or creative type out there who wants to outsource their crowdfunding campaign.
1. How They’ll Help (Launch Process)
There are many components of a successful crowdfunding launch which I’ve covered here.
You’ll need things like a core tribe, social media influence, a pitch video, media exposure, etc.
Not every campaign manager will help with ALL of these different pieces of the puzzle. Some might help with getting media exposure and building up your social following, but they won’t help you film your pitch video.
The first important part of hiring a crowdfunding campaign manager is to get a clear idea of their scope of work. What are they going to help you with? What will you need to do yourself? This scope of work will also influence how much it costs to hire them to manage your crowdfunding campaign.
For example, in this blog post, we outlined an email marketing launch strategy that you can use to bring Kickstarter backers to your project.
Here are a few questions that you can ask to get started:
- How many email leads will we need prior to launch? How can you help with that?
- We don’t have a video or script. Will you provide one?
- Are you going to run FB ads for our project?
- What type of contacts do you have with journalists, influencers, and reporters?
- Will you write our campaign text pitch, or is that up to us?
Typically, a manager will have different levels of service, so depending on how you want them to help you, they’ll tailor their offering to your needs.
2. Past Results and Prior Work
Previous results are no guarantee of future success, however, they do give a mighty good indication of what someone is capable of and how they can help.
Remember, as I’ve stated in this book, every single category on Kickstarter or Indiegogo operates differently. Just because a campaign manager has succeeded with a technology project doesn’t mean they can help your film campaign.
Try to seek out a manager that has some experience with your particular category and is familiar with your product’s appeal. You can do this by looking at their previous success stories, asking around, and seeing how they added value to other entrepreneurs.
This is a vetting process that takes time and is a bit annoying because you’ll never have all of the information needed to make a sound decision.
Do your research to the best of your ability and work through some of the other points I’ll cover in this article to get the best fitting manager for your crowdfunding campaign.
3. Pricing, Fees, and Costs
A lot of new entrepreneurs are shocked when they start talking to service providers in the crowdfunding industry. They learn how expensive it is to hire help.
That’s because a successful crowdfunding campaign has a massive ROI that can literally bring in six or seven figures for a business. Anytime you’re dealing with a large amount of sales, you have to put costs into perspective.
Would you spend $10,000 if it meant generating $500,000 in revenue? I hope so. That’s an incredible deal.
You gotta think like an entrepreneur and measure the costs in relation to your ultimate fundraising goal.
For this reason, many smaller projects don’t find it profitable to hire a campaign manager. If you’re only raising $5,000 or $10,000, you might find that hiring a manager is going to be equal to if not greater than the costs of actually running a project.
We talked about the costs that go into one of these campaigns a bit in this podcast episode.
For an end-to-end six figure crowdfunding campaign, you should:
- Budget at minimum $2k for advertising (more like $5k)
- Expect your video to cost between $1 – 2k
- Know that agencies can charge between $5 – $15k for full management
- As a rule of thumb, budget 10% of your goal for these costs.
- Know that FB advertising companies will also take a % of pledges they drive.
Basically, you need to treat this like a traditional product launch. It costs money to hire talented people to help you and create assets that can generate pledges aka revenue. The larger your goal, the more you’re going to have to invest in advertising.
4. Know Your Value and Leverage
I know that I talk a lot about creating big dreams, setting big goals, and going after them fiercely.
At the same time, it’s my job to keep you realistic. I want you to recognize how an agency views you and why you add value to their business.
As a new business owner, you are un-proven. Your product does not yet have demand. You don’t have customers yet.
This means that it’s a huge risk for any agency to “take a bet” on you and work on a commission or percentage basis. Most simply won’t do this. All managers will charge an upfront fee to cover their work. Some will also work on a commission basis for pledges they drive to your work via FB ads or other avenues.
While it’s true that you might be new to crowdfunding, you could have existing assets at your disposal which will increase your value in their eyes an ultimately leverage.
These include things like:
- Existing social media following
- Pre-existing email list
- Connections, credibility, and clout
- Genuinely new technology or new design
- High quality pitch video
- Story has media appeal, etc.
The more that you have to work with, the less that they have to do and therefore the less they can charge. It also makes them WANT to work with you more, because your campaign stands a better chance of overall success.
5. Get Help and Guidance
There’s no reason why you gotta do this all on your own.
I’ve had many students ask for guidance in choosing a campaign manager and that’s something I’m happy to help with. This is a part of a coaching session with me.
My job is to connect you with the right tools, resources, and strategies that are a good fit for your business. That’s literally what I do.
I’m happy to take a look at your project, review all of the materials, and put together a comprehensive plan for your big launch on Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
Unfortunately, many readers don’t take me up on this and they end up going ahead and wasting thousands of dollars hiring an agency or getting a manager that doesn’t do squat. Don’t be another one of these tragic cases.
You can request a coaching session with me here.
Just send me some info, share your story, and let me know a bit about your goals and ambitions. I’ll review this before our personal coaching call and we’ll get everything squared away.
Sound good?
6. Set Clear Expectations
One of the major reasons that business relationships and contracts fail to lead to profitable results for both parties is a lack of clear communication.
It sucks. I know. It’s also really freakin’ hard.
When you set clear expectations, you make it easy to track progress towards your goals. You can create milestones that your manager must hit long the way.
Having a document that goes into the nitty gritty of these expectations is an easy way to make sure both parties are on the same page so that there isn’t any confusion in the future in the way of anticipated results or action-items.
By setting clear expectations, you’ll ensure that you get what you want out of the business relationship. This is achieved with clear communication.
7. List of Marketing Companies
Now that you know a bit in the way of tips and advice for hiring a campaign manager, let’s talk a bit about some of the companies out there that can help to market and promote your Kickstarter campaign.
I’ve put together a list of some of the companies out there that can help you set up, market, and get attention to your crowdfunding campaign. These guys have been working in the industry for a while helping entrepreneurs
Now… there are also agencies and managers out there that will help with other aspects of the campaign aside from marketing (think video script, filming, writing, etc).
Knowing the right one to choose can be difficult, which is why I recommend reaching out!
Key Takeaways
I hope that you’ve found this article to be helpful and that it gave you some points to think about before going out there and hiring someone to help you with your project.
If you’re in search of more resources to help you out with your crowdfunding journey, check these out:
- Subscribe to my Youtube Channel (I’m always dishing out the best insider tips & tricks!)
- Subscribe to the Crowd Crux Weekly Newsletter for killer advice sent straight to your inbox
- Check out my book, The Kickstarter Launch Formula, or the course
Good luck with your launch! And remember, Crowd Crux is always here to help you.
