Have you been toying with the idea of launching a crowdfunding campaign? For whatever reason, you haven’t done it yet.
Whether its lack of time, having to learn new skills, fear of failure (or fear of success) – it’s time to put those excuses aside and make 2016 your year!
According to Statistic Brain, “People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.”
Start your year off by making a commitment to work on the changes and accomplishments that you want to see in 2016. Here are some tips to help you get started with your crowdfunding goals, including ways to make sure you stick with it until the end.
1. Set a date
If your goal is to launch a project you have been talking about – or to relaunch one that was unsuccessful – set a date to aim for! Give yourself a few months to prepare. Even just pinpointing the month you will launch in can give you something motivating to work towards.
Don’t worry, Sal will keep bugging you each week with his weekly killer crowdfunding tips newsletter, so that you remember to keep working towards that goal!
2. Write it all down
Writing down all of your crowdfunding goals can help you start to bring your intentions to life. Even better, successful entrepreneurs often journal about their work, ideas, and day-to-day life.
Writing regularly in a journal can help you focus a lot of your thoughts and ideas and help you start achieving them faster.
Not only will you be more likely to achieve your goals, but you’ll also spot glaring roadblocks that you need to address.
3. Do your research
When planning for the New Year, be ready to embrace growth and change. Jumping into the exciting world of crowdfunding can seem like a big step, but it will be a lot easier once you familiarize yourself with the platforms, rules, risks and industry norms.
This guide is a great way to get started planning the launch of your campaign, because it will tell you exactly what to expect and how to succeed.
Chances are you’ll learn even more than you expected!
4. Tell people
Share your plans with friends, family and your social networks. They will be some of your biggest supporters and they can help keep you accountable along the way.
As you begin to take action, you’ll instill more confidence in your network and show them that you’re really serious about this new years goal.
You can also ask these people for feedback on your project and update them as you get closer to launching.
5. Start with something small
Sometimes when we’ve been procrastinating on a project for a while, just getting started can get us back in the right frame of mind.
Commit to doing specific tasks like: choosing a platform and signing up, writing a draft of your campaign text, putting a campaign video together, choosing your rewards, etc.
The more small things you accomplish, the more momentum you’ll generate, which will make it easier to tackle the bigger tasks.
6. Visualize your success
This might sound silly to some people, but successful entrepreneurs know that being able to visualize a successfully completed project has great advantages.
Being capable of clearly picturing your end goal can give you a better understanding of the steps you need to take to get there.
Don’t just think about what success might look like. Really close your eyes and imagine what it would feel like.
Why do you really want to raise money? Why are you passionate about this project? Then leave your answer here.
7. Set up reminders
Setting up reminders or dividing your goals into steps is another way to keep on track.
You can use a variety of reminders, like scheduled ones on your smartphone or leaving post-it notes around the house and office.
I’d also recommend setting a up visualization reminder, like hanging up picture of a person you admire or a positive note that a customer gave you.
8. Reward progress
Assuming that this project is important to you, progress should be a reward in itself. Still, don’t be afraid to take a break when you’re doing well. Do the things you love, so you can come back feeling replenished and ready to continue.
9. Choose a realistic goal
If this is your first crowdfunding campaign, try to keep your rewards simple and set a relatively low funding goal. If this isn’t your first campaign, maybe you want to challenge yourself to raise a little more this time or come back with an even bigger and better project!
10. Do something you love
Crowdfunding is a great opportunity that gives people access to funding in a way that they didn’t have before. When deciding on what type of project you want to do, make sure it’s something that you are passionate about. Getting into it for the money won’t bring you the same sense of fulfillment.
Plus: backers can usually tell if you’re just in it for the profits. If that is the case, you might have more luck with equity or debt crowdfunding, where backers who invest in your idea can earn returns for their investment.
11. Join a group
Finding like-minded people who are working towards similar goals can be a source of support and inspiration that you may not find with friends and family. There are communities on Google+, groups on LinkedIn (you can search by your own industry or for crowdfunding groups), and forums like KickstarterForum.org and Crowdfunding Forum, all where you can find other crowdfunders to interact with!
Conclusion
Including crowdfunding in your 2016 New Year’s resolutions can help you finally get a move on that project you’ve been wanting to start. Following some or all of these tips will help get you organized and excited to start these next steps.
Running a crowdfunding campaign, fulfilling rewards and communicating with backers can be a lot of work, but if done well has the potential to bring you huge success and help you accomplish your dreams.
Are you going to make crowdfunding a part of your New Year’s Resolution in 2016? Tell us about it in the comments!
