Question: how do we measure the success of our crowdfunding campaign?

Answer: if you reach your target and acquire the funds you need to run the project you have success 

Simples! As that annoying meerkat might say.

Better Answer: even if the money you raise covers the fees and the rewards you have promised and leaves enough for a high quality project or venture to be run - that’s not all

If you’ve measured your success only on the money raised you’ve missed the essence of crowdfunding - it’s not just about the money. It’s about the crowd - your crowd - your friends, family, supporters, fans or customers. If you treat them as so many open purses or wallets or even as benign angel investors - they won’t be around for long.

If you plan for CROWDfunding from the start then you might succeed even if you fail to raise the cash

What else is it about?  It is also about raising awareness and building strong new relationships. It’s developing and involving a core supporter network that believe in you or the work.

It’s about testing an idea with few risks to see if your idea is really what people want (rather than writing a funding bid for a project that might start 18 months later and is answerable not to the users or audience but to anonymous, though well intentioned, funders).

It’s about strengthening your core supporters or audience and reaching beyond to new people and building a database of future customers or fans. It’s about involving those very people in developing and delivering the idea.

It’s about the publicity and increased profile a well-judged campaign can gain.

See the tips from Bicycle Academy’s Andrew Denham on his crowdfunding campaign on PeopleFund.it. Not only did the campaign raise £40k but  also “a great deal of publicity, a year of pre-orders, a healthy waiting list, over 400 hours of volunteered time, and nearly 200 ‘evangelist’ backers who each have a real connection with the company and care about its future”.

And yes, yes it is about the money as well. But not only about the money.

So

• give your supporters well deserved thanks whilst the campaign is ongoing
• Involve them in every step of the campaign and listen to suggestions or criticism. Add or amend your ideas and acknowledge and celebrate contributions.
• Develop a database of contacts.
• Map the people who support or donate to your campaign.  Find out - how did they hear about you? Why did they get involved? Have they extended your networks - where?
• Keep everyone involved before, during and after the end of the campaign - even if, or especially if, you did not reach your target.
• Keep up your online presence with updates, new projects that have space for volunteers invite them to suggest new areas or work or projects.

AND thank people all the time in different ways.

  Crowdfunding success matrix ©Anne Strachan

We all like a 4 box matrix - it helps to organise our thinking and is simple enough to remember.

So I’ve developed one that helps us think about success measured by involvement of your public over time.

 

Join me

Crowdfunding for building community, raising finance or market testing ideas crowdfunduk.eventbrite.co.uk

April 19 2012  Bridge-5 Mill, 22a Beswick Street, Manchester M4 7HR

      Crowdfunding success matrix ©Anne Strachan

We all like a 4 box matrix - it helps to organise our thinking and is simple enough to remember.

So I’ve developed one that helps us think about success measured by involvement of your public over time.