Why Your Last Crowdfunding Campaign Failed

All the elements were there. You had a great concept, a fun video, an intelligent and well written description…your crowdfunding campaign should’ve just been off-the-charts successful. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite make the money you wanted it to, and now you’re stuck trying to figure out what went wrong.

Hindsight is 20/20, but at least you get another chance. You can assess the damages and head right back out there with a campaign better suited for success. First, though, it helps to identify what went wrong.

What Went Right

Except I’m going to switch this around M. Night Shyamalan style and ask you to do the exact opposite! At first it helps to identify what went right in your failed campaign. Even if you came up way short of your goal you hopefully hit some marks right. It’s important to look at those before you look at the bad spots.

For example, did you get a lot of money from your friends and family? Congrats, that’s actually kind of tough to do. That means you started out in the right place. Your friends and family are a great way to get started, and posting on your personal Facebook page(s) can be a great way to begin a campaign.

Of course if you JUST did that, that’s where the trouble lies. This is why looking at what worked helps: it allows you to start out the conversation with, “Well we did this, but…” instead of fumbling around in the dark.

Expanding Out

As detailed above, it’s one thing to start with a plan and another to stick with it no matter what. Emailing, Facebooking, etc. your loved ones is a good place to start as some (not all) will be interested in helping you because they like and know you. It can help you break that dreaded $0 staring you in the face.

However, at some point you have to have a plan to expand out. You most likely won’t get all your money from your friends and family, so you must think of your niche ahead of time. If the campaign is to raise money for a great new game, go out and talk to gamers who might be interested to drum up clicks later.

Make the Goal Clear

You know what your campaign is for, but do your readers and visitors know? If you’re not 100% clear what you’re spending it on, people will be extremely hesitant to contribute. They will assume you don’t have a clear plan or are even trying to scam the system.

Go over your goals and see if they make sense out of context. Ask a few people to review your write-up before you submit it, including some strangers who have no connection with you. If they have any questions at all, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

Fighting Through the Loss of Momentum

There comes a time during every crowdfunding campaign where interest just flat out dies. You could be chugging along with no problem at all for days on end and then BAM, nothing at all. Hardly any clicks and scarcely any contributions.

This is where a lot of campaigns trip up. They get frustrated and think it’s all over. The reality is this is where your efforts are the most crucial. You have to work extra hard to pick that momentum back up. Once the end is near, interest will naturally come back, but if you spend extra time keeping it going just a little during the downtime you’ll be more likely to hit the goal you want.

Have you ever had a crowdfunding campaign fail? What are your tips for crowndfunding success?

Why Your Last Crowdfunding Campaign Failed