Crowdfunding is the cooperative determination of persons who network and pool their money commonly via the Internet to support efforts initiated by other people. This type of funding is used in support of a wide diversity of activities including disaster relief, journalism, support of artists by fans, start-up company funding, software development, inventions development, technical research, and local projects. The inputs of the individuals in the crowd are what affect the success of a crowd-funding campaign, thus developing the best way to effectively convey a campaign’s message in order to get individuals to participate in the campaign is the most crucial part of a crowd-funded campaign.
According to KickStarter, the most well-known crowdfunding platform on the Internet, projects with videos prosper at a much higher rate than those without. Creating a video that can convey a campaign’s proposal, inspirations, and personality is by far the best way to captivate an audience and touch their hearts of thousands — and convince people to donate to your campaign of course. For starters, follow these 5 must read tips for making your first KickStarter video and helping your idea stand out from the pack:
Be Yourself:
KickStarter is all about perception. In most cases, people are entrusting you with their money because they believe in you and perceive you to be worthy of their endorsement as much as they believe in funding your project. They want to see you, hear your aspirations, and get enthusiastic with you. When you are on camera and pitch your passion with a big smile, you’ll notice that people will respond differently to you than they would have if you hadn’t showcased your own personality. Potential crowd funders also want to make sure you seem capable, so make sure that you complement your passion and smile with composure.
Keep It Short And To The Point:
If you haven’t noticed, most people have very short attention spans these days — like 8 seconds-worth of attention according to studies in the Journal of Psychology. Most viewers are not going to sit through a 5 minute KickStarter video to figure out if they want to back you or not. You’ll have to capture the audience’s attention in the first 10 seconds or less to hook the audience into believing that your video is worth watching to the end and that your project is worth investing in.
Cover The Basics:
According to KickStarter, every video script should include these 6 vital points:
-
Tell your audience who you are
-
Tell your audience the story behind your project. Where’d you get the idea? What stage is it at now? How are you feeling about it?
-
Come out and ask for people’s support, explaining why you need it and what you’ll do with their money
-
Talk about how awesome your rewards are, using any images you can
-
Explain that if you don’t reach your goal, you’ll get nothing, and everyone will be sad
-
Thank everyone!
Keep It Legal:
Whether your KickStarter video is a private project or a business project, you should be careful of violating copyright law. This includes copyrighted music, images, and video. If you’re looking for royalty free media, check out Tune Fruit, iStock Photo, SoundCloud, Flickr, Free Music Archive, and ccMixter.
Close The Sale:
During the final 30 seconds of your video, you should call for your audience to take action and do what you need them to do to give to your cause. One way to do so would be to specifically mention the button a person should click in order to get started. Another way would be to specifically mention a donation amount larger than you think an average person might give — it works more than you think.
Surely a good KickStarter video isn’t the only thing you need to oversee a successful crowdfunding campaign, but it can go along way in helping you realize your dream project. What will you get funded?
