My Approach to Crowd
Funding
There were
a few things I knew to expect during my crowd funding campaign on PasserBy and
there were more than a few delightful surprises that I would have never
expected. I knew going into my campaign that it wasn’t going to be easy. Money
is tight everywhere these days and it takes a lot to get people to part with
their hard earned money. I’m a one-woman
show these days, used to creating projects with a collaborative group, this
time around I’m the writer, producer and actress on the project. I’ve chosen to
work with a director that comes with his team of producers, makeup, camera
guys, composer, the whole nine yards. On one hand, this is lovely and amazing,
it makes my job as a producer much easier, but not when it comes to crowd
funding. One of the keys to crowd funding is to appeal to your fans, to spread
the word and reach as many corners of the world that you can. The more people
you can list on your project and crowd funding page, the better chance you have
at reaching your goal.
I decided
that I would do everything in my power to reach my goal. I threw everything AND
the kitchen sink at my campaign. Here are the things that I did.
1. Email
Campaign – I sent an introductory email as soon as my campaign launched on PasserBy using Mail Chimp, a free
email service that allows you to
track clicks and opens of your email campaigns. I tried not to overwhelm people with the amount of emails I sent, in
the end I believe I sent 5 emails over
the course of three months. I lost some subscribers, but you can’t take it personally, they may just be trying
to stream line their life, or perhaps your initiative
and drive makes them realize their own lack of drive and initiative and its too painful to see, you never know, but
you don’t have time to worry about
that, you’re running a crowd funding campaign!
Using the information from Mail
Chimp I . . .
2. Sent
Personal Emails – Every few days I would send at least 2-5 personal emails to people who had clicked on the link in
my email or had opened it numerous
times. I also emailed people that I don’t have on my mailing list alerting them to my campaign but also asking
them to help spread the word.
3. Twitter
and Facebook – My Twitter feed and Facebook page are now covered with my PasserBy link and the
“Tactics” poster. I sent at least one message
a day for the 90 days my campaign was active, and sometimes twice a day. It can get annoying, but you
have to remember how fast a Twitter feed moves
and how often posts can get lost on the Facebook. I’m pretty sure I lost some “friends” on Facebook due to the
amount of promoting I did, but it doesn’t
bother me, why would I want friends who aren’t supportive of what I’m doing?
4.
Contests! – I decided to see if I could find some prizes that people would want to win if they donated at least $20 to
my campaign on a certain day. For instance, those who donated at least $20
on April 15-20th would be entered to
win a set of Season 1 DVD’s of the MTV show “Awkward” signed by actress Desi Lydic. Desi and I were in an
acting class together years ago and she was kind
enough to offer her autograph and she even tweeted her followers the deal, no small offer, she currently has over
29,000 Followers!
5. Press –
I am lucky enough to have a relationship with one of the journalists at my hometown paper, The Pueblo
Chieftain (thanks to my Mom, the P.R. Maven,
who scored me an interview when my first short film was in the Indie Spirit Film Festival in Colorado
Springs) so I contacted the paper and asked if it would be possible to write something about
my Crowd Funding campaign. They
did and a little blurb about my project ran in The Pueblo Chieftain!
6. Thinking
outside the Box – PasserBy’s own Todd Metheny suggested that we do a Google Hangout and talk about my
project, my experience in the film business
and as an actress, writer and producer. One Saturday morning, we connected via the Inter-webs and he set about
asking me some very insightful
questions. Todd posted the 4 segments of our interview here on the PasserBy blog and I used them in my Mail
Chimp campaigns as well as all over my Facebook
and Twitter feed. I think this was one of the most successful things that we did. It garnered a lot of attention as
well as gave me a little more credibility
and the opportunity for people to hear me talk about the project. It gave them some insight into me and who I am
and what I was hoping to accomplish
with my campaign and in my life! Plus, I’m a firm believer that any time you can use your own personal energy to communicate you will always be able to
connect with others easier and on a
more personal level.
7. Offer
Credit – I offered to every actor, producer and filmmaker that I know who are working on their careers,
building IMDB credits and trying to get out there,
the opportunity to earn an Associate Producer credit. I extended to them that if they could drive $500 to the
campaign, I would give them Associate Producer
credit on the film! One actor took me up on my offer and raised $500 for me! I am happy to give him the credit and it
doesn’t cost me anything!
8. Have a
TV show with a Cult following, major stars and lots of hype – Okay, this wasn’t a “Tactic” of mine, but
it did prove to be very beneficial for the Veronica
Mars Movie. In the middle of my campaign, I watched as Kirsten Bell and Rob Thomas launched the Kick
Starter for the “Veronica Mars” movie.
They told fans that if they could raise $2 million dollars, Warner Bros would let them make a movie! With my
jaw on the floor, I watched as by 11 am
they had $1 million dollars and less than 11 hours later had their needed $2 million, with 30 days left to go!
In the end they raised over $5 million dollars!
This is and will be a game changer for the film industry! I would expect to see lots of similar
campaigns in the near future! Let’s hope they have
a little more help and support than poor Zach Braff!
9.
Cultivate Relationships – Hopefully, this is something that you do in your life on a daily basis regardless of whether or
not you’re running a crowd funding
campaign. In the end, most of the donations that I received came from people that I know, that I respect and
that respect me. I keep in touch with
people and care about what’s happening in their lives and their worlds. I help spread the word about friend’s
projects, shows, bands, business ventures,
etc. as much as I can. Sharing a link on
Facebook or Twitter can take two
seconds, but can foster a relationship that may help you for years to come and lets face it, in Hollywood, your
Facebook friend could be the head of
Disney in a few years, you never know.
In the end,
I didn’t quite reach my goal and the perfectionist, competitive side of me is
not very happy BUT I raised $6500 out of my $12,000 goal. Why $12,000? I set the goal based on the
$10,000 my director budgeted for the film and the $2,000 to cover the cost of
fees. There is A LOT that I will be able to do with the $6500, which after fees
to PasserBy, Pay Pal and Stripe, ended up being around $5500, and I am extremely
proud of what I was able to do but we will most likely have to run another
campaign to raise funds for post production costs. The great thing about
running a second campaign is, I already know what I’m doing AND by that time I
will have a whole team on board, able to help spread the word!
The best
part of this whole experience was that I had a great excuse to get in touch
with people that I hadn’t spoken to in years. I got the chance to catch up with
people via personal emails and through Facebook. I learned that I have a lot of
support in the chasing of my dreams. People that I hadn’t heard from in years,
that I knew in college through my roommate or met in an acting class donated. I
would get surprise messages on Facebook from old high school friends expressing
how proud they are of me and how much they admire that I am out there, chasing
my dreams. I was surprised by the amount of money some people donated, $500 with
the request that we work together in the future, considering their donation as
an investment in a future together! Absolutely, I’m on board, if you help me, I
will help you! There is nothing better than helping friends achieve their
dreams, especially if you help me achieve mine.
Follow
Elizabeth on Twitter @AnInspiredIdea or like her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/elizabethlaughs
