Note This post, How Creative Crowdfunding For Art Projects is a guest post by Aimee Laurence. You can learn more about Aimee at the end of her post.
How Creative Crowdfunding For Art Projects Work
As an artist of any shape or form, funding is one of those perennial issues.
How do you find the finances to sustain that one big project that you have been putting on the backburner for that very reason?
Whether it’s to produce an album, or a movie, or keep you in food and clothes while you pen that first novel, or you dream of funding your first major exhibition at a gallery, crowdfunding is a great option to explore.
Sites such as GoFundMe , IndieGoGo, or Kickstarter are used to financially back an incredible array of projects and are worth exploring for your long-delayed idea.
Here’s how you can do it:
Choose the right medium
Depending on your type of project, it’s important you plan the medium you want to use.
GoFundMe is a much more of a ‘good causes’ option and is used for everything from charitable drives funding personal medical costs, for example.
IndieGoGo would be more suited to artistic projects but is really open to anyone who has a passion for what they are doing.
Kickstarter has the most vigorous project guidelines that have to be met, as is certainly restricted to the artistic niche.
It’s worth checking out if your project matches those guidelines, as here you will probably find the most like-minded individuals in terms of what you are looking to fund, but IndieGoGo would definitely be worth exploring too.
Think about project scope, timeline, and funding target
These mechanics of your crowdfunding project are integral to the success of the operation.
“In fact, these details should actually inform your choice of crowdfunding medium.
For example, Kickstarter only allows the project to go ahead if the target is met, while the other sites mentioned allow you to keep the funds whatever the amount raised it,” says Olivia Torres, an art blogger at OXEssays and Best Writing Services.
Kickstarter and IndieGoGo have existing crowdfunding communities, meaning people who are looking for creative projects to invest in that they see potential rewards in, and that is an important point, in that if you use these sites, then you must give something back from the project.
“It could be that the funders get a slice of equity in the project, or cash rewards, or even funding recognition in terms of a producer’s credit, or something like that.
That’s why you need to think so carefully about how you want to do this because in some cases you cede certain ownership of the project.
For some, that is no problem at all, for others, it would scupper the whole premise,” warns Sara Schmidt, a project manager at UKWritings and Assignment Services.
Market the drive
Here’s where you do need to get creative, because once the crowdfunding project is set up, you need to find unique, enticing and persuasive ways to pitch it, either via the crowdfunding site itself or in conjunction with your own webpage that you promote through social media channels.
You may start by reaching out to those who are already in your network, but in most cases, you need to capture a cold market, so how are you going to do this?
Kickstarter promotes particular projects that the site’s staff have noticed and add them to categories such as ‘New and Noteworthy”, which would be a major win for your project if you were able to get added here.
How could you do that?
Well according to Kickstarter’s own FAQs, “We pay particularly close attention to fun projects that use the system creatively, have compelling videos and rewards, and have a nice head of momentum behind them.”
This approach is not unique to crowdfunding site’s either:
“Let your passion for your project sell it. And be unique.
IndieGoGo promotes the projects that they find most interesting, so getting a leg up here (which sees you featured on the site’s weekly newsletter) is a great step.
Sign up and research to see the kinds of projects that are featuring, and look at the way they are marketing themselves.
But I think the key is to use a little taste of your project to really entice the crowd to want to see more,” argues Calvin Reed, a business writer at Essayroo and Academized.
But be careful
Not all types of projects are suitable for crowdfunding.
For example, anything which is designed primarily for personal gain, or aims at personal marketing would be deemed unacceptable by nearly every crowdfunding site, and wouldn’t encourage people to donate in any case.
Also be careful with anything that discriminates, which could mean focusing on a particular niche demographic.
Professional writer Aimee Laurence can be found contributing her insights at Top Canadian writing services and Student Writing Services, educational websites. Aimee also blogs at Write My Australia.
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