Blog_07

 Asking for Money is HARD. 

I have seen a lot of successful kickstarter, indygogo, seed and spark, and gofundme campaigns. I've even shot a couple videos like this for clients. I love the idea of a crowdfunding campaign but more often than not, they don't work. Last summer I launched an indygogo page for my summer 01 film and we were able to raise a little over $4000 through the campaign, but in all honesty, I had to do some cold call selling of my own to get the project to that number. On top of that, I ended up selling some film gear and personal item to fund about $1000 of the project. 

I started by reaching out to all family and friends to see if they could give any money for the project and ultimately, ~70% of my funds came from me reaching out to people in my inner circle that I knew had money that could back the project. Only $10... that's right, $10 came from someone outside my family and friend circles. Do I think that campaigns can be successful? Yes. But I do believe it takes more than just having a good idea, campaign video, and photography. It takes private donors (corporate companies), social media buzz, articles written in local/national press, selection of "Staff Picks" on the host website... etc. Lastly, the advice i've been given by several who have made successful campaigns is "You can only ask once." In other words, family and friends will likely only give one time, so make it count. 

Though, these campaigns listed are great! and I am so happy that they reached their funding goals. I would like to think that they just posted good ideas and shot a campaign video and the rest is history. But without knowing the true scope of what they went through or who they were able to confirm donations from, I feel like there is more to their success than just having a good campaign page. 

Comments

  1. Ashley HatcherFebruary 21, 2023 at 11:47 AM

    Dusty I completely agree! Asking for money is uncomfortable and actually really hard. I see a lot of success in crowdfunding, but I never realized what is required for some people to reach their goal. There is always more to the story than the result.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Reece PhillipsFebruary 21, 2023 at 1:52 PM

    Hey Dusty! Your post is why I'm skeptical about asking money from people who aren't friends or family. However, I do believe asking for services may be a little easier. Personally, I'd be far more comfortable asking a company for a service they already do for free and promote them on the flip side.

    ReplyDelete
  3. hjtreadMarch 1, 2023 at 12:24 PM

    I'm asking 20 times.

    ReplyDelete

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