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Crowdfunding campaigns have recently become the global trend for raising funds for innovative ideas likes of which would never get to see daylight in the past. But how does one run a campaign that actually raises money ? Having an idea to develop isn’t enough anymore, being able to run a successful and impressive crowdfunding campaign is equally or perhaps in most cases more important .

Here are a few points to consider before launching a crowdfunding campaign of your own that could potentially get great backing:

• The traditional approach would be to launch a campaign straightaway, but a great way to get your campaign a following even before it’s launch could be to start a pre-launch social media campaign. Social media is a great tool for targeted and free marketing so keeping people engaged can be a great start !

• Write an impressive pitch ! A great pitch is essential for telling people why you think it’s a good idea to back your campaign. Write a good story accompanied with images and videos(they are usually a plus) and thread your project within.

• Uniqueness is key ! With so many crowdfunding campaigns running it is important to give a unique edge to your campaign, and something unique about every campaign is the story behind it. Nobody would be willing to do free marketing for any campaign but what could get people talking about it is the struggles behind it while giving it a more universal appeal.

• After putting together a good pitch you would want the campaign to go viral and getting picked up by the local media could be a great start. While targeting media groups it is a good idea to target journalists or media houses with maximum viewership and those who would be interested in covering the story. Media houses usually compete in covering stories and once it becomes a topic of discussion in the local media, international media usually picks up leads getting local viewership.

• Apart from targeting local or national media, social media can be one of the strongest marketing tools that can be used to gauge the popularity trends and what more could be added to the campaign because this is where the discussions are really taking place.

• Getting major influencers on your side that could bring in funding can be a great plus specially those with great social media following. Convincing people to endorse your product because they believe in it is a great achievement for any campaign and in many cases this is a source for major chunks of funding.

• Keeping a track of the project timeline and actively campaigning while the project is alive is extremely important to receive timely funds. For this purpose you should start pitching even before the real campaign begins. This should give you enough time to target all kinds of published material which includes the ones that are published less frequently too!

• An effective pitch should look as good as it sounds , achieve this by using high resolution videos and pictures and you may even include a timeline that gives potential backers a clearer picture of how you expect your campaign to proceed. Consulting professionals on how to present your campaign could be well worth the time and effort.

• Just launching a good campaign only isn’t as effective as also keeping it regularly updated is , reach out to your backers after hitting every milestone to tell them what is going on with the campaign or sometimes just to thank them for their generosity. Regular updates help you build up a bigger community and mobilize the already existing one through continued interest and faith in the campaign. Keep the outreach balanced through social media , telephone and emails. A good strategy could be to use a media campaign worksheet or a scheduler to make sure you are not missing any opportunity.

• If you are using a timeline keep it regularly updated by filling in milestones and achievements whether big or small.

• Perhaps the most interesting feature of any campaign is the perks it offers. Make sure the perks you are offering are reasonably priced and exciting enough to lure people in enough to back your campaign and that you are delivering them well in time to maintain the faith of the backers in your campaign

For a campaign owner an important trait is to sound thankful to the supporters, little details like even a simple note of thanks can go a long way in building their trust in your cause.