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LAUNCHING A CROWDFUNDING COMPAIGN

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Successful crowdfunding projects can help you get the capital you need to produce a product, but don’t take your eyes off the long-term goal of building an enduring business.

Think of a crowdfunding campaign as a wedding: you want it to be spectacular, but what’s most important is how things work out in the long term. Once you’ve run a successful crowdfunding campaign, you’ll have proven market demand, connected with active supporters, and earned the funds to start a business.

If you’re looking for a traditional business loan, check out Shopify Capital. We can help you get funded with minimal paperwork and no credit checks. Merchants receive funds within a few days after an accepted offer and can use the money for things like inventory, payroll, and marketing.

A few drawbacks to crowdfunding include the time and money it takes to get your campaign running. 
 

WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE
A COMMUNICATION PLAN ?

  • - A crowdfunding campaign is a communication campaign as well. It’s important to schedule your communication plan, day by day, before starting.
  • - This section is a road map to plan your daily communications during your crowdfunding campaign. Starting 15 days before the real launch, you should only be executing what you already planned.
  • - The communication plan doesn’t guarantee success, of course, but without one your campaign will likely fail.

CAMPAIGN TIMELINE

The crowdfunding timeline consists of 2 main phases:

  • The preparation phase: it consists of the campaign scoping and preparation.
  • The live phase: it starts with the campaign launch and lasts until the rewards’ distribution and the campaign evaluation.

MACRO PLAN

The campaign macro planning gathers 4 phases and reveals 3 circles and 2 peaks.

DAILY CALENDAR

The daily calendar is a table filled with tasks to be executed day by day, starting 15 days before your launch : who are your potential contributors/ buyers ? how you will reach them ? Through a phone call ? social media ? email ? You will put every communication action in your plan (calls, social media posts, event preparation…)

This template (Click here!) helps you list and set-up your campaign’s daily calendar.

YOUR COMMUNITY:

This section guides you to identify your community members and why would they support your project and the crowdfunding you will be running.

Who
Why
Indzfgzduals
family, friends, colleagues, beneficiaries, the crowd.
Affinity for project teams / Contribute to a cause / Buy cheaper
Organizations & institutions
public institutions, NGOs, Enterprises
Contribute to a cause / Improve their brand

MAPPING YOUR COMMUNITY

Mapping your community aims at identifying both indzfgzduals and organizations that can support you during your campaign phases. A community map highlights people, physical structures, organizations, and institutions that can be utilized to help you spread the word about your campaign to reach more donors, contributors or buyers  and meet your campaign goal.

  • Circle 1: friends, family and colleagues ;
  • Circle 2: acquaintances, friends of friends ;
  • Circle 3: interested communities, media, influencers, companies, other NGOs …

To map your community, here are 4 key steps:

  1. Draw the circles map on a sheet or download the template here!
  2. Match a Post-it color to each circle ;
  3. Follow the guidelines on the next page table to list potential contributors and buyers ;
  4. Stick them at the adequate circle.
CircleWho/What ? 
Circle 1: friends, family & colleagues
 
  • People who will support you because they love you / believe in you (parents, family members, colleagues, friends). They probably won’t ask too many questions about the details of your project or ask for a business plan.
  • They’re the first to support you (7, 10 first days of the campaign), you need to solicit them first.
 
Circle 2:friends of friends & acquaintances
 
People you’ve already met (ex: at an event or through friends) that you can ask to support your campaign.
 
Circle 3: public
 
  • The general public who don’t know you, but could be interested in your campaign.
  • Media includes:
    • Written press: lematin.ma (Mohamed Sellam), Welovebuzz (Achraf Qorchi), l’économiste (Amine Ater), le360, …
    • Radio : Chaine inter (صباح بلادي), MFM Radio (المقاول – Almoqawil) …
    • TV show : مساء النور يا مغرب on MBC5, Générations News on Medi1TV…
    • Blogs : https://www.greenprophet.com/ , http://middleeast.geblogs.com/en/
  • Interested communities: communities interested on the domain you’re operating in (tourism, Green Tech, Social, Fintech, agroecology…), you can find them on social media pages & groups, or meet them at an event…
  • Influencers: people who have a big community following them through social media or blogs. Examples : Ihssane Benalluch, Ahmed AlShugayri, Anas Yakine, writers, journalists, entrepreneurs, bloggers…
  • Corporates: NGOs & Enterprises which objectives are aligned with yours. Examples : British Council (Education), World Bank, OCP Foundation (Green Tech), Endeavor, local organizations (banks, NGOs).
 
Ambassadors
 
People who will communicate about your campaign as much as you do, and whose mission is to represent your project to potential backers (indzfgzduals or organizations). They can be members of the same group as you (NGOs, cooperative….), or member of your first circle (friends, family & colleagues…)
 

WHERE TO LAUNCH YOUR CAMPAIGN

Your community map is ready. Now, it is time to choose the platform you will use to run your crowdfunding campaign.