My work takes me to a lot of random places. From time to time friends ask me for assorted info about places I’ve been to, hotels/restaurants/bars to visit, how to deal with public transit, and what it’s like driving when all the signs are in Arabic and the entire region doesn’t use standard addresses.
As I dealt with paying highway tolls and commenting on the state of the infrastructure in Croatia this week, it became clear I need to document these things for fellow travelers, nomads, and world-hoppers who value a budget.
I’m not talking hostels and camping. This is more the average-person’s “things to note” section about somewhere I’ve spent some time.
Follow me as I roam, work, and explore:
IG: @thebeardandlens
Tw: @_danielwelch
Direct Link to the latest blog posts: www.theBeardAndLens.com
Crowdfunding.
Kickstarter
Indiegogo
GoFundMe
These are platforms for you to pitch an idea, base your content, and accept backing funds from strangers, investors, and (let’s face it) your mom.
But the novelty of crowdfunding has worn off dramatically over the last few years, primarily due to saturation. Say you have 2000 friends on Facebook, follow 1000 people on Instagram, 500 Twitter accounts, and utilize Snapchat, Reddit, and Tumblr regularly: the chances of daily running across a crowdfunding campaign are exceedingly high. I average seeing 1-2 original campaigns run across my feed every day. Let’s play the high numbers and say I see 2 per day. The average backer is dropping $25 on a project. So 2 projects at $25 each is $50/DAY x 7 days in a week = $350 PER WEEK I would spend backing campaigns if I threw money at each one playing average statistics. That’s $1400 per month. This is why -
Overwhelmingly, crowdfunding campaigns do not meet their fundraising goals. Between 69 and 89 percent of projects – depending on the platform – fail to reach their targets, according to a new report. - https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/269663
Not only is a campaign playing against the numbers, it’s playing against technology. Maintaining visibility means being on top of social media trends. Good luck with that. Say I have the following 5 multi-ethnic Americans in a room (staggeringly small sampling)
Chandler - 16
Jo - 21
Javier - 27
Tosin - 32
Ashley - 38
I then ask them about their daily social media habits. I’m going to get radically different statistics from each. So do I aim my Kickstarter at all of them? I obviously want them all to give towards my project, but keeping up with each trend is exhausting. The answer: work with a team
The best course of action is to gather either a media-savvy volunteer team, or suck it up and hire professionals. Let’s be clear here. Your goal is the project, product, or whatever you’re pitching. It’s your heart and soul. That’s where your brain power and effort goes, so bring on people that can give you the direction you need. A team can help you create exclusive content, personal media, and effective images/videos/text copy for FB/IG/Tw/Snap.
According to Indiegogo, teams raise three times more funds than individuals. So you can do it alone, or you can do it with a team and play the numbers more in your favor.
Creating a team
Ultimately a team can be two people or two-hundred people. It’s based on your needs. My most recent CF project was with Hell’s Kitchen Hot Sauce, created by Ron Menin of Hell’s Kitchen, NYC. This campaign, which ended this morning at 9:36am fully-backed is a perfect example of how to build a team around your campaign.
We’re in the place now where ultimately, the media used in the campaign has to translate the passion one has for the project/product they want funded. I’m far more likely to give my $25 to a cause I believe in, a documentary I want produced, a product I want to purchase, or a guy that eat-sleeps-breathes his product and wants the world to be a better place for it. Ron is that guy.
So we sat down a couple times, just for consultations, to talk about what he does, where he’s been, how he lives his day-to-day…I wanted his media to capture actual Ron, because Ron is Hell’s Kitchen Hot Sauce.
The sauce came second. We chatted through the inspiration for his sauces, how he started out, where he’s gone with it; all of this on camera. Since you can’t taste a hot sauce through a Kickstarter but you can see and hear about it, we needed to employ other techniques for experiencing the sauces.
Let me reiterate: exclusive content that fits into your vision goals is paramount.
You need media that is catered to each individual social media platform, or can crossover two. We put together clips for Instagram, product stills for Twitter/IG, and longer narratives/talking heads/promos for Facebook/Reddit/forums. And of course, as seen above, a pitch video for HKHS Kickstarter Campaign. Your campaign is four times more likely to reach its goal with a video pitch.
So when shopping for media companies, teams, or individuals to hire for your CF campaign, remember three things.
1. You want someone who’s not just worked on a campaign, but has worked on a successful campaign.
2. Hire someone who makes you comfortable while sparking the creativity in you and the passion for your product! Interview these guys. Don’t pick the first you see, pick the one that fits your vision, and the one you look forward to working with.
3. Expect to pay up front. Not necessarily the entire fee, but definitely some. A creative media director worth his salt is going to charge you for his time at the beginning, and take a solid percentage from the campaign backings. This is ok!! Budget into your campaign goals “advertising” or “media content” and be honest about it. You can then expect this check to be the first one you cut when you cash out your campaign, and it will be likely 5-20% of your backing depending on how media-heavy your content and product are.*
All in all, this is entirely worth the up-front costs. Again, read the stats, play the numbers. This is sales, just a different version than you’ve ever experienced before.
Volunteers
Friends and family are worth their weight in gold. They often are passionate about your goals (though not to your possibly-psychotic level) and are happy to help out. You’ll need a group of people to share posts, repost, retweet, and snapchat on location. You’ll need them to help you set up for a promotional get-togethers, or tear down after a long day. You’ll need them to help you box and ship out your rewards! This group is equally as important as the paid media team. And if you can pay them too…GREAT!
All in all remember to do your research. Some information concerning crowdfunding from 2012/13 is borderline obsolete. The concept of CF is the same but the execution requires different skills. If you don’t want to be in that 69-89% failure bracket, prepare to work, prepare to spend, and prepare for the unexpected.
* Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing campaign platform. If you don’t meet your goal, you don’t get your money. If you are hiring professionals to help with your project, there’s a high likelihood you will need to pay their full fee up front. I won’t gamble with my paycheck with clients I don’t know personally, so if I’m working on a project for a Kickstarter, the client is getting a full quote up front with payment due long before the Kickstarter is completed.
People are often baffled by my preference to drive rather than fly. But imagine setting aside a full day or two of solitude, to ponder upcoming work, plan business strategies, delve into one’s own philosophies, embrace the emotion in a piece of music or album…to meditate or be within oneself.
These days we don’t stop moving, no matter the job. We are pushed and pressed by outward stimuli and circumstance, often without being able to adapt inwardly.
These almost monthly sessions of being inside my head while being out in the world, but disconnected largely from it have become an invaluable part of my business, my planning, my art, myself.
