This Generator exercise is a follow up to Planning a crowdfunding campaign, and should be read before getting the best Performance from your campaign.

The Crowdfunding Industry Report 2012 from Crowdsourcing.org states there are more than 450 active crowdfunding platforms worldwide, most of them in the US or Europe. One of the most important decisions to make is which crowdfunding platform to choose for your campaign. These depend on factors such as:

• What type of project e.g. music, live performance, film, artwork, social enterprise, new product design
• How much you want to raise
• Where your project is based
• Where your audience is based
• Whether to choose a fixed or flexible funding goal

Most platforms operate on a fixed funding model known as ‘all or nothing’, holding any funds pledged in escrow until the end of the campaign, and if the target is not reached then pledges are refunded. Indiegogo offers a choice between Fixed Funding or Flexible Funding, charging a higher fee for this option, but allows you to keep any of the money raised during your campaign, even if you fall short of your goal. Rockethub offers an ‘All and More’ system of letting you keep any funds raised as well as unlocking additional perks if you raise more than your target.

By choosing an international platform you will be placing your campaign in front of more potential funders, but you will also be facing more competition. If your project has a local or Australasian angle or location then it may be worth going with PledgeMe or Pozible and this may not necessarily limit your international reach. Over 15% of pledges on PledgeMe, come from overseas, tapping in to the estimated network of 700,000 Kiwis currently living offshore according to KEA New Zealand.

The Crowdfunding Wiki has a long list of crowdfunding platforms, examples, and shows that in August 2012 the top five crowdfunding platforms by traffic (as measured by Alexa) were:

1. Kickstarter
2. IndieGoGo
3. GoFundMe
4. ChipIn
5. RocketHub

To run a Kickstarter campaign you’ll need to either be or work with a US resident with a US bank account and address, or you can speak to the Biz Dojo about partnering through their creative Kickstarter service. Not all Kickstarter projects are accepted and they specify it must be a ‘Creative Arts’ project to qualify.

Crowdsourcing.org suggests the best niche platforms by genre such as the Seven Best Crowdfunding Sites for Musicians, Top Crowdfunding sites for Designers, or Unbound a UK site for crowdfunding books.

Here is a round of up of five crowdfunding platforms that I know have been used successfully by Kiwi creatives to fund projects. For more you can read a comparison of crowdfunding services.

* * * Next Steps * * *

• Make a final decision on which crowdfunding platform to use
• Get ready to publish your project with a title, description, pictures, video and list of pledge rewards
• Always read the FAQs and Terms & Conditions
• Allow a lead time of around 48 hours for your project page to go live
• Read Running a Crowdfunding Campaign

Recommended Reading

• Indiegogo Insights
• Kickstarter Statistics
• Pledge Me Tips
• Pozible Video Tips
• RocketHub Toolkit
• Crowdfunding Help