There’s been a lot of successes- Pebble Smartwatch- and failures- the Lily Drone. 

Here’s a guide to starting a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign.  

1) Have a Business Plan:  It’s usually the first lesson of business school, too.  Whatever your product may be: a new app, device or even charity.  

Have goals to meet and another plan if you meet them.  

2) Social Media is Insanely Important– Some of you might be saying “duh”, but some might think a Kickstarter page is enough. 

Funders want to see a progressive marketing strategy that they can brag about to their friends (which is what you want too) or report to their company (even better).  Link all your social sites to the funding page as well as a nice website.  

3) Have a Video: There are so many crowdfunding campaigns it’s easy to get missed.  What stops someone from bouncing off your page?  Video.  

And the better produced videos, the better the results.  That doesn’t mean slick.  My approach to crowdfunding clients is to create a high-end documentary about their campaign.  Draw your potential funders into your story.  

It’s why they’re there to begin with.  To be apart of something bigger.