The 5 Rules to Running a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign

Since my exit from Mutiny Pictures Most of my work, these days is as an executive producer, consultant, distribution representative, and marketer. However, there was a time when I was a filmmaker and a regular (as opposed to executive) producer.  During that time, I raised a total of 33,000 on Kickstarter for two projects.   This blog gives you some of what I learned from those two campaigns.

​While those two projects never went as far as they could have due to a parting of ways between myself and my former business partner, there’s still a lot of information I learned in running these campaigns in the early days of Kickstarter.  Here are 5 of them.

​#1. Prepare

You CANNOT be successful in crowdfunding without preparation, and that preparation starts early.  Generally, your soft preparation for a crowdfunding campaign will start at least 6 months before you launch your campaign.  This soft preparation will consist more of being an active member of your community.  About 3 months out you’ll need to get ready to shoot your video, and about 2 months later you’ll need to get ready for pre-launch. 

I’ll be releasing a preparation timeline in a few weeks, so check back soon!

#2. Grow Your Network

About 80% of your donations will come from people you already know and interact with regularly.  This is why you need to become active in communities that will be interested in your film.  This can be alumni organizations, groups of people enthusiastic about the kind of film you’re making, and any other group of people that are tangentially connected to the film you’re planning on making.
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#3. ​It’s a Full Time Job, Plan Accordingly

No matter how much preparation you do, when the campaign starts it will be at least one person’s full-time job.  You’ll need to personally thank everyone who donates, and you’ll need to spend a lot of time emailing basically everyone you know individually.  If you’re smart, you’ll do it twice.  Bulk emails aren’t going to do you anywhere near as much good as individual emails, and individual emails take a lot of time. 
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#4. Try to Get as Much Press as Possible

The best way to add legitimacy to your campaign is to get mentioned in the press.  In order to get that press you’ll need to reach out to any editors and reporters you can that might cover you.  Note that I say editors and reporters THAT MIGHT COVER YOU.  If you know a reporter at Variety, you probably don’t want to email them about your campaign since they’re not going to cover it.  If you grew up in a small town with a local paper, you definitely do.  You’d be surprised what they’ll cover. 

This is something you can work with your prospective crew about as well.  Maybe you’re not from a small town, but your DP or production designer might be.  This can be a very mutually beneficial arrangement, it puts your crew in the spotlight and raises the profile of the film. 

It would be wise to send out a press release via one of the many press release sites.  This will help you generate at least a few articles on affiliates for NBC, FOX, and others that you can use to grow the profile and perceived legitimacy of your campaign.  It also has some SEO benefits, but I’m not sure that would help too much on crowdfunding. ​

#5. DON’T SPAM

Don’t post your campaign incessantly on all of your social media,  Make sure you continue to provide value outside of asking for money while you’re in your campaign.

If you use Messenger to send your campaign to someone, open up a conversation first.  Don’t just copy-paste a form email with no conversation back from them.   

Say hello to someone first.  Ask how they’re doing.  Then send them info about your campaign when they ask what you’re up to. Taking the time to show you care about what’s going on in their life will greatly increase both your conversion rate and the amount each member of your network contributes.

Thanks for reading!  If you like this, you should go ahead and grab my FREE Film Market Resource Pack. It’s got a free e-book of articles like this one to help you grow your filmmaking career, free templates to streamline investor and distributor conversations, and even a monthly content digest that helps you continue to grow your knowledge base on a schedule that’’s manageable to almost anyone. Get it for FREE Below.