A crowdfunding campaign prepares, comes alive and must above all reflect who you are ...
So follow the advice of the coach !
You’d like to participate in a competition, buy new equipment for your club or achieve a challenging goal? Your project could be anything you would like to achieve in sports and must be something you’re willing to share with others.
First of all, clearly define your project: introduce yourself, let people know your story and your dream, set a starting and ending date, share your objectives and tell people how you’ll handle it. Be passionate and make it exciting!
You’ll need to share as many details as possible, and be clear and transparent.
People want to know how you’ll use the money to realize your project. Breakdown all associated costs, show them you’re prepared and serious.
Starting a project is like telling a story. Stage yourself so that you can encourage people to believe in your idea. Storytelling is a key to inspiring your fans to join you.
Like in real life, people are prone to follow people or projects that inspire confidence. Be yourself, show them you are capable of doing a great job. Backers can judge if the goals and the project are realistic or not.
A personal project won’t find much support in your larger communities. You have to make sure your project has a collective reach, that it can be attractive to others and convince them to join you. Don’t hesitate to get feedback from your friends before you launch it.
Tip:
Look at other projects in order to inspire yourself and make your own project clearer. You can also get in touch with us if you want to talk about your project!
In order to maximise your chances of success, we propose 3 types of funding :
Your campaign is funded as soon as the goal you have set at the beginning is reached within the time limit. Then you’re credited with the total amount. However, if you don’t reach your funding goal, backers get refunded (free of charge).
Taking into account the collaborative nature of sports, the goal here isn't to reach a minimum amount of money but rather to unite a maximum number of backers around your campaign. The "all or nothing" funding principle applies.
You keep the money you collected whether you’ve reached your funding goal or not. Every little coin counts when we deal with charity projects.
After figuring out your budget and identifying your audience, ask yourself what would be the minimum amount you would need to initiate your project. Keep in mind that you can exceed your goal, so be realistic.
Don’t forget to include the costs of your related rewards (production and shipping) and the Fosburit fee (depending on coaching options you will choose).
Your communities are the key to your success! You must evaluate them precisely on three different levels :
Your first level is the Love Money :
It stands for your friends, family, colleagues, supporters, members of your club or your association…
They are the first ambassadors of your project: you will optimize your chances of success if they agree to support your campaign by spreading the word about it!
In most cases, they are your first backers.
Your second level embraces friends of friends and your other acquaintances :
You met them at a party, in a sports club, at work… These backers enter the game as soon as your first level gave their thumbs up.
Your third level are the people you don’t know :
This is the widest and most financially powerful group. But don’t underestimate them : building trust between your third funding level and yourself won’t be an easy task. You’re mistaken if you assume that these people are going to back your project after only having a glance at your project page. Giving money to a stranger (or almost-stranger) is a very strong sign of trust.
Your message will allow you to build this trust. For instance, you could shoot a personal, authentic video, which highlights your project and centers on emotion, humour and generosity.
Your previous involvement in sports and your sports achievements will help you, so don’t be shy and : highlight them on your project page and in your news.
It is very difficult to foresee the impact that this third level will have on your project: do not overlook it!
Corporate sponsors :
Thanks to your crowdfunding campaign, you will also be able to grow your community by seeking corporate sponsors. Companies may be willing to back your project for several reasons :
- Sharing sports values
- Sharing crowdfunding spirit
- Reaching an audience
Just add up the different costs related to your project and sort them by item. Be as transparent as possible; your backers will need to know precisely what their money will be used for.
Your funding period can last from one to 60 days.
However, keep in mind, that long funding periods are not a guarantee of success: it can be harder to create confidence and sustain motivation around your campaign. Even with a shorter funding period, supporters will still have plenty of time to back your project.
Tip:
Usually, there are lots of pledges at the end of your campaign, so it's usually a good idea to start and finish your campaign during the weekend.
Fosburit is a reward-based crowdfunding platform: for every pledge amount you’ll make a corresponding reward.
Offering compelling rewards can be a critical determinant of whether or not your crowdfunding campaign sustains its shareability and buzz!
People want to be part of your adventure but they also want something in return.
Building attractive rewards is crucial, as they are probably the most powerful tools to leverage for your project.
You will need to set incentives linked to your project in order to thank your backers for their support. Attractive rewards can encourage those willing to help you to give even more money.
There is so much to share around a sports project!
Tips:
Don’t forget to take into account the cost of rewards (production and shipping) when you set the goal of your collect.
You need to offer rewards for every budget, from ten euros to hundreds or thousands.
Set a low bar (your entry ticket) and a high bar (the maximum amount) for your rewards. You should receive many « low stage» pledges and at least a few « high stage » pledges. Between these two extreme thresholds, insert 4 to 6 evenly distributed tiers of rewards.
Tips:
During your campaign, you will be able to add new rewards or increase the number of rewards already offered.
There’s no rush, take all the time you need to fill out your project page! You have to get people interested.
Your project page has to be engaging, to arouse curiosity, and hopefully be able to convince a potential backer as soon as he lays eyes on it.
Choose a simple project title, striking and easy to remember. It should allow you to stand out from the other projects and to stick to your own identity.
Avoid using the words support, or help… These words imply that you are begging for money, whereas you are offering to share your experience and the passion of sports.
Photos are here to increase your project page's impact on people, choose some that speak for you and your project.
It is the first contact your potential backers will have with your campaign. As much as possible avoid photomontages or confusing lettering.
It’s a short summary of your project in 130 characters maximum. By reading it, your potential backers must be able to instantly understand your project and grasp its goals.
How would you describe your project in one tweet?
Videos are powerful and attractive. It’s by far the most striking element of a crowdfunding campaign. In fact, it directly imparts all the strength of feeling and passion of sports which will allow you to easily share your goals and motivations with your potential backers.
Shooting a nice video isn’t so difficult! Being in front of a video camera can be intimidating but it's really worth it. Staging yourself in a video is proof of your commitment and will allow your supporters to put a face on your name!
Here are the main details to talk about :
And most importantly, thank your backers in advance!
Tip:
Be careful not to use music that isn’t copyright-free! You will find copyright-free music on SoundCloud, Vimeo Music Store, Free Music Archive, or ccMixter.
Fosburit allows you to share your amazing story and adventures with your supporters. Don’t be too formal when you write down your project page. Use a friendly tone.
The presentation of your project has to be easy-to-read and immersive: potential backers must enjoy reading it. Start by explaining how you got there and what drove you to carry out your project.
Beyond backing your project, your supporters are also supporting you. They will live intense passion of sports through your eyes. As the project owner, you’ll have to win their trust as the initiator of your project. Your backers are curious about you and want to know you better: they are interested in your experience, motivation and your previous successes. In a way, you'll need to share your autobiography !
The more they get to know you, the more they’re willing to back your project!
Make them attractive! Describe them in an original way so that they charm your potential backers. Also explain how you’ll deliver them.
Be as transparent as possible on how you intend to spend the money you raised. Your backers will be happy to know how the money they gave is going to be spent. Asking for money without explaining how you are going to use it isn’t an option: you could lose backers who might not understand why you’re launching a crowdfunding campaign.
Tip:
If possible, highlight your rewards with visuals to make your project page more attractive and efficient
The first and the last days of your campaign are the most critical moments.
You definitely need to prepare the launch of your campaign in order to be ready from the very beginning.
A failed launch could be very hard to come back from.
85% of successful campaigns have received pledges from day one. You need to do everything possible to kick-start your campaign.
Launching period :
Just before your project is released to the public, it will be in a launching period where it will be privately listed. This short period of a few days will allow you to engage your first backers, mostly family and friends. The idea is to make your project attractive with already 10% or 20% of your goal already funded prior to its public launch.
During this period, anybody with your project page link will be able to access it. So send the link directly to your close friends, who believe in you and who’ll kick-start your project.
The Final Moments :
This is the most active period of your campaign whether your project has already been funded or not.
Lots of people will join your adventure in the last days! Because they waited until the last minute or because, as with many others, they wanted to be part of it! In the case that your campaign might not reach it funding goal, some will be happy to be the last backers to make it possible.
The organisation of your campaign is another key. You have to be 100% invested if you want to see your project thrive. Money doesn’t grow on trees: your campaign will succeed because YOU won the trust of your backers and convinced them to support your project.
Tip:
In order to know if your communication is efficient enough, we advise you to use a link shortener such as Bitly or Google URL Shortener. That way, you’ll know how many people clicked on the link and went to see your project page.
Keep in mind that you need to gather your whole first level (initiation) before you share your project widely. For example, you can set a 20% goal to reach before you widen your communication and spread the word around.
As soon as your campaign is launched publicly, you’ll have to promote it so that all of your potential backers hear about your campaign.
When it comes to the successful organisation of your campaign you really have to communicate daily. Give regular updates on your communication plan: what you’ve already done, what still needs to be done…
Be creative and original when you write your posts.
Send a customised email to your contacts: family, friends from school or college, friends from your club, your association, your company… Tell them about your new adventure, about your goals and your motivation to carry out this project. Aim widely and tell them to spread the word about your project. Don’t forget the link to your project page!
These are your main allies: easy to use, easy to share, large audience... Use them frequently to keep people posted with your campaign’s updates, to share your project page url and to motivate new backers to join your adventure.
There are tons of sports fans on social medias, and your project would surely interest many of them! So use heavily Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to connect with passionate people.
Radio, TV and print media really like these kind of local initiatives. If they cover your story, you would reach thousands of potential backers. So we suggest you write and send a press release to journalists in your local area and follow-up on the phone.
In addition, you can hold a local event, distribute flyers, put up posters, talk about your project to everybody! Without being too intrusive, network with potential backers!
You can edit :
A crowdfunding campaign is a unique opportunity to show to potential corporate sponsors the strong enthusiasm around your campaign. Let them see how great you’re doing great with your backers and the potential for them to join in.
How to identify potential sponsors ?
They are all around you and they are common values :
Once your campaign has succeeded, the next step is to deliver the promised reward. Don’t take too much time to keep your backers posted, they are really waiting for their gift!
Until the last part of your campaign, you really need to post news on your project page every day to keep your supporters updated. These backers are your first fans, those who gave you the opportunity to realize your project and dreams, you’ll have to strengthen this unique relationship you’ve built with them.
Even if it takes time, do it smiling! Send pictures of you packing or sending the rewards… Be creative, it will make it more enjoyable.
You successfully ran your campaign so let people know about it! Send private messages to your backers to thank them for their support. And use social media as well as every other communication tools you previously used to make some noise: website, Facebook, Twitter, PR …
You have successfully gathered many backers around your project! So keep in touch regularly with them, tell them how you’re doing, what are your goals are for the next season and so on…
If you do this, they will probably be prepared to support you for future challenges! They’ll always be loyal supporters and ambassadors.
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