What to Do If You Haven’t Reached Your Crowdfunding Goal

According to Kickstarter’s own stats, only 35.74% of crowdfunding campaigns meet their goal. If you add to that the mere 9.8% success rate of Indiegogo campaigns, things start to look even direr. The harsh truth is that not all products are cut out for crowdfunding success. But even if you haven’t reached your crowdfunding goal, the world doesn’t have to end.

In other words, your product can still see the light of day even without crowdfunding backing. Granted, there are few things sexier than adding a “Funded on Indiegogo/Kickstarter” sticker to your website and product, but let’s see how you can leverage your crowdfunding journey even without having succeeded at it.

Find out What Went Wrong

First thing’s first: even with the small success rates of such campaigns, you still can’t shrug it off and blame it on bad luck. There are countless reasons why a crowdfunding campaign can fail – I’ve listed five of them here. If the reason you haven’t reached your crowdfunding goal is among them, then you know where to start.

If not, start digging deeper. You can even go to Indiegogo or Kickstarter support and ask for an honest review or opinion. There’s no guarantee that you will get an answer, but it never hurts to try.

Repurpose the Content

If you have a killer pitch and a great video, why let them go to waste? OK, you haven’t reached your crowdfunding goal with them, but this doesn’t mean they should be forgotten.

While it’s obvious you can’t use them in the exact same form, you can always alter some sentences and use part of your pitch on your own website. The same goes for the video: cut the “Join our Indiegogo/Kickstarter community” part and use the explainer video to show people how to use your product and leverage the benefits it has to offer.

You only have to be careful to remove all mentions of crowdfunding if you repurpose content from your campaign. Even if the fact you haven’t reached your crowdfunding goal is not the end of the world for you, it still doesn’t mean you have to remind your audience about your bump in the road.

Keep Your Social Media Channels Open

Why start fresh when you already have a small community? Social media shares and likes aren’t just great for hacking the Gogo factor. They can also help you with boosting your brand awareness.

If your social media profiles were specifically created for the product you were trying to raise funds for, you’re in luck! You already have the right audience in the right place.

First off: let your fans and followers know that you haven’t met your goal. Explain why you think this happened and let them know how you plan to fix the things that went wrong. Don’t be afraid to admit you’ve made mistakes; honesty will get you farther than white lies, especially with crowdfunding aficionados.

Next on the agenda: talk about your plans for the future and, in doing so, give people a reason to stick around. Tell them about the new launch date and how you plan to gather the funds you need now that you haven’t reached your crowdfunding goal.

If you’re absolutely sure that you can launch the product, you can even setup a pre-order file. Some of you most passionate backers might still jump at the chance to be among the first people to own it.

In the following weeks/months until the actual launch, update people constantly to let them know where you’re at. Trial and error stories are always great for social media, so don’t be afraid to share yours.

Use the Email Database

We’ve already spoken about how important email is for crowdfunding. But this doesn’t mean you have to forget about it altogether if you haven’t reached your crowdfunding goal.

On the contrary! The email database of people who backed your project or simply signed up for your newsletter is a goldmine.

Start by letting people know how they can get their money back! Yes, do this even if there is enough information about it on the crowdfunding platform that hosted your campaign. People will appreciate your concern for them.

Just like in the case of social media, send an email blast explaining what went wrong and what your plans for the future are. Be as detailed as possible and don’t forget to add links to your social profiles and website.

Email subscribers and social media fans and followers can be your starting point in developing an even better product. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. Conduct polls or simply send emails with questions about certain features and even colors you plan to add to the product.

Don’t forget to make people feel appreciated by telling them how important their contribution to your product development is.

Bottom line: even if you haven’t reached your crowdfunding goal, it doesn’t mean that all your hard work was wasted. You now have a greater brand awareness, a list of email contacts and social media fans and followers who are definitely interested in your brand and product.

Never let such things go to waste! You can even use them as leverage to help you draw new investors and complete your product development in record time!

Need help leveraging your crowdfunding contacts? You’ve come to the right place! Our seasoned marketers can help you turn this bump in the road in a solid foundation for your future endeavors: