How To Write The Perfect Crowdfunding Pitch

Contrary to popular belief, crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo are not magical places where all the dreams come true. A crowdfunding campaign needs a lot of constant work in order to reach its goal. Most of the clients we worked with on crowdfunding campaigns came to us saying: “My campaign is online, but no one is backing it. What should I do?” Aside from other obvious mistakes most people do, their crowdfunding pitch is typically the one that needs more work.

Here’s what a (near) perfect crowdfunding pitch should read like:

Answer the essential questions

• Who: who are you? What is your background and your role in this campaign?
• What: what do you need money for? Detail which phase of the project you are in and exactly what you will spend the money on.
• When: when did you start working on your project and, most importantly, when do you estimate you will finish it?
• Where: where are you from and where will you be shipping to?
• Why: why is your product groundbreaking/worthy of funding?

Be honest

Don’t try to embellish things; instead, speak about your passion and what drove you to create this product in the first place. Explain where you hit bumps in the road and; on Indiegogo you have a section that refers to potential setbacks – what could go wrong? Fill it in if you anticipate that anything wrong can happen (and it typically can); it’s better to be honest from the very beginning.

Avoid large blocks of text in your crowdfunding pitch

Not everybody wants to read the story of your life in a crowdfunding pitch, so make sure to divide it into blocks separated by relevant subtitles and photos. This way, you will make it easier for skimmers to find the information they are really interested in.

Create a sense of community

There are a few tips that you can use in order to boost backer engagement on your campaign page (this will especially help with boosting your Gogo factor on Indiegogo):

• Ask people to leave comments – user-generated content is your golden ticket!
• Ask people to share your project on social media – have all the icons in visible places and add a clear CTA for this in your crowdfunding pitch
• Describe your perks clearly and explain what makes them special and worth having (emphasize on the discounts you are offering)

Don’t ask people to “help”; ask them to “join the awesome club” instead

Unless you’re writing a crowdfunding pitch for a humanitarian endeavor, you shouldn’t ask people for their help – they already know this is an actual business, not a charity case. Instead, you need to make them want to be part of a community on its way to change the world. “Be the first to have this awesome smartwatch”, “Back the project and you’ll get the scooter before anyone else in the world” – phrases like these create a sense of urgency and appeal to people’s need of validation. You’re giving them an opportunity to join an exclusive, elite club, not to help you make your dream come true.

Still unsure whether your crowdfunding pitch is a winning one or not? We can help: