Crowdfunding With Content Marketing

Salvador Briggman:

From my experience, whenever you begin with the product and try to “sell” a consumer or “get people to pledge” to your crowdfunding campaign, you’re starting off on the wrong foot. The reason I am mentioning this is the last sentence of his question “without looking like I am harassing blog readers about a product that I want them to spend their money on.”

The beauty of social media, blog comments, and receiving emails from readers as a result of finding your blog is that you can engage in a discussion with your future customers and really begin to understand their problems.

The sole purpose of a product is to solve a problem that a consumer has. When you create a product that genuinely makes someone’s life better, easier, or more enjoyable, they are no longer spending money and you are no longer SELLING to them. They are investing money in their own life and they are BUYING from you.

Salvador Briggman

From a practical standpoint, I would first try to engage your readers in a discussion about the problem that your project or product will solve. Take a genuine interest in the readers that experience this problem. Seek to understand why the existing solutions do not solve their problem adequately. Only then, would I mention my own product or solution.

In addition, the more that you can involve them in the creation and eventual launch of the campaign, the better. This can include: taking pictures of the box your first prototype comes in, giving updates once a week to explain how excited you are for this project and how you are pouring all of your energy into it, or inviting readers to a special pre-launch facebook event or live meetup to give feedback for the campaign in exchange for a mention in the video or on the website.

I launched CrowdfundingPr after many discussions with crowdfunding campaign creators. It was only after these discussions that I could understand their problem (publish a press release on a tight budget) and then come back in a few weeks with a solution to their problem.

At the same time, I do break my own rules. Sometimes I’ll mention a website idea on social media or the blog just to see how people will react. I’m planning to do this with my new website  CrowdfundingClassifieds (in beta mode) where you can create a free classified listing related to your campaign (hiring a marketer/video editor/etc).

You know your readers or customers best! When in doubt, ask for feedback is a great way to introduce the idea of a product to your audience along with emphasizing your passion and excitement for the upcoming campaign.

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