Top Crowdfunding Reads of the Week (7/24/15)

Recommended Read #1

While many of us know that crowdfunding is a great way to raise capital for your startup, it’s often a missed opportunity for product development. Using a crowdfunding platform to ‘test market’ a product is an easy way to test the water with your audience.

Begin by testing the market. You’ll know immediately if your product is ready, because if people are beginning to invest in your idea, then more investors will potentially follow.

Get your audience involved. Using a crowdfunding platform to find out what it is your customers truly want will get you the inside information on how to design and develop a successful product.

Don’t forget to gather feedback and reviews. If you’ve sent out prototypes, gathering customer feedback is going to benefit your product before it hits the market. This is one of the best ways to ensure that you’re selling something that the people are going to want. Remember, negative feedback is still just as important as positive feedback.

Even if your crowdfunding campaign doesn’t reach the goal you were hoping for, consider your project a free marketing tactic. You’ll still be able to make changes and begin another campaign with an improved product, but at least you got your name out there to the world.

Click here to read the rest of “6 Ways to Use crowdfunding for Product Development.”

Recommended Read #2

Did you ever think that the presidential candidates had the secrets for running a successful crowdfunding campaign? Until we read “Lessons From the Original Crowdfunders: Presidential Candidates,” we hadn’t either.

Presidential candidates do everything in their power to make a name for themselves long before they announce their candidacy for president. Like a good crowdfunding campaign, you need to create a stable market for your product before launching on a site like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. The campaign shouldn’t be the first time the audience has ever heard of your company or your idea. It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice entrepreneur – you can still take action and jump headfirst into the pool by sharing photos, videos and information through Facebook, Twitter and any other platform available.

Taking advice from the presidential candidates again, many of the projects you see on crowdfunding sites have already began the footwork by either establishing fans before their launch or having previously launched a product and are back for a second run. Unfortunately, you can’t just step into the crowdfunding circle and expect to hit your goal in a day. Your audience needs to see what you’re about; gain your trust; and then decide whether your idea is worth it or not.

It may seem like crowdfunding campaigns reach their goals just days after they launch, but in reality, they have begun their efforts long before the product’s launch.