The whole reason I started a campaign was because so many people around me were asking about were to get my product and how much they loved it, where can they get it, etc. So, I started a campaign and I felt so hopeful about it. Not one of them donated anything and I think there are several issues involved from not wanting to use a credit card on a website, not currently having the funds, wanting the product when it is done, saying they will but they keep putting it off (and not all of us like to chase our friends and family for money) etc.

So, I guess you have to have friends and family who are the approachable type. Truth is, for some of us it is going to be easier to market to complete strangers than to family and friends because strangers don’t know us so it is easier.

With crowdfunding, however, I’m learning that unless you have a ton of supporters your campaign looks like a dud so strangers are less likely to support it.. So I guess the point is that a person shouldn’t start a campaign unless they have a warm circle of friends and family to support them who can kick things off and then strangers can come in and help after there your campaign shows it has a few backers.

I would disagree by a long shot. If what you say is true, then you have yourself a business model that is sure to make millions. Go for it! But there are a couple of assumptions you make that I have not observed anyplace in the sphere of music crowdfunding. (Neither have other “people like me”. If they [or I] had observed it, they’d [or I’d] determine how to replicate, scale and make millions. Sorry bro or sis, the social proof is not backing you up here.)

1) Crowdfunding isn’t “supposed” to do anything other than raise money to invest in your project. You can look for that money anywhere you see fit but the real world experience of 99% of campaigns is that 80-90% of their funding comes from people within 1 degree of separation from them. In other words, the people who pledge to you know you whether that’s a personal relationship or a professional one. (P.S. Ever looked up the word crowd? “A large number of persons especially when collected together.” Nowhere does it say that people have to be strangers to qualify as a crowd.)

2) You seem to be assuming there is some massive sea of strangers that a crowdfunding campaign has access to and can convert into backers. That holds in theory but, in reality, getting in front of people isn’t free (guess what, Facebook charges for advertising!) and convincing other people to do your advertising for you (“Friends, family, and customers should be promoting the campaign.”) will not happen to any extent that allows a campaign to scale organically (i.e., without paying for it). Even if you do get that group of people to promote your campaign, the conversion rate on those strangers will be dismally low and will not scale UNLESS you have some incredible unique value proposition (which musicians don’t, basically by definition).

3) Related, sure, hiring an agency is a no-brainer assuming ROI is going to be positive. I’d suggest that you go find the agency that will prove out ROI to the musician and then start taking a commission on sales. Remember, I’m talking ROI here not a bunch of marketing features like “sharing you with 200 media outlets”. Awesome agencies who can provide positive ROI are generally either working in crowdfunding genres such as tech and design OR they are working for campaigns with enough reserves to make an both the up-front investment in the agency’s services and the back-end percentage that the agency will recoup from the campaign. So, if you find yourself in the situation where you can afford to spend that money plus assume the risk that the ROI is zero, then you can also go to town.

For the majority of artists who are crowdfunding, which is who I am writing to, none of the three prior assumptions hold. So if those assumptions aren’t true, what are they left with to do?

But before I go, one more thing. Your idea is to cut out the middle man by skipping the crowdfunding platform and doing it yourself. THAT’S A GREAT IDEA! No sarcasm here. Some people are able to pull that off and save themselves 5%. They need to be super-organized, super-focussed and have amazing commitment and follow-through. For those people, who also usually have experience with campaigns and releases, it is totally within the realm of possibility to do it themselves.

On the other hand, there are a lot of people who don’t have the skills and experience to do that. And that’s okay. That’s why the idea of a website like Kickstarter took off and that’s why platforms like Kickstarter are in business. They are providing people with a service that those customers find value in. You can’t just sit there and troll crowdfunding and reality because it doesn’t fit with your biased opinion. Look at the facts and figure out why it is like it is. And if you can improve the system b/c you recognize an obvious flaw or limitation, frickin’ go to town! Everybody will thank you for it. Good luck 🙂

I know this is not real new, but:

If most of your money comes from friends and family, why not just ask them? If you get almost all your backing from them, what you’re doing is giving away money to the crowdfunding platform that you could just as easily get yourself. Fact is, it’s not friends and family. Same thing if you have a lot of customers. It’s just dumb to do it that way. It is supposed to reach people you don’t know, not the people you already do. Why do you need to set up a campaign just to ask some relatives to help you out?

Friends, family, and customers should be for promoting the campaign, not for getting the funding. If that’s how you’re getting the funding, you’ve just wasted their money and yours.

And actually, the campaigns that reach millions of dollars do have something in common, but it’s neither of the things you mention. It’s usually an agency behind them. There are big ones, look them up. The ‘friends and family’ thing is just drivel that people who have basically ruined the crowdfunding system parrot.

And since people like you keep repeating it over and over to the public, the public repeats it back, because that’s what most people do. You are convincing them that it’s the truth, then they nod their heads and say ‘yes it is.’ Than you pat yourself on the back.

What you’re promoting is a fake crowdfunding campaign.

Ever looked up the word crowd? It doesn’t mean ‘a few friends.’