Hello there! I am a couple of weeks away from launching a gofund me fundraiser for a project that I have written based on a true story. It's my first "socially conscious" and real personal story, and Im a bit nervous and feeling vulnerable, haha. I do not have the self-financing this time, and we are looking for 15-25K to make this 15 minute short. So Im gathering the stuff I need, and my producer wants to use that platform even though it's not a film specific platform like Seed and Spark / Indiegogo. The thing that I am weirdly the most nervous about is like, the actual pitch - I find it so hard to "just be me" on camera, just authentically trying to present the idea, I hate the feeling of being salesy and asking for money, and be like YOU SHOULD SUPPORT ME BECAUSE. I don't know, I guess I'd like some advice from 1. People who have successfully crowdfunded, what materials worked for them, your personal statement etc and or 2. People who have supported campains, WHAT it was about the campaign that made them want to contribute in any way financially, like what stood out, why did you want to support that person/project? Any advice, thoughts, ideas is highly appreciated!
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I'm about to launch my 27th Kickstarter for comic books. I encourage you to focus on the consumer perk levels. Ensure you provide comparable value to your competitors.
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Hope both of you get fully funded!
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Spend months and months in pre-launch.
Pick the correct platform for this project which is Kickstarter (by a landslide) or Seed & Spark.
Provide rewards with a side order of rewards all washed down with refreshing rewards.
Here's an example of a campaign that's doing it right.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theboxassassin/webseries?ref=nav_se...
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Thank you so much! I don’t like that kickstarter is all or nothing . But I like that seed and spark is giving you a green light if you reach 75%.
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Jasmin Haugstuen Please - I highly, highly recommend you read RB's book. He interviewed hundreds of filmmakers over a series of years and wrote about all the steps necessary to have a successful crowdfunding campaign. It is a guidebook that will truly help the success of your campaign: https://www.amazon.com/Crowdsourcing-Filmmakers-American-Market-Presents...
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Wow thanks - what a resource !
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Hi Jasmine, it's been a minute. The all-or-nothing crowdfunding model of Kickstarter is actually your friend (but it needs to be explained). How is your crowdfunding research going?
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David Santo , do you really favor Kickstarter over Indiegogo that significantly? There was a time many creators were having difficulty with Kickstarter's customer service. For that reason I went with Indiegogo and had a great experience.
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Kickstarter has almost 20 million users. Indiegogo has about 5M. So there's way more opportunity for organic growth on Kickstarter.
Kickstarter has about a 40% success rate. Indiegogo is 9%.
There's an entire cottage industry supporting Kickstarter i.e kickboom.com. This company can help you scale your campaign higher and insure order fulfillment.
The list goes on.
I usually have clients do a Kickstarter for one aspect of their project. Then move that success story over to Indiegogo or Seed & Spark.
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Very cool. I could totally be mistaken but just in case anyone is looking to use that resource I think it's Launchboom instead of Kickboom. In which case they're good, I've read their book. I think their tactics work well for IGG and KS (I've been absolutely ghosted by Seed&Spark after building an entire campaign on their platform, but it looks like they've come around in the last couple years).
Kickstarter's definitely a classier establishment, it for sure has more foot traffic and shows a higher level of credibility. But, on Indiegogo, even if you don't reach your goal, you can still create a version of your movie on whatever you get. You just may have to use action figures for stand-ins.
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I didn’t reach my goal last time with kickstarter and I cannot get over loosing everything. It was so awful, I’ve learned a lot since and I have more confidence in this project, however I don’t want to put my money on all or nothing again. My producer is still insisting on using go fund me even though it’s not the platform filmmakers usually use. But she has had success with it previously and so that’s what we are going for. We are launching this Friday - and I’m Defo sh***ing bricks. I’ve pulled together a directors reel from me, we have her producer reel, my cinematographers reel, as well as my pitch video. The composer and production designer have also made videos talking about their excitement about the project
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Has anyone tackled a personal story tackling serious topics - and created any merch/physical things that people might be interested in ? I’ve beeen trying to think of something outside the regular stuff one offers in return for support.
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Doing kickstarter for one aspect of the project is such a good idea. I’m definitely bringing that to my producer
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Youtube is always a great place to put your work out there with Youtube ads Jasmin Haugstuen Please
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Hi Jasmin,
I've been reading your recent posts and I can empathise with you in many respects.
I just wanted to introduce myself and try and see if I can help you achieve your goal. Pitching and or funding directly from individuals is a common nervous endeavour so you're in the majority so its not you.
Have you tried entering competitions? There are many and I've seen Stage 32 have them too.
Try turning it round i.e. bring value to the funders instead of it to you... make sense? Flip the approach.
Have you heard of https://helpbnk.com it literally helped me connect to a company in San Diego that will hopefully be step towards making my dream come to fruition. (not a paid ad in any way)
Consider doing the project in smaller terms e.g. smartphone filming, friends or family as cast and crew, using animation or dare I suggest AI to get it to a point of making a trailer / teaser for the film you want to make and screen it to potential investors (the Coen's made one for their first film Blood Simple and it worked)
I'm on my second draft of a children's science fiction television series based on bedtime stories my brother told me. I haven't pitched it yet but I'm planning to within a year. I love it and its made me cry and laugh while writing it as the three main characters are me or at least aspects of me and my experiences.
I watched this the other day and your project made me think you might want to watch it as its short, personal and got to Netflix...
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81252991#:~:text=A%20rural%20electronic....
Anyway I hope some of this helps and your welcome to reply no matter and lets connect on here... I'm in the U.K so that's why some of my terms and links are associate with it.
Warm regards
John Kennedy
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It is, in my opinion, the most interesting brand of heartbreak that a rejected artist goes through. But just because someone doesn't see your vision does not mean that it's no good. And sometimes a "no" is a "not yet," but you'd never know which is which unless you keep going. Walt Disney is a great example. Considered by many the world over as being one of the greatest storytellers of all time. Also a man that failed A LOT and lost A LOT because of each failure. But all a failure really is is a person who was brave enough to try. Falling down is gravity, staying down is a decision. You've got this!
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I sold everthing I have (including my marriage) to make 3 Calaveras, but for me, COVID take everthing. I have nothing but my childrens now. But in my case, i want to make history in spanish rock. Different things. O hope you achievment your goal! Greetings from Argentina
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Brandy Camille I just saw this. And the timeliness is peculiar. My producer pulled out of the project due to having taken too many things on. It's like the rug was pulled from under me. I feel so deflated and defeated. It's the first time I was going to get to mostly focus on directing. I was relying on the producer to do the stuff I'm not good at, that takes so much of my energy and focus away from the creative. I'm scared to have to do the fundraising on my own and I'm doubting everything now. I'm torn because I want to get it done. I want to do this. But then also I'm feeling like, maybe "not yet"?
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Jasmin Haugstuen Please well that's entirely up to you. Do you fall off the horse and stay down or do you get back up, dust yourself off, and keep riding? Dr. Seuss said it best when he said, "You've got a brain in your head and feet in your shoes." The great thing about Stage 32 is that we have resources for the stuff anybody is not good at, because it's all right here. I would recommend taking a look at some of the courses on funding and distribution. Maybe some of the on-demand offerings, so you can always circle back to them and write things down. Then the hard part after that is actually being brave enough to do the things. But you're already braver than most...you're a storyteller.
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Thank you Brandy Camille
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I launched it anyway!!! I'm going to try!!!! :D
https://www.fakeidproductions.com/luckyalienfilm
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markdeuce that’s a misleading statement to say to get any return on YouTube you need over 1,000 followers-
and 4,000 viewing hours per month. to get to that is a job in itself with constant content.
there are many stats that say fb advertising is best for crowdfunding but I’ve always found Twitter to be better. it’s constant posting for 60 days. there’s a trick to it and when you get half way ish you get super backers. they like you or your story.
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The website looks great, Jasmin Haugstuen Please!
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The key to successfully raising your budget on crowdfunding is to have a core base to go to on launch date, along with a compelling campaign. Most of your money will come from friends, family, colleagues, etc. Not random people and not other filmmakers. Also, I'd ask yourself if you can do the film for 5-10k, as that's an easier goal than 15-25k. I'd spend at least 2-3 months on pre-launch prep / building a following to reach out to. Either way, best wishes to you!!
It is not just montetizing your YT chanel, but marketing yourself and content Jane Sanger have a great weekend.
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UPDATE FOR ANYONE INTERESTED:
It's been three weeks and we have raised $5310 so far! We have a ways to go, but I do see donations trickling in every day :) What I love about having this guaranteed pot is that I can do something with it - I don't LOOSE all of it. And there's no deadline, so we can literally try raising funds until the day we start shooting. Of course Im working on contingency plans and applying for Fiscal sponsorship etc. But yeah.... No regrets. Im applying some of the advice I got on here and I wanna say thank you for that and just for the encouraging words!!! <3 It's hard out here! lol
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Thanks so much for the update Jasmin! What strategies have you used? It' would be great for you to share with us what you're doing that's working.
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Congratulations to you and your team, Jasmin Haugstuen Please! I like that kind of crowdfunding campaign rather than "all or nothing."
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Amanda Toney Yeah! It's a lot of classic annoying things like, posting on social media every day and trying to be creative about it. My team and I made some good videos before wee launched the campaign where we each speak about why we are excited etc. And posting silly things to, that make people laugh, and some vulnerable things. Also just having a QR code ready on your phone and being cheeky when you tell people in person about it and ask like, would you donate 10 bucks? And then sometimes they'll put in a fair amount more in the moment.
Because my campaign is NOT all or nothing, Im promising that the money WILL be spent on something and that they WILL see their dollars work. Im also socializing with people I know a lot more often, coffee meetings asking for advice, and reminding them i exist. (Im exhausted lol)
When I get to a place of maybe like 6K or around there we're almost at the halfway mark and I'll feel more comfortable asking some of the big dogs I know, and they can see that hey- we're already somewhere, and people believe in it. Ive attached some actors that are super talented but also has some traction and followers and are up and coming, and when I tell people that, they get more excited. The most successful day I had was posting a video of me telling them MY story reeally quickly, and so many people were SHOCKED And then they UNDERSTOOD that I am telling THIS story, the TRUE story that happened to ME, and they really started to care. I asked friends of mine to post links and be like, "hey did you already donate but today's your payday and you can maybe donate again? ;)" and a friend of mine posted about how much Ive done for the local community and that it's my turn to get support, that brought some traction. It's good when it's coming from multiple sources and accounts. And then I'm posting in communities hoping people like yourselves will check out the link and maybe shoot me $10 bucks (So far unsuccessful).