Promotional Tool-Kit
“The benefits of crowdfunding go way beyond just raising funds, but also gaining validation for your
idea, marketing and promotion, and all the data you can get from the process.”
Pre-Launch Steps
R Account:__________________________________________
The R account (UT gift account) will be the account we will transfer your funds into once your project’s campaign is completed. If you do not have an account, please let us know.
Target Audience: ____________________________________
Who are the key people you would like to reach? You can start by asking what field is your project concentrated in – Engineering, Music, Architecture, etc. The more defined your target audience is, the easier it will be to find those who will be passionate about your project.
Campaign Video
A good campaign video is essential in a crowdfunding campaign, however that doesn’t mean it has to be too fancy. You can use your own camera, iPhone, or even a webcam to create a video on your own. Just make sure you cover the three key items: Who you are, what your project is, and a direct ask for support. Timing is also key, so be sure to keep your video under one minute long.
If you need assistance, our team will be happy to help you create your video.
Create Promotional Ideas
Before even beginning your campaign, it’s important to come up with promotional ideas to keep you driven and focused throughout the campaign. The rest of this promotional tool-kit will help you plan your promotion and marketing techniques so that your project may gain support and ultimately become fully-funded!
Key Players
25 Key Contacts
In order to have a successful campaign, you must think of the people in your inner circles that you can see supporting your cause. Your family, friends, and even professors are a good place to start! Try to gather all of their email addresses so that you may personally ask them to support your project.
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Build Your Team
Most projects have more than one person involved whether it’s a group of students, a group of faculty, or even a mixture. Make sure you recognize everyone that is involved with your project and will benefit from the raised funds. These are the individuals that should help you promote, market, and fundraise for your project.
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During the Campaign
Contact Your 25 Contacts
The first thing you should do is contact the 25 people that you know will support your project. Send them each a personal email, phone call, or direct message on social media. Be conversational and if they have questions, be sure to answer them in a timely manner. The sooner you reach out to them, the more quickly your project will gain support and the more prepared your contacts will be to make their first gift.
Create Micro-Goals
Schedule how much you would like to raise each day or week. You don’t have to publicize these micro-goals to the public, but make them internally so that you and your team do not get overwhelmed working towards the same large goal from the beginning. Raising $200 the first week is a lot more reachable than raising your total goal of $1,000. Some helpful tips:
1. 85% of successful crowdfunding campaigns receive at least one donation their first day* 2. Most successful campaigns raise 30% of their goal in under 2 weeks*
3. Fundraising slows in the middle of a campaign*
*Statistics gathered from IndieGoGo.com
Post on ALL Social Media Accounts
Make sure you post about your campaign frequently and always provide a link to your project’s
VOLstarter page on all of your social media accounts. It may even be beneficial to do a countdown to the launch so that your followers can know when they can start giving.
See Social Media Tips to discover creative ways you can utilize your accounts.
Be Adaptive
You may have your campaign planned out to a ‘T’ before your project goes ‘live’, however it is important to understand that crowdfunding is very fluid. Be sure that you are willing to adapt your key messages, goals, and strategies to how well or how poorly your campaign is doing. Asking and listening to feedback from your friends and family will help you tailor to your target audience and hopefully see the best results!
Plan out your messages*
Planning out your messages throughout your campaign allows you to be more creative and interesting on social media. One week you may focus entirely on your project’s team and why they are passionate about the project you are fundraising for. Another week you may focus entirely on facts/statistics about your project that will be interesting to your audience. The more creative and prepared the content is, the more you will draw people in.
