If you’re trying to gain investment, a crowdfunding pitch is essential. If you write it well, you’ll be more likely to gain money for your startup. Conversely, a crowdfunding pitch that doesn’t work well could mean that you don’t attract investors, even when your idea is truly amazing.
For this reason, we’ve decided to compile together a guide on creating a winning crowdfunding pitch, that will help you get started.
What is a crowdfunding pitch?
A crowdfunding pitch is essentially the pieces of text that you publish, to help explain your project to potential donors.
It’s predominately used to acquire new donors. Think of it as a brief that will interest people, and encourage them into helping.
Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
Make sure the title is catchy
We hate to break it to you – everybody won’t always read all of your pitch. Many will only scan it, which only highlights the importance of a catchy title.
The best kind of titles draw you in instantly – they’re short, straight to the point, but paint the complete picture. That’s a tricky combination – but it’s not impossible.
Make sure you choose your words well and tell a story in those few words.
Great examples are “Pizza for Heroes”, a crowdfunding campaign that started to raise money for wounded soldiers, and “A Handful of Keys” – used to raise money for a baby grand piano for the Coloma Music Arts auditorium.
Both of these titles are inviting, interesting, and make you want to read more.
PEA is still relevant
Do you remember in school when you learned all about PEA? For those that need a little refresher, it means Point, Evidence, Analyse. You should follow this rule.
Make your point, back it up with a relevant fact, and explain why this is important. This remains one of the best ways to get your point across.
Importantly, backing up your facts with statistics is a great way to persuade people.
Encourage people to donate
People sometimes need a gentle nudge. Chances are if somebody is already on your crowdfunding page, they’re already considering giving. They just need a little bit of encouragement to do so.
The best way to do this is to explain how their donation can really help, even if it is just a little bit of money.
An effective way to do this is to list the perks or levels of giving that a donation can make. If you don’t want to segregate the levels of contribution, you can simply state that every donation, no matter how small, can make a world of difference.
“A great way to encourage people to donate is to compare the price of everyday things. For instance, “for the price of your coffee,” this puts the donation into perspective. It’s a great way to humanize the crowdfunding, highlighting just how somebody can spend their loose change on something much more important.“ — Jenna Basinski, a marketing specialist at Trust My Paper.
Be incredibly friendly
You can’t expect somebody to invest in your interests, without being friendly.
This also means you can’t be overly formal or business-like. Remember, this type of pitch differs from your typical business pitch. You have to showcase a conversation, friendly tone. Almost like you’re asking a friend for help, rather than writing a formal request for a grant.
Use a conversational tone and keep everything incredibly friendly. Say please and thank you, make little jokes, and avoid any technical jargon or putting in too many numbers or statistics. You wouldn’t be like that when you’re talking face-to-face with somebody.
Regardless of who you’re trying to attract through your crowdfunding pitch, always keep it colloquial and amiable.
Tell a story
People love storytelling, using this as a way to not only showcase how great your company or organisation is, and put your reader/potential investors into the situation.
For example, you could tell a story about how the idea came about, how much it can help, or even use a case study.
Obviously, don’t make the story long or complicated. Make it short and sweet, but also incredibly impactful.
Link to your website or blog
As you’ll be keeping everything extremely short, you’ll have to provide links so that your potential investors can find out more, if they want to.
This also allows them to take it upon themselves to read into your company and idea more. This is a mutually beneficial situation.
You don’t have to bombard your readers with an extensive amount of text, and your readers can read only what they want to. It’s the best way.
Visuals matter
Although not really related to the writing process, you should always include visuals. It’s a way to break up the little amount of text that you do have, and elaborate on specific facts or statistics.
For instance, you can include images of prototypes, use bar charts or infographics, or even use a video.
This breaks up your text, keeps your reader interested, and ensures that everything makes perfect sense – without writing a dissertation length text on it.
Following the above writing tips should make sure that you have a useful crowdfunding page. Your readers will enjoy learning about your idea, company, or passion – encouraging them to donate or invest.
Why should you crowdfund?
Many are deciding to go down the route of crowdfunding, rather than traditional forms of funding. It’s a fantastic way to raise money, without collecting up a significant degree of debt. It gives everyday people to back companies that they believe in and follow the journey.
Take VideoGram as a prime example – they were able to hit their funding target, using crowdfunding. They were able to raise over £50,000 from investors, which allowed them to market and develop their company brand.
How to get started with crowdfunding
The easiest way to get started with crowdfunding is to use a trusted platform. This ensures that you receive all the money you raise, and your investors feel comfortable donating.
Remember, crowdfunding can come in many different forms, for instance, shares, crowd bonds, and tokenised securities – deciding which one would be best for you is an important stepping stone.
Conclusion
Raising money for your new project isn’t the easiest thing in the world. That shouldn’t stop you from working towards your dream. Crowdfunding could prove to be incredibly useful.
Getting started with crowdfunding can be extremely tricky. You need to focus on impact, information, and keeping your investors interested and passionate.
With help from various platforms and following the above tips, you can begin to find that it’s a lot easier than you imagine (even more accessible than gaining bank loans). With a little help, you can earn all the money you need to start and run your company and achieve all your dreams.
Dorian Martin is a seasoned writer that explores a broad variety of topics, ranging from marketing and SEO to HR and organizational design. He’s currently a writer at WoWGrade, and runs a blog NotBusinessAsUsusal. His pieces are always catchy and informative, which is why we recommend you keep an eye on him!
Do you need to raise funds? Crowd For Angels, The Regulated Crowdfunding Platform can help you raise funds through the issue of Shares, Crowd Bonds and Digitalised Assets. Begin your application here: https://crowdforangels.com/join
