My Crowdfunding Campaign In a Nutshell - Shell Number 1
www.pledgemusic.com/riatimkin
I have really high hopes for 2018 and I’ve shared some of them in my previous article that you can check out here. I decided to release a new EP and the prospect of starting a whole new project is thrilling and exciting. However, before I can head to the studio to record my killer tracks, I have a long way to go.
Last year I launched a crowdfunding campaign on Pledgemusic.com to help me gather the necessary funds for the project and to attract the early attention for the EP release. However, it’s not just a basic pre-order of the new music that the campaign offers. It was designed to give you the chance to experience the trials and tribulations of creating an EP firsthand. The campaign offers many options, online and in person, ranging from coming to the actual studio to having a music (or Russian) lesson with me. In general, crowdfunding campaigns might look really confusing at first glance and, with the broader aim of my campaign, I can imagine its structure might look pretty baffling. I had a chance to chat to some of my amazing supporters about their opinion on the campaign and some of them expressed their wish for a little overview to help people understand it better. Your wish is my command, so here it is: my crowdfunding campaign explained in a nutshell by yours truly.
Description Area - Goal Percentage and Everything That Is Wrong With It
When you first visit the webpage of my campaign, you can see my introductory video and a little description of the whole project that I’ve written for you. I tried my best to make them both as clear and simple as possible - focusing mainly on the purposes of the campaign, my project goals and the transparency of the financial aspect. What may look confusing, though, is that big grey circle on the right side, showing the percentage of the goal that the campaign has reached so far. So, in my case, you’d be looking at 5% of the goal.
When I first started browsing through different campaigns I wanted to understand how much the musicians were trying to raise. Not only was it useful for my own research, I was also genuinely curious. Unfortunately, all I could see was the percentages of the goals. It is primarily the feature of Pledge Music, as other crowdfunding platforms don’t shy away from the real numbers. Despite my overall preference of Pledge Music over any other platform, I think hiding numbers could be damaging. First of all, people deserve to know how much you’re trying to fundraise. After all, it is their money you’re asking for. Displaying mere percentages can also be really misleading. If you’re trying to raise a large sum, every single percent constitutes quite a lot of money. But how would people know that? All they can see is a campaign that’s doing very poorly, which probably makes them think that the project is just not worth it... My campaign is a good example of how mere percentages can look misleading. I’ve reached 5% of my goal, which, I bet it doesn’t sound very encouraging to you without more context to it. This campaign tries to cover the fee of producing, manufacturing, distributing and promoting the EP. It also includes the 15% that goes towards the Pledge Music fee for hosting the campaign. It all adds up to a substantial target of £7,000. (If you’d like to know more about my budget breakdown, you can watch my Pledge Music Update video here). For an upcoming artist like me, raising 5% out of this large target is a good achievement. I realise that it’s still 5% out of a 100 no matter how you put it, but in my opinion the real numbers give you a better understanding.
Right next to the circle you can see a little calendar that counts down the days until the end of the campaign. I currently have 40 days left and it gives me chills just to think about how stressed I’ll feel once the countdown reaches single digits. The length of the campaign is chosen individually so, if you wish, you could technically run it for years. However, the amount of dedication and effort it takes will most likely make you reconsider. I started my campaign back in November 2017 and gave it 3 months to let it reach its highest potential.
I’m going to skip the “Featured Items” section, located right below the percentage circle, and the calendar as currently this feature doesn’t really work. Instead of showing the pre-selected content, it simply displays the first three items one has in store. Not quite featuring, in my opinion… This is something Pledge Music is currently working on, so we’ll leave it for now and move on to the best part of the webpage, which is the Pledge Music rewards store.
Rewards Store With No "Rewards" But Plenty Of Options
I don’t think I’ve ever liked using the word “rewards” because it really contradicts the meaning behind my campaign. The options I’ve chosen for the store are not there to reward anyone; they are there to invite you to be a part of the exciting project of creating a record from the very start. I wanted to introduce you to a variety of things to choose from that hopefully would satisfy every taste and, most importantly, would allow you to embark on this creative journey with me. I find this idea exciting, intriguing and probably quite unpredictable, but still really fun! And I really hope you’ll enjoy the ride!
So when you look through the options that I’ve come up with, you can probably notice that they all are colour-coded. I did it on purpose to help you navigate through different types of experiences with ease. However, there is still a lot that could seem unclear as some of the items are purely locational; others are hosted online and some look like merchandise, whereas others are definitely more like an experience. So which one is which? Are there any hidden costs to any of the items? Can some be altered to accommodate your personal needs? If you have any questions you’d like me to address, please leave a comment below. I’ll let you have a little browse through the different options on the Pledge Music webpage and keep an eye out for ‘Shell Number 2’ if you want to know more!
Please check out my campaign, browse through the exciting pledge rewards and if you liked what you saw, please let your friends know about its existence.
https://www.pledgemusic.com/riatimkin
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