Kickstarter and Indiegogo Crowdfunding: Give Your Project the Best Start

There are a lot of different crowdfunding sites out there, and it’s hard to know which one to pick.

They all tend to work similarly. You can create a project, solicit contributions from backers, and work towards your funding goals.
But the exact specifics can vary. For example, with some sites, you get to keep the funds you’ve raised, regardless of whether or not you’ve met your funding goal. With other sites, you can’t.

But virtually every project creator has the same goal in mind – they want to be able to get the largest amount of exposure and money for their idea with the least amount of work possible.

This isn’t to suggest that a crowdfunding campaign won’t require a considerable amount of work – quite to the contrary, actually. But by placing your project on the right platform, you can ensure maximum visibility and the best funding opportunities for your campaign.

Here’s why crowdfunding with Indiegogo and Kickstarter will give your project the best start:

Project Eligibility Indiegogo vs Kickstarter

Some crowdfunding sites only support a limited number of projects and regions:
This means that, if the nature of your project isn’t supported by the platform, or if they don’t accept submissions from certain countries, you’ll have to start looking for alternatives.

Both Kickstarter and Indiegogo have some limitations, but for the most part, you won’t find too many project types or countries they don’t support.

Kickstarter currently caters to the US, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden.
It is also possible to start a campaign in a country that isn’t supported by Kickstarter, but this process will be far more time-consuming, complex, and expensive.

For example, we know many Chinese upstarts that attempt to go on Kickstarter but, to do it–they must find an American friend and use their Social Security number, not recommended, but it’s what we’ve seen.

For the most part, Indiegogo is more lenient than Kickstarter.
If you’re in a country that is supported by PayPal, you can generally launch a campaign using the Indiegogo platform.
As for project parameters, they don’t allow any that could be considered antisocial – frauds or projects that contain hate speech. With that said, they still allow some touchy topics.
For example, on Kickstarter adult products are prohibited, while Indiegogo is not so shy and allow adult toys: one, a Virtual Reality Pleasure Toy for Men, that Floship has even been certified with the Floship Certified Logistics Plan (FCLP).
So, sometimes you best choice will be only a handful of crowdfunding platforms due to the nature of your product or the location of your citizenship.
For more on weighing the pros and cons of Kickstarter vs Indiegogo, including fee structures, you won’t want to miss our other article exactly about the tradeoffs, here.

Support & Third-Party Tools for Crowdfunders: Backerkit, Krowdster

Marketing is one of the most important pieces to any crowdfunding campaign. But most people aren’t clear on their strategy, and aren’t really aware of the channels that are available to them. This often leads to a poorly-executed, poorly-received campaign.
The most successfully funded projects are those that took advantage of their launch and leveraged it throughout their online communities, using PR and infiltrating the media.
What makes Kickstarter and Indiegogo so attractive is that they give you the tools you need to succeed. They’ll offer you a variety of suggestions as you are creating your crowdfunding campaigns, and you can also access their blogs and how-to guides for additional tips.
Furthermore, because these are such popular platforms, third parties have developed tools, resources and applications that can make your marketing efforts more effective.
Whether you use built-in functions, third-party applications, like backerkit, or a combination thereof, it’s good to know that there are plenty of resources available to you.
Crowdfunding success was never out of reach, but these resources make it even more accessible.

Site and Team Credibility for Crowdfunding Products

Both Kickstarter and Indiegogo have considerable authority in the crowdfunding space. They are trusted platforms that are well-regarded and well-known in the online community.
And, for better or for worse, you’re not going to be able to get as many pledges from people that don’t inherently trust the site you’re using to promote your project. You have to be in a high-visibility location that people see as being trustworthy.
As long as you’re using Kickstarter or Indiegogo, you can ensure that more people will find your project and be willing to back it.

But, don’t make the mistake that you will succeed purely based on the traffic from your chosen platform. Only a minority of contributions come from traffic generated on the crowdfunding platform itself.

Therefore, you will need to work hard to create attention to your project via PPC (like Facebook advertising), making connections with bloggers and journalist (PR), and any other traditional or digital marketing effort you can muster to get the word out and make people so excited about what you are doing that they open their wallets to take a chance on your idea.

Final Thoughts

Kickstarter and Indiegogo are both low-cost options for running crowdfunding campaigns. They are both feature-rich, and offer a great deal of support.
As you go down the list of other crowdfunding sites, you may notice some rules, prices, features, cultural qualities, or credibility indicators that are just as appealing if not more for your particular product. In some cases, the “right fit” can be found with other sites.
But for many looking to crowdfund their next project, it’s best to look into whether or not Kickstarter or Indiegogo are viable opportunities for you.

The Floship Certified Logistics Program: FCLP

Once you are ready to launch your crowdfunding project, don’t forget to understand your obligations when it comes to fulfilling your project to your backers. Before you launch, you can apply for a Floship Certified Logistics Badge (FCLP) to add to your campaign page and ensure your backers that you’ve got the info you need to know how to deliver on your projects promises.
Find out more about the FCLP and how Floship can help you get your project to a global audience.

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