A Twitter chat among crowdfunders last week made it clear that a well-suited crowdfunding project must have a few critical elements: emotional appeal, a trustworthy founder and a compelling story.
Until the rules for equity crowdfunding are set (they’re expected next year), crowdfunders for now are asked to pitch in money for some kind of other perk — often public recognition or special access to a product or service. So a campaign must demonstrate that it meets an existing need while also recognize that it’s in need of help. Short videos are a great way to do that.
Here are some of the important elements of storytelling that can be easily incorporated into crowdfunding videos, and some examples of projects that have done this well.
Character development
Chat participants expressed that they want to know who’s getting their money, and they want to trust that those people will deal with it responsibly. The young founders of Refresh NOW, a wallet-sized contact lens case and solution package, do that in their MedStartr video by showing transparency and talking about their previous mistakes. But they make the viewer feel better by explaining what’s changed — telling a comeback story about how they’re now pursuing a lifelong dream, working with customers and have a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved manufacturer. They’re funny, they’re real and now they’re funded.
Physical description
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
If you’re looking to fund a consumer product, a video is the perfect opportunity to show people why they want to buy it. Imagine them picking it up in a store and contemplating a purchase. What features will they look at? What makes it different from what’s next to it on the shelf? Address those things in the video. Misfit Wearables does this with its “aircraft-grade aluminum” activity tracker that’s “the size of a quarter.” The video demonstrates how easy it is to sync to a mobile phone and wear every day.
Explain future implications
Just as important as describing the product or idea is telling the potential funder how his or her money is going to be used in furthering that project. That’s what this director did in his campaign for Blood Brother, a documentary about an American tourist who meets a group of HIV-infected children at an orphanage in India and decides he can’t leave them. In his Indiegogo video, the director makes a brief but direct appeal for support to help bring the film to Sundance. “It’s about the kids,” he says. Simple, clear and effective.
Action and movement
This Walking Gallery video doesn’t touch on where the funding will go, but it does a good job of building momentum through action and movement. It features nearly a dozen people showing their jackets and telling their stories, giving the viewer a real-time sense of the project.
Context — the all important why
Remember that the people funding your project aren’t always the ones who are going to use it. Consider who’s going to be watching the video and why they might be compelled to contribute.
Take, for example, this Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment used to help control postpartum hemorrhage in women who deliver babies in remote areas throughout the world like in the Philippines and Northern India. The video is minimalistic, but the folks behind Maternova Inc. do a good job of putting this simple innovation in context for the people sitting on their couches in developed countries. It appeals to the parents in the audience with visuals and examples (this device will save families and mothers), and tells us that each device can be used up to 40 times, for just $4 per use, so a donation will go a long way. Now, doesn’t that make you feel good?
[Photo from johngushue.typepad.com]
