It’s easy to support a creator that you appreciate. We often do this as part of our every day, by liking, sharing and commenting on their website or social posts. We share our admiration by telling our friends and colleagues about their work.
It should be just as easy to support these creators financially. Which stands to reason, it should be just as easy for your audience to support your GradBlog.
Crowdfunding combines crowdsourcing and microfinancing to support your online business.
Funding can be received via donations or loans. Support can be answered with rewards, equity, or with financial returns. It can be offered by friends or strangers, individuals or organizations.
By turning to the crowd, creators are also able to validate their design, get new products to the market faster, and perform user research with feedback from the funding process.
To narrow down this nebulous playing field, we’ll take a look at four of the most popular platforms: Patreon, PayPal, Buy Me A Coffee, and Kickstarter.
Patreon
Patreon is a reward-based patronage system, what they call a “value-for-value exchange”. When your audience supports you and your work, they’ll receive access to special content, gifts or communities.
Support can come in the form of one-time donations or time-based recurring payments. The cost to use the service starts at 5% of your monthly Patreon income plus additional transaction fees.
PayPal
PayPal is a popular payment processor that offers donation functionality. It is as simple as starting an account and adding a donate button to your site.
As a recognized payment platform, many of your audience may already have accounts or their financial information linked. It makes for a smoother, easier user experience. However, it doesn’t have the community-building aesthetic that other platforms do.
PayPal collects a transaction fee as well as a fixed fee based on currency for use.
Kickstarter
Kickstarter’s mission is “to bring creative projects to life”. Funders must be seeking support for something new, that they haven’t done before.
This online platform is similar to Patreon in that it offers a reward for patronage. The difference between the two is that your supporters don’t pay unless your project receives full support. If you meet your fundraising goals, payment is processed and you may use the funds to bring your product to fruition.
The cost to use Kickstarter is 5% of the fees collected plus additional transaction fees.
Buy Me a Coffee
Buy Me a Coffee is a seemingly humble way of crowdfunding, which may appeal to those who hesitate to ask outright for donations. They also claim a grassroots approach with claims to be built for individuals rather than organizations.
Similar to Patreon, users may offer rewards or membership incentives for support. However, whereas the first pays out support on the first of each month, Buy Me a Coffee offers instant payouts.
The cost to use Buy Me a Coffee is a 5% transaction fee.
Determine the full value of your project before turning to the crowd.
If you’re considering crowdfunding your project, make sure you’re fully prepared to deliver on your promise.
- Begin with a well-defined goal and a thorough plan – the more clarity you have on what you’re offering, the better you’ll be able to communicate it to funders.
- Outline your financial obligations accurately – ensure that everything is tallied and included in the totals to ensure the financing you seek is comprehensive.
- Use your network – amplify your message by using every communication channel available to you, keep your audience up-to-date on your fundraising efforts, and ensure you always include a call-to-action toward support.
- Stay transparent and authentic – share your story and the impact of your project before,during and after your fundraising campaign to demonstrate you are accountable and reliable.
- Seek and act on feedback – use quantitative and qualitative responses to your efforts to tweak and adjust your campaign toward creating a better user experience for everyone involved.
Looking for crowdfunding inspiration? The Balance Small Business has a round-up of most-financed campaigns broken down by platform.
While we’ve focused on four of the most popular crowdfunding platforms, they are not the only options out there. You’re sure to find another medium that works best for your GradBlog if none of these suit. Keep in mind that any crowdfunding should be considered a slow-burning flame and not the only source of income for your GradBlog.
That said, if you are crowdfunding the next best thing since sliced bread, we want in! Tell us about your project in the comments below.
