Budgeting a Crowdfunding Campaign - CrowdClan

Budgeting a Crowdfunding Campaign - CrowdClan

Firstly, let’s distinguish a crowdfunding budget from a project goal. A budget concerns strictly the operational costs (fees and taxes
included), whereas a goal incorporates both the budget and target. If a
project’s goal equals $1600, for example, perhaps the crowdfunding
budget accounts for $300 of that total. This is where personal
investment comes into play: In order to adequately survey a market and
promote an opportunity, crowdfunders require an initial commitment. This
could range from 5% to 25% — it depends entirely on the type of project
as well as the expenses likely to occur.

The Cost of Marketing

One of the most common crowdfunding mistakes is not allocating enough
money for marketing. We must admonish against the “post and wait”
mentality, awakening crowdfunders to the reality that campaigns take
money and time. In fact, project marketing may even require additional
hands-on. Unfortunately, help comes at a price, so budgeting a
crowdfunding campaign ultimately comes down to how much help is
necessary. It also rests on the scale of promotion and the ways in which
one intends to market over a specific channel.


Yet there are myriad other costs to acknowledge. Videos, for
instance, demand storyboarding, scriptwriting, staging, shooting and
editing, many things the average Joe or Jane knows nothing about.
Campaigns may require designers for landing page mock ups, infographics,
photos and more. Mentors, accountants and lawyers too are costly consultants.
As one can see, budgeting a crowdfunding campaign is much more
complicated than factoring in perks and portal fees. This is why it’s
paramount to define the market approach before setting a goal.