Crowdfunding is a proven way to raise money for personal or professional causes. However, stiff competition means that few campaigns are fully funded. Understanding best practices for crowdfunding before you launch a campaign will help you engineer a strong campaign that is likely to reach your funding goals. Here are the best practices for crowdfunding that work right now. 

Be Realistic 

Crowdfunding is the perfect strategy to chase after a big goal. However, if your goal, budget, or time frame is not realistic, your chances of success with crowdfunding are limited. Before you launch your campaign, tell friends and family members about your idea. If the people who know and love you are skeptical about your ability to pull it off, potential funders are likely to be skeptical too. 

Browse campaigns that are similar to yours to get an idea of how much average donors gave, how much money was raised, and what gifts were popular. Use the SMART goal formula (which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely) to tweak your idea into something that's realistic. People will naturally want to get behind a project that seems exciting when the goals and budget are realistic. When your crowdfunding campaign seems both realistic and visionary, excitement will build around your project. 

Spending time refining your idea to make it realistic delivers other benefits, too. By requiring you to defend your idea against a skeptical critic, this practice helps you articulate your goal. You can use these arguments to build a strong campaign, answer frequently asked questions, and pitch your project to potential funders. 

Generate Buzz in Advance

When you have a great idea, it's natural to want to get started right away. The best crowdfunded campaigns hold off on a premature launch. Instead, they spend up to two months building awareness and generating buzz so the campaign has a solid launch. 

Spend at least 30 days building a strong social media presence, then spend another 30 days reaching out to your network. Provide your network with all the information they would need to support your campaign or share it with their networks. Provide a press kit with photos, videos, testimonials, a press release, your biography, and other helpful information. Taking the time to promote your campaign prior to launch not only builds buzz (so people donate right after launch) but also allows your network to sell your idea, exponentially increasing your reach. 

Use Storytelling Techniques in Project Descriptions 

The most successful crowdfunding campaigns tell donors exactly what they will do, exactly how the money will be used, and exactly what donors can expect. Strong campaigns tell a story about what the money will support, whether it's fundraising for an artist's exhibition or helping a nonprofit purchase needed equipment to complete its mission. 

Campaigns that lack clear and engaging descriptions that tell a story about the initiative tend to have low conversion rates. People view the campaign, but aren't convinced to donate. 

It often takes several drafts to crate a strong narrative for the campaign. Give yourself plenty of time to develop a draft description, get feedback from peers, and revise your vision. If you know you aren't a strong writer, consider hiring a copywriter to develop campaign materials for you. Since effective copy that uses storytelling techniques can help you fully fund your campaign, the expense is more that worth it. 

Whether the campaign was successful or fell short of your goals, review what worked and didn't work. Implementing lessons learned in the next campaign will help you repeat a strong performance or inch closer to your goals the next time you try a crowdfunding campaign.