What do I mean?

Well, everybody seems to think it's super simple for some reason.

I guess that that's the point of a really good campaign - to make it look like you're just having the best time of your life, everything is amazing and easy and wonderful, and everyone gets ALL THE MONEY and they're just especially blessed and wonderful and special.

Ok, no.

Deep breath here, friends - crowdfunding is literally one of the hardest things to do, but you CAN do it! You just have to make sure that you've planned for it right and to be realistic about what it is, and what it isn't.

What crowdfunding ISN'T:

-A fairy godmother

-Going to pay for your project with no investment on your end

- A magical way for you to become the Foo Fighters

What crowdfunding IS:

-A marketing tool

-A great way to get the word out about your project

-A fantastic piece of the puzzle that will launch your career

STORY TIME:

Recently I received a big grant from my country for promoting my album. The thing was with the whole thing, that you had to tell them all about the project in January, start working, spend lots of money, and in July they tell you that you got it or not.

Basically, I learned one thing from this:

You have to be willing to do the project no matter what.

I got lucky, they liked my pitch, they liked what I wrote about my project, and they liked the message behind what I do - But there was a really good chance that I wouldn't get it, and that had to be ok with me. Also the paperwork involved in grant writing is so unbelievably massive that the only reason it was even worth it is because I literally tell everyone about it all the time and make a really big deal about it.

Also, it helped me to really clarify my message in what the PURPOSE of my music is and was, and honestly that is just one of the absolute most important things to nail down before you get into any of this.

Do you want to be touring?

Do you want to be recording at home?

Do you want to build a team/band around you or do you want to be working independently?

Can you really manage that kind of lifestyle with your other desires for your life?

All this stuff is so important to keep in mind - since a crowdfunding campaign should be part of an overall strategy for your brand, and not just something you thought of yesterday.

All this being said, my point is just that it should be so important to you that you put a LOT of thought into it, and here are some ideas I have to make your project a success.

Here goes:

1. Crowdfunding is a marketing tool, and should NOT be what you plan on paying for your album production with.

It's a way of creating hype around your music and your album and your first big concert and build excitement and turn your friends into supportive fans out of the people who you know, but almost nobody actually makes enough money to cover the costs of what they need in order to complete the project, and you have to be ready to cover the difference if it's a make-it-or- you-don't-get-the-money type of compaign.

 In my case I didn't want that pressure, so I used a platform that didn't require I meet my goal and I ended up finishing the campaign right below it. I didn't want to lie.

2. Don't even THINK about doing a campaign until the project is basically ready. I crowdfunded my album when it was halfway through and then didn't finish it for another 2 years, getting regular messages from my sponsors asking when the album was coming. So stressful!!

3. While the campaign is going on, you CAN NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE. You must put all your energy and focus into promoting, contacting, etc. You need to clear your schedule as much as possible.

4. Do a seed round before you make the campaign public. Make a list of people you think would be interested in donating and ask them to donate first. You just don't want when it goes public for it to have no money in it.

5. Don't make the campaign longer than a week. Plan out what your tasks for every single day during the campaign will be before you launch (stories, posts, collabs, shoutouts, emails, tiktoks, etc)

6. Don't sell complicated perks or things that are irrelevant to the campaign! Also - don't sell lessons at the regular rate, because that's basically saying "Hire me for my regular work anyways". It takes away from you as an artist and makes people not take you as seriously.

-One of the perks that I really regret is I said I would write a customized song for people. I had to write the song about a couple that I don't know and it just didn't flow for me - and then the wedding was pushed off during covid.

7. The perks of the campaign should be REALLY FOCUSED on what you want to sell. You want to sell your album. You want to sell your merch. You want to sell concert tickets. You want to sell private concerts where you are playing the music from the album. Don't offer pony rides or tickets to Disney theme parks.

8. Search for collabs - find other artists who will play a short bit from your album with you as promotion and ask them if they'll shout out to their fans about it. This kind of thing is even worth paying for, in my opinion, especially if that person already has a platform.

The only thing I regret is that I reached out to an influencer that's in my target audience but not a musician and he thought the coffee I suggested to brainstorm was actually me trying to hit on him and proceeded to spend the hour long conversation twisting it back to him. It made me realize that it's super important to stay focused on people who are relevant to what you're trying to accomplish, so stick to people in your niche.

9.  Engage with your audience. Keep all your posts going with questions for the audience and keep the conversations flowing on social media. You should also do a pre-campaign before you even start with this where you share some sneak peeks of the music from your album before you even start with the campaign.

10. If you put in all that marketing effort, the MOST work should be on the last day or two of the campaign.  That's when most people will donate.

WHY?

I think you know the answer to that. People don't really take you seriously until they've seen you a BUNCH of times. And everyone procrastinates, it's part of life. I actually got about $1000 AFTER the campaign was over from people who had FOMO.

Ok I'm done my list and I still have a million more ideas.

The most important thing to remember is this:

YOUR story is important, but you need to bring people into it.

Nobody understands your pop-punk-middle eastern fusion music, and that's OK, but you have to explain to them why they should like it, and people connect with people, especially with artists who have their hearts open on the table, so tell stories, make mistakes, get messy and love the process

Don't think that because people don't give you money that it's about you.

It just means that you need to be more sharp with your marketing.

You are an inherently valuable person, and your music is your special contribution to the world. Don't think for a second that the success of a campaign has anything to do with your unique worthiness as a person and an artist.

And if you need help, feel free to reach out <3