The concept is simple: Offer an idea that people would love to support with small contributions. If you get lots of people to buy in, you raise lots of money.

Thanks to the internet, if you have the right kind of product or exciting project, you can launch your campaign via a crowdfunding platform.

With some intelligent promotion, you have the ability to get your idea in front of hundreds, even thousands of potential backers.

You can find backers for a wide variety of projects, campaigns, or products. Believe it or not, the internet is full of people eager to support new concepts and products, or who want to get in on the growth of small businesses. The possibilities are only limited by your creativity.

However, while funding a project might be your main reason to consider crowdfunding for your business… There are many more purposes and ways to use crowdfunding to grow your business.

Here are my favorite 10 ideas how to use crowdfunding for your small business:

1. Fund a Project

OK… that’s the obvious one. Got an idea for a product, a service, a charity project… Get others to put some cash in the pot in return for some exciting perks, and you can raise some serious money in a few short weeks. Here is my first ever crowdfunding campaign (generated €85,571 in 30 days).

2. Generate Tons of Hot Leads

Crowdfunding is hot, it creates buzz, and gets a lot of interest. Add a very low cost perk that qualifies those who take it (e.g. a PDF or a video on your expertise topic) and everyone who takes it is a QUALIFIED lead – that actually paid some money to join your list. My absolute favorite lead generation strategy.

3. Activate Referrals and Word-of-Mouth

Asking for referrals and word-of-mouth is a built-in crowdfunding feature (and benefit). Offer advanced or exclusive perks to people that refer their friends to your campaign.

4. Generate Tons of Free Publicity

There are journalists whose entire job is to scan new crowdfunding campaigns, pick the most exciting ones, and publish stories about them. Due to the short life-span of crowdfunding projects (usually up to 30 days) – the stories they choose are usually published almost immediately… There is no other way to get such publicity so quickly.

5. Engage Prospects and Clients

Again, because of the unique process and short life-span of crowdfunding – you can create tons of buzz, which excites and engages your prospects and clients – both with your specific campaign and your business.

6. Collect Accurate Market Data

I love this part… I use my crowdfunding campaigns to test which perks people love, and which they ignore. A simple split test (two perks, same contribution fee) reveal almost immediately what people are willing to pay for.

7. Generate Tremendous Goodwill
I love running crowdfunding campaigns for charitable purposes, and engage my community to contribute to good causes. Check out our Better World page to see some of the philanthropy crowdfunding campaigns we ran – which generated hundreds of thousands of euros to make the world a better place, while gaining us a tremendous goodwill – within our community, in the media, and of course in the world of philanthropy.

8. Generate Massive Backend Sales
Most crowdfunding campaigns are a one-time-off product. As soon as they collected the money, they manufacture and deliver the product, and the business is back to what it used to be before (or disappear in most cases). We use crowdfunding (including the charitable ones) to introduce, excite, promote and sell front-end products, which allows us to offer backend products to the same backers for many years.

9. Co-Create With Prospects and Clients
Collaboration is in the nature of crowdfunding campaigns – so getting your backers to get involved in the process of designing and creating whatever it is your funding for – is a powerful engagement process. Let them tell you what they want, and promise that when enough people back up that option – you’ll make it happen.

10. Collect Recommendations and Testimonials

One way to do that is simply ask… As soon as they receive the perk they paid for – ask them for a testimonial, review or recommendation. A more effective and strategic way to do it – is to make it part of the perk. Meaning – I’m going to give you XX perk in return for your contribution. But since the contribution is a lot less than the actual price of the perk – I would like to get your testimonial or review as soon as you benefited from the perk…

Interested in Learning More About Croudfunding?

CLICK HERE to check out the Crowdfunding Mastery Course.

Now It’s YOUR Turn

For five minutes… come up with as many ideas as you can… would Crowdfunding be an interesting strategy for your business? And if yes, how?