There are plenty of online crowd funding platforms out there but the most popular ones, by far, are Kickstarter and Indiegogo. I’ve been studying both, trying to learn the differences. Which one is better?
Let’s explore that question — very briefly — through two lenses: popularity and education. Keep in mind this isn’t scientific research, just my opinions based on the experiences I’ve had and what I’ve been reading/observing, mk? Ready?
Popularity
Kickstarter is definitely the popular kid at school. Everyone’s talking about it. Thanks to Zach Braff, Veronica Mars, and Double Fine Adventure the name has been in the media constantly. Even Melissa Joan Hart’s failed attempt at crowd funding made plenty of headlines.
Now. Some folks are upset about the celebs being on Kickstarter; calling it cheating. Since the site is meant to serve people who don’t have access to resources, and celebs definitely have access, I can understand that. Sure, it might be cheating to have a famous person calling attention to the campaign but, guess what, these campaigns also made news. They got conversations started. They made a bunch of money. And they made crowd funding seem legit.
Legitimacy is good. It means online crowd funding is becoming more mainstream, which means the campaign managers get to spend less time explaining it and more time actually raising funds.
It’s like when people stopped saying “search for it online” and started saying “google it.” The name became synonymous with the thing it does. It became a succinct way to talk about it because that common ground — the knowledge of this thing and its value — already existed. It became so popular it eventually replaced the name.
I feel like using Kickstarter, in particular, might also increase the stumble upon factor for a project. With Kickstarter being in the news all the time, folks might venture on over to the website for a look-see and end up finding your project. These are folks outside your target audience, the ones you’re not chasing down. Getting a broader audience interested and financially invested in your campaign? That’s worth a lot.
All of that is fine and grand but Kickstarter also had some trouble last month. Some dude successfully funded the publication of a book that offended a lot of people. One of my Facebook friends was so disgusted that she’s proclaimed to have totally sworn off Kickstarter forever. Kickstarter had to then spend time issuing a statement about how they’d goofed. It’s posted on their blog titled “We were wrong.” No bueno. (Devil’s advocate: isn’t all publicity good publicity? Ehhhh, debatable.)
I’ve also heard, first hand, that studio execs will visit Kickstarter looking for great projects. That’s totally anecdotal, with no stats to back it up, but I think it counts for something. Especially because they identified Kickstarter specifically — not another crowd funding site. I think it’s fantastic that they’re searching Kickstarter. That’s worth a lot to me.
Indiegogo may not be in the news as much but it’s definitely keeping up with the competition, in my humble opinion. I see a lot of local folks using it. Maybe that’s because they offer flexible funding options unlike Kickstarter, which is all-or-nothing fundraising.
Educating campaign managers
While both sites explain what they do pretty well, I think Indiegogo may take the lead when it comes to educating people about online crowdfunding — specifically campaign managers.
Indiegogo published a Crowdfunding Field Guide that’s chock full of helpful info and suggestions. When I registered to download it, they were smart enough to follow up with even more helpful emails. Not obnoxious emails I wanted to immediately delete, but things that I saved and actually read. The emails were helpful and inviting. They seemed to reach out more to say, “Come on in, the water’s just fine.” For folks contemplating a campaign, that outstretched hand and warm invitation may be the thing that seals the deal on which site to use.
Indiegogo also shares things like “5 Ways to Use Indiegogo Beyond Crowdfunding” and “5 Rookie Mistakes in Crowdfunding” that are also incredibly helpful. The CEO, Slava Rubin, shares “3 Steps to Crowdfuding Success” via YouTube. That got picked up and shared by HuffPo. So that’s pretty cool. It makes them seem invested in your success and I definitely appreciate that.
Now, to be fair, Kickstarter has a get started page to help folks out. They also have a Kickstarter school, which is pretty helpful. But it doesn’t seem as in depth, easy to read, and inviting. But maybe that’s just my perception.
And the winner is …
This isn’t a cop out. But I think the decision has to be based on each person’s goals for a campaign.
Are you reaching out to a very specific audience? Or do you have a project that would do well if people stumbled across it? Are you working with people that are already using Kickstarter? Or would they be willing to test the waters over at Indiegogo to support your campaign?
Ya gotta do what’s right for you and your campaign, to be honest. I’m still researching so I can figure that out, but I’m leaning very heavily in one particular direction. We’ll see how it all shakes out.
To be continued…