What is IndieGoGo?
An IndieGoGo Fundraiser Idea is an Internet Website used as a Crowdsourcing or Crowdfunding platform designed to raise money from a large group of people, preferably strangers, to fund a cause or event. The concept is fairly simple: reach a significant number of people who might donate small or large amounts of cash, all of which add up to help fulfill someone’s dream. The “dream” can involve anything from charity, to medical bills, to financing business ventures, and more. According to Wikipedia, “As of 2011, it has hosted over 45,000 funding campaigns in areas such as music, charity, small business and film.”
How to Use IndieGoGo Crowdfunding in 10 Steps
I was impressed with the design of the IndieGoGo website. It is extremely user friendly. Ten steps and you are ready to go live and begin raising donations:
- Sign up: become a member of the IndieGoGo Community
- Click Create: enter your creative fundraiser idea: a campaign title, category, and upload a thumbnail image
- Choose your IndieGoGo url: enter two or three keywords that represent your campaign
- Add social networking links: sites where you have more campaign information (such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube, or your own website)
- Fundraising Goal Amount: Enter the amount of money you wish to raise
- Enter a deadline date: to end your campaign
- Choose Flexible or Fixed Funding: Flexible means you keep the amount raised even if your goal is not met, and fixed means your campaign will be under 30 days, only accept paypal, and all money is refunded if the goal is not met.
- Upload a video or an image: or choose to add one later
- Type in your pitch: tell about your cause and connect to readers
- Enter perks: Offer a few rewards for each level of contribution, such as a different reward for donations of $10, $50, $100, and so forth.
What is the Fee for Using IndieGoGo?
Setting up an IndieGoGo crowdsourcing campaign is free, so you have nothing to lose when starting (except your time spent setting it up). Once you begin collecting donations, IndieGoGo pricing kicks in. IndieGoGo will keep at least 4% of the amount raised. (IndieGoGo keeps 9% if you do not reach your goal.) The payment processor (such as paypal) will also have a fee, usually about 3%.
Keep these fees in mind when you choose your goal figure and deadline date (Steps 6 and 7) above. Consider your answers to these questions to help you decide on the best strategy:
- Should I run several small campaigns to ensure I reach my goal and IndieGoGo final fees will never exceed 4%?
- Should I raise my goal figure by 4% (or even 9%) to cover IndieGoGo end of campaign fees?
- Should I bump my goal figure by an addition 3% to cover processor fees?
- Should I run my campaign for the maximum number of days allowed (120) so I have every chance of reaching my goal and avoiding the 9% IndieGoGo fee?
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How to Use Search on IndieGoGo?
The search on IndieGoGo is similar to a search engine where you can enter some keywords and browse the results.
You can also browse by categories which include:
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The problem with both of these methods is these IndieGoGo search results will include “closed campaigns,” which is fine if you are just researching examples of campaigns or looking for creative fundraising ideas. But, what if you are looking to donate?
If you are looking for a cause to make a donation, the best way to search is to use the Advanced Search and check “funding” under the Status option — which means the results will only show active campaigns in progress.
I’m excited about IndieGoGo possibilities. Did you already know what IndieGoGo was? Use the comments below to tell us your ideas about crowd sourced funding.
