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众筹门户网站是测试理念和产品的理想渠道。数以千计的众筹项目完结了，也促成了许多企业的成立。然而，随着众筹逐渐成熟并成为一种获取资本的途径，成功运作一个众筹项目的价格也是水涨船高。 四年前，众筹刚刚出现，那时只有极少数几家门户网站，每个网站也只管理着几百个项目。由于项目数量有限，吸引捐款人注意也较为简单。而现在，创业者们随时要与成千上万个项目竞赛(Kickstarter上目前有超过6000个活跃的众筹活动)，这些项目许多都拥有精美的包装，专业制作的视频以及充足的营销预算。 以前，一个创业者可以简单地勾勒出一个想法，然后把这个概念贴到一家门户网站上收集反馈并吸引捐助者。而如今，许多项目的发起人在众筹前就已经为其项目花费了数千美元。 项目发起人必须要明白，花费可能不仅只是在资金募集阶段，后续还有公司成立的相关事宜。根据我的观察，现在一般的项目费用主要包括以下几个部分： 1. 产品原型 许多项目发起人会选择利用3D打印机制作项目原型。根据所使用的物品和材料(例如塑料或金属)不同，创建一个原型的成本可以从几百美元到1000美元不等。对于那些不需要3D模型的产品项目，那么使用免费的原型开发工具就可以了，比如Marvelapp。 Marvelapp可以将想法、设计或者草图转化为一个交互式的原型。比如向支持者展示一个APP或者网站项目的时候，Marvelapp就非常有用。它可以创建视频、链接和图像，并且可以给观众带来一种逼真的产品使用体验。 2.视频制作 当然，智能手机可以协助完成基本的视频制作。不过，一段由专业传媒公司制作的两到三分钟的项目视频可能就需要2500美元到10000美元，其中包括剧本创作和编辑。 定价取决于视频的风格，是否需要招聘演员，是否需要租用工作室或者制作动画效果。 这可能是直接筹集资金最好的方法之一，因为一段高质量又精巧的视频可能意味着传播速度和成功与否的巨大差别。所以如果有现成的团队，那么最好利用这个机会拍摄其他可用于公司整体营销的镜头。 3.公关 在众筹项目推广活动中，一家拥有成功经验，能够提供全方位服务的公关公司要价约为5000美元一个月。而且，许多公关公司一般的合作契约最少也要三个月。 也许有人会想，公关服务费用会依据地区不同而有所变化，但是那些有成功项目经验的公关公司已经有一整套的收费规则，他们不关心客户的具体位置。大家已经听说过的众筹项目都倾向于聘请少数几家公关公司。 有时，价格在1000美元到3000美元之间的低成本选择也不是没有，但是大多数这一档次的公关公司给客户提供的都是相同的推广套餐：电子邮件模板、媒体清单、一份新闻稿以及标准化的宣传方式。 4.市场营销 最近，项目发起人开始购买Facebook广告来进行项目推广。虽然创业者们可以直接购买这些广告，但是一些专业营销人士也会对这类的广告进行专门的设计和推广，当然这是要收费的。一些供应商一次性收取500美元的费用(广告预算除外)，而其他的除了收取一定的费用外还要按广告费用的百分比进行提成。 如果预算充足，你想付钱邀请微博名人帮你推广吗？不同的名人收费档次有所不同，像Lance Bass一般收费650美元，而Khloe Kardashian可能就要要价13000美元了。 要小心有人通过Kickstarter内部邮件系统推送的营销服务，这种邮件承诺说每周付200美元，就可以在Kickstarter热门页面上的绝佳位置发起项目。虽然对于活动发起人来说这听起来很让人兴奋，但是看到人们试图破解这个体系，我却很失望。(这些营销人员声称已经解决了决定项目如何推送到热门页面的算法。)这对于那些不依赖此类方法的众筹发起人来说并不公平。 5.活动咨询 大多数众筹活动都可能失败，所以获得有关策略和最佳实践方法的专门意见对于一个活动而言意义重大。虽然我不建议将整个活动外包给第三方，但是一名顾问可以为活动准备工作提供适当的帮助，包括挑选平台，设计吸引人的奖励，决定最佳的财务目标以及概述一项充分的营销策略。 根据预约的时间以及服务质量，这些咨询服务可能花费100到1500美元。除此之外，如果项目成功了，可能要另外收费。 6.标志设计 标志并不是众筹活动所必须的，但是许多创业者都想为他们的业务设立一个标志。所以为了更精美的外观，他们会在活动发起前设计一个。要找人设计标志，一个好去处就是众包设计网站，比如crowdSPRING和99designs。这类网站上的设计师收费为250美元，他们会提供40到50张标志草图供选择。 没有众筹预算的创业者们也能发起成功的项目，但是他们需要投入更多的时间去调研，在一个项目的准备和运营过程中需要掌握大量的影响要素。
Crowdfunding portals are an ideal channel for testing ideas and products. Thousands of campaigns have been completed, resulting in the launching of numerous ventures. As crowdfunding matures as a path to capital, however, the elements that go into a successful campaign are coming with a growing price tag. Four years ago when crowdfunding started to emerge, only a handful of portals hosted just a few hundred projects each. With the limited number of projects, attracting attention from contributors was easier. Now entrepreneurs are competing at any given moment with thousands of live projects (Kickstarter currently has more than 6,000 active campaigns), many with slick, professionally produced videos and hearty marketing budgets. Previously an entrepreneur could sketch out an idea on the proverbial napkin and post the concept on a portal to gather feedback and contributors. Now many project creators spend thousands of dollars on their campaigns before heading to the crowd. Project creators should remember that the campaign expenses might not be just for the fundraising effort but often a whole venture is being launched as a result of the crowdfunding. Based on my research, some of the campaign costs that can be expected these days are as follows: 1. Product prototype. Many project creators use 3-D printing for prototype creation. Depending on the item and material used (say, plastic or metal), the cost to create one prototype can run from a few hundred dollars to $1,000. For campaigns that don’t need 3-D products, free prototyping tools such as Marvelapp can be tapped. Marvelapp can take an idea, design or sketch and generate an interactive prototype. This is great for showing backers the workings of a potential app or website. It creates screens, links and images and adds transitions to give viewers the experience of using an actual product. 2. Video production. The video capabilities of a smartphone can be used, of course, for rudimentary work. But, a two- to three-minute campaign video produced by a professional media company can run $2,500 to $10,000, including script writing and editing. The pricing depends on the style of the video, whether it involves hiring actors, renting a studio setting or creating animations. This is probably one of the best places to direct funds as a high-quality, clever video can mean the difference between a campaign going viral or not. And when a crew is booked, use the opportunity to shoot other footage that can be used for overall marketing for the company. 3. Public relations. The full-service public relations firms with the most experience and success in promoting crowdfunding campaigns charge about $5,000 a month for their services and many require at minimum a three-month engagement. While one might think that public-relations service costs might vary, according to region, the PR companies that have done the successful campaigns have a set price and don’t care where their client is located. The campaigns that everyone has heard about — that hit the big numbers — have tended to hire just a handful of firms. Lower-cost options in the $1,000 to $3,000 range exist, but most of the firms involved offer the same generic promotional packages to each client: email templates, media lists, a press release and its dissemination via standard distribution services. 4. Marketing. Recently project owners have started to buy Facebook ads to promote their campaigns. While entrepreneurs can buy these ads directly, some marketing professionals will create and plan this type of advertising for a fee. Some vendors charge a one-time fee of $500 (in addition to the ad budget), while others charge a fee and receive a percentage of the ad spending. Have a big budget and want to extend your reach with paid celebrity tweets? Depending on the celebrity, this might cost from $650 for someone of Lance Bass’ renown to $13,000 for Khloe Kardashian. Be wary of anyone marketing a service via Kickstarter’s internal email system that promises for $200 a week for to land a project a spot on Kickstarter’s coveted popular project page. While that might sound exciting to the campaign owner, I find it disheartening to see people game the system. (Such marketers claim to have figured out the algorithm that determines how projects get pushed to Kickstarter’s popular page.) It’s not fair to crowdfunders who don’t rely on such methods. 5. Campaign consulting. Since the majority of crowdfunding campaigns fail, obtaining customized advice on the strategy and best practices for a campaign can be invaluable. (Disclosure: This is the type of consulting I do.) While I don’t advise outsourcing the entire campaign to a third party, a consultant can assist in properly preparing a campaign, including selecting a platform, designing compelling rewards, deciding on the best financial goal to target and outlining a strong marketing strategy. These services can cost $100 to $1,500, depending on the amount of time booked and the quality of the service. Additionally a success fee might be required. 6. Logo design. Having a logo is not a campaign requirement but many entrepreneurs want one for their business. So they design one before launching their campaign for a more polished look. A good bet for finding someone to design a logo are crowdsourced design sites such as crowdSPRING and 99designs, whose designers will draft for $250 40 to 50 logo options. Entrepreneurs with no budget for crowdfunding can still launch a successful campaign but will need to devote a lot more human hours to researching and mastering the numerous elements that go into preparing and running a winning campaign. 收藏文章 喜欢 0 不感兴趣 0
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