Once you have gotten your grant applications, your websites, and your social media presence ready, you have what you need to crowdfund your film. Every film is going to require a website and a social media presence, and you should always send out a few grant applications just in case. But like with a newsletter, whether or not you end up doing a crowdfunding campaign, is something you should consider very carefully. The most obvious benefit of crowdfunding is that you have the possibility of getting funds for your film, and that you get to set the amount you're seeking to raise. While with grants you're competing against hundreds, if not thousands of people for a limited amount of winning spots, with crowdfunding, you have no clear competition. Your limitations have to do with your ability to convince those who know and those interested in the topic of your film to fund your project. In that way, the possibilities are endless. Moreover, not only do you have a chance to get some funds for your film, but you get to build an audience for your film. Your campaign, like having a newsletter and a social media presence, is another way of letting audiences know that your film exists, and that you are committed to its success. The most significant drawback to crowdfunding is how time-consuming it is. Campaigns usually run between four and six weeks, and during that time, you need to see your campaign as a full-time job. It also takes weeks to prepare your campaign materials and to build and maintain relationships with potential supporters. Another drawback is that depending on your personality, you may find it difficult to ask friends and family for money, making it harder for you to reach your goal. If you're uncomfortable asking for money, or if you don't spend enough time on your campaign, you may end up with a failed campaign, which can be detrimental to your film. If you don't meet your goal, you may end up feeling deflated, and some may lose some of the excitement they felt over your project. If you decide to crowdfund, you want to think very carefully as you choose to platform you'll work with. They each have pros and cons. Kickstarter is the oldest and best known crowdfunding platform. It has strong name recognition for films and other creative projects. With Kickstarter, you must meet the entirety of your goal in order to get any of the money, which can be a great incentive to meet your goal, but can also mean that you do all that work for nothing. Indiegogo is the second best-known crowdfunding platform. They have more options for setting up your campaign. They have fixed funding, which like Kickstarter, means that you can only get your money if you meet 100 percent of your goal. They also offer flexible funding, which allows you to get the funds no matter how much of your goal you meet, as long as you reach a 500 minimum. Seed & Spark is a newer and smaller platform, but it is entirely dedicated to film and TV content. Unlike bigger platforms that provide individualized attention to its campaigners, for Seed & Spark, you need to meet 60 percent of your goal to get the funds. GoFundMe is another option you can consider. It has no goal percentage requirement, and it's easier to set up since it's primarily meant to be used by people seeking to fund personal needs such as medical bills or unexpected expenses. Although, it is easier to use, it doesn't have the same reputation and prestige as other platforms when it comes to funding films. Once you decide which platform you want to use, you'll need to start preparing your campaign materials. In the next video, we'll look at what you need to do in order to run a successful crowdfunding campaign.
