I was asking people to spread the word via their social networks (both IRL and online) in our search for an actress... how many do you think actually helped?
Out of every 10 people you ask, you'll be lucky to get 1 or 2 cut & paste a simple ad' onto their facebook... so how many will donate real money?
First, you're asking people to actually read your request, and then to click on a link!
Damn, for many, that's tough, but wait, 'cause it only gets harder: sign up to a site, enter credit card details, input a figure that isn't too stingy yet won't come anywhere close to breaking the bank and then hit that enter key.
Not happening.
And of those who might be of the disposition to make all that "effort", how many like you enough to give money, or don't think you're wasting your time? How many who don't know you from Adam, read those messages that actually get forwarded and like your project enough to give cash?
People, it's free money, so we're encouraged to partake, but, considering all the work involved, is it really free?
Consider next, the cut that these websites take... couldn't the same sum be offered to people to act as middlemen to rich people they know?
Yes, money is hard come by, but time wasted will bankrupt you and kill your project.
So, whether or not you decide to go the crowdfunding route is your own decision, but, from my personal experiences, it seems like a dead end, so I'd rather focus my attention elsewhere.
But perhaps I'll return to the idea when our programme's as big as Veronica Mars...?
Nice breakdown of the numbers. To summarise: crowd-funding is a huge risk unless you're massively popular or have cast/crew with huge online followings.
Personally, I'd rather focus on getting money via other means.
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Damian couldn't be more right. It's crowd and funding. Even more so, it's crowdSOURCING & crowdFUNDING. This confusion and the idea of sourcing a crowd toward not just raising money, but identifying and building not only the brand of your film, but your personal brand was why Focal/Routledge asked me to write CROWDSOURCING FOR FILMMAKERS. To understand crowdfunding, you need to understand crowdsourcing first. But, again, even if you are just trying to build an army of support for YOU and the brand of your content, you need to understand how to crowdsource.
The Audiobook is available for free on Audible and the paperback and Kindle version are on Amazon. And while the book is on crowdsourcing, there are 2 chapters and 3 case studies of films that used crowdsourcing toward to successfully crowdfund.
Audible:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Crowdsourcing-for-Filmmakers-Audiobook/B07N6L...
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Crowdsourcing-Filmmakers-Indie-Power-Crowd/dp/B07...
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Great perspective guys, like they say, dig the well before you're thirsty lol