Crowdfunding involves a lot of decisions that can make or break a campaign. One of the places crowdfunders often go wrong is in setting the closing date.
When you’re staring down the barrel of a large funding goal, you might have difficulty working out where on Earth you will find enough money in time. For many, the obvious solution is to make their campaign as long as possible. But this isn’t always the best response. Evidence suggests that the ideal campaign length is 27-34 days.
In the case of extreme success, your very-long campaign can become a curse. Take the case of the Lima, who reached their goal of $69,000 and “sold out” of their devices in just 12 hours. With another 59-and-a-half days to go, suddenly their small test run turned into a major production operation with over 15,000 devices to deliver on. This is ‘best case’ for many creators.
But it’s more likely that extending the length of your campaign will only increase the amount of work you have to do, with very little return.
Most successful campaigns go through three distinct phases. Some crowdfunders have called this “The Golden Gate Bridge Effect”, and it refers to the number of backers you get during each phase.
Phase 1 – the first pillar of support
In the first few days, a successful campaign will receive a ‘hump’ of pledges. These are your early backers – your family and friends jumping on board, helping you to get you that all-important show of support. This hump typically lasts 3 to 4 days.
The number of pledges you get is high, just like the first mast of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Depending on your funding goal, this should take you to between 10% and 30%.
Phase 2 – the long road
The majority of your campaign will fit into Phase 2. This is the long, arduous and often stressful push for the ‘middle supporters’.
These are the ones you have to work the hardest to get. They come in drips and drabs from various places. Perhaps a blog post, social media, or a news story. It takes a long time to get them, and it feels like this is going to stretch on forever. This is the middle section of the bridge. While you will be watching your total go up, the volume will be low. There will be days that go by without a single pledge.
Phase 3 – the second pillar, and the avalanche
Finally, in your last week, the number of pledges you get will ramp up again. Your tally will get higher and higher until – often in the final hours – it becomes an avalanche, sending you soaring past your funding goal. You’ve reached the end of the bridge, and the second ‘pillar’ of support.
Practically every successful campaign follows this pattern. And you know what extending your campaign length does?
It only ever makes the bridge longer. The two pillars will always be there. The only part you are extending is the middle. And that’s counter-productive. It’s only extending the amount of work you have to do, and the level of stress you will be subjected to while wandering if you’re going to fund or not.
So with that in mind, what is the ideal project time? Michael C. Neel has analysed more than 50,000 Kickstarter projects, and his data suggests that 27-34 days is the sweet spot. That’s enough time for your message to spread, and for people to be exposed to your project from more than one source. It’s enough time to generate your support networks, and get you over the line.
While many platforms allow you to choose the length of your project, you’re not giving yourself more time – you’re only giving yourself more work.
What do you think? Is the evidence right? Have you experienced the Golden Gate Bridge Effect? I’d love to read your comments below.
Golden Gate Bridge image courtesy of Bernard Gagnon
