Timing is Everything for Your Crowdfunding Campaign

When your crowdfunding campaign is orchestrated to perfection, your team will stay on beat to reach your goals. But how do you get the timing right? We will help you artfully arrange your campaign to get the timing right.

Launching your campaign

Although there is no right or wrong day to launch your campaign, we typically suggest campaigns launch early in the week. Launching early in the week can capture your audience’s attention by hitting email inboxes when they are focused on the week ahead. Later in the week, people become more focused on what they’ll be doing that weekend.

We recommend staying away from major holidays for launch dates. The last thing you want is for prospective donors to all be out of office the day you launch your campaign.

Deciding on your campaign length

You may not think the length of your campaign matters much, but it can be a big factor in running a successful campaign! We recommend your campaign last between 30 and 60 days. This short turnaround time is key to creating a sense of urgency, building momentum for your campaign, and keeping your audience engaged.

For experienced fundraisers with small campaigns under $25,000, a month-long or 30-day campaign should offer plenty of time to reach your goal. For larger campaigns or first-time fundraisers, that extra push of 45-60 days can really help!

Remember, a longer campaign does not mean it will be easier to reach your goal. In many ways, it might make it more difficult for your campaign by extending promotion, taking away from other projects within the organization or business, and reducing the sense of urgency around the campaign.

Don’t be afraid to get creative with your campaign length! For example, if your organization is celebrating a 40th anniversary, it might be interesting to have a 40-day campaign! This could lead to creative ways to market your campaign and draw media attention. But this won’t work for all campaigns.

Creating a sense of urgency

Although your campaign planning and outreach to potential donors might start before your campaign officially launches, a shorter campaign length creates a sense of urgency around your project. Patrons and community members feel compelled to give to ensure you reach your goal by the deadline! Especially when matching grant dollars are on the line.

At the end of the day, people want to see your campaign succeed. They also are invested in the project you are building! With a civic-minded project, your crowdfunding campaign creates a sense of community ownership. They want to see the impact of the donation in action.

Events throughout your campaign

Well-timed events throughout your campaign can help your campaign to reach new audiences and gain momentum. There are many options for campaign events, whether hosted on your own or attended by your team. We recommend strategizing your campaign launch around existing events, but be sure your campaign dates don’t conflict with other major fundraising events in your community.

Events you host yourself

A launch party could help you gather supporters and media attention early in your campaign. An event in the middle of your campaign could help keep people engaged in your campaign. Or you could wait to have an event at the very end of your campaign to close the gap on any last-minute funding needed and celebrate your success!

Events you attend

Consider events that align with your project to connect with new audiences. Is your campaign environmentally focused? Consider having a booth at an Earth Day event. Are you building a dog park? Consider attending a dog show or adoption event to help spread the word about your project. Be sure to consider events that compliment your campaign and don’t compete. If an event you are considering is majorly focused on fundraising for themselves, it’s probably not a good fit.

Events hosted on your behalf

Another great way to reach a new audience is by partnering with local businesses to fundraise on your behalf! A great example of this is a dine-to-donate event. Dine-to-donate events are fun and easy fundraisers that typically donate a percentage of sales to your cause on a certain night.

Start strong. Finish strong.

We have found that most campaign contributions come in the first and last days of the campaign. According to Fundera, 42% of funds are raised in the first and last three days of an average crowdfunding campaign. This is why it’s so important to create that sense of urgency. With limited time, your donors will be motivated to give right away. And if you haven’t quite reached your goal in the last few days, a solid push for support can finally urge those donors to write the check.

Well-timed advice

Thankfully, our team is here to help! One thing you can count on is well-timed advice from our experienced team of crowdfunding experts. Every crowdfunding campaign on Patronicity receives one-on-one coaching, no matter how big or small your project. So, if you have any additional questions about timing your crowdfunding campaign, don’t hesitate to reach out. Email us at info@patronicity.com.