An introduction to crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has become an increasingly more popular way for small companies and creative artists to gain early backing using the internet and social media. In the UK we have seen a wave of crowdfunding sites emerge that have goals as diverse as funding community driven projects to equity investment platforms. PleaseFund.Us has always been proud to be a creative projects platform, meaning that anyone with a new idea can upload their idea and work with the PleaseFund.Us team to get it into shape so that it can raise the money needed through crowdfunding.

Last summer witnessed Facebook reach over a billion registered users and it’s a tool that should not be ignored when it comes to crowdfunding your idea.

Facebook is an easy way to connect with large amounts of people and ultimately promote your project; it’s also a great way of keeping people up to date with your progress and how your project is getting on. If you're not using Facebook for your project yet, you’re missing out on one of the largest and fastest ways to directly interact with potential fans and backers.

Twitter recently reached 500 million registered users last month and it is an excellent tool that can be used to sell and share your campaign with thousands of people. However, with so many users, it’s very easy for your tweets to get lost. Whether you’re new to twitter, or have tweeted over 1000 times, here are 10 tips on how to compose a tweet; how to share it amongst your target audience; and how to get your words of wisdom RT’d.

Campaigns reaching their goal have an average lifespan of 52 days; most of which raise a 1/3 of their goal in less than two weeks. Here’s 3 ways how you can start your campaign off with a bang, and 3 reasons why you should do it.

There are many independent artists out there trying to fund the recording of their new single or album; the making of their new music video; or even the purchasing of their new tour van. Some of them are getting fully funded, and others aren’t. Why?

We’ve taken 3 successful music projects from different platforms and look at why they’ve been successful. They may not be the most successful in terms of how much they’ve exceeded their goal, or how much money they’ve raised, but it’s how they’ve gone about creating a successful project which matters.
 

There are 42 days left to go before the 12 winners of the PleaseFund.Us Creatives Grants are announced on the 23rd February. That still leaves plenty of time for new projects to be uploaded and join some of newest projects that have only recently embarked on their campaigns: Some of which are already contenders for the Creatives Grants. We’ve had a look through all those projects who could be in contention of winning a grant, and we tell you why.

Over the last few years we have all been witness to something extraordinary. We have watched the world order turn on its head. The economic superpowers have swapped roles. Our governments are struggling to finance their own public debt and now public spending cuts are reaching to the deepest parts of our society. In spite of all of this gloom, I am supremely optimistic.

We have the internet.