The first thing anyone does, with a project on a crowdfunding site, is tell their friends and family and ask for money. But broke filmmakers have broke friends and family.  And, filmmakers usually have friends who have their own projects.

Those who are successful on crowdfunding sites have said that it is not the wealthy who contribute to their projects but average people who like what they are doing.  If the filmmaker is offering perks for $5, it is going to take a lot of fans to raise any kind of funding. 

The first thing those who reach their goals seem to do is build their Facebook fan base.  I know filmmakers who add dozens of friends every day and this is very smart (as long as each of those friends don’t expect birthday greetings). If you have 4,000 Facebook friends, you will probably have a better chance of success than if you have only 4. 

I say “probably” because the quality of those fans could be an issue.  If your 4 fans are your siblings, and they are billionaires, then that skews things somewhat.  But, given the average Facebook group of friends it is better to have 4,000 than to have 4.

The next factor is getting the word out.  Some people seem to be really good at publicity.  They can stub their toe and get it on the 6 o’clock news.  People can’t donate if they don’t know about your project.  But there is a fine line between information and annoyance. Those who are successful at getting fans involved seem to be very good at not crossing that line.

Another issue seems to be the perks. How valuable a perk can you offer for a very small donation?  If you have a no-budget short you may be willing to have your lead character played by your neighbor for free food for the cast and crew.  For most productions this won’t work (and you can’t make someone pay to get a job).

Another issue is that most people who contribute to a film actually want to invest, even though very few Indie films actually make a profit.  Crowdfunding sites do not sell shares.  Crowdfunding sites do not sell shares for a variety of reasons.  SEC rules being probably the biggest.   

Crowdfunding is here to stay.  But, navigating the waters can be a challenge.