Are Third-Party Crowdfunding Tools Worth It?

Recently we have seen the rise of third-party crowdfunding tools available to those who are thinking about starting their own campaign. These services help you with various aspects of your crowdfunding campaign in order to make the process easier. It can be difficult to weed through all the different options and prices in order to decide which tools are worth the investment. Below is a guide to help you navigate through this perplexing labyrinth.

Research Their Track Record

You should always research a company’s reputation before buying their products and services. Crowdfunding forums are a great way to find reviews or ask the public about different third-party crowdfunding tools.

While you want a company with a track record of successful crowdfunding campaigns, honesty and transparency are important qualities to look for in a company. If they claim to have never had an unsuccessful campaign they are probably not telling the truth or are a very new company without a lot of experience, which should be cause for concern. One service we like because of its transparency is BackerClub. BackerClub is a service for people who have backed multiple crowdfunding campaigns; it allows project creators to submit their project for increased visibility among people who are more likely to back their project. While there is a $379 price tag for their help, you will get your money back if you don’t raise that much money in pledges. This guarantee makes this company transparent and reputable.

Weigh the Cost & Benefits

When deciding whether or not to purchase a third-party crowdfunding tool, it’s always good to weigh the benefit of the service against the cost. We always say that if a service is free or offers a free trial, there’s no harm in trying it. For example, HeadTalker is a service that makes getting the word out about your project easier than ever. It links to your social media account in order to blast out a message to your followers about your crowdfunding project. The more people that join your HeadTalker, the higher your reach will be. Essentially, it’s a free service that makes your message go viral!

If a tool’s price is outside of your budget, it’s up to you to decide whether the benefit of this service is worth cutting funding in other areas of your campaign. Often times, we advise against purchasing a service that takes you over your budget and doing the promotional activity yourself. You should always look at a tool and ask yourself if it’s something you can do yourself, especially if you have a tight budget. That being said, if it’s going to cost you a lot of time and resources to do the service yourself, it may be a better option to just outsource the service to someone else.

These tools are great to utilize when starting a crowdfunding campaign, however, even with these them, crowdfunding is a full-time job and requires a team of people devoted to the project. Selecting the tools you want to use is a great first step, and working with crowdfunding professionals can take your project to the next level.