The transparency rule in crowdfunding

In this article, we’ll discuss the transparency rule in crowdfunding. It’s part of the series on the 20 golden rules of crowdfunding.

In any crowdfunding campaign, transparency plays a key role to guarantee the engagement with potential backers. After all, a cage, secretive campaign doesn’t inspire much trust.

In the four phases, planning, pre-campaign and post-campaign, transparency has to be one of the core values of the team. Otherwise, the community around the campaign is likely to lose motivation to collaborate.

The transparency rule in the planning phase

You should be working on a content strategy and calendar and messaging around a transparent plan. For example, in relation to the financial objective of the campaign, it’s crucial to be clear on how the money is going to be used.

In the pre-campaign

You will start communicating here. And you need to do it with total transparency. You’ll be collecting emails on your landing page. This needs to be simple, straight to the point and, yes, you guessed it, transparent.

Other types of communications can include press releases, social media posts and even blog posts that explain how the project is evolving in these initial stages. Be honest with your community.

During the campaign

You’ll be now in the midst of it. By crowdfunding’s very nature, you won’t have many places to hide. Percentage raised, number of backers, forums, updates… all of it it’s public! But you should go one step further and give information to potential backers via other channels on how things are going and any potential problems that might have arisen. Especially if they’re related to any foreseeable problems with production or delivery. The earlier you warn your backers, the better!

In post-campaign

Perhaps the most important phase on which transparency is key. There are plenty of examples of brands that have lost their hard earned reputation because they didn’t communicate openly.

Make sure you update your backers regularly. Most of them will be understanding if you run into any problems… as long as you keep them in the loop!

Wrapping it up

The transparency rule in crowdfunding tells us that being open and honest is key to gain the trust of potential backers in all of the phases of crowdfunding. From how you’re going to use the funds, to any potential problems emerging during the campaign and post-campaign, you owe it to the people that have trusted in you!

If you have any questions or need help with your project, don’t hesitate to contact me.