If your campaign has just finished and you have successfully raised funds, then congratulations! Now it’s time to actually do what you’ve promised in your pitch. Your campaign deadline may be over, but there’s a lot that needs to happen before your project is complete.  

Below are five things to consider after the campaign is over and some next steps:

1. Your funds won’t arrive overnight
   If you’ve raised money by credit card, it can take up to two weeks after your deadline to see funds in your bank account.  Intermediary banks, mis-typed account information or missing bank information can all slow down the disbursement process. Don’t commit yourself to writing any checks for at least two weeks after your campaign deadline.
2. Don’t kill yourself trying to email each funder individually
   IndieGoGo provides fulfillment information in a downloadable CSV file (Go to ‘Dashboard’ >  ‘Fulfillment’).  Use this file to set up a ‘mail merge’ in Outlook, Entourage, or any other email program.  You can group your funders by perk level and create custom emails for each group.  For instructions on how to set up a mail merge, check out How to Create a Mail Merge in Gmail.
3. Update your funders regularly, especially after the campaign is over
   Just because you’ve raised funds don’t forget that your funders are potentially lifelong fans – tell them how the project is coming along, when they should expect their perks, and how you’re spending their money.  People contributed because they want to be involved in your project, so make them feel like a part of your team!
4. Sh*t happens
   The manufacturing company that was going to give you an amazing rate will disappear at the last minute.  Your producer will suddenly move to France. Your printer will run out of ink. Something will happen that was not supposed to happen, which may cause your project to be delayed.  For small business owners, this might mean that your perk delivery date just got pushed back by 6 months.  Instead of hiding the fact that your project has hit a roadblock, tell your funders.  Tell them why their perks aren’t coming right away. Ask for their help – “does anyone know a good producer?” “Can you lend me some printer ink?”.  You’ll be surprised by how resourceful and understanding your fans can be, as long as you keep them informed. 
5. It’s okay to launch a follow-up campaign
   If your project goes well, you will reach a point where you need more money. We encourage people to launch follow-up campaigns because that shows progress.  If you do go back for a second round, tell people that you’re working on the same project, but that this is a new campaign.   Link to your old campaign, and then give the new one a unique pitch description and perks.  Tell funders what happened after your first campaign and what the new funds will go towards – this will encourage people who funded your first project to fund again.

Check out these high gogoFactor campaigns that did an great job of managing their campaign after it ended:

• Brad from Solz used updates to keep funders informed during the manufacturing process.
• Steve from SeeMeCNC posts an update for each new shipment for his 3D printer kits and responds to customer questions through his comments.
• The Clowning Around team changed their pitch description after they hit their target and continue to use update to share news about the film.
• The Temple of Transition at Burning Man ran two separate campaigns forset up and clean up, tapping into the same network of funders for both.
• Metamorphosis raised $25K to make their film and then launched a 2nd round for post-production. Each campaign has a unique description and explains exactly how the funds will be used. 

If you have any additional questions, please get in touch with our Customer Happiness team – support@indiegogo.com.  We pride ourselves on a 24-hour response time!