“While delivering life-saving medicines to remote communities around the world, Kapil Dev Singh realized that his ‘high-end’, waterproof gear was making him sweaty and uncomfortable in the hot and humid conditions…’ And thus begins the story of the birth of the Mishmi Takin shoes.

Crowdfunding platforms bring people together to help entrepreneurs pursue their dreams. Storytelling is a critical element of this. Telling the story behind your project can be more compelling to backers than a straight pitch line. Every project has a story, whether it’s the experiences that made you think of your idea, your journey through crowdfunding or your success and failures. Whatever your story is, it will help to build a connection with your backers.  

Product details, business stats and facts are simply not enough to change hearts and minds. In fact, a recent study by Berkeley-Haas School of Business revealed that women are more successful when it comes to crowdfunding, largely due to their storytelling capabilities. “The researcher found that women were more likely to express positive emotion, vividness, and inclusiveness, and less likely to use business language. Comparing these factors to success, she found that the most successful campaigns on Indiegogo used positive emotion and inclusive language and those that fell short relied on dry, business language.”

Now that you understand why storytelling is so important, let’s dive into how to craft a story that will increase traffic to your campaign page. Remember the basic elements of a story: a captivating opening line, main characters (or in this case your team members) and a happy ending (how is crowdfunding going to change your business? How will your product change people’s lives?):

Introduction:

(Where did your idea come from?)

Think about what inspired your project, the motivations behind it and how it is going to change the ‘status quo’ or fill a need in the market. What was the source of your creativity and what made you decide to turn to crowdfunding to make it come to life? Remember the opening line of Kapil’s story.

Characters:

(Who are your team members?)

Backers are interested to see who the campaigners are behind the project. The entrepreneurs behind BabyBit let you know they are working parents just like you, worrying about their baby when they are away. Make your team members more human and approachable, and your backers will see they are not just investing in a product, but in people behind the idea.

Plot:

(How will you use the funding and where do you anticipate challenges?)

Tackle the plot of your campaign in the same way you would the plot of a story: beginning, middle and end. Take your backers through the various stages of your product and let them engage in the journey of how it all began, what is happening during the course of crowdfunding and what will happen after, or how will it all end.

Conflict & Resolution:

(Using Updates to your advantage)

Let your audience share your campaign experiences. Make them feel like they’re part of the journey, riding alongside for each milestone. Let them see behind the scenes during development, witness achievements, and share in the excitement of each triumph. Did you know that campaigners who provide updates once every five days tend to raise 218% more than those who update less often? To learn more about how to utilize updates, check out our Help Center Article.

Other ways to use your story:

You can use elements of your story to draw people in over social media through several ways:

• Post a quote from a team member or a backer who has used the product.
• Post photos of early sketches of your product
• Pitch to media outlets, sharing the inspiration behind your project

The true key to storytelling success is — be unique. Differentiating your campaign from others can maximize your audience reach, organically boosting traffic to your campaign page via social media exposure and even word of mouth.

All these elements to the story will draw people in, allow them to connect with your idea and make them want to share with their circles. Crowdfunding gives consumers the unique insight into the many stages of the product, use this story to your advantage!  

Feeling Inspired? Check out the Essential Guide to Crowdfunding today.