As you put your crowdfunding campaign together, you’ve probably been wondering about what you need to make a great video. All well-made campaign videos — from the small projects to the great big whales — have one thing in common: they all tell a powerful story.
And we want to help you tell a story that brings your project to life.
That’s why we have created a free comprehensive video guide on How to Make A Compelling Video for Your Crowdfunding Campaign.
We want your campaign to shine, so the guide will cover everything you need to know to make a video that captures the imagination of your audience.
Want a sample of what you’ll learn?
Let’s take a look at some of the ideas you’ll find in the guide:
The Elements of a Powerful Story
Every great story has trial, triumph, and a little bit drama. If you want examples of some great videos, check out this playlist of top pitch videos from campaigners.
These are likely the ones with:
- Short, powerful titles
- Emotion-rich openings that draw you in
- A central character or place to focus on
And that’s no accident. Every great story has similar elements. So as you think about crafting your product story, think about what challenges you can emphasize — either from your own journey of from the perspective of a potential backer. These are things like:
- The story of your team and what inspired you to create the product
- The mindset of a frustrated customer and how your product solves their problem
- A moment where you almost gave up but decided to push through, leading to unexpected results
If you can keep these essential elements in mind, you’ll be able to build a foundation for a great story.
5 Tips for Making a Good Video GREAT
If you really want to take your video from “This is pretty cool” to “Wow!” here are few things to keep in mind:
1. Hook The Viewer
In our digital age of cat videos and Pokemon Go, viewer attention is very limited. You don’t have time for a slow start with your video. Within the first 30 seconds, you should:
- Grab the viewer’s attention
- Introduce your product clearly
- Show users how it will benefit them
These early actions will help keep viewers engaged and inspire them to keep watching.
2. Keep it short and sweet
Videos with the greatest engagement are less than 3 minutes. The shorter your video, the more likely people are to make it to the end. So keep it short and sweet so people can enjoy your hard work!
3. Focus on benefits — support them with features
There’s a big difference between benefits and features. A feature is a technical part of a product. The benefit is how it makes our lives better: GoPro lets us capture awesome memories. FitBit helps us stay in shape.
Always focus on the benefits of a product first. Then you can show the product’s features, explaining how those features support the benefit. For example: “GoPros size lets you capture more memories in more places.” A potential backer needs to be sold on the benefits first. Then they’ll look to the features for their final decision.
4. Be real and personal
Backers get excited about a product when they connect with the team behind it. So keep it real. Personal connection can be deeply rewarding for you and your contributors. It also shows them that they can trust you to build and deliver the product. So be sure to:
- Speak directly to the camera
- Be completely honest ( never misrepresent your company or product)
- Show us your passion! If you believe in it, we’ll believe in it too!
5. End with a clear call to action
A call-to-action is a direct statement that asks people to do something. If you want them to contribute to your campaign, or spread the word — then make sure you say that!
A Case Study of a Great Video: FLX
FLX has a dynamic video that incorporates all of these elements. The team does a great job of showing their bike in motion, using a variety of different settings to really showcase the bike’s versatility. Their use of direct-address and voice over, ties together all of these different snapshots into one cohesive narrative.
- 0-15: Product introduction (with great emotional hook)
- 15-30: Team story (we wanted to put the fun into cycling)
- 30-50: Benefits (biking is easier, and you don’t even have to pedal)
- 50-1:30: Features supporting benefits
- Location of the motor & gearing (supports) climb hills easier and hit top speeds quicker
- 17 amp lithium battery (supports) ride longer and further
- Battery key lock (supports) ease of use and charging
- 1:30- 1:50: Reiterate more benefits (zip past traffic, explore further, climb higher than ever before)
- 1:50 -2:25: Mountain biking Use Case (+ describes features that support mountain biking)
- 2:25 – 2:45: Call to action
- 2:45 – End: People using the product
It’s important to say that Flux didn’t get it perfect the first time. They kept making changes to their video to refine it.
Our new Crowdfunding Video Guide also includes:
- What you’ll need before you start filming
- How to prepare for making a video
- How to actually get your video made
- Different ways to tell stories
- Video guidelines
- Tips for going from ‘good’ to ‘GREAT’
- Case studies
- …and much more!
A pitch video is one of the most powerful ways to tell your story. In fact, our research has shown that campaigns with a pitch video raise 4X more than campaigns without a pitch video.
Ready to learn what it takes to make a great video?
Download our free Crowdfunding Video Guide now!
