3 Tips from Erica Anderson, Seed&Spark, on Successfully Crowdfunding Your Next Film

By: Zac Clancy

With the explosion in growth for crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Seed&Spark, the landscape has changed for those looking to get a creative project funded. Kickstarter, since it’s launch in 2009, reports that 5 million people have pledged over $800 million, funding 50,000 projects. For indie films, this could mean access to funding that never would have been available. Crowdfunding isn’t a new thing, but these online platforms have expanded the concept so that anyone can get involved, either by funding a project, or having their project funded.

Only Daughter, an independent drama shot and produced in New Hampshire, was funded by an Indiegogo campaign. Their campaign goal was to raise $6,500 to make the movie, and by the end of their campaign they had raised $19,156. Only Daughter took home three awards from the New Hampshire Film Festival, including New Hampshire Film of the Year.

Seed&Spark, a startup tailored to supporting independent films and filmmakers through their online services, offers some tips to those who may be looking to take the crowdfunding route. You can view the full list on their website, but after talking to Erica Anderson, Seed&Spark’s Chief Marketing Officer, I wanted to highlight a few points.

Focus on your networks. People want to know who you are, they want to be able to connect with your work.

Tease your audience along the way. Post pictures, videos, blogs. Show people what’s happening. They’ll be more apt to connect with your work, and engaging them is one of the keys to getting funded.

Branch outside your networks. Your friends and family are bound to support your campaign, but you’ll need to drive a much larger audience towards your campaign to get funded. Plus, if you engage people outside your networks, they’ll start to pull in their own supporters making your web of support even larger.