journalism crowdfunding, sebastian esser #gijc15
TRANSCRIPT
Why crowdfund?
• Cut out the middle men
• Team up with your readers, listeners, viewers
• Screw advertising
What is Krautreporter?• Crowdfunding in May/June 2014
• 17.000 members, around M1€/y1 budget
• daily longform background stories
• close collaboration with our members
• Crowdfunding to kickstart membership model
• Special enterst of a tight community
• High personal engagement
• New role of journalists – consumers become participants
Why pay for journalism?
Members are experts
#1: How to calculate a realistic funding goal
• Rule of thumb No.1: Around 5 percent of your community will support you
• with around 20 to 30 Euros on average
• Community = only people that you are able to contact in time before your campaign ends
Examples
Example KR• €900,000 funding goal, €60 membership
• 900,000 / 60 = 15,000 people
• 15,000 = 5% 300,000 = 100%
• we needed to reach 300,000 interested people
#2 How to pick the right funding goal
• Rule of thumb No.2: Always ask for the smallest amount that you can work with
• People do not stop supporting you once you hit the 100 percent
• don't ask for less than you need to keep your promise (obviously)
#3: How to build a community and stay in contact
• Rule of thumb No.3: One third of the money should come in within the first week of the campaign
• that third has to come from people that you know directly, in most cases personally.
• So basically: In the beginning you need to ask your family and friends for money.
#3: How to build a community and stay in contact
The valley of death
#3: How to build a community and stay in contact
• start building a community before you start your campaign
• prepare for one piece of content a day – "one good news, every day“
• Most important: think of the campaign as a narrative – tell your story
#4 Ways to improve your chances of succeeding
• crowdfunding is not a exchange of money for goods, but a means of communication
• most people will give you what you tell them to give
#5: How to communicate with your crowd
• Journalists are bad communicators
• Communication is a job by itself
• You’ll need help
