The single biggest mistake most people make is not starting to market their crowdfunding campaign BEFORE they take their project live. Let me repeat that, you must start marketing BEFORE your project goes live.

I know. You’re probably wondering, how can I get started without having my project page ready?

Good question. Here’s the answer…
Your social media contacts are an important part of your crowd, but more important, at least in the beginning, are your family and close personal friends. They are the ones you need to come first to your project page and contribute. They are the ones that know you best and if they show their faith in you, it will be much easier (and probable) that your ever-expanding circle of influence will reach others and pull them in. YOU MUST SHOW OTHERS HAVE FAITH IN YOU! (Get them involved beforehand.)

Let’s get started by first understanding this:

• You are the center of your circle
• The next ring out from you is your family
• Next come your close friends (or maybe vice versa)
• Then your co-workers, colleagues, team members, groups you belong to, etc…

Beyond that, you have your acquaintances, friends of family members, friends of friends, and your social contacts rich with people all around — you’ve never actually met them BUT you have had some sort of interaction with on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and so on. Great source of contributors.

You might even have a list of those interested in what you’re doing on the web… blog followers, an optin list, a newsletter list, a mailing list, and/or customers.

See how your “circle of influence” expands? You need them ALL if you’re going to be successful at crowdfunding, but how do you bring them closer in?

In steps…

Before your project goes live on CrowdFundingLIVE.com (or anywhere else), reach out to your first and second circles and have them prepared IN ADVANCE to contribute to your project the moment it goes live.

Next prepare your outer circles, those that aren’t so closely connected with you, so they understand what crowdfunding is, how they can get involved and why they would want to. Again that’s BEFORE your project goes live. Prepare them!

Then, once your project does go live, you have primed the pump, so to speak, and your chances for success have increased dramatically (some statistics say it more than doubles your chances).

If you don’t tell people before you start what you’re going to do and what it’s all about, you’ll have to spend too much time educating people and not as much time creating enthusiasm.

For example, on your Facebook page…

• add a status update stating that you’re planning a project
• conduct a poll asking people how familiar they are with crowdfunding
• research other projects and mention ones that intrigue you
• write a “fill-in-the-blank” question such as…
  “Say you needed funding for a project, you would get it by ______________.”

Anything you can think of to get people within your outer circles of influence to start thinking and talking about crowdfunding. You’ll find there are plenty of people that haven’t heard much (if anything) about this new-fandangled-way of funding ideas! Build their curiosity on the subject before you put yours out there!

So, while you’re putting together your project to get started in crowdfunding, talk about it, write blog posts, share what you’re doing on Twitter and other social sites. Get feedback!

If you don’t want to have one of those crowdfunding projects that sit there for days or weeks with zero dollars in the till, get started BEFOREHAND. Prepare the way to your success.

Now, doesn’t that make sense? What are your thoughts? Do you have any other tips to share? Any questions?