Why marketing spend matters when choosing the best crowdfunding platform

For startups today, there's more than one way to raise the capital to get their business up and running. Traditional fundraising rounds with venture capital firms and registered angel investors are still an option, but many founders are increasingly turning to equity crowdfunding as an alternative.

With crowdfunding, startups can connect with millions of potential investors, any of whom could also be future customers and brand ambassadors. Successful crowdfunding projects could avoid becoming reliant on just one or two backers and raise more capital than they'd be likely to access through traditional venture funding, in a manner that's better suited to fast-moving tech or innovative web3 projects.

But like everything in the world of business, crowdfunding success doesn't happen on its own.

Crowdfunding success requires paid promotion

Marketing agencies that specialize in crowdfunding campaigns emphasize that with so many campaigns competing for investors, you can't expect people to find yours unless you bring it to their attention.

Using paid ads to market your crowdfunding campaign is vital nowadays to ensure you cut through the noise. You need a carefully planned marketing campaign that includes raising interest and securing pledges before the launch, providing engaging content throughout the campaign, and applying paid promotion to reach your target audience. What many founders might not realize is that this makes marketing spend one of the more important crowdfunding statistics.

There is a plethora of crowdfunding platforms to choose from, including general platforms like Kickstarter and Gofundme, startup crowdfunding sites like StartEngine and Wefunder, and smaller platforms focusing on niche sectors like women-led startups, tech startups, or startups in a specific geography. With so many options, it can be hard to know which is the best crowdfunding platform for startup funding.

Among the many crowdfunding stats for founders to check out, like success rates, fees, and effective campaign types, we recommend that you also examine how much each platform spends on marketing.