**Guest post by Nicole Hoglund, Managing Director of Bandtwango, the premier crowdfunding platform for country music artists.

"Crowdfunding, especially in the music industry, is not a new concept. Artists have been doing this for decades, albeit in many different ways, to raise money to fund their careers. Nowadays crowdfunding is mainly done online through platforms and websites that help music artists ask their fans to support their next music career venture. These are things like recording and releasing new music, shooting a music video, funds for a radio tour, etc. The list and ideas are endless when it comes to what music artists can raise funds for.

There are always elements that can lead to an artist having a successful campaign. From choosing the right incentives for their audience, shooting for a realistic monetary goal, and to having an engaged fanbase all help, however there is one element that we know is the most important one for artists to succeed, pre-promotion of their campaign.

+Do You Know What Your Fans Really Want?

Pre-promotion is defined as promoting your campaign to your audience before it launches. Think of it like how you promote your latest single to your fans a few weeks before it drops, the same concept is just as important when it comes to crowdfunding, especially because essentially you need to sell your fans on WHY you are doing a crowdfunding campaign/project before you launch it!

Without pre-promotion we have seen really great artists have lackluster results, which leads to less than 100% of funds raised for their campaign or a campaign that never really gets going, which is always frustrating.

+Crowdfunding: Am I A Douche Bag For Doing It?

So what exactly can you do? These simple tips below can help you have a really great pre-promotion strategy and get your audience excited about your crowdfunding campaign:

1. Create a calendar and make sure you give yourself a month or so to promote your campaign, before it goes live.
2. Email your list of “raving fans” before your campaign launches and give them the inside scoop of what's to come.
3. Promote your campaign on all your social media platforms and hint at when it drops, what they can expect and keep posting even after the launch!
4. Do #3 consistently over the weeks leading up to the campaign.
5. Get your fanbase involved! Ask them what kind of incentives they are looking forward to seeing and what amount of money they would donate to your campaign - this helps to show three things:

a. How engaged your fanbase is
b. How much money you can expect to raise if everyone who answers takes the action and donates
c. What they really want, which can be a big help in you choosing which incentives to include!

If you don’t believe us, don’t take our word for it… check out how Liz Longley was able to have two successful crowdfunding campaigns (on Kickstarter), raising over $150,000 with pre-promotion being her main focus!

No one likes to be cold-canvased, and dropping a crowdfunding campaign out the blue is just that. A warm audience converts quickly and when you do crowdfunding you are not only an artist but a sales person, selling your idea of what you want your music career to be, so make sure your audience is bought in, before you launch, by pre-promoting it consistently, weeks before it goes live.

+Create a Pre-Save For Spotify and Apple Music in 4 Steps

At the end of the day, your fanbase will be delighted to see that you included their input into what you have created for them and you will have warmed them up to the idea of donating to your campaign!

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about starting a crowdfunding campaign/project of your own, visit www.bandtwango.com to learn more!"

Related Blog Posts:

+4 Fantastic Crowdfunding Platforms for Musicians

+PledgeMusic Story Is Starting To Sound Like A Broken Record says Bandzoogle's Dave Cool

+10 Ways To Raise Funds For Your Next Music Project (Without Selling A Single Record)