What is a crowd producer and why you need one for crowdfunding

According to Technavio forecasts, in 2021, the global crowdfunding market will grow by 17%. The number of projects on crowdfunding platforms is increasing in proportion to the growing demand for specialists who are able to promote crowdfunding projects in a way that creates added value.

To successfully close a crowdfunding campaign, you need to closely engage in the promotion of the project. However, many founders do not have enough free time and special knowledge to achieve this without the help of a specialist. Because of this, many founders are choosing to hire a third-party specialist, a crowd producer, to organize their campaigns.

What is a crowd producer

Crowd producers, also called crowdfunding experts, organize the collection of donations in a way that increases the chances of successful project implementation for founders. When founders initially post information about their project on the Internet, this is only the beginning. The success of the project depends entirely on whether the founders chose the right promotion channels, their ability to build trusting relationships with investors, the content they post about the project, and more. Crowd producers are able to solve all these issues, taking on the task of promoting the project, while its creators can focus on the production and preparation of the technical aspects.

Each year, the amount of funding raised through crowdfunding continues to increase. For example, in Russia, the total volume of crowdfunding fees increases by 200% each year. The popularity of crowdfunding stems from several factors: the development of payment tools, the increasing number of innovative enterprises, and the transformation of participants in the financial market. Never before have ordinary people had so many opportunities to invest in innovative, promising projects. When working with such an audience, it’s especially important to adapt your approaches to promoting the project and communicating with investors. Crowd producers are experts in building relationships with new types of investors.

A crowd producer can promote a specific project or limit their scope to consulting services. For example, they can analyze the project, suggest the best approach to build relationships with the audience, which elements should be paid particular attention. As a rule, a crowd producer only promotes projects that they consider to be promising.

Key steps of working with crowd producers

Before agreeing to promote a project, the crowd producer carefully analyzes it. This is necessary to understand whether the project has a chance to attract an audience and successfully complete the campaign. To assess the chances, the crowd producer starts by analyzing the demand for the product and assessing the willingness of people to support it.

Before agreeing to a project, the crowd producer also analyzes if there are significant conflicts between contributors and founders. Who owns the product patent? Is there a conflict between the holders of shares in the company? What is the reputation of the creators of the project on the market? Other points that crowd producers also pay attention to depend on the legislation of the specific country where the project is launched and the specifics of the project.

When a crowd producer takes on a project, they start by preparing a PR campaign. The specialist determines the methods of promotion after analyzing the target audience. This is a mandatory preparatory step. After it’s completed, the crowd producer publishes the crowdfunding project on a suitable platform and continues to oversee it until the finish line.

Important skills and qualities for a crowd producer 

First of all, crowd producers must understand how to work with a project. They need to be informed about:

  • crowdfunding. A crowd producer needs to understand the principles of organizing a campaign, promoting a project, its design, etc. You also need to be able to launch a project on international platforms and understand their specifics;
  • financial technology. This is necessary in order to select the most efficient approach to a campaign;
  • legislation. The crowd producer must know how the financial market is regulated in the country where they are promoting the project;
  • business intelligence. Basic knowledge in this area is required at the stage of assessing the viability of a project;
  • digital marketing. First of all, you need to promote crowdfunding projects on the Internet. Because crowd producers are responsible for organizing online promotions, they must understand this field; 
  • developing and maintaining a personal brand. After all, what is the promotion of a crowdfunding project, if not branding?

The ability to find a common language with other people and a high level of emotional intelligence are also very important for a crowd producer. Other soft skills are also valuable, such as public speaking and time management. A crowd producer often has to run several projects in parallel, negotiating promotions with large advertisers and speaking at specialized conferences.

Not only do crowd producers need to have advanced communication skills, they should also be able to think creatively. To promote any project (especially in the crowdfunding market), you need to think outside the box and find unexpected solutions. These decisions should engage the audience, so that backers feel like a part of the project and eventually make a donation. For example, the mastermind behind the Flipper Zero project started building a community around the brand six months before the start of the crowdfunding campaign, and as a result, the project managed to raise more than $ 4.6 million.

Crowd producers are often referred to as project managers in job advertisements. This is partly true, because crowd producers need strong managerial skills to effectively manage the campaign and correctly present the project to the audience. Because the demand for crowdfunding projects is growing at a steady rate, crowd producers will be in high demand as one of the most promising professions of the future. This might be your chance!

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