The first edition of Crowdfund Your Film: A Step-By-Step Guide recently wrapped up. This is a digital course about crowdfunding I’ve created for my fellow filmmakers. Through this course I’m sharing all of my hard-earned lessons so they don’t struggle the way I did.
My students just finished the class and they’re already making huge progress. These filmmakers are creating new fan pages on Facebook, starting email marketing, planning live events, collaborating with local business, and raising money for their movies. I’m so proud!
What I have really loved are positive responses from students:
- “This course is exactly what I needed.”
- “Wow. Now I realize how much work it’s going to take [to crowdfund successfully].”
- “Thank you for putting this together. It’s a huge blessing.”
When I hear those words, I get so excited! I love hearing that (a) this course helped a lot, (b) these filmmakers now have a clear path forward, and (c) they’ll be able to make a great film as a result of raising cash! It’s really inspiring.
Since launching this course in August, I have seen many crowdfunding campaigns fail. It pains me to see people put so much time, thought, and energy into a campaign — only to pull the plug before it closes because it’s not successful. That’s not good.
A failed campaign means so much more than a loss of funds for a film. It can lead to crippling self-doubt. That often kills the filmmaker’s confidence, project, and willingness to move forward. Some confessed that a failed campaign leads to depression — bringing everything in life to a standstill.
The digital course Crowdfund Your Film was announced at the TriFilm social at Myriad Media in August 2014. (© 2014 Alex Boerner Photography | alexboerner.com)
That’s a rough downward spiral. I don’t want that for my fellow filmmakers. I want their story will be different.
It is possible to raise thousands (or tens of thousands) for an independent film through crowdfunding. With this step-by-step guide, filmmakers can raise more than $10,000 for their work. Crowdfund Your Film will undoubtedly save them plenty of time, energy, and frustration.
That’s why I’m opening course registration again in early 2015.
In response to feedback, I’m giving people plenty of time to plan for it, too! This will happen some time in spring 2015; I’m still finalizing a few more details. So add your name to the email list right here (or at the end of this page) to be one of the first to hear about open registration.
If you’re interested in becoming one of my students next year, add the cost of the course to your 2015 budget right now. For several hundred dollars, you’ll receive immense value: I’ll show you how to improve your odds at raising thousands of dollars through crowdfunding. Plus, I’ll show you how to include the course investment in your crowdfunding campaign so it’s essentially free.
Speaking of FREE, next year I’m giving away a ton of free information. I have a long list of things to share but I’d love to know the biggest questions on your mind right now. This will help me prioritize my list of what to share in 2015.
So please tell me more in the comments below:
- What are your biggest fears about crowdfunding?
- What are the unknowns that hold you back?
- What would most help you launch a campaign with confidence?
Remember, a crowdfunding campaign is not a means to beg family for support of your expensive dream. It’s a way to connect with a very real audience; one that’s eagerly awaiting your finished film, and may or may not include your family. You can do it!
Much love, y’all!
Camden
