Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Peerbackers VS. Indiegogo for crowd funding


About a week ago, I launched a 30-day fundraising campaign on Peerbackers to help my business cover the costs of finishing the bigger store front we're moving to in September. I discovered today that Peerbackers isn't as well known as I thought and decided to create another campaign on Indiegogo which is a more known peer funding site (higher Google rank, more campaigns running, more funders giving overall). I'm hoping for this thing to go viral and get the support of strangers along with family and friends. Thank you to the people I know that donated through Peerbackers already! That campaign will still run and I will honor the rewards as promised.  I copied the same rewards from Peerbackers to Indiegogo. I partnered with some other businesses to offer a variety of bribes rewards in exchange for donations.

Indiegogo does take a bigger cut of money I raise (4% if I meet my goal and 9% if I don't) in addition to the standard 3% that Paypal keeps to process the payments. I chose "Flex Funding" so I can get any funds I raise. When you choose "Fixed Funding" all the money goes back to the funders if you don't reach your goal. Since my project will happen whether or not I raise all the monies, I just the former. Peerbackers keeps 3% on top of Paypal's 3%. I'm hoping I will get more supporters through Indiegogo's platform. The catch with Indiegogo is they say I need 2 funders to be able to appear in their search results. But I didn't find that out until like the last step. Kind of hard to go viral if I don't even appear in browsing results when people are looking for ideas to fund.

Overall, I think I liked the back end of Peerbackers more. It seemed a little more user-friendly when setting up. They even allow you to upload specific images for each reward. That was a nice touch since I was featuring other people's products. But Indiegogo wins in tech integration. You can easily copy and paste an iframe code to paste into your website. I couldn't find that on Peerbackers so I emailed customer service and they quickly replied that the feature didn't exist yet but I had permission to create my own image using their logo. Which I did (see on right). Then I did an image link. This has since been replaced on my website's home page with the widget provided from Indiegogo. (see below)

This crowd funding thing is new to me so bare with me folks! If you've done one before, I'd love to hear your opinion and get advice. I am open to feedback and will try to answer questions if you consider trying this avenue to raise capital. Both of the above mentioned sites are non-restrictive as far how you can use the funds. Health expenses, travel, non-profit - anything goes it seems.  You may have heard of a site called Kickstarter. But they have this disclaimer stating very clearly what kinds of projects you can post.
  • 1. Funding for projects only. A project has a clear goal, like making an album, a book, or a work of art. A project will eventually be completed, and something will be produced by it. A project is not open-ended. Starting a business, for example, does not qualify as a project.
  • 2. Projects must fit Kickstarter’s categories. We currently support projects in the categories of Art, Comics, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film, Food, Games, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Theater. Design and Technology projects have a few additional guidelines. If your project is in either of these categories, be sure to review them carefully. View Design and Technology requirements
  • 3. Prohibited uses:
    • No charity or cause funding. Examples of prohibited use include raising money for the Red Cross, funding an awareness campaign, funding a scholarship, or promoting the donation of funds raised, or future profits, to a charity or cause.
    • No "fund my life" projects. Examples include projects to pay tuition or bills, go on vacation, or buy a new camera.
    • Prohibited content. There are some things we just don't allow on Kickstarter.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Win a Beezer Playhouse for your Imaginative Kid!


Beezer Playhouses are perfect for kids who love imaginative indoor play! Each playhouse comes with a variety of letters, numbers, and accessories that offer a personal touch.
Beezer Playhouses are cute, durable, and interactive with plastic windows and a strong plastic door frame.  The double thickness cardboard door features a fun doorknob that is easy for kids to turn and plastic hinges which make the door far stronger and more durable than any other cardboard playhouse.  

WIN IT!
One lucky reader will win a playhouse from Beezer Playhouse ($159.99 ARV) for their kids! Giveaway is open in the US and ends on August 22 at 11:59 PM EST.
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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, August 2, 2012

August Extreme $100 Amazon Giveaway


Welcome to the Extreme Amazon Giveaway! I've joined up with other awesome blogs to bring our wonderful readers the chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card! There are lots of entries to choose from - you can do one or ALL to increase your chances of winning the big prize. 

Giveaway ends August 17th at 11:59 PM EST. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Peerbackers: Help Gumdrop Swap Maternity & Kids Boutique finish moving!

Help Gumdrop Swap Maternity & Kids Boutique finish moving!: Gumdrop Swap has outgrown our existing boutique storefront. We need a bigger store to better serve our customers and add a fitting room. I have launched a Peerbackers campaign for this project. You can give as low as $1 but I've set some donation benchmarks with awesome rewards (including Love Munchkin body oils, cake pops from Lele's Cake Creations, Mariah's Chow Chow Relish, hair accessories form Mama'tique, a 1lb cookie tin from Sweet Potato Sensations Bakery, and more!) I really appreciate your support!