Week two of our five-week series on how to make extra money online covered some of the details in using crowdfunding to launch your dream project.
My goal was to raise $30,000 to complete production and some post-production for my documentary, “Forced Change.”
I have been working on the project for more than ten years, following the lives of a group of people that were forced to leave their homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
I tried to raise money from some grants but many organizations want you to apply multiple times before even looking at your project.
I actually wanted to launch the campaign in November but held off until February to better prepare.
I talked to everyone I knew to build excitement for the campaign ahead of time. My team on the documentary really worked to build up an online presence through Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
I reached out to local New Orleans groups and businesses for creative rewards to offer the campaign supporters. I also contacted journalists and bloggers with an interest in the film or the topic to see if I could get some buzz created.