In this guest filmmaking article, we cover the top five mistakes made in documentary funding. By Faith Fuller
Are you in need of funding for your documentary? Are you uncomfortable asking people for money? Are you baffled by the whole fundraising process? Sometimes, just knowing a few simple rules and avoiding some common mistakes can make all the difference in your fundraising success.
Top 5 Fundraising Mistakes for Doc Filmmakers:
1. Not having a trailer – There’s nothing that can catapult or doom a documentary fundraising effort like a trailer. If you have a fantastic trailer that moves people emotionally, your chances for donations dramatically improve.
According to the crowd-funding platform IndieGoGo, campaigns with videos raise 122% more money than those without. You not only need a video, but that video needs to hit an emotional nerve with the audience. And NEVER show your video online without having a donate button right next to the video. If people are moved by your trailer, they need a way to donate right then and there while they’re “in the moment” and feeling inspired...
Now this will be most MOST useful!