The final chunk of research (after virtual exhibitions and printed publications) is crowdfunding. I am planning to raise most of the costs of the printed publication component via a fairly modest crowdfunding campaign with a target of £300.
I narrowed it down to Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
This is a fairly short post as there are many comparisons available online already on the key differences between the two platforms.
Note that the fee structure is identical: 5% platform fee and 3-5% payment processing fee dependent on payment value.
Kickstarter
The first successful ‘big name’ crowdfunding platform, started in 2009 and to date funded over $4bn worth of projects.
- Pro:
- Bigger user base
- Bigger brand recognition
- Higher success rate
- Con:
- Stricter approval standards
- Fixed funding only i.e. all or nothing… unsuccessful campaigns get nothing
- Fewer user payment options
Indiegogo
Actually started a year earlier but took longer to get established in the market; started out specialising in film production but soon expanded into other creative products and services.
- Pro:
- Covers more countries
- More user payment options
- Allows flexible funding (miss your target, you still get the money raised up to that point)
- Con:
- Lower success rate
- Lesser brand recognition
Conclusion
Based on this I plan to go with Kickstarter.
Sources
https://blog.thecrowdfundingformula.com/2015-11-13-kickstarter-vs-indiegogo-2/ (accessed 02/09/2020)
https://www.funded.today/blog/kickstarter-vs-indiegogo-which-is-better (accessed 02/09/2020)