5 ways to make a good food truck crowdfunding campaign awesome

Interest in the mobile food industry has climbed over the past few years; IBISWorld reports:

There are 23,872 food truck businesses and the market size, measured by revenue, is $1.1 billion.

But launching a food truck isn’t cheap. Develop a profitable crowdfunding campaign by starting 3-4 months before you launch. Nail the planning stage to reach your goals and launch your food truck business.

1. Research your customers and crowdfunding community.

Preparing for your crowdfunding campaign starts with your ideal food truck customers. The same people who want to buy your gourmet pizza also want to join your community. Learn about your audience by understanding:

• Demographics. What age range, income level, and neighborhoods do they live and work in? Consider how you’ll use this information to generate interest in your food truck crowdfunding campaign.
• Psychographics. What behaviors define your ideal customers? For instance, do they enjoy taking their lunch break in the local park? Think about ways to support their desires by emphasizing those benefits in your campaign.

2. Create SMART goals and fundraising objectives.

On a platform like Kickstarter, you can’t access the funds you’ve earned until you reach your goal. So, it’s important to start with a number that’s attainable. Yet, don’t limit yourself in such a way that you can’t take the next step.

• Develop SMART goals for your crowdfunding marketing strategy.
• Select financial objectives and deadlines for your fundraising efforts.

Remember that whatever you raise will be offset by the perks you offer, the cost of running the campaign and producing content like videos, and the expense of marketing it. In other words, there are costs associated with running a crowdfunding campaign that extend past what you must pay as a percentage back to sites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo.

Pro tip: Indiegogo allows you to run campaigns where you are funded regardless of whether or not you reach your fundraising goal.

3. Review examples of successful food truck crowdfunding campaigns.

[sc name=”gotyou-food” ]

You’ll find more than 1,800 food truck crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and hundreds more on Indiegogo. Food truck entrepreneurs like Linda Jo Kushner invested plenty of resources to raise $20,265 in 28 days. In an interview with Food Truck Empire she says:

When you’re starting to ask for money for something serious, people need to believe in you.

But not every food truck startup finds success on these platforms. Creativity is key.

Anarchy Burgers’ Indiegogo campaign used innovative messaging and video to reach its campaign goal. They offered various tiers of perks, from a sticker & button for $10 to a private punk show and dinner for $1000. Do your research—get creative!

4. Brainstorm unique ways to build your community.

Wok N’ Roll perks for donors: Food truck crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter

Food truck crowdfunding works because it creates a community and people feel invested in seeing your business succeed. What are the specific ways that you’ll thank your fans and keep the excitement flowing? That’s where tiered incentives come in—prizes at different donation levels that reward customers for their support.

Design perks for different pledge levels. From naming a dish after top donors to adding sponsorship decals to your truck to catering a private event, honor high-dollar investors.

4. Design a mobile food crowdfunding marketing strategy.

Meet your goals with an actionable plan. Elevate restaurant events while injecting information about your food truck campaign into every promotion. Key elements of your crowdfunding campaign strategy include:

Social media. Build excitement early by offering sneak peeks and sharing design ideas that spark interest. Share your crowdfunding pitch video to all platforms and create clever memes to pique interest—and don’t forget to tell them about the perks!

Email marketing. Design a series of emails before you start marketing your crowdfunding campaign. You can’t send the same pitch over and over to your list. Food Truck Empire says:

Don’t forget to tell everyone you’ve emailed to forward on the email to their friends to help spread the message even further.

Public relations. Get your name out there before you start your campaign. Reach out to sites like FoodTruckr who will share your campaign on their social channels as well.

Test new ways to engage your community. Daily updates, email newsletters, or an invitation to your food show exhibit are all ways to build your community and keep them engaged.

A food truck crowdfunding campaign raises more than money. It builds and supports a community. Generate interest for your food truck startup by developing a strategy that gets you over the finish line.