Introducing: Recurring Billing, Meet Crowdfunding
A few weeks ago, we launched Crowdhoster to the world — a full-featured, open source crowdfunding solution. Building on the Selfstarter project by giving creators total control, but also providing key additions like full payment processing, administrative dashboards, and advanced tools so no development work is needed to launch, Crowdhoster struck a chord in the crowdfunding community. Since then, we've launched dozens of branded crowdfunding campaigns: check out Soylent, AdBlock, Vybe, and Summersalt Music Fest for some examples. And in the words of one of the Selfstarter creators, Crowdhoster "represents a maturation of the crowdfunding movement."
Today, we're excited to announce a big update to the Crowdhoster codebase: you can add recurring/subscription billing reward options to your crowdfunding campaigns.Â
Now you can let your backers make a pledge not just for one payment, but for a commitment to automatically contribute on a recurring basis. Whether it's once a month, once a quarter, or once a year, now your crowdfunding backers can show their ongoing support for your initiative.Â
Subscription crowdfunding, in the wild
We're launching this in conjunction with the (really awesome) San Francisco-based independent book publisher McSweeney's: they just launched a Crowdhoster-powered crowdfunding campaign to celebrate their 15th birthday. And because their bread and butter is subscriptions to their literary publications, they combined traditional crowdfunding rewards and ongoing subscriptions to launch some pretty special pre-order deals:Â
Here's the opt-in that customers see upon purchasing:
And the payments dashboard on the backend — looks like their subscription package deals are proving to be pretty popular:
Where does this lead next?
So other than print publishers, what are some other applications for subscription-based crowdfunding? Here are some thoughts on how projects can combine one-off rewards and subscriptions:
Software subscription services: Even if you get a bunch of initial interest for your new subscription feature release, recurring revenue is most important to you. Let your backers opt into choosing to back you forever (maybe?), rather than just once. SaaS, welcome to crowdfunding.
Non-profit fundraising drives:Â Let your supporters back you with more than a one-time charitable donation, but a pledge to make a consistent donation on a regular basis. Recurring donations can build over time and connect you with the donor on a consistent basis.
Club memberships:Â Have an existing organization or launching a new one? Launching a crowdfunded fundraiser for memberships is now more effective, with the ability to collect dues or fees on a recurring basis to help cover the costs for the organization.
Content Creators:Â Want to create for an audience on an ongoing basis? Now you can harness the benefits of crowdfunding (build momentum, discover demand, build a community before launching), and not worry about sustainability.
It's such a new feature to the crowdfunding world, that we're not fully sure yet how project creators will use it — but we're excited by the wide world of possibilities.
Interested in launching a self-hosted crowdfunding campaign with some subscription-based rewards? Sign up for Crowdhoster now, and feel free to drop us a note.
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