White-label crowdfunding deserves some explanation because many websites and platforms describe it differently. White-label crowdfunding means you do most everything yourself, and the process is cost-free. Sometimes, if you use a white-label crowdfunding platform, there is a temporal relationship – the initial steps are free, but eventually, you need to pay for something. There are a few ways to do white-label crowdfunding; while we will elucidate one, it may not be worthwhile even if there is no cost. Our services are available to help with this, but here is some information.
White-Label Crowdfunding Basics
Most crowdfunding is unlikely to cost you anything as far as an upfront payment, but it will likely cost you a percentage of what you raise. Some would say that this is a low-risk way to go, given that if you are quite successful with your pitch, you might not mind giving a small percentage to the website that in some way helped you be successful. Some sites claim to be a “white-label crowdfunding platform” but may charge those who invest instead. Of course, it is only fair that the businesses behind any number of websites would charge something for their time and effort – their business costs – and since there are enough sites to generate competition, they will likely try to keep these fees low.
True White-Label Crowdfunding
The only way to have white-label crowdfunding is to build your website with a free platform like WordPress Services. You can get a free theme and free plugins, and all you will pay is a hosting fee to a company so you can put your site online. This is white-label crowdfunding, but is it worth it? You need to balance the fact that you will not have to pay anything against the value of your own time. You also have to value the extra time that this might mean your product or service is not funded. With this option, you may need to spend a lot of time promoting your website and pitch. You will have to, for example, either directly solicit traffic through social media and other word-of-mouth techniques, or you will have to use search engine optimization techniques to drive traffic to your website. This can take a significant amount of time.
Independent Crowdfunding Benefits and Drawbacks
The benefits of true white-label crowdfunding are that you retain maximum control over how your pitch will look, how it will be marketed, and how much you can change it along the way. It can be a cheaper route for you and investors. It can also more easily create a more permanent connection with investors. The downside is that more time and effort are involved, potentially taking you away from your important work with your product or service. It may also be harder to attract investors to view your pitch, and if not done properly, it may not be as compelling as the existing platforms can make it look.
White-Label Crowdfunding Platform Considerations
So what else besides having you build your website with a free platform and plugins might be referred to as white-label crowdfunding? Here are some 
examples:
– Often, an offer for free crowdfunding is merely talking about the white-label crowdfunding platform being free. There is no reference to the fact that you will pay a percentage of your raise. This may be a good option for many people and businesses, but it is not genuinely free all the way through.
– You might hear about a white-label crowdfunding platform where a fundamental pitch for a smaller amount of money is free, but the add-ons you might need to make your pitch competitive will cost money, or raising more than a little will cost a fee or percentage.
– Even a white-label crowdfunding option that is truly without cost, such as building your website, may have some costs if you need a plugin that costs something, or you could use some professional web design or search engine optimization services.
– Finally, there may be hidden costs if you go it alone to try to get white-label crowdfunding. Things like paying a percentage to credit card companies when people donate or pay for website hosting should all be factored in.
White-Label Crowdfunding Scripts
If you are not using a platform such as WordPress, you’ll need to program your site using a “crowdfunding script”. In a pure form, a crowdfunding script would allow you to use the crowdfunding website to build a unique and compelling. You may be able to find coding that is mostly finished or hire someone to put it together for you.
White-Label Crowdfunding Scripts From Scratch
It may be that that person who builds your white-label crowdfunding script stays on as part of the group, even perhaps with an equity stake. Or it may be that that person stays only as a consultant, paid as needed. One way or another, this option of building the website from the coding can create a very personalized and unique experience that can not only have all the right information but might also impress the crowd. The disadvantage of this choice is that more time is needed to maintain the site and keep everything up to date.
Finished White-Label Crowdfunding Scripts
Sometimes, the white-label crowdfunding script might describe something more complete and finished. Maybe instead of bare-bones coding, the term might refer to a website that is partially finished and merely needs some details chosen before it can be launched. This option may be more realistic for those who know a little about creating a website but cannot do it from scratch. The nice thing about this option is that you still end up with a personalized website from your pitch to the crowd, but you do not have to have been trained in coding. Going forward, less time will likely be needed to keep your site running smoothly and fully updated. The downside is that your website will look similar to other sites built with the same partially finished white-label crowdfunding script. Most people choose to use an established white-label crowdfunding platform for their pitch, which is also where most investors start. But looking into the white label approach and even going as far as to buy a crowdfunding script that you’ll need to build a website from can be a good option, depending on the time you have available and your expertise. Not only will you have to spend time building the site, but you’ll also need to get your site noticed by search engines and potential investors. Yet this approach gives you the most flexibility to make your unique pitch and can impress investors. While most independent film crowdfunding campaigns rely on an established platform, there may be reasons you want to build and manage your indie crowdfunding website, also called “White Label Crowdfunding.” This choice is not for every project, so this post is designed to review the benefits and challenges. Remember that we can help you make this choice, and we do not charge for this service, nor do we have a stake in what direction you choose.
White Label Websites for Indie Film
This section is specifically for indie film producers looking for white label crowdfunding options.
Why Build an Indie Crowdfunding Website?
In our experience, many who do an independent raise end up on a crowdfunding platform because that helps you reach more people, because the website passes along strong search engine results, and because many people routinely check the site. But there may be reasons you might want to do a more independent raise for your film – for example, if you already have a company or personal website that gets traffic, if you have a unique audience that you can easily reach, or if you feel very confident in your skills to market “from scratch.” If you decide to build your indie crowdfunding website, here is some advice.
Customizable Indie Crowdfunding Websites
Your pitch must be unique and stand out – now you are competing with the strong SEO and marketing of the established platforms. Thus you need to be able to customize your information with a look and feel that fits your project and captures this investor right away. This might include a logo, the site’s colors and theme, functionality, and embedded multimedia. Some website-building platforms offer themes either for free or at a relatively small price that can jump-start this process.
Security and Your Indie Crowdfunding Website
Crowdfunding is a highly competitive field, and if you have a product or service that is doing well, you must ensure your software includes adequate security so no one can come in and disrupt your pitch while actively looking for investments. Again, most platforms have plugins that ensure that you have decent security.
Payments Through Your Indie Crowdfunding Website
When investors are ready to put money toward your film, you want to ensure your site can quickly and easily accept payments. While some people would prefer to take the payment process off-line, others want something a service integrated in. Remember that you will need to collect a lot of information about each investor, depending on what type of raise you are doing. You may want to consult with an accountant about this.
Social Media Options
This may not be for everyone, but most indie crowdfunding pitches do well with some social/interactive options. For example, you might integrate a forum page using crowdfunding software so people can submit questions and comments for you and others (perhaps those who have invested) can answer. You also want to ensure your site quickly and easily links to your Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Twitter pages.
Administration and Data Capture
Ensure you can capture all of the essential statistics, including the number of visitors, where they came from, how long they stayed at your site, and what they looked at while there. Make sure you can see trends in the data as well. One benefit of creating your own independent indie crowdfunding website is having access to all that data. You may want to look at other independent film sites to see which ones appear most compelling and thorough and decide from there what you need to make an equally strong pitch.
Other Indie Film Website Building Tips
Here are more tips about building your independent film crowdfunding website: 1. Make sure that the crowdfunding software solution you choose is 100% customizable, meaning that you can ensure that the look of your website is the same – as the same feel – as your film. This might mean you can choose particular backgrounds, movie clips, effects, and music.
2. Watch for hidden costs – there should be few costs after your initial purchase of a theme, plugin, or media, or at least if there are, they should be quite straightforward.
3. Since some raises evolve, you should look for a site builder you’ll feel comfortable with, even if your indie crowdfunding website may jump from equity to debt or vice versa.
4. Knowing what the life of an independent filmmaker is like, you need to be sure that your platform is entirely cloud-based and easy to use by many types of input, such as smartphones, so that you can update it from wherever you are, and also so that there is some backup that can happen a few times each day.
Alternatives to Building an Indie Film Crowdfunding Website
You do not have to build your own indie crowdfunding website, given that excellent platforms and websites are already available. Building your own indie crowdfunding website gives you a higher degree of independence, and it can be cheaper, but when you consider the added time and effort needed, it may not be worthwhile. Alternatives to building your own indie crowdfunding website include:
Established Crowdfunding Platforms
Many good indie crowdfunding platforms are available, some focusing solely on indie projects and others more generally oriented to crowdfunding. You need to carefully choose which platform to use depending on the raise you are doing (rewards, equity, debt), and the type of project you have. We can help you find the best fit. The good thing about using an established indie crowdfunding platform is that you retain all the creative control of your project.
Grant and Foundation Sites
Sometimes, grant institutions promote your project to help you get additional funding. They may have their own website that does this, or they may help you build your own. Some film festivals also do this, but at that point, your project is likely already made, and you are raising money for marketing and distribution.
Fundraising Sites
Another path you can choose is to list your project at a fundraising site. This is closely related to crowdfunding, but there may not be any rewards, and there is no debt or equity involved. This approach can be helpful if much of your funding will come from your circle of friends and family.
How We Can Help
We’d be happy to help with your Indie film Crowdfunding website choices on three levels:
- We can help you compare this choice with using more traditional crowdfunding platforms
- If you choose the white-label approach, we can help you find the best site builder and host for your site
- Then we can help with content and SEO
And as always, our indie crowdfunding services are fully guaranteed. We also do not receive any money from any particular product or service we might refer you to, so our information will be unbiased and independent. Our goal is to help get indie projects funded! Contact us if you’d like to discuss further what is involved in building an indie crowdfunding website.
Dr. Alan Jacobson, Psy.D., MBA is a Certified Foresight Practitioner (TFSX) and licensed psychologist with 25+ years of experience, specializing in the psychology of high performance. He advises and invests in founders across four industries — Healthcare, Housing, Energy, and Independent Film — pairing that clinical training with hands-on board, investor, and producer experience.