1. Pitching Guide

2. Define your pitch
Establish a Funding Goal
Establish Funding Timeline
Create Rewards
Create Your Pitch
Launch Campaign
Promote your Campaign
Receive Pledges
Deliver Progress Updates
Receive Funding
Deliver Rewards
Next Steps

3. Define Your Pitch
Defining the concept of your pitch is the first step for every “pitcher”.
Your pitch can be anything from an idea for a book, film or play to a concept for a business or even to promote a worthy cause. The objective of properly defining your pitch is to capture the interest of “choosers” whom will therefore feel inclined to help you reach your funding goals.
What is your project about? Why have you chosen to pursue that particular project? What do you hope to achieve if you reach your funding goal? These are some of the questions you need to answer when defining your pitch. A “chooser” should be able to judge the feasibility of your project. The more precise, the better.

4. Establish a Funding Goal
Your funding goal refers to the amount of funds you think you will require to get your venture off the ground.
It is important to set a realistic goal based on the requirements of your pitch and the number of people you can realistically reach based on the size of your community and the appeal of your campaign.
The average amount pledged on crowdfunding sites by ANY donor is about US $70 and the amount most frequently given is about US $25. Bear this in mind!
There is no maximum limit for the amount of money you can raise, but it is important to keep in mind that Pitch&Choose does not guarantee that your project will be fully funded just because it is featured on the site. Keep it real!

5. Establish Funding Timeline
The funding timeline is the amount of time you have to reach your funding goal. The maximum timeline allowed on Pitch & Choose is 90 days, however historically for average amounts being raised, the optimum amount of time required for funding a pitch is less than 30 days.
Pitches with small funding goals may benefit from using an even shorter timeline.
Set a realistic timeline based on the amount of funds you are trying to raise. If you make your timeline too short, you will be disappointed when you realize the timeline is up and you haven’t reached anywhere near your goal.
We recommend that you promote your pitch ahead of the launch to give yourself the best chance of reaching your funding goal.

6. Create Rewards
“Rewards” refers to what you will offer choosers in exchange for their pledge to your pitch. They are mandatory for &Be a Benefactor Campaigns but optional for all others.
Be creative in designing the rewards you will offer, as they tend to influence the level of giving by Choosers after viewing your pitch. Be realistic about when you can reasonably expect to deliver your rewards once your campaign has ended.
Choosers will be able to judge whether your reward is being overstated or under-priced, neither of which will inspire them to act. Therefore we recommend a reward that is tangible, creative and directly related to your pitch, albeit maybe notional in value.
For example, if your pitch is for a book you are writing, you could give Choosers signed copies of the book. That would be an example of a tangible reward. If your pitch is to fund a play or music album, you could have a private showing or concert for your Choosers, or they could be characters named after them.

7. Create Your Pitch
You’ve done your research and now you are ready to assemble the pieces together in preparation to go live. As you build upon the layout of your pitch, TAKE CARE, and remember that the Choosers will make their funding decision based on the quality, appeal and believability of the information you provide on your project or cause.
Title: You want to choose a title that is simple, yet creative and memorable. Something that will “force a curious click”. Your title may not necessarily be the name of your pitch, but you will want to make some form of reference to the purpose of your fundraising. A short phrase that quickly sums up the essence of your pitch should work perfectly.

8. Title Picture: The next thing you will want to pay close attention to is the title picture, which is the first visual Choosers will see as they browse through the Pitch thumbnails. We can’t stress enough the importance of sparking some curiosity. Of course your creativity will greatly depend on what exactly you are pitching, but try to bring some level of ingenuity as you want to differentiate your Campaign from others.
Pitch Summary: Your Pitch description is going to be a short phrase or sentence that quickly captures what your pitch is about. The main purpose of the description, along with the title and main picture, is to capture attention and spark some interest. Remember that the description will be visible to prospective Choosers as they scroll through the Pitch thumbnails, so keep that in mind as you develop this section of your layout. It won’t be used to evaluate your pitch, but it will answer a Chooser’s question of whether to click or not.

9. Create Video Message: Put it this way - if you’re anything like us, you’re probably not going to buy or invest in a product because you read a few paragraphs about it. You want to be able to see how it works and to get a feel for the people behind the cause. Having a video to supplement your pitch also allows your potential Choosers to feel a better connection with your pitch and also with you. A video helps to give a Chooser insight into the kind of person you are and, if executed properly, can incite the emotion needed for action. Proper execution doesn’t necessarily mean making a professional quality movie clip, however. In fact, we recommend keeping it simple. A maximum of two to three minutes has proven to be sufficient to share your story without losing the interest of the viewer. Be sure to include the following:
Who you are
Tell your story
Give reasons why people should support your cause
Discuss rewards, if any
Don’t forget to say thank you!

10. Full Pitch Description: This is the script of the full details of your cause and why you believe others should care about it. It will provide all of the information your Choosers will need in order to make an informed decision about supporting your venture or cause. It should be compelling, and remember that you are selling yourself, your team and your cause. Be sure to justify the amount you are seeking to raise by explaining how you intend to use the funds. Include pictures, illustrations or any other evidence that can show Choosers your project or cause is real and progressing. If you have a track record, share this too.

11. Launch Campaign
Now for the exciting part! You’ve laid the groundwork and you’re finally ready to upload your information prior to going live on Pitch&Choose!
Your campaign will be subject to a basic approval process that ensures our protection as well as yours. You will be alerted once it has been approved to go live.
However, the work is far from over as you will certainly find out. This is the stage where Choosers from all over the world will be able to access your campaign.

12. Promote Your Campaign
Having your campaign live on Pitch&Choose doesn’t guarantee that you will reach your goal. Its all about the 3 P’s: Promotion, Promotion, Promotion.
In some cases, a fantastic pitch might stand on its own and generate enough word-of-mouth that you won’t have to do much. But most times this will not be the case. The majority of your donations may come from your immediate network, and for this to happen you need to make sure they know about it.
There are a variety of ways this can be done, the most apparent and effective of which is social media. Make use of websites like Twitter and Facebook as an inexpensive and simple means of generating a buzz. Create a hashtag for the cause. Have face-to-face meetings with prospective Choosers inviting them to check out your pitch. To really stand out, we even recommend the use of press releases or television appearances if it is feasible for you.

13. Receive Pledges
If you have followed the steps outlined in the Pitching Guide thus far, you will begin to see the fruits of your labor. Nothing can explain the feeling when you sign in and see the list of Choosers that have pledged towards supporting your cause; however it is not over yet…
Don’t forget that it is possible to SURPASS your goal! The more funds you receive in the allowed timeline, the better it is for you. We recommend that you continue to drive traffic to your project page right up until the end of your campaign.

14. Deliver Progress Updates
When you purchase a service, you want to be sure that you are getting what you paid for. We strongly encourage that you extend the same courtesy to your Choosers.
You will not have access to the funds until the fundraising timeline is over, but as you inch closer to your goal, post updates to keep the interest up and to encourage your supporters to sell your cause because of your plans and progress. Updates are important so that people know you’re staying on top of things and doing everything in your power to ensure the success of your campaign.
Updates are not only beneficial to committed Choosers who can get an idea of how you are progressing, but also to prospective Choosers who can use them to judge whether they feel you are committed to your cause and will get the job done.

15. Receive Funding
Finally, the best part! You have done all of the hard work and it is time to reap the rewards. Your receipt of funds will depend mainly on 2 factors:
Which Pitch&Choose product you have chosen
Whether you have reached your funding goal
If you have chosen a product that falls under the Keep-It-All funding model, then you will receive all monies that have been pledged up to the end of the funding timeline whether or not you have reached your funding goal.
If you have chosen a product that falls under the All-Or-None funding model, you will only receive the monies pledged if you reach or exceed the funding goal by the end of the timeline.
Pitch&Choose does not receive any funds on your behalf. Funds pledged to your campaign will be processed by Paypal and remitted directly to you net of processing fees. (Paypal and Pitch&Choose)

16. Deliver Rewards (if applicable)
Now for the final step! You should be feeling an emotional high as you have met some success in getting your cause funded.
However, depending on how many Choosers have committed to your pitch, sending out the rewards can be time consuming and will not be the fun part of this process.
Don’t let this deter you though, as you are obligated and will be held accountable to fulfill each and every reward you have promised.
A campaign is closed only when the funding timeline has expired and all rewards, if applicable, have been delivered.

17. Next Steps
Having had some measure of success in getting your cause funded, share your feedback on the experience with us at
Help us to build the Caribbean together with crowdfunding!
Tell others about us and also remember to support other campaigns that are on our site.
Get ready to launch your next campaign, or help someone else to launch one.
Keep sharing the success stories with your community and using social media.