How to Create a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign

如何打造一個成功的眾籌專案

Thinking small, being engaging, and having a sense of humor don't hurt.

著眼於小地方、有吸引力、有幽默感，這些沒什麼不好的。

Those are a few of the traits（特質） of successful science crowdfunding（眾籌） efforts that emerge from a recent study that examined nearly 400 campaigns.

最近，一項對近400個科學眾籌活動的研究發現，這些都是科學眾籌活動成功的一些特質。

But having a large network and some promotional（推廣的） skills may be more crucial.

但擁有一個龐大的人際關係網和一些推廣技巧可能更為關鍵。

Crowdfunding, raising money for a project through online appeals, has taken off（風靡） in recent years for everything from making movies to producing water-saving gadgets（小工具）.

近年來，眾籌，這種透過網路呼籲為某個專案籌集資金的方式，已經風靡於從電影製作到節水裝置生產等各個領域。

Scientists have tried to tap Internet donors, too, with mixed success. Some raised more than twice their goals, but others have fallen short of reaching even modest targets.

科學家們也嘗試過利用網際網路募捐者，結果好壞參半。有些人籌到了比目標多出兩倍的資金，有些人甚至連很小的目標都沒有達到。

To determine what separates（分離） science crowdfunding triumphs（勝利） from failures, a team led by science communications scholar Mike Schafer of the University of Zurich examined the content of the webpages for 371 recent campaigns.

為了弄清科學眾籌成功與失敗的因素，蘇黎世大學的科學傳播學學者邁克·舍費爾(Mike Schafer)帶領的團隊對近期371個科學眾籌活動的網頁內容進行了調查。

Four traits（特徵） stood out（突出） for those that achieved their goals, the researchers report in Public Understanding of Science.

研究人員在《科學的公眾認識》(Public Understanding of Science)雜誌上發表報告稱，那些達成目標的科學眾籌活動有四個顯著特徵。

For one, they use a crowdfunding platform that specializes（專門） in raising money for science, and not just any kind of project. Although sites like Kickstarter take all comers, platforms such as Experiment.com and Petridish.org only present scientific projects.

首先，他們使用的眾籌平臺專門為科學專案籌集資金而非任何專案。儘管像 Kickstarter 這樣的網站接受所有專案，但像 Experience.com 和 Petridish.org 這樣的平臺只展示科學專案。

For another, they present the project with a funny video because good visuals and a sense of humor improved success.

另外，他們用一段有趣的影片展示這個專案，因為良好的視覺效果和幽默感提高了成功率。

Most of them engage with potential donors, since（因為） projects that answered questions from interested donors fared better.

同時，他們大多都與潛在的捐贈者建立密切聯絡，因為那些回答了感興趣的捐助者問題的專案進展得更好。

And they target a small amount of money. The projects included in the study raised $4000 on average, with 30% receiving less than $1000. The more money a project sought, the lower the chance it reached its goal, the researchers found.

而且，他們以少量資金為目標。研究人員發現，研究所涉專案平均籌資4000美元，其中30%的專案籌到的資金不足1000美元。專案籌集目標資金越多，實現目標的可能性越小。

Other factors may also significantly influence a project's success, most notably（顯著地）, the size of a scientist's personal and professional networks, and how much a researcher promotes a project on their own.

其他因素也可能對專案的成功產生重大影響，最顯著的是，科學家的個人和職業關係網的規模，以及他們對專案的推廣程度。

Those two factors are by far more critical than the content on the page.

這兩個因素遠比網頁裡的內容重要。

Crowdfunding can be part of researchers' efforts to reach the public, and people give because "they feel a connection to the person" who is doing the fundraising — not necessarily to the science.

眾籌可以是研究人員努力接觸公眾的一個方式，人們之所以捐贈，是因為 “他們覺得自己與正在籌款的人有聯絡”，而不一定是為了科學。