The Residents
Total Raised: $37,010
Number of Pledges: 441
Sector: Literature / Content
Country: New Zealand
The Residents is a blog about Wellington and its residents. In 2020, its author Lucy Revill decided to crowdfund and publish a book inspired by it.
Why Lucy decided to crowdfund
For five years, author Lucy Revill had been inspired by the residents of Wellington and their stories. All along, sheโd been recording them and her observations about the city in her blog, The Residents.
In 2019, she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an author. At the same time, she wanted to give her community of blog followers, which numbered in the tens of thousands, and Wellingtonians something physical to hold and have. The idea for the book The Residents: Made in Wellington was born. After she was turned down by a publisher at the eleventh hour in 2020 due to a combination of it being sold and the effects of Covid-19, Lucy decided to turn to those who believed the most in her: her crowd. With such a large and supportive community behind her, crowdfunding was an ideal way to bring the idea to life.
Timeline
“For many readers, spending time on The Residents is about finding a community and stories that represent our shared experiences as Wellingtonians. Iโve built up a global audience whose heart remains in the capital.”
What worked well
Recommendations for Future Campaigners
The launch party - At first, Lucy didnโt want to have a launch party, but was convinced otherwise by friends and a small business owner who helped her organise it. During the launch, they raised $2,500 and hit their minimum target.
She prepared her crowd really well - For a couple of weeks before, Lucy posted โteasersโ and โComing soonโ posts across her networks and platforms. During the campaign, she also had a street poster campaign running!
Stretch goals and updates - Once sheโd hit her minimum target, she didnโt take her foot off the gas. She introduced stretch goals to make the book even better and used the campaign updates section to spread the news.
The campaign looked great - From the high-quality photos in the description to the video, her campaign was appealing (to those who already knew about it and browsers seeing it for the first time).
Conclusion
Lucy Revill of The Residents raised $37,010 from 441 pledges.
When Lucy Revill had a setback in her dream to publish a book, she didnโt give up. She turned to her crowd of friends, family, supporters and people who were the very subjects of her blog for help. They showed up in a big way, helping Lucy publish her book and uplifting the entire community of Wellington in the process.
Your action plan
Putting it into practice
Reach out to your crowd
Are you struggling because of a major setback? If you have a supportive crowd, have faith that they will back you and donโt be afraid to put yourself out there.
Have a clear action plan beforehand
Make sure you talk to your crowd about your campaign before you go live. Tell them about the rewards youโre offering and why you need their help. Ask them for reward ideas. Keep them updated once youโve launched too.
Flesh out your campaign as much as possible
If youโre working toward a dream project, your campaign should reflect that. The more effort you put in, the more your crowd can see you really care about it.
How can PledgeMe help?
Get in touch
If you have a project you care about that youโd like to see funded, weโre ready to help. Contact us for a chat. You can also learn about creating an equity crowdfunding campaign in Australia or in New Zealand on our main website.