Crowdfunding is more than just about money. Sure, we want you to raise funds for your idea, passion, invention or business but we want you to be aware of the countless other ways the Indiegogo community can support your efforts to take over the world.

Here are five ways to use Indiegogo beyond just fundraising:

Network in your city
Throwing a fundraiser in your area to support your Indiegogo campaign? Conduct an advanced search of all the campaigns taking place in your city and send each of the campaigners a public message inviting them to your event. Not only will your event information be visible to other people looking at the comments section (meaning they might come too!) but if the campaigners show up to your event, they could become potential new customers or advocates for your new café, gallery or whatever business it is you’re trying to promote. Connect locally!

Music for your Film
P Diddy not taking your calls on signing off the music for your film? Indiegogo is filled with emerging talent in all genres of music, all of which could be the perfect soundtrack to your film, offering a wonderful way to support independent talent. You could be the one to catapult ‘the next big thing’ forwards. Do a search and listen to as many pitch videos you can to get a sense of the available talent out there. Most bands or singers have Bandspace links attached to their profiles, giving you access the rest of their music catalogues. Make a short list of the artists you like then send them a private comment to have them email you for more information should they be interested.

Filmmakers for your Music
So you’re a new band wanting to make a music video? The moving image can do everything to convey the sounds of your music, unfortunately not everyone has a robust production team at their finger tips to shoot and edit a desired video. Indiegogo began as a funding platform for film only which means we have an incredibly strong network in the film industry, continuing to draw stellar talent on a regular basis. Besides exploring the Film category don’t forget to research in Photography – there are lots of still image makers looking to expand into video but are waiting for the right projects!

Artists for your Restaurant
We are big supporters of supporting small businesses, whether it’s a local café, gallery, artists’ studio, bookstore or co-working space. Along with physical locations is the need to provide the right environment and ambiance to keep people wanting to return. Besides just coating walls with a new lick of paint, you can also invite a local artist or collective of artists to produce a mural. Run some research in the Art or Design portion of Indiegogo.  Creative people tend to be frequent travellers so you could be lucky and find that the one you like living in Miami is on their way over to Santa Fe next week. Explore what they would want in exchange – if its not a subsidized fee, could it be accommodation on their travels or just the coverage of their materials? What’s most crucial is finding an artist whose work you love – open with this statement and you never know what might happen!

Global Market Research
We’re proud to be a global platform with a network of campaigners in over 200 countries. This means that whilst we’re busy building our international presence, we hope you will reap the benefits by connecting with other campaigners around the world. If you’re launching a new product online and are considering a promotional strategy, don’t forget to refer to other Indiegogo members in the countries of relevance. Make use of your Google Analytics as part of your campaign dashboard, it will show your pageviews and where in the world your contributors/audience are based. Nowadays its all about data, data, data!

Got some cool stories of how you used Indiegogo beyond just crowdfunding? Email us at info@indiegogo.com

 Image courtesy of Indiegogo campaign Health & Art With Migrant Womyn!