Private independent film funding refers to pitches made outside the usual crowdfunding platforms that are well-known and aggregate many pitches. Private independent film funding is the do-it-yourself option for making your pitch. This choice exists outside the usual sites and usually involves building and marketing your website and continually upgrading your search engine optimization (SEO) in a way that you hope will drive interested traffic to you.
Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages of this approach, as well as specific ways you can ensure that you are giving yourself the best chance at success, and that is what we will go over in this post. We can also talk you through your options for free, of course. We also cover private independent film funding with a post dedicated to building a private crowdfunding website.
Private Independent Film Funding: Pros and Cons 
The choice between going with a crowdfunding platform or doing private independent film funding may not be obvious initially. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, and you have to consider aspects of your specific project, your resources, and your experience to make the right choice. Of course, we can talk this through as part of our free initial consultation.
Advantages of Private Independent Film Funding
We start with the advantages of private independent film funding. This method allows you to customize your pitch fully, and it may look different than the templates used by the more popular crowdfunding sites. You may be able to post a higher volume of content, more content, or other types of content than you would at those websites.
You may be able to do better promotion of your site using search engine optimization (SEO) and more direct promotion efforts, and you may not be subject to specific rules, such as needing to raise a certain amount privately before you can go live. And finally, another advantage of private independent film funding is that you may look better to potential funders who appreciate your do-it-yourself website’s efforts and great results.
In sum, the advantages of private independent film funding revolve around cost and autonomy, but they do rely on you having time and experience to pull them off properly.
Disadvantages of Private Independent Film Funding
There are disadvantages of private independent film funding as well, of course. The main disadvantage is that using an established platform is much less work. Your raise may not meet your expectations if you are not an expert at building websites and achieving high search engine rankings. Private independent film funding will take more time and effort than traditional crowdfunding, and you must be sure it will pay off. You can always choose a platform later, but it will push out your timeline.
Using your own website also requires you to learn a lot of information that a good platform would help with, such as giving investors appropriate tax information, setting up and recording payments correctly, vetting investors that may need to meet specific criteria, and making sure you do not run afoul of any government rules and regulations. Finally, with private independent film funding, you need to do a significant amount of marketing and PR that a platform might do for you.
The disadvantages of private independent film funding are that you are starting and proceeding from scratch and have to balance that with the time and resources you need to work on your project.
Private Independent Film Funding: Conclusions
Most people looking for crowdfunding for their project, product, or purpose turn to one of the usual crowdfunding platforms and make their pitch. The good thing about this choice is that these large websites attract many potential investors drawn to having everything in one place. Investors can truly compare and contrast many different pitches from different companies, groups, and individuals and even look at many different types of crowdfunding, including debt, equity, rewards crowdfunding, and mixed types.
Yet some businesses and individuals look in another direction and start their own websites. This gives them maximum control over their pitch and the most space possible to provide information. An independent pitch is called private independent film funding, and while more challenging, it can lead to great results. The investors may genuinely feel attached to your product, service, or purpose, and you may be able to fully demonstrate the time and effort you will put into it.
Hybrid Independent Film Funding
There is also an in-between approach when it comes to independent film funding. You may be able to do an off-platform raise that is mostly private but does give you some features such as search engine optimization, marketing, investor communication, and investor connections. Services like ours can help you pursue this hybrid option. You may also be able to use a platform that offers only the basics and no add-on services. This hybrid option allows you to build a search engine and investor-friendly site without too much cost.
Considering all three approaches – fully independent, hybrid, and platform-based – is important before deciding which is the best fit. We can talk this through with you for free. Many of our services are free no matter which option you choose.
Independent and Platform-based Services Simultaneously
It may be possible to raise money with a private independent film funding approach while using a platform site for some of this raise. This is common when you feel you may be able to attract high-level investors off-platform but not have enough money to cover your project’s costs. It can also be used when you want to use a crowdfunding platform to build a substantial base of supporters who will help spread the word about your project while also raising money outside the platform to save success-based fees. You will have to check with the platform to see if they are okay with this and ensure investors know you are doing this dual approach.
How to Choose and How We Can Help
So, how do you choose between these two choices? The answer may be more straightforward than you think. Private independent film funding has the added challenge of requiring you to get noticed – not just noticed against other alternatives at the same site but found by search engines or through advertising and PR. To choose this direction, you’ll need to know a lot about search engine optimization, or you’ll need to have a solid plan to advertise and create PR so people hear about your site.
You’ll also need to decide that the added space to provide information and the freedom of your website is worthwhile – will this make a difference? (Of course, you’ll also save some money – most platforms have fees related to what you raise. We do not mention that here because it can be tough to balance whether the fees may be less than the monetized amount of the time and effort you must put in to be independent.)
Private Independent Film Funding and Our Services
We can help! Our services cover everything listed above or even help you decide whether to pursue private independent film funding for your indie film. Then, once you choose, we may be able to provide some of our core services, such as helping you outline the pitch itself, assisting with website design, and selecting a platform if you go that route.
