For new startups and entrepreneurs, crowdfunding has become a hot and simple way to raise money. On crowdfunding platforms, various novel ideas emerge one after another. As investors, you may be dazzled and attracted by various projects, but not all crowdfunding  projects can be successful. Crowdfunding can be risky if you don’t back a reputable company. Backing crowdfunding projects in smart way can help us get more benefits and brighten up our daily lives. Here we give some tips.

1. Select a Reliable Crowdfunding Platform

The more complete the crowdfunding platform, the better the protection for investors will be, because the platform will conduct various reviews of the projects. Here are some well-known crowdfunding platforms.

Kickstarter

As a new financing model, crowdfunding originated in the United States, and Kickstarter, founded in 2009, is one of the most represented platforms. As the forerunner of crowdfunding platform, it is currently the largest product crowdfunding platform in the United States. In 2011, Time Magazine also named Kickstarter the best website. In the crowdfunding process, Kickstarter is responsible for reviewing whether the project violates laws and platform regulations.

Indiegogo

Indiegogo was founded in 2008 with the goal of becoming a large and diverse investment company. Compared to other types of crowdfunding, Indiegogo doesn't want to limit their project types. On Indiegogo, from getting a liver transplant, buying a new album and to opening a restaurant, there are all sorts of projects.

Other niche crowdfunding  sites include AppStori for service application development, MedStartr for medical care and Barnraiser for food and agriculture, ZAOZAO (a fashion-designed crowdfunding  platform) and so on. Compared to niche websites, large platforms have a large number of funds for business and venture capital and have excellent international influence.

2. Back Project of Reputable Companies

This is an easy and smart way to crowdfund. Crowdfunding is not limited to brand-new start-ups. Older companies use social participation in crowdfunding platforms to drive enterprise innovation and provide alternative solutions for sales discussion groups. Relatively speaking, backing new products of big brands is more secure than projects of unknown startups or small teams. Many big brands such as Corporate America, Kia and Kimberly-Clark have used crowdfunding to test the market for new products. Recently, Zendure also started a new project, Zendure SuperCord, now on Indiegogo.

It is seen as an amazing USB cable for your lifetime, with Zendue’s lifetime warranty, if your cable breaks from normal wear and tear and is no longer functional, we’ll replace it! We all need such a USB cable because we’ve the frustration of USB cables breaking after several months of use.

More than one thousand backers have backed this project, they may be impressed by Zendure SuperCord’s ultra-durability-- it has been tested to pull a car!

Watch the video and animated gifs on Kickstarter and you’d also be impressed.

3. Invest in Projects You Understand

If you can't understand the plan and analyze the market, you can't be sure whether the investment is feasible, then don't invest.

If you have doubts about any issue or process, don't make a blind decision to invest. However, if you are confident or optimistic about the development prospects of the whole project, you have a thorough understanding of all aspects of the project, and the investment risk is within your control, then back the project.

As a whole, there is no investment event in the world that does not involve risk. It is the level of risk, the strength, or your ability to withstand it. So whether or not the risk is big depends entirely on your own view of things and your investment preferences.

4. Don't Invest Too Much at Once

We should act according to our abilities, rather than investing too much at once and taking too much risk. As the saying goes, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure that all the losses are within your reach, which means that if you fail in your investment, you won't cry your eyes out.

Most people think crowdfunding is a new and innovative investment model, and they enjoy it. Some are motivated entirely by curiosity, or to give back to society and support an industry or a product upgrade, or to seek higher returns on investment by shunning the primitive channels of bank savings. Whatever the reason, do some basic work, back crowdfunding projects in smart way, thus we could achieve our original goal.