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Indiegogo Launches Commerce Option for Successful Crowdfunding Campaign Owners The InDemand 'forever funding' program gives entrepreneurs a way to grow their business from their crowdfunding campaign website.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

For so many entrepreneurs, crowdfunding campaign websites are where dreams are born. It's where brand-new entrepreneurs launch their first businesses and serial entrepreneurs test out new ideas. Now, your crowdfunding website can also be where your new business takes its first steps.

With the launch of a new program called InDemand, San Francisco-based crowdfunding platform Indiegogo wants successful crowdfunding campaign owners to keep their campaign websites live on the Indiegogo platform for good.

Related: Everything You Need for a Winning Crowdfunding Campaign (Infographic)

From a crowdfunding campaign site, the InDemand platform allows new business owners to manage customer orders, analyze potential revenue projections and build on any existing online search momentum.

A pilot program for Indiegogo's new feature launched in September 2014 and some of the test campaigns have seen impressive success. For example, the Geek Audio crowdfunding campaign has raised another $1.4 million after closing its campaign with a bit more than $1.1 million. That brings the Geek Audio earnings from Indiegogo north of $2.5 million.

Why You Should Never Cross Your Arms Again

Image credit: Indiegogo.com

Related: Indiegogo Pilots New Program Allowing Crowdfunding Campaigns to Stay Open Indefinitely

Indiegogo's innovations in how crowdfunding campaign websites are used is a mark of maturity for an industry that has gone from an offbeat, alternative finance tool for artists to a multi-billion-dollar industry that is changing the way entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses.

Also, Indiegogo the new commerce-management feature is a mark of the second-place competitor racing to keep up with the biggest name in the industry: Kickstarter. Even aside from this latest rollout, Indiegogo offers users options for setting up their campaigns that Kickstarter does not. For example, on Indiegogo, users can opt to collect the money they raised even if they don't reach their goal, for a higher commission fee. On Kickstarter, users either reach their goal and collect their earnings or they don't and they go away empty handed.

Related: Crowdfunding for Life Events, Medical Emergencies Is Now Free on Indiegogo
Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

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