An EOI (expression of interest) is someone putting their name down to say they're interested in investing, before any commitment. Think of it like a lead. You'll see EOIs in crowdfunding, property and other investments.

Why do investors express interest first?

Because they usually want more information before they commit. Expressing interest gets them the detail and, in a raise, access to the offer document with the regulated financials.

How are EOIs generated?

Mostly through digital advertising, which produces around 70% of the results on my campaigns. Every dollar is measurable, so you can work backwards from budget to EOIs, or from a target to the budget you'd need.

Does an EOI mean someone will invest?

No. It's intent, a soft entry point. They share the amount they're considering and join your list, then you nurture them toward the offer once it opens.

What Is an EOI? The Key to a CSF Raise

An EOI, or expression of interest, is just someone putting their name down to say they’re interested in investing. Think of it like a lead. At this stage there’s no commitment and no money down. It’s an expression of interest, nothing more.

They’re not unique to crowdfunding, either. You’ll see EOIs in property and plenty of other investments. The reason they exist is simple: investors usually want more information before they decide, so they express interest first, get sent the detail, and make the real call from there.

In a crowd-sourced funding raise, the EOI is everything

In a CSF campaign, the EOI is step one, and it’s the thing we optimise the entire campaign towards generating. It’s the North Star. It’s the goal, the objective, and the single number I look to for whether a campaign is working and where it’s headed.

Paid ads do most of the heavy lifting

On average, across all the campaigns I’ve run, digital advertising generates about 70% of the results. It’s by far the biggest avenue for bringing EOIs in.

The magic of digital advertising is that every dollar is measurable. You can see the volume of EOIs it returns and the cost per EOI, so you can work backwards: from a budget to a result, or from a target back to the budget you’d need. If you want to play with the numbers yourself, here’s a cost calculator to work out what kind of return you could get for your spend.

An EOI is intent, not an investment

This part matters. An EOI is a soft entry point, not a cheque.

When someone expresses interest, they tell you the amount they’re thinking of investing, and they come onto your list. From there you can actually talk to them. You email them, sometimes call or text, tell them more about the opportunity, and let them know the moment the offer round opens. That’s when they can open the offer document, see the regulated financials, and make a real decision.

So an EOI isn’t the finish line. It’s the start of a conversation you get to nurture all the way to the offer.

What a big EOI number can do

To give you a sense of the ceiling: the most EOIs I’ve ever recorded on a campaign was for Medigrowth, which pulled in over 6,000. That eventually led to a $3.5 million raise.

For the bigger picture, I’ve written about what decides a raise and how the whole campaign runs.

What Is an EOI, and Why It Decides Your Crowd-Sourced Funding Raise

In a crowd-sourced funding raise, the EOI is everything

Paid ads do most of the heavy lifting

An EOI is intent, not an investment

What a big EOI number can do

Common questions