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I recently wrote about the backlash some retailers, including the Chocolate Room, have experienced while trying to raise money through crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter.

Because the Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to approve the final rules for “equity crowdfunding,” the money raised through sites like Kickstarter is essentially a donation. Creators seek funds for a specific project and typically offer goods or services in return, but those who back the project receive no stake in the enterprise. And not everyone thinks for-profit businesses should take donations.

Several readers of the article offered feedback and advice about what merchants can do to improve their chances of success, as did the retailers I spoke with for the story. Below are some lessons they learned while running their campaigns.

Offer something compelling for the money.

One commenter had this to say about the Chocolate Room’s campaign: “The only thing they did wrong was not making the reward for pledging at the high end a bit more enticing.”

This is a tricky balancing act, the merchants said. The whole point is to raise money — to finance an expansion, a renovation or a new business — and every dollar spent fulfilling rewards is one less dollar that goes toward that goal.

Naomi Josepher and Jon Payson, owners of the Chocolate Room, treated the rewards they offered as a small thank-you for what they viewed as a donation. A $200 pledge, for example, earned a reward of a dessert and coffee for two, a combo with a retail value in their cafe of around $25.

That approach can make for a pretty hard sell. In retrospect, Ms. Josepher said, her campaign might have been more successful with a more generous rewards structure.

The owners of Macaron Parlour, a confections store in Manhattan, recently ran a Kickstarter campaign that brought in $15,000 toward the cost of opening a second store. Christina Ha, one of the cafe’s owners, said they sought to align the rewards with their retail cost. “We viewed it more as prepaying,” she said. A $40 donation bought a punch card good for 10 drinks; a $70 pledge earned 30 macaroons.

Creative rewards can be cost-effective.

What crowdfunding backers like best, the merchants said, is getting access to something special, something unavailable to the general public. This can either be fairly simple — Macaron Parlour offered those who donated $25 a box of macaroons with four custom flavors — or elaborate, like the special cooking class that the restaurant Travail Kitchen & Amusements offered its $500 backers.

“We wanted to offer experiences,” said Megan Leafblad, the restaurant’s director of business development.

The real sweet spot is coming up with rewards that have little cost for the retailer but great value to potential backers. Travail doesn’t take reservations, and getting in can require well over an hour’s wait in line. For $250, Travail offered backers the chance to jump the line twice in 2014 and take a spot immediately. For some, this was a priceless offer.

Parties, such as a launch party exclusively for backers, can be another popular perk.

Time your campaign carefully and publicize it heavily.

A track record and an established fan base can be critical to a successful crowdfunding campaign, which is why brand-new businesses often fail. “One thing that made our campaign really successful is that we have a lot of fans, and we’re not a new restaurant,” Ms. Leafblad said. “We have 10,000 Facebook fans. It was pretty easy to get the word out.”

With a loyal local following and a national reputation, Travail was well positioned. For lower-profile businesses, social media and marketing prowess can help. Indiegogo, the crowdfunding site, recommends in its advice guide that project organizers start off with a go-to pool of backers: “The first 25 percent of your goal should come from your closest friends, family and fans.” Until a business has that core audience, it may be too soon to run a campaign.

Play up your community connections.

“When local stores like this close, people always say, ‘Oh, I had no idea they were doing so poorly/I wish I had shopped there more,’” one reader commented on the recent article. “A campaign like this could be a good way of getting the word out.”

People often take local merchants for granted until they disappear. A crowdfunding campaign can be an opportunity to explain and illustrate the role a neighborhood business plays in its local economy.

Lynette Krajewski ran an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign to finance Community Oven, a planned pizzeria in Rockland, Me. Ms. Krajewski’s first restaurant, Lily Bistro, closed in 2011, and when it did, 20 people lost their jobs. That’s what she says she regrets the most about not being able to finance a new restaurant in Rockland.

“There are not enough jobs in Maine,” said Ms. Krajewski, who is now living and working in Massachusetts. “We explained to people, ‘We want to work with local farmers, buy from local businesses, and hire local workers. There’s a whole trickle-down of things we would support in the local economy.”

But that can be a hard message to get out. Interestingly, those who are most inclined to respond sometimes turn out to be fellow business owners. Ms. Josepher said that was an unexpected upside to her failed Kickstarter campaign: Other local merchants got in touch to offer the Chocolate Room aid, advice, connections, and moral support.

“Amazing people came to our door,” she said, rattling off a list of those who pitched in. One nearby business owner connected her with local bankers he had worked with; another offered a real estate tip that led to a pop-up space where the Chocolate Room set up a temporary storefront to bridge the gap until the new cafe opens.

“I’ve gotten so much support from the community because of the Kickstarter,” Ms. Josepher said. “That alone made it worth it.”