Crowdfunding: Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Ecommerce with CrowdCrux | Crowdfunding Demystified

Russell Brettholtz is the creator of the Sidekicks comic book series, which follows the lives of five super-hero sidekicks as they get mistreated by their respective heroes and ignored by society.

After leaving his job, he was determined to finally embrace his dream goal and publish a comic book with high quality artwork and a compelling storyline.

Having successfully raised $7,647 from 343 backers for the first series of the comic book, Russell is now running a second campaign to help fund issues 2-4.

In this podcast interview, we discuss how he managed to be successful on Kickstarter and tips that he has learned the hard way and wants to pass on to other comic book creators.

Get the show notes here: crowdcrux.com/podcast/26

Podcast Show Notes

- Russell Brettholtz's two comic book Kickstarter campaigns:

Sidekicks: Sidekicks follows the lives of five super-hero sidekicks as they get mistreated by their respective heroes and ignored by society.

Sidekicks - 4 Issue Mini-Series: Sidekicks follows the lives of five super-hero sidekicks as they get mistreated by their respective heroes and ignored by society.

- The Sidekicks Facebook page and Twitter page.

- Russell was inspired to do a Kickstarter and launch his comic book after being let go from a previous job. The money raised for the first campaign was used to "complete the artwork for Issue #1, print, ship and successfully deliver all of the backer rewards."

- Russell updated threads on various forums for his comic book, sharing updates and comic book renderings (posting at least once a week for over a year) including ComicBookResourcesDigital Webbing, and CXPulp.com.

- It's important to have a sounding board for your idea and the accompanying implementation stages. Getting feedback on your project's artwork, storyline, and even characters can improve the chance that other people will fall in love with your project.

- "If it's not going to look good, don't do it at all."

- When the campaign is running, there is a an addictive component to checking your phone for new backers. A lot of backers will come in during the beginning and the end. It's important to find ways to engage potential backers in the middle.

- If you run into any unexpected delays, be sure to keep your backers updated. Otherwise, you might risk getting angry emails or comments.

- "In sales, they say always be selling. In crowdfunding, it should be always be communicating."

- It's important to manage your expectations before you launch a Kickstarter campaign. Be sure to check the statistics and success rates in your individual category.

- Don't be afraid to reach out to media publications regarding your project. Russell found that more people than he initially thought were willing to help out in some way with the promotion of the project.

- You must have a prototype or initial sample to show backers and get them interested in your project.

Direct download: EP_26_How_Sidekicks_Comic_Book_Was_Kickstarted.mp3
Category:kickstarter -- posted at: 3:26pm EDT

In this episode of the CrowdCrux Crowdfunding Podcast, I interviewed Rose Spinelli, who is a crowdfunding consultant and the founder of The Crowdfundamentals. She also runs the “Rose Recommends” advice column on Crowdsourcing.org.

Entering the crowdfunding industry at the same time I did, Rose brings a unique perspective to the table. We discuss how the industry has evolved, best practices for campaigns, and how she helps creators run successful campaigns. 

Show Notes (Get them online here).

- Rose helps creators at all stages of their campaign, but can have the most impact in the planning stages.

– Rose does not manage campaigns or manage PR for a campaign.

– Rose is a journalist and has a fundraising background, which ended up feeding into the needs of a crowdfunding campaign.

– Rose mainly works with nonprofits, campaigns that have some kind of a social impact, and entrepreneurship-related projects.

– Crowdfunding is an online tool. If you don’t have a strong presence on social media, you’re going to have a harder time. People like to play catchup and do a lot of broadcasting, but it’s a less-effective way to go about marketing.

– People need to learn how to engage and tell their story. You must produce quality content to survive in a social media-driven world.

– Pretend that you are at a cocktail party, but it’s online. You must use your personality, be curious about others, and be generous to network effectively.

– You must learn how to communicate your value. Avoid technospeak. Avoid hyping it up too much. Be transparent.

– Robin Roberts: “Make your mess your message,” a quote from Everybody’s Got Something. It’s important to humanize yourself.

– ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

– Potato Salad Kickstarter Campaign

– Nonprofits are still adopting modern fundraising techniques.

– Positive emotions trump negative emotions on social media.

– It’s important to do your research if you’re going to use any consultants or service providers in the crowdfunding industry.

– Rose recommends a ramp-up period of 3-6 months. It depends on how established they are online.


In this episode, we talk about some of the rapidly funded Kickstarter projects in early April. You can find a list of the projects here: crowdcrux.com/6-rapidly-funded-kickstarter-projects-to-start-off-april/

Direct download: EP_24_6_Rapidly_Funded_Projects_in_Early_April.mp3
Category:kickstarter -- posted at: 2:09pm EDT

Show Notes

Get the show notes at CrowdCrux.com/podcast/23

Kickstarter campaign link for 36 Letters: Click here.

Kicktraq Statistics Link: Click here.

Amount Raised: $11,590 from a pledged of $10,630 goal.

Campaign Duration: 25 days

Number of Backers: 102.

Avg. Pledge per Backer: $114

36Letters Company Website: Click here.

Books/Authored mentioned: 

48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller

- Chris Guillebeau - The Art of Non-Conformity (website link).

Notes:

- Local shopping from local creators or craft hobbyists is a growing movement that creators can capitalize on when launching a campaign.

- Nathaniel decided to go with Kickstarter because he found the user interface easier and more intuitive.

- Before launching the campaign, it's important to "prime the pump" and put hours in before you launch to gather a bit of a fan base.

- The pledges in the first week mainly came from Nathaniel's social network and their social network.

- The feedback has been incredibly since launching the project, both on Nathaniel's new initiative and his artwork. He believes it was his compelling and genuine story that motivated people to back him.

- Nathaniel is big on deadlines and made sure to be realistic. He also scheduled a launch party for when the project ended. He found that having a tight deadline is better than having a long and drawn-out deadline.

- The marketing aspect of a campaign will continue to bear fruit into the reward-fulfillment phase because new people will come across or see your artwork/product and ask where they can get one.

- Looking back, Nathaniel would give more thought to the best way to market the campaign to complete strangers.

What city do you want Nathaniel to come to next?

Let us know in a comment below! You can check out his artwork here.

Direct download: EP_23_Budding_Artist_Quits_His_Job_and_Raises_11590_on_Kickstarter.mp3
Category:kickstarter -- posted at: 4:40pm EDT

In 2014, David G. Forés and Play Attitude launched their first Kickstarter campaign for an Edgar Allan Poe illustrated anthology entitled "Ravings of love & death." Despite setting an initial $58,000 goal, the team managed to blow past that and raise $87,530 for the campaign over the course of 29 days.

What started as a modest dream in David's imagination two years prior turned into staggering crowdfunding success story, attracting backers from all over the world. After the buzz settled down and the last few orders had been shipped out, the team behind the project turned their gaze to the next potential Kickstarter launch.

Having conducted one successful project, David and Play Attitude were familiar with the process of launching a campaign and what it took to fulfill rewards in a timely manner. They also were now aware of the power of crowdfunding and how it can enable a local Spanish artist to reach art enthusiasts and graphic novel lovers all over the globe.

Armed with these bits of knowledge and healthy dosing of experience, the team launched their second Kickstarter campaign for Forgotten Colors, a limited edition art book for all ages. Remarkably, this project hit it's funding goal even sooner than the previous and ended up raising $44,604 out of a $19,000 goal.

In this episode of the CrowdCrux Crowdfunding Podcast, we talked with Naiara, who is one member of the team behind these two wildly successful projects to learn what makes them tick and how they were able to gather a community on the crowdfunding platform.

 Show Notes

Ravings of Love & Death campaign Kicktraq Statistics can be found here.

- The team researched similar projects to gear up for the first Kickstarter campaign. Since they've been working in the publishing field for 4 or 5 years now, they have experience on the fulfillment aspect. They have worked for clients in the past and are now doing illustrated books.

- The artwork for David G. Forés is showcased on Instagram, tumblr, facebook, pinterest, and more. It's clear that building up a community is important before launching a project.

- The team worked a lot in the first two weeks explaining the project and the new initiative. Towards the end of the campaign, some backers that already pledged actually increased their pledge to a higher reward tier.

- You must be aware of what kind of feedback you are getting for backers. Although you need a plan, that plan should be very flexible.

- After the campaign finished, people were still asking where they could order books. There is a big post-Kickstarter effect to launching a successful project. Lastly, David became more well-known.

- You can check out the post-campaign website at PoeKickstarter.com.

The Forgotten Colors campaign Kicktraq statistics can be found here.

- The first campaign required a lot of research. In the second campaign, the team drew from their previous experience to be successful. The main difference in this project was that people are not as aware of the main character in the second campaign, compared to Edgar Allen Poe.

- The team took advantage of the marketing potential of the thumbnail on their video in the second campaign more-so than others. They also introduced members of the team.

- It's important to understand the "target market" with regards to your project. Are there more horror lovers and lovers of a family book? These are questions to ask yourself and are a good way to set realistic expectations for the project.

- The team has a different strategy for each social network and had a different way to engage the users on each network. Don't forget to explain what Kickstarter is and how it works!

- You can check out the post-campaign website at kickstarter.forgottencolors.org.

 


1