Recently, Kyle Koster reached out to me about a proven strategy that he developed to launch several successful Kickstarter campaigns.

His email read, "I've enjoyed following CrowdCrux and some of the articles you've posted over the past few years. I started a guitar accessory company called Hogjim: Music Imports on Kickstarter a while back and we were in contact...

I have a bunch of experience from my guitar accessory company and living in Hong Kong for a few years as well as now handcrafting products in the USA!"

Long story short, I invited him on the podcast to talk about his approach to raising money on Kickstarter. Remember, he didn't just do this once. He did it FOUR times with different campaigns in different industries.

Anddd it's another "Ask Sal" podcast episode!! Since I don't really do consulting, this section of the podcast gives me an opportunity to directly answer reader and listener questions.

Tony Lialin asked:

"Hi Sal. I have a software product. I'll be on Kickstarter in 20 days and I'm curious if there are any tactics in particular for software that worked better on a Kickstarter vs a tangible product. I'm curious what your advice might be."

This is an Ask Sal podcast episode, where you submit your questions and I answer them!

Today’s question is about IP (intellectual property). How much time should you spend worrying about IP? How should you market your product when you don’t yet have a patent?

I cover this and more in today’s reply.

Let me preface this by saying that I’m not a lawyer and this reply is just my opinion. I recommend consulting a lawyer if you want accurate answers to questions about IP.

Yesss! It's another "Ask Sal" episode, where you submit your questions and I answer them! Todays question was asked by Lisa from TurtleMoonPress.com:

"I have a Kickstarter question. I recently published a coloring book and I then donated 50 copies to a hospital where one of my students is currently staying. I'd like to replicate this with other hospitals or charity organizations. Can I use Kickstarter for this?"

I'm about to reveal whether or not you can use Kickstarter to raise money and donate books or other products. I'll also talk a bit about nonprofit crowdfunding and how it differs from rewards-based crowdfunding.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How long it took the team to prototype and test the product
• What they did to get funded in 4 days and 4 hours
• Why cross-promotion with like-minded campaigns is powerful
• The importance of launching a blog
• How the team earned media attention

If you have 0 social media followers and don't want to promote your Kickstarter campaign, you're in the right place.

I know I talk a lot about building up your crowd before crowdfunding, but there are always exceptions to the rule. Today, I talked with BJ Minson, who has raised over $400k on Kickstarter with three different campaigns.

He breaks down exactly what he did to get funding from regular Kickstarter backers and smash his goal. Not only that, but he shares how he did this ethically, with strong company values that promote American manufacturing.

Guess what!? This is an "Ask Sal" podcast episode where listeners submit their questions, and I answer them! The question today is a little bit different, because it focuses on personal crowdfunding. Katie Schwabline asked:

"How can I help finance my son's medical expenses with crowdfunding?"

I have to admit that this is a bit of a depressing and heart-wrenching episode. Katie is going through a very difficult time. I'm going to try to help her by providing actionable advice and setting realistic expectations for an online medical fundraising campaign.