Kickstarter Dos and Don’ts For Animators / Comic Creators.
All the mistakes I’ve made so you don’t have to.
So you want to create a successful kickstarter? The very least to make goal and hopefully surpass it?
Here’s what I’ve learned from my first kickstarter, some dos and dont’s.
- Start Small – Start with small projects and small sums at first to build audience and their confidence in you. No one knows you. Most likely, your audience will consist of the network you’ve built thus far with in-person contacts (conventions to gallery shows) and social media ones. Every time you gain a successful kickstart, it builds a rapport with your community and increases its chances of expanding. That way you’ll be able to not only make goal but surpass it. Don’t forget to including shipping (if any) and double it. Also put a % for yourself. You need to pay yourself a living wage (and any other parties involved in the project) for all the work you’ve done too. Taxes and kickstarter will also take a cut so take that into consideration.
2. Launch Dates – Watch out for the periods throughout the year when kickstarters are most active so you’re not vying for attention and dealing with major competition.
3. Don’t Rush! – Take the time and create a decent campaign at your pace. Make a deadline and stick to it of course but give yourself a buff. Don’t rush and create something you’ll regret. Though I am very proud of the campaign my team created, we were rushing and scrambling towards a deadline thanks to unforeseeable circumstances. This caused undue stress and even sent my husband into the ER. Nothing is worth the price of your health. I think if I could do it again, I would have just done Oprhne as the first kickstarter and the HPL/Long animated film as another. Trailers I found were defiantly important. Justin Wolfson did a fantastic job on ours and I think without, our project wouldn’t have moved much.
4. Give 3 Rewards Tiers – Give 3-5 reward tiers. Too many reward options confuses and turns people off. We had over 10. If I could redo it, I would have brought it down to 3 tiers.
5. Advertise / Market Your Kickstarter – Set aside a marketing budget. Start small if that’s all you can spare but ultimately you’ll want a decent budget to promote your kickstarter over various platforms and social media. Remember, no one knows who you are. Hire a writer or copywriter to do the marketing captions for all social media platforms to entice people to your project.
6. Try, Try, Try Again – So your project didn’t make goal. So what? Learn from it and do it again, and again, until you get it right. Revise and even consider if your project is something people want. You’ll only know by your audience’s feedback. I have had a surprising number of people asking about my first kickstarter project if I’ll try it again. This is a good indication the project has certain merit and desirability.
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