From Spark to Finish: Running Your Kickstarter Campaign
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About this ebook
In my first year on Kickstarter, I ran four campaigns. All four succeeded; in fact, all four overfunded, some by over 400%.
I am not a media superstar. I am, at best, a very energetic indie author and freelance painter. But even a small fish can make a big splash in the Kickstarter pond... with the right tools. This guide outlines the steps I took to build and fund all of my campaigns, from the spark of an idea, through project design and running the campaign, all the way to fulfillment... and beyond. It's even got checklists... and cartoon jaguars!
Are you ready to run your own successful Kickstarter campaign? Let's get started!
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From Spark to Finish - M.C.A. Hogarth
The Three Jaguars Present:
From Spark to Finish:
Running Your Kickstarter Campaign
M.C.A. Hogarth
1st Edition, 2012
threejaguarslogo-72dpiAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in text.
tmp_c192cf58a5c5b197c50e55f043d3748a_461cQ1_html_m67f50b89.pngINTRODUCTION
My first Kickstarter project, to launch a military science fiction novel, overfunded 234% in 30 days; I asked for $1500 and got $3519.
My second project, to launch an urban fantasy novel, overfunded 111% in 30 days; I asked for $1500 and made $1665.
My third project, an offer to draw little doodles for people in return for enough money to buy some new markers, overfunded 589% in 10 days; I asked for $300 and made $1768.
My fourth project, to launch a fantasy of manners novel, overfunded 414% in 30 days; I asked for $1500 and made $6221.
***
My name is M.C.A. Hogarth. I'm an indie writer and illustrator, and I am not a superstar. In fact, as such things go, I'm a pretty average fish in a pond a lot of people aren't aware of...! But I started using Kickstarter in 2012, and it has revolutionized my revenue model, and by revolutionize I mean it's over doubled my income. Kickstarter has allowed me a luxury rarely afforded freelancers and independent artists: capital to fund their projects in advance, and maybe even put some food on the table while they're working. It's been so useful for me that, as you can see, I've done it four times already, and I've already got the next two or three projects lined up, some following formulas that have worked before, and some experiments so I can find some things that work better in the future.
I've learned a great deal in my year on Kickstarter. I can't tell you how to use it to become the next J.K. Rowling or Felicia Day. But the methods I've put down in this book have worked for me, and I'm hoping they work for you... because the world needs more people following through on their dreams and adding fantastic, beautiful, thought-provoking, or just plain awesome things to the world. I back 5-6 Kickstarter projects for everyone one I launch and I'm always finding exciting new things to spend my coffee money on.
I'm hoping the next one I back... will be yours! So let's get to work!
tmp_c192cf58a5c5b197c50e55f043d3748a_461cQ1_html_d491ba.pngFIRST THINGS FIRST: IS MY PROJECT RIGHT FOR KICKSTARTER?
I have seen the following things on Kickstarter:
1. A project to fund the creation of a secret sauce for hamburgers.
2. A project that existed to let people pre-register for a new gaming convention.
3. Multiple projects asking for people to fund travel so that someone can go someplace beautiful and take photos/make a documentary/write stories in a log cabin somewhere.
4. A project soliciting money so that a web comic artist could take the paid ads off the site for a year.
5. Projects to build community spaces to play in (parks), cook in (community kitchens) or make art in (photography studios/open live modeling sessions/dance spaces/etc).
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The breadth of projects