Kickstarting Your Comic
Written by: Heather Antos
As any comic creator knows, making comics isn’t cheap. You’ve got to pay your creators (penciller, inker, colorist, letterer, writer, and editor) their individual page rates. And even if you’re able to find creators willing to work for free or for exchange of services, you’ve still got to take into account funds for printing, shipping, marketing, etc. It’s enough to drive anyone’s wallet to the brink! And that’s where Kickstarter comes in.
Kickstarters are a very great way for comic creators to build funds to help produce their work. The problem is, you can’t just launch a Kickstarter and forget about it. After successfully running a few of my own crowd funding campaigns, I’ve decided to write about what I believe to be some of the key elements of excellent Kickstarters.
1) Before you settle on your goal amount, make sure you know for a fact the actual total producing, publishing, and shipping all your items will cost you. Don’t just guess. Find a similar size book, make sample packages, take them to the post office, and know for certain the cost. Take into account international shipping charges, too. Shipping can cost as much, if not more, than your printing invoice.
2) Make your video & page description count! Take a look at Kickstarters that were successful, emulate them. Look at Kickstarters that weren’t, analyze what went wrong. How did they film? What did they film? How was their page worded? What incentives were available?
3) Having a strong social media following is going to be your biggest asset. The wider your circle, the more people who are going to see your work, the more chances you’re going to have people who want to support you. If you’re asking for $10,000 and only have 10 followers, chances are you’re not going to get each person to pledge $1000 each.
4) Don’t be afraid to reach out to the media! The week before my campaigns launched I sent out about 100 personal messages and press releases to comic journalists, websites, and podcasts around the world, as well as local media. You never know who might be interested in what you’re doing. Then, the day of the launch, resend your messages. Let them know you’re live!
5) Have a sample of the finished product available so future pledges know what they’re getting into! So many projects don’t get funded because the people running them don’t want to produce until they get the money….and then they never get produced! Guarantee your pledges & fans a finished product by showing them a finished product.
6) Don’t be afraid to ask a Kickstarter Expert to look your project over before you launch. You’ll have an option for your project to be reviewed by the Experts at Kickstarter. Do it.
7) Get ready for some shameless self-promotion! Once your project has launched you’re going to be that person on social media. And that’s okay. Post, post, post! Don’t be afraid to write personal emails or direct messages. If you personally ask someone to pledge, they are more likely to do it rather than if you just post on your wall or newsfeed. Also, statistically they say it takes a person to see a post SEVEN TIMES before they will even THINK about pledging.
I could go on and on about running a Kickstarter campaign, but instead, I’ll let you ask the questions, now! What sorts of things would YOU like to know about running a Kickstarter?
-HA!
Editor's Note: Written by Heather Antos, Freelance Editor. You can see the original post, and learn more about Heather's adventures in comic creation here
Kickstarters are a very great way for comic creators to build funds to help produce their work. The problem is, you can’t just launch a Kickstarter and forget about it. After successfully running a few of my own crowd funding campaigns, I’ve decided to write about what I believe to be some of the key elements of excellent Kickstarters.
1) Before you settle on your goal amount, make sure you know for a fact the actual total producing, publishing, and shipping all your items will cost you. Don’t just guess. Find a similar size book, make sample packages, take them to the post office, and know for certain the cost. Take into account international shipping charges, too. Shipping can cost as much, if not more, than your printing invoice.
2) Make your video & page description count! Take a look at Kickstarters that were successful, emulate them. Look at Kickstarters that weren’t, analyze what went wrong. How did they film? What did they film? How was their page worded? What incentives were available?
3) Having a strong social media following is going to be your biggest asset. The wider your circle, the more people who are going to see your work, the more chances you’re going to have people who want to support you. If you’re asking for $10,000 and only have 10 followers, chances are you’re not going to get each person to pledge $1000 each.
4) Don’t be afraid to reach out to the media! The week before my campaigns launched I sent out about 100 personal messages and press releases to comic journalists, websites, and podcasts around the world, as well as local media. You never know who might be interested in what you’re doing. Then, the day of the launch, resend your messages. Let them know you’re live!
5) Have a sample of the finished product available so future pledges know what they’re getting into! So many projects don’t get funded because the people running them don’t want to produce until they get the money….and then they never get produced! Guarantee your pledges & fans a finished product by showing them a finished product.
6) Don’t be afraid to ask a Kickstarter Expert to look your project over before you launch. You’ll have an option for your project to be reviewed by the Experts at Kickstarter. Do it.
7) Get ready for some shameless self-promotion! Once your project has launched you’re going to be that person on social media. And that’s okay. Post, post, post! Don’t be afraid to write personal emails or direct messages. If you personally ask someone to pledge, they are more likely to do it rather than if you just post on your wall or newsfeed. Also, statistically they say it takes a person to see a post SEVEN TIMES before they will even THINK about pledging.
I could go on and on about running a Kickstarter campaign, but instead, I’ll let you ask the questions, now! What sorts of things would YOU like to know about running a Kickstarter?
-HA!
Editor's Note: Written by Heather Antos, Freelance Editor. You can see the original post, and learn more about Heather's adventures in comic creation here