No one likes to fail. I mean, really…it’s not becoming on anyone. Or is it? I find that my best stories and lessons come from failure. So I wanted to share one of mine with you. I have written about my Kickstarter campaign launch, and I’ve touched on my Kickstarter campaign fail, but this post is about the lessons learned. The insight and, overall, how to rock your own Kickstarter campaign.
But before we begin. You have to realize that sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes everything I’m about to say doesn’t matter. You could do it all, and still fail. BUT probably not, ‘s all I’m sayin’.
You should also know that I have a deep appreciation for Kickstarter and all that they do. I love the symbiotic relationship between the web and artists. I love that people can stumble upon things they normally wouldn’t ever hear about. I love seeing the beginning, middle, and finishing of a dream. And I can be a part of it if I choose.
When I first started doing my Kickstarter research back before launching 1 in 3, I looked at all of the successful campaigns and looked at some of the failed ones. I mainly looked at the successful ones. Mine failed, so you can look at that for a failure example. Check out our updates on the project, too. We did a series of Behind Closed Doors interviews with cast/crew to talk about why they worked on the film. I think they complimented the campaign nicely.
TOP 10 Kickstarter.com Tips
1.) Decide your project’s goal. Be realistic. But also don’t cut yourself short. Think about options such as raising money for only pre-production, or costumes, or supplies. Sometimes people will be more down to donate if they know exactly where their money is going.
2.) Think about your timing! If your campaign ends around Christmas, probably not smart. Or if you start mid-month, realize that most people get paid at the end of the month so they will be plum out of money by your ending date (same goes for the last weeks of the month). And honestly, I think the best campaigns last for 30 days. It gives a sense of urgency, and you don’t sit around for two months trying to market the thing, annoying people with your Facebook status updates (sorry friends!).
3.) Your video (in my opinion) is the most important part of the Kickstarter campaign. I have donated on projects just because I liked the person. Here is an example. This girl rocks. I <3 you Allison Weiss.
4.) Be creative with your project incentives! Have fun with these. I’ve received everything from snazzy ringtones from donating to I am I.
And virtual hugs from Brand Rackley with Splice of Life. I loved them all.
5.) Try to raise funds before launching the campaign. Have people sign a “donation commitment” for a pledged amount and then when you launch it send a personalized follow-up email. Pre-fundraising fundraising will surely help!
6.) Do the viral marketing thing with tweets, facebooks, and such. Your campaign is online so think about your audience.
7.) Try your darndest to get featured on the Kickstarter blog. I contacted the awesome Kickstarter crew in Brooklyn (best place in the world, fyi) and they said it’s all editorial choice. So appeal to them. New York is pretty darn cool, so you’ve gotta kick it up a notch. Being featured on their blog/newsletter is a great way to get audience recognition from around the world. All of the projects that I have seen be featured have succeeded.
8.) Remember, Kickstarter doesn’t want you to fail. It’s in everyone’s best interest to achieve. So, don’t blame Kickstarter if you don’t meet your goal. Or do, just to make it through the failure shock and then realize that you were just hatin’ because you’re sad. Just raise your head, put on some boots (…or whatever they say?), and make your own “don’t fail” list. Oh, yeah, and start again.
9.) Recruit help. Don’t just be the sole marketer of your campaign. Hopefully your project has people in your life who are already behind it. They can help you do the dirty work. Never be afraid to ask for help.
10.) Remember your passion. When you just have $105 out of your $7,000 don’t be discouraged. When your campaign fails, don’t give up. If failing at Kickstarter is what it takes for you to call it quits, maybe that was your problem in the first place. No one wants to donate their dollah billz to a half-dream.
Dream super size and you will never have any regrets.
The first class was a free summer camp offered by the Norman Public Library called Videomaking for Young People. A fellow filmmaker friend of mine, Scott Mellgren, came up with the idea and brought me on-board to help teach. Together we came up with the camp curriculum and structure. The class took place over three days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) from 1-3 p.m. The days were broken up into Pre-production, Production, and Post-production. While learning what each process entailed, we also produced a 1-page project with the ten students, ages 10-15. These kids were awesome.
