With week 1 of the Undone Kickstarter behind me, I provide a few takeways for others looking to take the Kickstarter plunge for comics:
1) It’s every bit as draining as I was told…and didn’t believe them when they told me
“You’re in for a ride.”
“Get ready to be consumed.”
These were some of the statements (warnings?) I got from those who’ve done this before. That as soon as you hit publish you’ll be consumed 24/7 by backers, questions, the thought, “What else can I be doing to promote this?” And you know what?
They were right. And apparently the fulfillment part is a whole other struggle. But we’ll get to that later. For now, I’m grateful to have had friends do this before. So advice? Make friends with someone who’s done it so you can have a resource to lean on. @TonyDonley and @theCruZader have been my sounding board so far – and I’m grateful!
2) Tease your followers
I took a few pointers from the folks at @Comixtribe and @JGMComics when it came time to Kickstart. Just observed the way they were persistant in promoting their books. But they weren’t annoying about it. Instead they set up small goals and tweeted about it, teased their followers to help get them over their next hurdle. So far, Ive done the same and it’s paid off.
3) Your promotion for Kickstarter starts well before you even have an idea for one
I’m getting backers from all over the place. The handy Kickstarter dashboard let’s me know that. That being said, I started blogging heavily late last year. I made connections the past 10 years that are paying off. I have tremendous friends and family. It all goes hand in hand. Get social. Go viral. Get out there well before you decide to do a Kickstarter. Because if a project falls in the forest, but no ones tuned in to hear it fall, did it make a sound? Maybe, but I guarantee it won’t get funded.
4) Stay on top of it!
Every time a new backer comes in, i thank them. I post it to my Undone Facebook page. I post it to the invite i created. I write updates. I blog. Again, see the previous note. Bottom line: you’ve got to stay on top of it! This is an EVENT. Treat it like one.
5) It’s promo time :)
We’re nearly 60% there! If you haven’t become a backer yet click here to get on board now!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mdolce/the-undone-1/
