The Ultimate Kickstarter Guidebook: A Proven Formula For Crowdfunding Success

The Ultimate Kickstarter Guidebook

A Proven Formula for Crowdfunding Success

By Andrew Aversa

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Andrew Aversa

First Edition (Published September 23rd, 2013)

Table of Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgements

About the Author

About This Book

Definitions

Chapter 1 - What Kickstarter Is (and Isn't)

Chapter 2 - Why (Not) Crowdfund?

Chapter 3 - Selecting a Project

Chapter 4 - The Importance of Your Fans

Chapter 5 - Your Fundraising Purpose

Chapter 6 - Picking a Funding Goal

Chapter 7 - Crafting Compelling Rewards

Chapter 8 - Project Duration / Deadline

Chapter 9 - Stretch Goals

Chapter 10 - Creating a Great Video

Chapter 11 - Writing Your Story

Chapter 12 - Alternate Funding Methods

Chapter 13 - Launch Checklist

Chapter 14 - Marketing Your Campaign

Chapter 15 - Communication and Updates

Chapter 16 - Last-Minute Funding Crisis

Chapter 17 - Funding vs. Failure

Chapter 18 - Continuing Communication

Chapter 19 - Reward Fulfillment

Chapter 20 - Taxes and Legal Matters

Conclusion

Appendix: Resources for Creators

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Acknowledgements

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I owe several people a great many thanks for contributing to this book and supporting me as I wrote it.

I express my thanks to Roxanna Usher for thoroughly schooling me in grammar and editing the first manuscript. I would also like to thank Larry Oji for going over every detail with a fine-toothed comb, further editing the book and contributing ideas for content.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jimmy Big Giant Circles Hinson, an amazing musician and the man who inspired me to write this in the first place.

Thank you to all of my fans for supporting me in all of my endeavors.

Thank you to my parents, who have been nothing less than completely encouraging in everything that I've ever done. Mom & Dad, I hope I never stop making you proud.

Lastly, I want to express my deepest gratitude and love for my wife, Jillian Aversa, who is my biggest supporter, my most inspiring motivator, and my best friend. Also, she created the awesome cover art!

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Introduction

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The concept of crowdfunding has immense appeal to creators and fans alike. Artists, game developers, writers, and musicians can obtain funding for their creative projects without sacrificing their vision or working with a large corporate entity. Backers can, in turn, fund projects that appeal to them personally and become emotionally invested in the success of creators, either with a small pledge in return for modest rewards or an incredibly large donation that creates a much closer connection with the creator.

There is no platform more popular for crowdfunding than Kickstarter. It is, by far, the most visible and well known of all crowdfunding sites and is practically synonymous with the concept. There is, of course, no shortage of competitors and imitators: Indiegogo, RocketHub, Crowdfunder, Crowdrise, and Donald Trump's very own entry, FundAnything, among others.

Some of these sites offer new features that Kickstarter lacks, such as Indiegogo's Flexible Funding option that allows creators to receive donations even if their project does not reach its goal. Other sites, such as GameLaunched and Gambitious, are focused on particular types of creative projects. (I'll let you guess what those two specialize in.)

However, creators continue to use Kickstarter for a variety of reasons, all of which make it an ideal choice.

Kickstarter has an excellent track record of security and legitimacy. Though some other crowdfunding sites have been around for almost as long, the trust factor in backing a Kickstarter project is very strong simply because so many projects have already been funded and launched successfully.

In 2012 alone, more than 2.2 million people backed a Kickstarter project. There is a good chance you already know people who are part of that number and who already have an account on the site. Asking them to back another project provides a route of least resistance, whereas sending fans to a new site where they are unfamiliar with the interface and do not have an account will surely result in fewer backers and pledges.

A substantial number of people browse Kickstarter on a regular basis looking for new projects to back. Without a large built-in audience of existing backers, other sites will generate less traffic to your campaign and fewer pledges. This factor alone is strong enough to merit selecting Kickstarter over any other platform!

The technology behind Kickstarter has been refined and polished, while its support staff has been seasoned with years of experience. This ease of use combined with a large, dedicated team ready to help you is a compelling alternative to startup crowdfunding sites with unproven technology and less manpower at their disposal.

In short, Kickstarter is the no-brainer choice for your crowdfunding project.

Throughout this book, I will show you what goes in to creating, running, promoting, and fulfilling a successful Kickstarter campaign. Whether your project ultimately succeeds or fails is ultimately up to you, but with my advice you'll have a much better shot at a smooth, well executed, and attractive fundraising campaign.

But why should you trust my advice?

As of this writing, I've been directly involved with four separate Kickstarter projects—three musical projects and one game. Here's how each one went.

• In 2012, video game music arrangement website OverClocked ReMix ran a campaign for the physical production of an album I directed, Balance and Ruin. I worked with staff to craft every aspect of the campaign, such as video, rewards, copy, updates, etc. Our funding goal was $30,000 and we raised $153,633 from 2,509 backers (512% funded).

• Also in 2012, I ran a campaign for my tenth original album, Identity Sequence. With the help of my wife, songwriter and vocalist Jillian Aversa, we assembled a campaign from scratch to raise money for physical production. With a goal of $4,000, the album raised $28,167 from 721 backers (704% funded).

• In 2013, I worked with my wife again to create a Kickstarter campaign for her third original album, Atlantis Awakening, to fund physical production and extra live musicians. The target goal was $5,000 and the project raised $25,691 from 585 backers (513% funded).

• Later in 2013, game developer Jim Shepard launched a Kickstarter campaign for his indie game Dungeonmans, for which I wrote the soundtrack. I helped directly with the campaign, shooting and editing the video, advising copy and rewards, and creating promotions to get the word out. The campaign's goal was $35,000 and it was funded with $43,155 from 1,468 backers (125% funded).

These successes were not based on luck nor did any of them involve paid promotion (besides perhaps $100 in Facebook ads, total). None were attached to a major company or organization of any kind—it would be fair to say all were about as do it yourself (DIY) and independent as possible. None were featured on the front page of Reddit or had a viral video or had any other gimmicks.

The success of each campaign instead came from careful planning, research, execution, attention to detail, and a variety of specific factors that I'll be exploring in the chapters to come. Armed with this advice and your own hard work and determination, you'll have the best possible shot at your own Kickstarter success story.

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About the Author

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Andrew Aversa is an award-winning composer, electronic artist, sound designer, and teacher. Under the alias zircon, he has released hundreds of original songs and remixes, along with ten original albums and many other collaborative projects. He has composed and arranged original music for major video games such as Soulcalibur V, Phineas & Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension, and Monkey Island 2 Special Edition and licensed music for companies like FOX, NBC, MTV, BBC, Capcom, The Carter Center, Midway, Food Network, and Prudential.

Graduating with a BS in Music Industry from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, Andrew has dedicated a considerable amount of time and energy to helping other musicians, students, and creative professionals. He has taught as an adjunct professor at Drexel from 2009–2013, recorded hours of free video tutorials for YouTube, and written blog articles ranging from music licensing and intellectual property to avoiding scams in the music industry.

Andrew is the co-founder, lead designer, and managing director at Impact Soundworks, LLC, a developer of virtual instruments and sample libraries established in 2008. Besides designing, producing, and editing products, Andrew handles all marketing, public relations, and press for the company.

When he isn't writing, composing, designing, or teaching, Andrew enjoys playing competitive badminton, gourmet cooking, spending time with his wife, vocalist and songwriter Jillian Aversa, and playing with their two cats, Tucker and Moo Moo.

You can listen to Andrew's work and explore his videos and other resources at http://www.zirconmusic.com.

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About This Book

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My goal, and the purpose of this book, is to give you the knowledge you need to run a successful Kickstarter campaign. However, Kickstarter is, fundamentally, a service on the Web. As such, it is subject to continuous design changes, new features, requirements, etc. Since I don't want future changes to render certain advice or sections of the book obsolete, I'll generally refrain from commenting on very specific features or demonstrating something through screenshots.

In other words, this book is not designed to be a technical manual for using and navigating Kickstarter.com. It is meant to be a guide on how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign using Kickstarter. I believe that a glorified manual or tutorial is less helpful and more outdated than practical, applicable advice that you can put into action immediately, whether you're already running a campaign or just thinking about starting one.

I also want to emphasize that unless otherwise noted (i.e., statistics, quotes, or case studies) everything in this book is my own opinion. I believe my previous and current successes qualify my advice, but I certainly don't claim to be the sole authority on the subject of running a great Kickstarter campaign. Every situation is unique, and ultimately, nobody knows your project better than you.

With these disclaimers out of the way, let's get this party started.

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Definitions

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Crowdfunding: Also known as crowd financing or