Kickstarticle
Stuart M. Buck
A few months ago I had the idiotic idea of running a Kickstarter for The Bear Creek Gazette, of which I am the sole employee (my assistant being removed from duty during the scandalous Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup debacle in ‘06).
Here are some things that I learnt, which may help you. They are not in any particular order, because my mind is not in any particular order. Hope that clears that up for everyone.
I will start with practical advice, then some more general notes that I have taken during the process.
1. Kickstarter takes ages to do anything
This is important. Kickstarter takes ages to do anything. Funds have to clear. Surveys have to be filled in (I am still waiting for some surveys, literally weeks after I sent them). This is all to say, don’t expect anything to move quickly. Breathe deep the essence of the Godhead. People move slowly anyway, and once you harness them with the boulder of Kickstarter it takes even longer.
2. Shipping is very important
I will touch on this more later, but when I started the Bear Creek campaign, I was almost sure that it wasn't going to get funded. Nowhere near it. So I set all the postage to a flat rate. Which means I would be charging the same amount to send a book out to Rwanda as I would to send it up the street. It should be fairly obvious why this was a stupendously shit idea. Have faith in your campaign, especially if it’s going to end up costing you large amounts of money.
3. Don’t budget things as cheaply as you can in order to come across as value for money
This one is fairly niche but I feel might actually be useful. If someone is backing your Kickstarter, they are showing faith in your product, whatever it may be, and they are showing willingness to help you get it made. Therefore, they will be happy to pay 5 bucks more to ensure you don’t end up losing money on every book you send out. This brings me to another point that probably belongs in its own section but I will just put here. DON’T BE A MARTYR TO YOUR ART. Value yourself and value your time. If people are paying their money to bring your product to life, that means they believe in you. And if they believe in you, then fucking well believe in yourself Stuart (insert your own name)
4. Kickstarter keeps your funds for fucking ages
This ties in to number 1 but just to reiterate, Kickstarter sits on your funds for as long as it can before releasing them. Obviously its because of the interest they accrue. Good for them. I still like the company. But don’t promise to pay people as soon as you are funded. Because it takes weeks for the funds to appear. WEEKS!
5. Love yourself
OK folks lets get spiritual. Artists don’t have the best self belief. Those that do tend to make it big. Art is marketing and 99% bullshit. But that doesn’t mean your time, energy and love doesn’t matter. I am the least capable person ever in terms of logistics and keeping things above water, but I know for a fact that my love shines through in Bear Creek. So believe in yourself and believe that you will get funded. Have faith. Make a budget based on being successful. Stick to it. Don’t be a dick. A lot of this advice is for me.
6. Ask for help
I do everything for Bear Creek on my own. Its how I like it, because I can keep the artistic vision my own. But running a Kickstarter is different to running a Lit Mag. The sheer amount of admin is exhausting, especially considering we all have Executive Dysfunction. So if you can find someone to handle parts of the campaign that are causing you sleepless nights, do it. Even if its getting someone to run the surveys, or write the seemingly endless envelopes, or writing the updates that 3 people see. If you do this, then you are free to focus on the artistic side of the campaign and won’t get bogged down with stuff.
7. Stay Away from the Portal on Main St.
It just appeared and we don’t know how to get rid of it. Best be safe and just go the other way. OK that is it. There is probably loads more but I hope this helped. Oh and always write your passwords down. That’s important too.