Kickstarter Advice

[shawnpadraicmurphy]

I know Kickstarter has been used for Magic Bullet, but I was wondering if anyone has done any Kickstarter projects for their own comic book and if they have learned anything that has and has not worked.

I have a comic book I just completed that is a full color at 24 pages.  The 2nd & final issue (in development) is full color and 32 pages (in the future I want to release a graphic novel, but I don't know where to print Colored Graphic Novels; which I might have to ask of in another post)

To ask for printing, I would require $300.00 for an initial print run of 100 issues of Issue #2 (this would not be out until next summer).

The total cost of paying the artist is $1,350.00.  But, I do not see that realistically being anything I could raise and would only stick with the print run cost of $300.00 (maybe I'd think about it if the first one was successful)

Things I can think to offer are a contributor's name in the comic, an issue of #1, issue of #2, a combo of both issues, prints of the covers of various sizes, and iPad versions of Issue 1 & 2.  My artist is willing to donate sketches (of the 4 main characters seperately, as a group?) to help.  Other links to successful comic book projects by a single creator or writer & artist team on Kickstarter would also be helpful.  

[Jesse]

Sounds like a great opportunity for a project.  I wish I had advice for you.

[AHendricks]

Most of your answers are on on Kickstarter right now. You can search for sucessful projects on the website and you can see what also didn't work. You can research what the sweetspot is for funding (betwen $1000-$5,000) and you can learn that the average donation is $25.00.

One thing you might want to consider is that you need to set your pledge goal high enough to pay for all of the swag you decide to offer plus shipping ...that's right ...shipping. How much will it cost to mail out all the swag you offer to your contributors? You really need to sit down and figure that out. Run the numbers and set a budget. I know a few guys to offered some rediculous swag and spent half their budget shipping stuff out. That's not good business. Also, what if you get contributors from Europe? Do you know how much it costs to ship a comic book to the UK?

One thing you need to be careful of is what if your project tanks after you get the money? You will have a lot of pissed off patrons. Do you have backup funding to honor your commitments? A car you can sell or a home equity loan you can draw from. Yeah sure, kickstarter looks fun and hip but it is business and you need to get your act in gear before you even go there. This doesn't even include the production of your video. That's a whole other can of worms....production value, copyright free music, editing and sound ...content is King ..can you show character development, storyline, rough sketches and finished pages?

And don't forget Kickstarter will also take their cut if your funding is successful...add that cost to your budget and make sure you ask for enough money to complete your project, maill out your swag and give kickstarter their commission.

Good luck.

[Jesse]

Great advise!  Thanks.