Monthly Archives: November 2013

Why Use Kickstarter?

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kickstarter.com

kickstarter.com

When my grandparents were my age, most products were driven form the top down – large companies designed multiple products, tested them through various trials until they found something the public was willing to pay for, then produced it and sold it in stores.

I’m not a large company nor do I have lots of money to pay for every expense incurred in the process of bringing my game, Atomic Zero, to the market. I am just one small guy with one big dream! And Kickstarter is the place where small people like me go to turn big ideas into a reality.

Here’s how Kickstarter works

I have a big idea, so I create a page on Kickstarter.com that explains everything about my idea. Stuff like:

  • Why I think this idea is better than all the other dumb ideas I’ve had,
  • All the work I have already put into this project,
  • How I will design it, manufacture it, and deliver it,
  • Why I believe I am competent to complete this project,
  • How much money I need to make it work and,
  • What I will give you for donating money to it.

Now, people like you hear about my project from a friend or through social media and then take a look at my project page. You either find something that interests you or you don’t.

While perusing the page you may think, “This guy talks like Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons (‘I drink blue juice form under the sink’)” and you start to like me (or maybe you just feel sorry for me), or maybe you like my idea and want to see it become a reality, or maybe you really like the rewards I am giving away for donating.

Put simply, you either decide to donate (congratulations! You’re now a “Backer”) or you leave my page hoping I drink enough blue juice to keep me from ever trying this again. If you decide to become a backer, you usually have a couple options:

  • A couple dollars gets you a HUGE thank you and updates about the project,
  • A pledge somewhere around $20 or $30 gets the full version of the game (or the product)
  • And bigger donations (somewhere around $75 up to a couple thousand dollars) gets you really cool rewards like a character designed after your likeness, or your name embedded in the product, or something else very personal that makes meager folk me feel significant!

When the project ends (they usually run 30 to 60 days), I either receive all the money donated or NOTHING! I receive all the money donated if the total amount pledged exceeds my pre-set funding goal, or I receive nothing if do not meet this funding goal.

This “all or nothing” is an important safety net for both the project creator and the backers. Here’s why:

If I need $10,000 to manufacture and ship my product to you, but I only receive $6,000 in pledges, then I still have to manufacture and ship the product to all the people who pledged that $6,000.

But the product costs $10,000 to manufacture and ship, so I would have to fork up $4,000 of my own money. As a result, Kickstarter gives the money back to every backer if the project doesn’t meet the preset funding goal.

Most project creators will already have spent about that much on their project before ever launching it on Kickstarter, so most don’t have that cash laying around to bridge this gap. This protects both the project creators and the backers!

Now here’s why I want to launch Atomic Zero on Kickstarter.

I think games that teach could be an incredible thing for every student, classroom, or family to have around to get the brain juices flowing and polish up on a topic. I want to start with chemistry because I believe knowing chemistry enhances the way we view the world, and enriches our appreciation for the world around us. And what better way to learn anything than by playing a game!

I have already spent about $3,500 on getting the game to where it is. But manufacturing will cost another $10k to $15K, plus a couple thousand for shipping and a couple more to finish the graphics and get it ready to print (designers are not cheap now-a-days).

So I need your help to raise this amount of money and in return, I hope to give you copies of the game, never-ending social media praise, advice on your next Kickstarter projects, big warm hugs (NO wet kisses unless your name is Marlene or you are my mom – yes I still proudly kiss my mommy!), and many other things that we think of together in the mean time ;-)

We will hopefully be launching Atomic Zero in early February of 2014. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, please subscribe to our email updates and feel free to leave any comments or contact me personally.

I Back Projects That – Catch My Attention

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kickstarter.com

kickstarter.com

So I’m browsing projects on the Kickstarter website, or maybe I’ve heard about your page somehow and I’ve decided to check it out! Either way, I’ve landed on YOUR Kickstarter page. So now what?

We’re all busy people, I know I am, which means you have to get me interested, and ultimately get me to support your project in a very short period of time! But how do you do this? Here are a couple crucial things to think about:

Graphics

As soon as the page loads, before anything else, the graphics are the first thing anybody notices! Not having great graphics doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll click away, but why miss this opportunity.

And the truth is, even if I am only moderately interested in the game or concept, if the graphics are incredible this may be enough to keep me reading the content and possibly find something about the project that really interests me.

Spend a little money and pay a graphic designer to produce some high quality graphics that pop off the page.

Video

I’ve already written a lot about what a backer wants to see, as far as the project creator, in the page above called The Project Creator. Here are a few other things that are absolutely necessary in the video.

The video should be around two and a half minutes – give or go thirty seconds – which is not long! But the most effective ones must pack a lot on content into this short period of time. Here is a list of some things to consider.

Communicate Your Passion

If you haven’t noticed, this is the third time I’ve discussed this point. That’s because this is very important! Let shine your enthusiasm and passion for your KS project. If you want me to get excited about this project, you should be excited too. This may not only translate into convincing me to become a backer, but will give me reason to tell my friends as well.

If you’ve been a part of the KS community for longer than a few days you will probably have heard this point already. So much so that most people let it pass in one ear and out the other. But the truth is, I have decided not to back a number of KS projects simply because I didn’t feel like the project creator was very passionate about their idea.

I Back Projects That – Convince Me It’s Worth Investing In

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kickstarter.com

kickstarter.com

The simple truth is – you’re asking for my money. Yes, maybe I really like your product, and maybe I even really like you, but why would I give you my money if I don’t trust that you’ll deliver?

This is an important point. Just being a likable person with lot of passion does not always translate into being a savvy entrepreneur or designer.

But now that you have my attention, prove to me you can follow through if this project gets funded! Here are a few ways to convince me that you’re worth investing in.

Edit Your Project Page

You may find some grammatical error, spelling errors or whatever, on many of blog posts. This is because I want to type up whatever ideas I have that I think may help my readers and click submit. But if I am trying to convince someone to support something I am doing financially, you better believe I would ensure my content is edited and accurate!

If it looks like you just threw your page together last minute and then posted it on KS I’m likely to go spend my time doing something more productive. This is an extension of the last point I made, Articulate Your Effort, but if your project page is wrought with errors it is a clear sign that you have not spent much effort on your project. My dollars took much effort to earn so I not going to give them up with knowing you’ve worked just as hard!

Make Your Page Pleasing

If your page looks like crap why should I believe your product won’t be the same? If the graphics looks amateur, why should I believe the final graphics, or the final product itself, will be any more professional? If the page is wrought with issues, why should I believe the product will be any different?

Your page should be organized. When I am deciding whether I want to invest in a project, I shouldn’t have to sift through unclear content and decipher its meaning. It should be very clear! I have enough work to do – backing a project should be satisfying and fun not work.

  • The sentences should be clear and concise: Don’t use too many words, get to the point. I’m not here to read a novel, I’m here to hear about your project. But you’ve only got a couple minutes to convince me to continue reading and possibly support you!
  • Don’t use too many big words: You want your reader to enjoy reading the project page and I shouldn’t need to pull my old dusty thesaurus off the shelf in order to figure out what you’re trying to say!
  • Don’t use too much “Industry” jargon: I may hear about a project that is totally outside my field of expertise and decided to visit the KS page. But if I feel like the page is targeted to people who are already part of their “club” then I will be much more reluctant to back it. (This is especially important for you gamers!)

Articulate Your Effort

One way to do with is to articulate the effort you have already put into the project. It should be clear that this took a ton of time, passion, money and energy that could have been used for other things. Tell me how much time and money you have spent.

And if you have any experience, or past successes that relate to this type of project discuss those too! I want to know that you will not give up if things aren’t easy. I want to know that you have already done a lot of persevering. And I want to know that you fill follow through when you run into the many hurdles (they will come inevitably) ahead! I want to know my money was well spent!

Communicate Your Passion

If you haven’t noticed, this is the second time I’ve discussed this point. That’s because this is very important! Let shine your enthusiasm and passion for your KS project. If you want me to get excited about this project, you should be excited too. This may not only translate into convincing me to become a backer, but will give me reason to tell my friends as well.

If you’ve been a part of the KS community for longer than a few days you will probably have heard this point already. So much so that most people let it pass in one ear and out the other. But the truth is, I have decided not to back a number of KS projects simply because I didn’t feel like the project creator was very passionate about their idea.

I Back Projects That – Personally Connect With Me

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kickstarter.com

kickstarter.com

Of the many principles to sales, one very important principle is to connect on a personal level with the individual you’re trying to sell to. Or said in an even more shallow way – get them to like you! When I am deciding whether to back a KS project or not, it is very important that I feel like I can connect in some way with the project creator. I want to know that he or she is an overall good person and cares greatly about their project.

The funny thing is, I most likely won’t ever know this person in real life so it doesn’t really matter if this is true or not. But this is a key point for anyone who wishes to be a successful Kickstarter (KS) project creator!

I’ve created the below after sitting down and recording my thoughts while viewing multiple KS projects over the past few most, and deciding whether to back them or not. These ideas can be articulated through the written content on your page or in your bio, but the most effective way in through your video.

Talk a Little about Yourself

I want to see that you are another average person, just like me. If you’re a big corporation selling a product, I’ll only back it if I really want the product. However, if you’re another average person with a regular 9-to-5 job that you only half-heartedly care about but working hard to turn this dream of yours into a reality, then I can empathize with you!

It doesn’t need to be long winded, nor should it be, but I want to know a little about as well. Tell me what you do in real life, how this idea came about, why you started this project and why you want it to become a reality. I love backing project when I feel like it could be me sitting behind that camera!

Seem Happy and Smile

I have clicked the “back” button on numerous projects because the project creator seemed just too plain! I would think to myself, “how is backing this project going to make me any more happy if the person launching this project isn’t even happy to be launching it?” So make sure this is clear on your page and especially in your video!

Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

It’s not all business on KS. If you think certain things are funny, don’t be afraid to add a little humor to you project page and especially your video!

Communicate Your Passion

This is very important! Let shine your enthusiasm and passion for your KS project. If you want me to get excited about this project, you should be excited too. This may not only translate into convincing me to become a backer, but will give me reason to tell my friends as well.

If you’ve been a part of the KS community for longer than a few days you will probably have heard this point already. So much so that most people let it pass in one ear and out the other. But the truth is, I have decided not to back a number of KS projects simply because I didn’t feel like the project creator was very passionate about their idea.