How DID That Kickstarter Campaign Work?

Since running a successful Kickstarter campaign to develop a new iteration of Beatrice, I’ve been noticing more and more people talking about what makes these things work—posts in the “9 essential tips” or “5 Kickstarter champs share their secrets” vein. Some of the advice resonates with me more than other bits; for example, I would agree that the pre-planning stage was absolutely crucial. Because I took the time to think through my project in great detail, I was able to tell people exactly what I wanted to do with the money they were contributing, not just threaten to make something cool, and I “knew” exactly how much I’d need to ask for to make it happen.

Conventional wisdom, to the extent that you can have conventional wisdom about a service that’s only been in existence for four years, says that you really ought to create a video for your Kickstarter pitch—that it’s a direct, engaging way of telling your story to potential backers. But I wouldn’t call it a universal necessity. I gave it a whirl, stuck my Flip on its tripod, pointed it at my nice chair, then sat down and talked about my goals. I couldn’t quite get as comfortable as I wanted to with it, though, so I ended up scrapping all the footage and just going with a text-and-pictures presentation.

(Part of the problem, in retrospect, was that “a guy sitting in a chair telling you about his Kickstarter project” just isn’t my idea of dynamic filmmaking. If I ever do another Kickstarter, I’ll have to see if I can come up with a more lively scenario for a video pitch—something like Neal Stephenson’s CLANG promo or Peter Riegert’s concept reel for his documentary about Prospect Cemetery.)

So what did work for me?

Ultimately, it boils down to something John Scalzi mentions in discussing the wild success of Amanda Palmer’s recent Kickstarter campaign for her new album: “This is a decade in the making.” Palmer was able to raise more than $1 million for her music because she’s spent years making it and connecting with her fans over it. From one perspective, blog posts about books and publishing, and in-depth author interviews, aren’t nearly as glamorous or exciting as alternative cabaret music; from another perspective, I’ve been really blessed to be able to write (and publish) in a way that has resonated with other people such that they’re willing to support whatever comes next.

(To put it a slightly different way, as Palmer told the New York Times, “It doesn’t feel like a windfall. It feels like the accumulated reward for years and years of work.”)

I’ve been thinking back, recently, to the summer of 2005: After about a year and a half of blogging, I was sufficiently encouraged by the success of other people’s use of PayPal to run “pledge drives” to financially support their websites that I gave it a whirl. That effort wasn’t nearly as successful as the Kickstarter campaign, and I think a lot of it has to do with what’s happened in the last seven years, especially in terms of making connections with readers and with other writers. (And, I hope, getting better as a writer.) If people have a better idea what to expect from me, they may be more willing to support the project.

It’s not just about the financial support, either. Because I wouldn’t have been able to raise all the funds I set out for if it hadn’t been for the support of other bloggers like Jane Friedman, Gretl Claggett, Susannah Greenberg, and Therese Walsh of Writer Unboxed, who gave me an opportunity to talk about my project with their readers. Press coverage from Tor.com, GalleyCat, and Shelf Awareness was also key in spreading the word. I’m grateful to all of them (and everyone else I may inadvertently be leaving out) for sharing the message.

Chris Guillebeau, the author of The $100 Startup, nails it in a recent post when he writes, “It’s not about becoming famous; it’s about cultivating loyalty through ongoing service and attention to detail.” When I’m done writing this post, I’m going to go get a bite to eat, and then I’m going to come back and resume working on the proofs for the first Beatrice enhanced e-book. Because y’all—or, at least, the folks whose interest I’ve piqued, are waiting on it, and I need to deliver.

13 June 2012 | theory |