Kickstarter Funding A Book
We initially launched First Bible Basics via Kickstarter and it was a GREAT experience.
Kickstarter can be a a wonderful way to successfully launch a book. It offers a couple of benefits -
Upfront money
A solid foundation of customer. Kickstarter enables people to get literally invested in your work which is a great way to start growing a loyal and supportive audience.
If you self-publish a book without those things, I'm not entirely sure how you would go about starting to widely disseminate the book.
First Bible Basics was my first book ever. I didn't even have an Instagram account when I launched. I had no name, no brand of which to speak. So Kickstarter was helping in establishing those things, find customers, and create momentum for the project. Also bear in mind that self-publishing is, at first, a little pricey. Depending on how many books you print and what kind (board book, paperback, etc.) should plan to invest a few thousand (like $3-4k) upfront. Kickstarter can help you cover those expenses.
While the Kickstarter allowed our work to build momentum and excitement, but the campaigns themselves are so much work. Many people think that if they get their project up on Kickstarter, the money will just flow in. This is not true. It was a solid six months of preparation and I estimate between 250-300 hours of work on my part to get ready for a successful Kickstarter. Are you ready run a successful Kickstarter? Here’s my advice for getting started on that:
Watch this:
The first thing I would say is to watch this online "class". It's a helpful baseline for tips on a successful Kickstarter campaign. Also "class" is a bit misleading - it's about 1.5 hours total so you can watch it in a sitting. John Coveyou wrote most of the content in the video series - he's run fourteen successful Kickstarters (one of which raised over $389k for a BOARD GAME). You need a membership to view the videos, but Lynda.com offers a 10 day free trial so that will allow you to view them all.
Find these:
Cull through Kickstarter for projects similar to yours. Check out successful and failed projects. Look at their videos, their rewards, the length of their campaigns, etc. Get a feel for things you like and don't, get ideas for creative rewards, see what's visually appealing on a campaign page, etc. People back Kickstarters they're interested in, not necessarily professional companies. Backers want to know you're competent and be excited about / invested in your work.
Write this:
Just start writing. Do a draft of your campaign page copy. Draft your rewards tiers. Draft your budget. Draft the script for your video. Having stuff on paper makes the campaign seem more manageable and gives you a baseline to work from.
MARKET. PROMOTE. WORK.
My campaign launched in September. My intensive prep for the campaign began in June. I would say I worked 2-5 hours per DAY on the Kickstarter (including weekends) in the three months leading up to the launch. What was I doing, you ask? Well, a few things.
1. Talking to people about it. I emailed (one-to-one) anyone I knew who I thought might be interested in the project. I solicited their feedback, asked if it was the sort of thing they would want and if not, why; I asked if there was anyone in particular in their circles of friends they thought I should share it with now - especially teachers, pastors, children's ministry directors, etc. - and if they would put me in touch with those people; I asked for their support at the time of the launch (not monetary, per say, but in sharing it with friends and family via email and social media). I built an email list of ~200 people (including people who signed up on my website for more info). I started a FB page and Instagram and started previewing artwork and hoping to generate early interest. The goal is to be able to launch your campaign and have everyone in your social media circle posting it in the first 48 hours.
2. Trying to generate media interest in the project. I was trying to leverage any media connection I had with first-hand or second-hand in hopes that a few people could write and post about my campaign once it was live. This is very important because it's one of the primary ways that you reach audiences you wouldn't otherwise have access to. You should line up your media BEFORE the launch. Sometimes these things take time to set up. You can also run FB and Instagram ads, which were effective for my campaign. Also - make yourself a Social Media Plan before you launch to help keep you sane during the Kickstarter. Map out what you want to post and when. Apps like Planoly can be really helpful for this.
3. Honing my campaign. I actually hired a brand consultant to help with my campaign, tighten my language, work with me on my video script, etc. It was expensive, but worth it, imo. Very few Kickstarters are successful without a video, so we knew we had to do a video and make it good. We also hired professionals to do the video. I also went through probably eight to ten iterations of my rewards tiers as well, trying to hone in on figuring out what backers would actually want and what our biggest brand assets are. Because I was launching a company / brand and not just a book, the consultant also helped me with a logo and campaign copy, etc.
Kickstarter Campaigns can be TREMENDOUS tools for launching your book and they can even attract the interest of traditional publishing house, but don’t come at it half-heartedly. You have to go all in.