KickStarter – Have You Heard About It?

Photo Petr Kratochvil

Last year I found  KickStarter on the Internet and became one of the many people who funded a community garden / small park to transform an ugly, abandoned parcel of land in a downtown area into a blooming paradise. Then I learned that a couple of writers use KickStarter to fund their book publishing projects. Maybe you read recently about the fantastic success of “The Order of the Stick” and its Reprint Drive, a comics project by Rich Burlew. He managed to raise $1,254,120 (his initial goal was only $57,750)

However, the famous KickStarter is not the only “Crowdfunding Community” on the Internet:

http://rockethub.org

http://www.indiegogo.com

https://www.buzzbnk.org/

http://www.causevox.com/

http://www.firstgiving.com/

Crowdfunding pulls together a community over the Internet to fund a project, business or cause. Rules differ from site to site. Generally an idea is pitched, a fundraising goal and a deadline are set for raising funds. Potential patrons can review the pitches and decide if there are any they’d like to support. They might be rewarded if the project comes to fruition, but will not own any part of the business or project.

Start with a pitch to launch your own project, describe your project, specify what rewards patrons will receive if the fundraising is successful, and create a funding goal and a timeline.  Pledges are made with a credit card, however, the patron’s credit card won’t be charged until the project is successfully funded. If you don’t reach your funding goal by the deadline, no money changes hands.

Here are just some of many tips to help you secure funding:

  • choose the right crowdfunding site
  • know your target audience & leverage your social networks
  • plan ahead and prepare email blasts
  • create a compelling name, description, image and video to stand out

“The Order of the Stick” success has shown that crowdfunding can provide funding for authors at a level, equal to or higher than traditional publishers’ advances. Right now is an exciting time to be an entrepreneurial author. 
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Hyper Smash

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